c. 2005 Religion News Service

Relief Agency Says Rebuilding After Tsunami Could Take Five Years

MONROVIA, Calif. (RNS) The president of the Christian relief organization World Vision estimated Wednesday (Jan. 19) that it would take at least three to five years to rebuild the areas of south Asia devastated by the recent tsunami.

The United Nations estimates as many as 165,000 people died in the Dec. 26 disaster, and 5 million were without basic services. The number of dead is expected to climb, with some groups already saying it’s more than 220,000.

Dean Hirsch, president of World Vision, returned from a trip to India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka on Tuesday and said that many people have lost their livelihoods. He said the region’s infrastructure has been destroyed in areas where the tsunami hit.

The aid effort will be more of a marathon than a sprint, he said.

Hirsch said that the amount of ruination and death is still unknown. Just last week in India, a coastal village of 10,000 was discovered where about 6,000 perished, he said.

World Vision International, located in Monrovia, has about 3,700 indigenous staff in the countries where the tsunami hit. The organization has raised more than $200 million internationally for the relief effort, the most ever donated for a single cause since its inception in 1950.

Hirsch said he had never seen such destruction in his 30 years with World Vision. One World Vision official said the region looked like Hiroshima, Japan, after it was struck by the atomic bomb. Debris was everywhere, crushed and splintered, as far as four miles inland.

“The important thing right now is to help the living and to help them bring their livelihood back,” Hirsch said.

_ Marshall Allen

Vatican Urges `Humanitarian Momentum’ to Continue After Tsunami

VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has urged the world to harness the “humanitarian momentum” generated by the Indian Ocean disaster to help achieve broader conflict resolution and development goals.

Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent representative at the United Nations, made the proposal in a speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday (Jan. 18). The Vatican issued the text Thursday.

“The extraordinary impact of the power of nature in a radius of thousands of miles has elicited an equally extraordinary response from the peoples and governments of the whole world in an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity rarely seen in recent times,” the prelate said.

With the death toll revised upward in Indonesia, authorities now believe that the devastating underwater earthquake and tsunami that struck 11 Indian Ocean countries on Dec. 26 claimed nearly a quarter of a million lives.

Migliore reported that Catholic agencies, in cooperation with the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, are distributing donations of nearly $500 million in emergency aid and funding for longer-term projects through local church networks.

“As well as strengthening emergency relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction,” he said, “the world’s nations should seize this opportunity and the goodwill generated by the world’s peoples so as to further important humanitarian goals on the broader agenda at this time. There is now a sense of humanitarian momentum, and we should not let it slip by.”

Migliore called for a redoubling of efforts to “bring a rapid and just political solution in those areas still suffering from conflict” as well as a continued focus on the crisis faced by the so-called Small Island Developing States and the drive to meet the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals.

“It is well known that 25 million people throughout the world still suffer bitterly due to largely man-made wars, disasters and mismanagement,” he said.

The Vatican, Migliore said, “earnestly hopes, therefore, that this year will be one in which solidarity will be the hallmark of the political agenda in a way that will help all nations refocus on ways to achieve the development goals agreed upon at the start of his millennium.”

_ Peggy Polk

Evangelicals Ask Bush to Focus on Poverty, Hunger in Second Term

(RNS) Evangelical leaders have written a letter to President Bush asking him to augment efforts to overcome hunger and poverty in his second term.

“A dramatic reduction in poverty, both here and abroad, would honor our Lord who called us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked,” wrote dozens of leaders from evangelical Christian denominations, colleges, relief organizations and other ministries.

“It would also be a wonderful legacy for you to leave with the American people and indeed the world. Such an outcome is clearly within the reach of the richest nation in history. The moral values you share with us demand no less.”

The letter, dated Monday (Jan. 17) and timed to the holiday honoring the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., called on Bush to announce proposed policy changes related to poverty and health insurance in his inaugural or State of the Union address.

The signatories congratulated the president on his faith-based initiative and his efforts to address AIDS and human trafficking but said more needs to be done.

“Tragically, however, both at home and abroad, the number of people in poverty remains unacceptably high,” they wrote. “Poverty in our own nation has increased in the last several years and millions more working poor lack health insurance.”

Signatories included Robert Andringa, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Commissioner Todd Bassett, national commander of the Salvation Army; the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs, National Association of Evangelicals; Ronald Sider, president of Evangelicals for Social Action; Richard E. Stearns, president of World Vision; and Thomas Trask, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.

“Clearly, precisely the community that voted most heavily for President Bush’s re-election is demanding a greater emphasis on overcoming poverty,” Sider said in a statement about the letter.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Victims’ Group Asks for Disclosure of All Abusive Priests

(RNS) A national support group for victims of clergy sexual abuse has asked Catholic bishops to post the names of abusive priests on their Web sites and personally urge victims to come forward with allegations of abuse.

The recommendations from SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, were made as the bishops prepare this summer to review and amend abuse policies that were initially adopted in 2002.

SNAP director David Clohessy and president Barbara Blaine said the recommendations came “with great reluctance and little hope” since the bishops have declined to meet with SNAP leaders since 2002. The deadline for submitting recommendations was Saturday (Jan. 15).

