c. 1997 Religion News Service

Pope firmly calls on Poland to outlaw abortion

(RNS) Pope John Paul II, no stranger to entanglement in Polish politics, told his countrymen Wednesday (June 4) they should outlaw abortion not just on moral grounds but as a matter of human rights.”The right to life is not a question of ideology, not only a religious right _ it is a human right,”John Paul told a crowd of 150,000 in Kalisz, Poland.”A nation which kills its own children is a nation without a future,”the pontiff added.”Believe me, it is not easy to say that, especially thinking about my own nation. I desire a future for it, a great future.” John Paul made his comments on the fourth day of an 11-day visit to Poland, a visit many observers believe could be the 77-year-old pontiff’s last visit to his native land.

Poland has been gripped in a bitter debate on abortion since the collapse of communism in 1989. Under the communist regime, abortion was available on demand, but when the Catholic Church-backed Solidarity movement came to power, it passed a near-total ban on the procedure.

Last year, the law was liberalized _ after the former communists were returned to power _ to allow abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy for women deemed to face financial or emotional problems if they have a child.

Last week, however, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the liberal law clashed with the nation’s constitutional guarantee of a right to life. On Monday (June 2), the head of the country’s ruling social democrats proposed a nationwide referendum on the issue.

Polls show the country evenly divided on the volatile issue.

Focus on the Family pulls gender-inclusive children’s Bible

(RNS) Focus on the Family, the conservative Christian organization that offers a radio broadcast and other resources supporting families, has pulled its”Adventures in Odyssey Bible”from distribution after discovering it included”gender-inclusive”language.”Upon our realization that the `Odyssey Bible’ contained some unnecessary gender changes, we moved immediately to remove this Bible version from our resources for the family,”said Focus founder James Dobson in an announcement issued Tuesday (June 3).”It is our desire, of course, to place the word of God into the hands of as many people as possible. But our zeal toward that objective will not override our concern for accuracy in biblical translation.” The”Odyssey Bible”uses the International Children’s Bible translation and is published by Word Publishing in association with Focus on the Family. The Bible includes the characters from Focus on the Family’s”Adventures in Odyssey”radio and cartoon series.

Dobson and Word officials said they plan to continue to jointly offer a children’s Bible but with language revisions.”We are now working with Word Publishing to develop an understandable translation for children that remains completely faithful to the language of Scripture,”he said.”Upon request, Focus will reimburse parents who have ordered the `Odyssey Bible’ through our ministry.” Added Word president Byron Williamson:”Word and Focus on the Family are working in a cooperative spirit, fully depending on God’s leadership, to revise the Odyssey Bible and eliminate concerns over gender translations.” Focus on the Family’s statement follows the recent announcement by the International Bible Society that it has scrapped a proposed New International Version (NIV) that would substitute gender-neutral words for gender-specific ones. The NIV is the most popular Bible translation in the United States.

Focus on the Family hosted a”Conference on Gender-Related Language in Scripture”on May 27 at its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. Just prior to the meeting, the Bible society issued its announcement.

The meeting was attended by publishers and officials of the Bible society and the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, who agreed on guidelines for translations of gender-related language in the Bible.”We agree that Bible translations should not be influenced by illegitimate intrusions of secular culture or by political or ideological agendas,”reads a statement issued by conference participants.”Specifically, we agree that it is inappropriate to use gender-neutral language when it diminishes accuracy in the translation of the Bible.”

United Methodist agency will appeal job discrimination verdict

(RNS) The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries said Tuesday (June 3) it will appeal a $180,000 court decision against it in a job discrimination suit.

On May 29, a U.S. District Court jury in Baltimore ruled that the missions agency had discriminated against the Rev. John Shirkey in not hiring him for a community developer’s job. Shirkey alleged he was not hired for the post because he is white. The jury awarded Shirkey $180,000.

Mark Swerdlin, an attorney for the board, said Shirkey’s allegation is”baseless.””Unfortunately,”Swerdlin said in a statement released by the board,”the court initially ruled that a statement by a non(board) official to … Shirkey that he could not apply for the job because of his race was somehow attributable”to the Board of Global Ministries.

According to Deborah Bass, an agency executive, personnel for the denomination’s community development program are chosen by local churches, not the board. The local churches also operate and develop the programs, with the board providing a $5,000 grant for salary support.

Aid worker, four refugees killed in Congo attack

(RNS) A worker for Save the Children and four refugees, including a child being carried by the worker, have been killed by armed men in the eastern Congo, according to a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

According to an Associated Press report, on May 29 the Save the Children employee, Katumbo Mburanume, was leading a group of 11 children toward Karuba, a major refugee resettlement center for mainly Hutu refugees the U.N. and other agencies are seeking to repatriate to Rwanda, when the attack occurred. Mburanume, the child he was carrying, and three adults who had joined the trek, were killed.

Pam O’Toole, the U.N. spokeswoman, said reports indicated the attackers were members of the Congolese military, the group led by Laurent Kabila that seized power in the former Zaire, now known as the Congo.”Some elements of the military appeared to be out of control and need to be brought under control before any more lives are lost,”O’Toole said.

She said the U.N. agency has temporarily suspended its repatriation work at Karuba. There have been persistent reports of Rwanda Hutu refugees being beaten and killed and aid workers have also been beaten and intimidated.

In a briefing in the Kabila-controlled capital of Kinshasa, however, Bishop Ngoy Kashukuti, a Lutheran, released a 22-page report blaming the violence on former Zairean ruler Mobuto Sese Seko and his discriminatory policies against Tutsis and the failure of United Nations to disarm Hutu militants.

Kashukuti said his report was independent but said he relied on the aid of Kabila’s rebels to undertake it.

Quote of the day: Anne Marshall, whose husband was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing

(RNS) United Methodist Anne Marshall, an executive with the denomination’s Commission on Christian Unity, lost her husband in the Oklahoma City bombing more than two years ago. After the guilty verdicts were announced against Timothy McVeigh for his role in the terrorist attack that killed 168, Marshall said she might be”a step closer to being able to forgive him”and is no longer certain the execution of McVeigh is necessary:”Even though he pays the ultimate price with his life, it isn’t going to bring my husband back. It isn’t going to change my life. They’ve already found him guilty and that’s the most important part.”

MJP END RNS