c. 2004 Religion News Service
Former Massachusetts Bishop Indicted on Sexual Abuse Charges
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) The former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield has been indicted on child rape charges. He is the first U.S. Roman Catholic bishop to be charged with sexual abuse.
A grand jury charged former Springfield Bishop Thomas L. Dupre with two counts of child rape Friday (Sept. 24). The indictment was unsealed Monday (Sept. 27).
Dupre resigned as bishop of the Springfield Diocese in February amid allegations that he abused two minors more than 20 years ago.
The grand jury indictments handed up charge Dupre with child rape “commencing in or about 1976” in Chicopee and West Springfield. They also charged Dupre with offenses in or about 1979 in West Springfield. Both indictments are for rape of a child under 16 years of age.
A grand jury had been considering charges against Dupre since March when Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett determined there was “just cause.”
Earlier this year, possible charges against Dupre were said to range from sexual abuse to failure to report abuse to the proper authorities.
Dupre had been receiving treatment at St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., at least into the summer.
A civil suit was filed in March by the two men accusing Dupre of sexual abuse. In a mandatory response to the suit, Dupre invoked the Fifth Amendment. His lawyer says it isn’t an admission of guilt, but an exercise of Dupre’s right to remain silent.
_ Marla Goldberg
Report Accuses Mainline Protestant Groups of Singling Out Israel
WASHINGTON (RNS) A conservative watchdog group released a report Monday (Sept. 27) asserting that mainline U.S. Protestant organizations criticize Israel for human rights practices more than any other foreign country. But mainline groups contested the report’s methodology and conclusions.
The Institute on Religion and Democracy report said it examined official statements by mainline groups and found that 37 percent of all criticisms of human rights violations were directed against Israel, with 32 percent against the United States and the remaining 31 percent against 20 other nations.
“Israel is certainly responsible for some human rights abuses, as are all nations,” said IRD President Diane Knippers in a statement. “But an extreme focus on Israel, while ignoring major human rights violators, seriously distorts the churches’ message on universal human rights.”
The IRD report examined criticisms found in resolutions, press releases and articles from 2000 to 2003 by the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, along with the U.S. National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.
The report said that the church groups did not criticize at all what IRD categorized as the “worst of the worst” human rights abusers, such as China, Libya, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.
The Rev. Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said the report erroneously assumed that all that the NCC says about human rights gets reported in news releases and resolutions, ignoring, among other things, its 1963 human rights policy, which was reaffirmed in 1995.
“The most unfortunate part of the IRD’s report is its apparent attempt to hurt Jewish-Christian relations by quite blatantly planting seeds of suspicion that the main churches are anti-Semitic,” said Edgar. “The IRD wrongly and dangerously equates any criticism of the government of Israel and its policies with anti-Semitism.”
A spokesman for the United Methodist Church dismissed the credibility of the IRD report, describing it as part of a policy of criticism by the group.
“It’s totally predictable that they’d put this out just before the presidential election,” said Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society. “It is an attempt to convince people that major churches are somehow anti-Israel, anti-U.S.”
_ Itir Yakar
Members of Congress, Presbyterians Differ on Mideast Policy
(RNS) More than a dozen members of Congress and an official of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have recently exchanged letters related to their differences on Middle East policy.
In a mid-September letter, the members of Congress criticized actions at the General Assembly of the denomination this summer.
“The Presbyterian Church has knowingly gone on record calling for jeopardizing the existence of the State of Israel,” the members concluded in their Sept. 13 letter.
In July, assembly delegates voted to study whether the church should divest from companies doing business in Israel. In a separate vote, they called for an end to construction of a controversial Israeli security barrier that has been criticized for separating Palestinians from their land, jobs and schools.
The 21/2-page document stated the U.S. representatives’ belief that the church misunderstands the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and called the proposal for divestiture “irresponsible, counterproductive and morally bankrupt.”
The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly, responded in a Sept. 24 letter with his own criticisms.
“Perhaps if the United States Congress had been more forthright in seeking … a just solution for Israel and Palestine, it would not have been necessary for our General Assembly to take this further action to achieve our long-term commitment for peace and well-being for both Israelis and Palestinians,” he wrote in a three-page letter.
Kirkpatrick added that the start of the process of “phased, selective divestment” from some companies working in Israel “was not taken lightly” and said it was “the occupation, not our move to consider divestment” that threatens Israel’s existence.
He added that he would welcome the opportunity for further dialogue between Presbyterian Church leaders and congressional representatives.