SNAP asked that diocesan Web sites list “known or suspected abusive priests” and the names should also be published in diocesan newspapers and church bulletins. So far, only five of 195 dioceses have publicly disclosed the names of all suspected abusers.

In addition, SNAP asked that bishops visit the parishes where known abusers served and “publicly, emphatically, repeatedly beg victims or witnesses to contact the police.”

“Many bishops lack the honesty to tell their flock just how dangerous some of these predators are, how much church officials knew, how little church officials did,” Clohessy and Blaine wrote in a letter to Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

SNAP again criticized the bishops’ decision to discontinue the use of outside auditors to measure their compliance with the 2002 rules. “It’s like having speed limits with no cops,” the letter said.

The 2002 policies are up for review and renewal at a June meeting of bishops in Chicago. A spokesman for the bishops’ conference was unsure how many groups or individuals had made recommendations for the revisions.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

N.J. Muslim Leaders Urge Restraint in Wake of Coptic Killings

(RNS) Leaders of Muslim and Arab groups in New Jersey are denouncing the killing of a Coptic Egyptian family and are calling for an end to speculation that the crime was committed by Muslim extremists.

Tensions between Coptic Christians and Muslims in Jersey City’s large Egyptian community have run high since the bodies of Hossam Armanious, his wife and two daughters were found on Jan. 14.

Some Coptics speculate the murders were committed by Muslim fanatics angered by an online religious debate involving Armanious. Police believe Armanious, his wife, Amal Garas, and daughters Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were stabbed to death two days before their bodies were found.

Billed as a show of unity between the two groups, the Wednesday (Jan. 19) news conference at a Jersey City hotel took an awkward turn when invited Coptic leaders did not show up. Muslim leaders said two Coptic church leaders who had been invited could not attend due to a funeral and a religious holiday.

“I have no doubt in my mind that if it was possible for them to be here physically, they would be here,” said Suzanne Loutfy, a leader of the Jersey City-based Egyptian-American Group.

Loutfy said she had met with Bishop David, a main Coptic leader, and described the encounter as “a friendly meeting.” Bishop David had agreed to send another priest, who was subsequently waylaid by a funeral.

Muslim leaders called for restraint until investigators confirm a motive for the murders.

“We condemn this heinous crime, and we ask that all members of the Christian and Muslim communities refrain from inflaming the present situation and not place blame until the investigation is completed,” said Ghazi Khankan, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New York office.

A feud over religion is one possible motive being explored by investigators. Evidence gathered from the scene, including the victims’ empty wallet and purse, however, indicate they were robbed.

_ Brian Donohue

Jewish Groups Launch New Abortion Rights Initiative

(RNS) Jewish groups from across the religious spectrum are heading into President Bush’s second term with a fresh agenda for protecting abortion rights.

The main feature of the new initiative, which is spearheaded by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), is a letter to senators urging them to support choice as a civil rights and religious freedom issue.

Over 150 Reform and Conservative rabbis have already signed the letter, which will be distributed to senators, organizers say, at the most opportune political moment, most likely when Bush makes an important judicial nomination. The NCJW is also in conversation with Orthodox leaders who may sign the letter.

At issue for Jews is the potential for an all-out ban on abortion to contradict Jewish law, which mandates abortion in situations where the mother’s life is in danger, and may permit it in cases of rape, incest or other case-specific circumstances.

Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, a Washington, D.C.-based Orthodox rabbi who says he will not sign the letter but is involved with the issue of reproductive choice, said that while the “baseline” of Jewish law prohibits abortion, there are nuances in the interpretation of the law that would likely clash with a government ban.

“If government gets involved in legislating when and under which circumstances abortion is allowed and not allowed, there could conceivably come a time when the government could prohibit abortion at a time when Jewish law mandates it,” Herzfeld said.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Election Ends Peacefully at Contested Sikh Temple

FREMONT, Calif. (RNS) A three-year battle for control of the country’s second-largest Sikh temple has ended peacefully.

Fremont’s Gurdwara Sahib congregation elected five men to the Supreme Council _ in charge of overseeing the temple’s finances and community programs _ in the court-mandated vote.

The results were announced Jan. 13 in an Alameda County courtroom in Hayward, with armed bailiffs and police standing by because of the gurdwara’s volatile history. In its 25-year existence, police have responded to several violent outbursts at the temple, including minor bloodshed during a 1996 election scuffle.

Seven Sikhs filed suit against the Supreme Council in 2002, contending that the board had taken power illegally, with no intention of stepping down. Judge Julia Spain ruled the 1996 congregation voice vote had violated California business codes requiring democratic elections, and ordered the temple to hold a ballot vote.

Thousands stood in long lines to cast their votes at the cream-colored temple, supervised by a retired state appellate justice with plainclothes police officers monitoring the crowd.

Sikhism is a 500-year-old monotheistic religion originating in the northern Indian state of Punjab. Male followers traditionally wear turbans and beards and carry ceremonial swords.

_ Nicole Neroulias

In Reversal, Rolling Stone Magazine Accepts Bible Ad

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (RNS) An ad for a newly translated version of the Scriptures will appear in Rolling Stone Magazine, after magazine publishers reversed their decision to reject it.

