c. 1998 Religion News Service
Church leaders dismayed at campaign finance reform defeat
(RNS) Leaders from 11 denominations and religious agencies, including the National Council of Churches, have expressed their dismay at the failure of legislation to reform the way political campaigns are financed.
The issue, which rose to prominence during the 1996 presidential campaign,has been a top priority for religious groups who believe the vast amounts of money in the political process are a corrupting influence.”Campaign finance reform is not simply a political or public relations dilemma but a moral matter,”the religious leaders said.”The temptation to use money to buy unjust favors is an ancient one. The prophet Amos thundered against whose merchants who sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes … and push the afflicted out of the way.” An estimated $650 million was spent in the 1996 general election.
On Thursday (Feb. 26), Senate supporters of efforts to overall campaign financing laws acknowledged they did not have the votes to break a Republican-led filibuster of their proposal. It takes 60 votes to end a filibuster.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., would have banned the use of so-called soft money _ unlimited and unregulated donations to political parties _ and put limits on issue advocacy commercials by outside groups.”The power and attraction of money has proven too great,”the religious leaders said.”The lesson to be learned is that only comprehensive reform, which breaks the power of money in elections, can restore the public trust that has been eroded by the present corrupt system of campaign finance.” Religious leaders signing the statement included the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches; the Rev. Paul Sherry, president of the United Church of Christ; the Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of the Washington office of the Presbyterian Church (USA); Anna Rhee, director of the Washington office of the women’s division of the Untied Methodist Church; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; the Rev David Radcliff, director of Brethren Witness, Church of the Brethren;
Also: the Rev. William Hobgood, regional minister, Capital Area, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Sister Kathy Thornton, director of Network: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; the Rev. Meg Riley, director, Washington office of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Joe Volk, executive director, Friends Committee on National Legislation; Jim Matlack, director, Washington office, Americans Friends Service Committee; the Rev. Albert Pennybacker, co-chair, Religious Leaders for Campaign Finance Reform; the Rev. Jay Lintner, co-chair, Religious Leaders for Campaign Finance Reform.
Pope sets threshold of 2000 for inter-religious gathering
(RNS) Pope John Paul II has decided to close out the millennium by showcasing the rich diversity, and in some cases, deep discord, of all Christians and other major religions with an inter-religious gathering in Rome.
The pontiff, who has made a crusade to unite by 2000 all Christian religions that have been at odds for most of the past 500 years, set mid- October 1999 for the meeting.
It will include Orthodox Christians, Anglican and other reformed Protestants, as well as Jewish and Muslim leaders, and members of Asian, African and other continental religious movements, according to the Vatican.
The meeting, expected to last about two weeks, will include plenary sessions, working groups and a pilgrimage, most likely to Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, the 13th century founder of the Franciscans who dedicated his life to the poor. It will conclude with a day of prayer and a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square, attended by the pope.
Scheduling the meeting so close to the dawn of 2000 is an indication of the importance the pope places on smoothing relations with Christians and non-Christians alike.
However, the pope has acknowledged that deep divisions remain among Christians, particularly the Eastern Orthodox who refuse to recognize the primacy of the Roman pontiff. Prospects for unity by 2000, he has said, are unlikely.
Kenyan church leaders urge actions to prevent”another Rwanda” (RNS) Kenyan church leaders are asking the United States and Great Britain to bring pressure to bear on the Kenyan government so that the kind of violence that has engulfed Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia is not repeated in Kenya.”When our political leaders talk about leaving a legacy after they depart from the scene, what sort of legacy do they really mean?”the church leaders asked in a statement.”Is it a legacy of death and destruction.
The call for”urgent surgical intervention”demonstrates their sense of concern as Kenya’s ethnic, social and economic problems worsen in the aftermath of the re-election of Daniel arap Moi’s government at the end of last year, said Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.
Last month ethnic violence broke out in Kenya, leaving an estimated 200 people dead. The church leaders said the government was implicated in the violence and it lacks the”moral legitimacy”to lead the nation.
Signers of the statement included Anglican Archbishop David Gitari, Anglican Bishop Joseph Wesonga, Methodist academic Zablon Nthamburi, Moderator Jesse Kamau of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, and Roman Catholic Bishops John Njue and Cornelius Korir.
Alban Institute to probe faith-money connections
(RNS) The Alban Institute, the think tank that specializes in research aimed at strengthening local congregations, has received a $323,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment to look at the relationship between faith and money.
The funds will finance a series of seminars probing individual attitudes toward faith and personal financial stewardship, practical strategies to help religious communities consider their economic realities and practices and fundamental faith-money issues in institutional settings.”Often the discussion of money is taboo in religious settings as leaders and congregation members with insufficient financial information and understanding face important long-term financial decision,”said James P. Wind, president of the Alban Institute.
Wind said the grant will enable the think tank to disseminate new knowledge about the financing of American religion and”opens up space to talk about one of life’s most important and problematic areas.”
Quote of the day: The Rev.John Buchanan, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
(RNS)”A church that wants to be credible and relevant must learn to think and act in new ways. And that begins by listening and learning that we are living in a new world.” The Rev. John Buchanan, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), commenting on the work of the denomination’s Church Growth Strategy Team charged with devising ways to boost the church’s outreach efforts.
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