c. 1997 Religion News Service

ABA urges moratorium on”seriously flawed”death penalty

(RNS) The American Bar Association has called for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, saying the nation’s implementation of capital punishment is”a haphazard maze of unfair practices.” Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, the ABA’s House of Delegates voted 280-119 Monday (Feb. 3) to press for a halt in the carrying out of death penalty sentences. The vote means that ABA lobbyists now can work to change capital punishment laws on a federal level and in the 38 states that currently apply the death penalty.

The ABA vote did not take a stand on the morality of capital punishment, only on the fairness with which it is applied. Previously, the 37,000-member organization had adopted resolutions intended to”minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed.” But the new ABA resolution went further, faulting application of the death sentence as being out-of-step with the group’s guidelines for fair application of capital punishment to all.”Individual lawyers differ in their views on the death penalty in principle and its constitutionality,”said an ABA report that accompanied the resolution.

However, the report continued,”administration of the death penalty has become so seriously flawed that capital punishment should not be implemented without adherence to the various applicable ABA policies. … In case after case, decisions about who will die and who will live turn not on the nature of the offense the defendant is charged with committing, but rather on the nature of the legal representation the defendant receives.” Although the current ABA president, Lee Cooper of Birmingham, Ala., opposed the resolution, the measure had the backing of 20 of 24 living former ABA presidents.

The resolution was opposed by the Clinton administration, which let it be known it felt the measure was unwarranted.

Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1972, 350 people have been executed in the United States. About 3,000 individuals in prison currently face the death penalty.

Catholic Alliance gets new top executive

(RNS) Keith A. Fournier, an ordained Roman Catholic deacon, has been named president of the Catholic Alliance, an offshoot of the Christian Coalition.

Fournier, currently president of the Alliance’s board, will replace Maureen Roselli as head of the conservative organization on March 1. Roselli, who is pregnant, said Tuesday (Feb. 4) she will remain with the Alliance as a consultant.

Roselli’s title was executive director, but Fournier said that as president his focus will be somewhat different than Roselli’s.”I hope to be able to deal with more long-range issues now that the day-to-day operation of the Catholic Alliance does not need as much attention,”Fournier said.

The Catholic Alliance was started in December 1995 by the Christian Coalition, the most visible organization of the religious right. Roselli said the Alliance has grown to 50,000 members and supporters.

However, the U.S. Catholic bishops have distanced themselves from the Alliance, objecting to use of the word Catholic in its name as well as to some of its conservative domestic policy positions. The bishops have also been critical of the Alliance’s close ties to the Coalition and its founder, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

In an effort to quiet that criticism, the Alliance has since become legally independent of the Coalition. However, ties remain.

For example, Fournier is currently executive director of another Robertson creation, the American Center for Law and Justice, a public interest law firm that handles”pro-family”cases.”There’s been some misunderstanding between the Alliance and the Catholic hierarchy that I hope to address,”said Fournier.”I certainly am dedicated to the Catholic Church and I see the Alliance as an association of Catholics interested in the intersection of faith and culture. In pro-life and other areas, there’s room for us to work in tandem with the bishops.”

Canadian priest killed in Rwanda

(RNS) A Canadian priest serving as a missionary in Rwanda was killed as he administered Holy Communion in a rural church.

The Rev. Guy Pinard, 61, a member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, popularly known as the White Fathers, was shot in the back Sunday (Feb. 2), an apparent victim of the growing violence in northwestern Rwanda. The violence has increased steadily since the return from Zaire of thousands of Rwandan refugees. Pinard was buried Monday.

Officials told the Associated Press that there was no clear motive as to why a man shot Pinard in a small church in Kampanga, about 70 miles northwest of the Rwandan capital of Kigali.

Pinard’s fellow priests said he had refused to leave Rwanda when Hutu extremists went on a killing rampage in 1994, murdering more than a half-million minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Pinard reportedly stayed behind to help potential victims slip across the border into Zaire.

Since the return of Rwandan refugees from Zaire, the Hutu extremists have been killing witnesses to their earlier murders.

Update: Ex-Mormon radio host sentenced in sex abuse case

(RNS) The former host of a weekly Mormon radio program that promoted church values was sentenced Monday (Feb. 3) to up to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Lloyd Gerald Pond, 51, pleaded guilty in November to the reduced charge of forcible sexual abuse. He had originally been charged with forcible sodomy in a case that provoked debate in Salt Lake City over whether Pond had received lenient treatment because he was a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Officials denied the charge.

Pond was the host of”Times and Seasons,”a church-sponsored radio show that addressed current social issues and promoted Mormon values.

The mother of the girl Pond abused has asked for repayment of all costs associated with putting her daughter in a private school and for psychological counseling, both of which she said were necessitated by Pond’s actions. A judge said he would hold hearings on the request in 90 days.

Quote of the Day: Minnesota Vikings football player Cris Carter

(RNS) Athletes in Action, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, recently held an awards ceremony at which Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris Carter spoke about the tradition of Christian football players kneeling in prayer following a touchdown. Associated Baptist Press, an independent Baptist news service, quoted Carter:”It’s kind of easy to bow down in the end zone. But the real test of my character is, can I bow down to God on a Monday when millions of people are not watching and the stands aren’t packed and my wife is not necessarily saying I am a superstar and my little boy is late for school? Can I stand for Christ when adversity comes my way? Can I stand for him on that day?”

MJP END RNS