Those signing the letter to Kirkpatrick were: Gary L. Ackerman, D-N.Y.; Howard L. Berman, D-Calif.; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Tom Feeney, R-Fla.; Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Mark Steven Kirk, R-Ill.; John Lewis, D-Ga.; John Linder, R-Ga.; Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio; Linda T. Sanchez, D-Calif.; Lamar S. Smith, R-Texas; and Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Graham Confirms Health Improved for Fall Crusades
(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham has confirmed that his health has improved enough for him to continue with plans to preach in Kansas City, Mo., and Los Angeles this fall.
“I feel better than I expected to at this point and I am thankful that God has strengthened me for continued ministry,” Graham said in a statement released Thursday (Sept. 23). “I appreciate everyone’s prayers on my behalf and I look forward once again to bringing a message of God’s love and forgiveness to the people of Kansas City and Los Angeles.”
The evangelist suffered two serious falls that resulted in surgeries earlier this year for partial hip replacement and the repair of a pelvic fracture.
On top of health challenges, Graham has joined other Americans in enduring recent hurricanes. The home he shares with his wife in the mountains of western North Carolina suffered minor damage after Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who continue to recover from these devastating storms, and especially with those who have lost loved ones,” he said.
Graham’s next crusade is set for Oct. 7-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, followed by the Los Angeles crusade, to be held Nov. 18-21 at the Rose Bowl.
“We are not just reaching out to touch hearts but also homes to make a difference in the lives of the impoverished and needy in the urban setting,” said the Rev. Jack Hayford, co-chair of the Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade, in a statement.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Lutheran Congregation Censured for Ordaining Gay Man
(RNS) A Minneapolis congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been censured for ordaining a gay man who serves as its associate pastor.
Bishop Craig E. Johnson of the church’s Minneapolis Area Synod sent a letter “of censure and admonition” to Bethany Lutheran Church, the denomination announced Friday (Sept. 24).
The church ordained Jay A. Wiesner on July 25 and installed him as its associate pastor on Aug. 1, the ELCA News Service reported.
Johnson censured the congregation because Wiesner was not on the official church roster of eligible clergy, ELCA spokesman John Brooks told Religion News Service. Wiesner was not on the roster “because he is gay and living in a relationship with another man.” Church policy requires that single ministers not engage in sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage.
Johnson cited the portion of the denomination’s constitution that states that congregations will call pastors in accordance with church procedures unless they receive special approval from a regional bishop.
“Bethany Lutheran Church, after debate, discussion and vote, willfully disregarded this critical accord of congregational life in the ELCA,” he wrote.
He said congregations don’t have “sole authority and responsibility to ordain a leader.”
The bishop said he would postpone any disciplinary action against the congregation until the denomination completes a process in which it expects to decide about ordination of gays and lesbians in committed relationships and whether there should be a ceremony for the blessing of same-gender relationships. Those decisions are expected to be made during the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2005.
Both Johnson and the Rev. Steven R. Benson, pastor of the church, expressed “sadness” about the censure.
Benson said the reprimand was expected, the denominational news service reported, but the congregation felt that ordaining Wiesner was “an expression of faith.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Anti-Hunger Organization to Receive Hilton Humanitarian Award
(RNS) An Arkansas-based organization that fights worldwide hunger and poverty will receive a $1 million humanitarian award.
Heifer International will receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Award on Oct. 28 in New York City, making it the first U.S.-based organization to receive the award since 1997.
“This award is a significant honor for Heifer and a tremendous step in our work to help millions of people around the globe lift themselves out of poverty,” said Jo Luck, president and chief executive of Heifer International, in a statement last week (Sept. 23).
Based in Little Rock, Ark., Heifer was established in 1944 to fight hunger and poverty. It provides livestock and agricultural training to poor families in 38 U.S. states and 50 countries. The organization is rooted in the peace and justice traditions of the Church of the Brethren.
“Ideas on how to help the poor in our world come and go,” said Steven Hilton, president of the Hilton Foundation, in a statement. “But Heifer has produced a model that has endured for 60 years.”
The Arkansas congressional delegation nominated Heifer for the Hilton Award. The award is named for the founder of the Conrad H. Hilton Foundation, the late hotel entrepreneur, who left his fortune to the foundation to help the world’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable.
“Heifer’s vision is extraordinary,” said Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., in a statement. “They recognize that feeding hungry people is only part of the solution, and so they go a step further, providing the technical assistance that will help people sustain themselves for a lifetime.”
_ Wangui Njuguna
Quote of the Day: Jerry Gladson, Marietta, Ga., pastor
(RNS) “Let us recognize it was an evil deed. None of the great religions of the world would condone it, even the religion from which the terrorists profess to come.”
_ Jerry Gladson, pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Marietta, Ga., speaking at a Saturday (Sept. 25) memorial service for Jack Hensley, who was beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Iraq on Sept. 21. He was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
MO/PH END RNS
