c. 2000 Religion News Service

Seminary President Prepares for Possible Cuts by Texas Baptists

(RNS) The president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in California is preparing for possible layoffs and other cutbacks in case Texas Baptists approve a proposal to drastically reduce funding of Southern Baptist seminaries.

“If they were to somehow miraculously vote to leave their budget as is, it makes a lot of this immaterial,” said William Crews, president of the seminary in Mill Valley, Calif. “We can’t wait to find out what the impact of Texas is before we make our adjustments.”

Crews said the amount the seminary receives from Texas Baptists would decrease from $514,000 last year to less than $19,000 next year, reported Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.

“We will of necessity need to reduce our administrative and support staff in the terms of probably $130,000 to $140,000,” Crews said. “We don’t know who yet, and we will make that decision pretty quickly because I don’t want everybody to be held in limbo.”

The chairman of a Texas study commission that proposed the cuts in seminary funding called the California seminary’s action “terribly premature.”

Bob Campbell said the move by the school might be politically motivated.

“I think this is a political alarmist move,” he said. “It is an attempt to try to sway votes based on something that hasn’t happened yet.”

The executive board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas _ the denomination’s largest state convention _ voted Sept. 26 to recommend the reduction in funding of agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention.

If delegates to the state convention’s annual meeting Oct. 30-31 approve the proposal, the six Southern Baptist seminaries could see their funding drop by $4.3 million. The executive committee and religious liberty agency of the national denomination could lose close to $1 million.

L.A. Cardinal Helps Win Suspension of Public Worker Strike

(RNS) Heeding a plea from the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, thousands of county employees suspended a day-old strike and returned to work Thursday (Oct. 12).

“Over the past week, workers in Los Angeles County have made us all more aware of the important services they provide to the public and, in particular, to the poorest and most vulnerable members of our community,” wrote Cardinal Roger Mahony in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “It is my firm belief that the issues raised by both parties will be resolved only through continuous, face-to-face negotiations rather than through a protracted strike.”

Thousands of county workers began walking off the job last week over a contract dispute between the county and the 47,000-member Service Employees Union Local 660. The walkout brought to a standstill operations at dozens of county facilities, including hospitals and health clinics.

The union’s decision to suspend the full strike that began Wednesday (Oct. 11) “was based on consideration of the people who depend on our services and in response to (the) cardinal’s request, and frankly because our members can ill afford to be off work,” said union spokesman Mark Tarnawsky.

Union authorities said they were not sure how long the strike hiatus would last. Contract negotiations resumed Friday (Oct. 13).

Caribbeans, Hawaiians Ask Pope to Revoke Colonialist Edict

(RNS) Caribbean Indians and Hawaiians gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday (Oct. 12) asking Pope John Paul II to repeal a 15th century papal edict that they contend sanctions colonialism.

“We hold the church entirely responsible for the loss of land, lives and culture we have suffered,” Steve Newcomb, director of the Oregon-based Indigenous Law Institute, told the Associated Press. “The (edict) perfectly symbolizes the violence that continues to afflict the world.”

Issued by Pope Alexander VI on behalf of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain the year after Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas, the document authorizes the occupation of non-Christian nations by any Christian country, and asserts Christianity’s supremacy above paganism. The edict has not been invoked in centuries.

The protesters gave the Vatican’s Swiss Guards a copy of the papal edict, said Newcomb. He said he told the guards “Take this back. We have no use of it. We never did.”

Newcomb said he also told them “to make sure it gets to the pope.”

For the past three years protesters have burned copies of the edict in front of the office of the Roman Catholic diocese of Honolulu. Several protesters met Wednesday (Oct. 11) with an undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, though they had hoped to meet with Pope John Paul II.

“It’s easy. He should just say, `I’m sorry,” said Kamealoha Hanohano, who works as a professor of linguistics at Hawaii University in Honolulu. “It’d be good enough.”

Yale Divinity Dean to Join Asian Christian Education Board

(RNS) The retiring dean of the Yale Divinity School has been named president of the United Board for Christian Education in Asia.

Richard J. Wood, who has led the divinity school since 1996, announced in January that he planned to retire at the end of this year. The 63-year-old Methodist and Quaker minister will now help oversee theological education in Asia.

“Dean Wood has been an outstanding leader of the Yale Divinity School,” said Yale President Richard C. Levin. “Faced with the retirement of a generation of distinguished scholars … the dean has ably recruited a new generation of such quality as to firmly secure Yale’s position as the leading center for theological scholarship in the nation.”

As president of the United Board, Wood will work with 80 colleges in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The board, which says it does not evangelize, works to encourage a Christian presence at Christian and secular universities and is supported by nine U.S. denominations.

“Dr. Wood brings to this position a rich background and knowledge of Asia, as well as significant leadership experience as an outstanding academic administrator and teacher,” said James T. Laney, chair of the United Board.

Since 1994, Wood has chaired the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission of the United States, and he also serves as co-chairman of the U.S.-Japan Cultural and Educational Conference.

Quote of the Day: Church of Scientology President Heber Jentzsch

(RNS) “It is outrageous for German officials to try to censor books which have been used by millions all over the world to improve their lives.”

_ The Rev. Heber C. Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International, in a statement about his church’s complaint that German officials are keeping books by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard out of public libraries. The church has requested intervention from a U.N. representative dealing with freedom of expression.

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