The revelation was good news for Zondervan, the Cascade Township publisher trying to spread the word about its “Today’s New International Version Bible,” which is being marketed to young, hip readers.

Zondervan was surprised earlier this month to learn Rolling Stone rejected its ad, which shows a young man with tousled hair, a two-day growth of beard and a beaded necklace. In a dark space next to him are the words: “Today it makes sense more than ever.”

The ad, which does not mention Jesus, is an important piece in Zondervan’s $1 million ad blitz.

“We’re ecstatic they’ve decided to accept our ad,” Doug Lockhart, Zondervan executive vice president for marketing, said today.

Zondervan on Monday (Jan. 24) learned of the reversal, which did not come with an apology _ not unexpected, Lockhart said.

“We’re just pleased they’ve changed their minds and they’ve accepted the ad,” he said.

The ad will appear in mid-February.

Rolling Stone, which has 1.2 million readers, refused to comment on its original decision to reject the ad, other than to say it did not accept advertisements for religious messages. Rolling Stone is part of Werner Media Inc., which also publishes Men’s Journal and US Weekly.

The decision led to widespread criticism from conservative and religious commentators. For Zondervan, the controversy meant free advertising _ so much so that it moved up its release date of the new Bible by two weeks, to Feb. 1.

“There’s been broad interest in the discussion, and we’re pleased about that,” Lockhart said.

Zondervan is trying to reach out to the huge market of 18- to 34-year-olds _ 8 million strong by its research. Its ads also are scheduled to run in the Onion, an edgy satire newspaper, in Modern Bride, and on MTV and America Online Web sites.

_ Ken Kolker

First-Ever Holocaust Exhibit Opens at United Nations

(RNS) The United Nations General Assembly is marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Holocaust’s death camps with its first-ever exhibit on the atrocities of the Holocaust.

“Auschwitz: The Depth of the Abyss”’ will be displayed in the General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby for six weeks. The exhibit is part of a global commemoration of the anniversary, meant to mark some of the most painful lessons learned in modern history.

The exhibit features more than 60 panels including photos from “The Auschwitz Album,” which documents the arrival and processing of an entire transport of Jews from the Carpatho-Ruthenia region of Hungary to the concentration camp. The exhibit also contains sketches by Zinovii Tolkatchev, who as a private in the Soviet Army made drawings of what he saw when entering Auschwitz in 1945.

In a special session of the General Assembly, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel spoke Monday (Jan. 24) of the importance of remembering the Holocaust and also of preventing future genocides.

“We know that for the dead it is too late. For them, abandoned by God and betrayed by humanity, victory did come much too late,” he said. “But it is not too late for today’s children, ours and yours. It is for their sake alone that we bear witness.”

Ambassador Denis Dangue Rewaka, who represents the African nation of Gabon and who was the chair of the special session, said that the exhibit and the session symbolized a global awareness of the atrocities of the Holocaust and a desire to never repeat that horror.

“No one can ignore now the suffering of a people,” he told Religion News Service. “The United Nations was created after the second world war to fight against such crimes.”

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

UCC Says SpongeBob SquarePants Is Welcome Anytime

(RNS) He’s absorbent, yellow and porous, and soon SpongeBob SquarePants could be a member of the United Church of Christ.

The cartoon sponge, under fire from Focus on the Family for his role in an “insidious” video that promotes tolerance, now has an official invitation to join the UCC _ a church whose own messages of inclusion have been deemed “too controversial” by some television networks.

“Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob,” said the Rev. John Thomas, the UCC’s general minister and president said after a pastoral visit with a SpongeBob doll in his Cleveland office.

“Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.”

Thomas said the offer to welcome SpongeBob also applies to “Barney, Big Bird, Tinky-Winky, Clifford the Big Red Dog or … any who have experienced the Christian message as a harsh word of judgment rather than Jesus’ offering of grace.”

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, blasted SpongeBob’s appearance in a video called “We Are Family.” The video’s Web site urged children to sign a tolerance pledge that advocated acceptance of differences of culture, belief and sexual identity.

The idea that SpongeBob might be gay, or is an advocate for gay families, is “silly,” Thomas said. The charges by Focus on the Family are “one more concrete example of how religion is misused over and over to promote intolerance over inclusion.”

The UCC is no stranger to controversy. Last year, a UCC television ad was nixed by CBS and NBC as “too controversial” because of its welcome to gays and lesbians.

UCC leaders also said they are exploring the creation of a new church in SpongeBob’s hometown of Bikini Bottom, although it is unclear if SpongeBob, Patrick the Starfish or the cranky Squirdward are interested.

“While we haven’t heard from the residents of Bikini Bottom at this time, that is definitely something we’d help them with if they wanted to start a UCC congregation,” church spokeswoman Barb Powell told RNS.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Quote of the Week: Spiritual Guru Deepak Chopra

(RNS) “I think God is more likely to be a woman because women are nurturing and caring and loving. The human male has become the most predatory animal on our planet. It’s time that we embrace the feminine face of God.”

_ Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra, quoted by Time magazine

MO/JL RNS END