c. 2005 Religion News Service Reform and Conservative Rabbis Say Gays Have Right to Festival in Israel JERUSALEM (RNS) Rabbis representing the Reform, Conservative/Masorti and Reconstructionist movements in Israel announced on April 19 that they support the right of gay and lesbians to hold a controversial festival in Jerusalem in August. Slated to take place August 18-28, the International WorldPride festival _ which will include a parade in downtown Jerusalem _ has been denounced by leading Orthodox Jewish clerics in Israel, along with Muslim and Christian clerics in Israel and abroad. Evangelical Christians in the U.S. have launched a petition campaign to prevent the event from taking place. The non-Orthodox rabbis said they felt compelled to back the event to counter the “intolerance” and “homophobia” of some of their colleagues. “We reject and condemn in the strongest possible terms the attempts to block this event articulated by some clergy of various faiths, in particular … statements that denigrate the full humanity of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transexual) individuals,” said Rabbi Amy Klein, director of the Midrasha of the Reconstructionist movement in Israel. Jerusalem, Klein said, “is not the province of one faith tradition, or of one wing of a faith tradition.” Reform Rabbi Na’amah Kelman-Ezrachi, the first woman rabbi ordained in Israel, said that “it is incumbent to welcome the WorldPride parade and conference and to march with it.” While Ehud Bandel, who heads the Conservative/Masorti movement in Israel, said he had come “to show solidarity and support” for the gay and lesbian community’s “right” to hold a festival, he stressed that “we are not endorsing” the event. Noa Sattath, chairperson of the Jerusalem Open House, tried to allay fears that parade participants would march through the streets of Jerusalem _ which has a population largely religious and extremely conservative _ in revealing clothing. Sattath said organizers are asking potential marchers “to come and make a significant statement about tolerance, not to have a wild party.” Sattath pointed out that participants in Jerusalem’s three previous, locally produced gay and lesbian parades wore T-shirts and jeans out of respect for the city’s unique religious sensibilities. _ Michele Chabin Conservative Groups Drop Boycott of Procter & Gamble (RNS) The American Family Association and other conservative Christian groups have dropped their boycott of Procter & Gamble, saying they believe the company is “backing off its support for the homosexual agenda.” The boycott began last fall and garnered almost 400,000 pledges to halt purchases of the Cincinnati manufacturer’s products, especially Crest toothpaste and Tide laundry detergent. “Judging by all we found in our research, it appears that our concerns have been addressed,” said Donald Wildmon, chairman of the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association, in a statement. “Insofar as we can tell by our monitoring, P&G has stopped their sponsorship of TV programs promoting the homosexual lifestyle, such as `Will and Grace,’ and they have stopped their sponsorships of homosexual Internet sites.” The boycott came at a time when Procter & Gamble had donated $10,000 to a campaign for the repeal of a city ordinance barring the enactment of gay rights laws. Company spokesman Doug Shelton said he was pleased to learn of the boycott’s suspension. “We were disappointed by their initial action to boycott our products,” he said. “Our consumers come first at P&G and that’s where we’ll continue to focus our attention.” He declined to discuss the company’s advertising practices. Focus on the Family also has suspended the boycott, the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based organization announced. “Procter & Gamble executives clearly have heard the message their customers sent them: `We like your products, but not some of the political causes you have aligned yourself with,”’ said Gary Schneeberger, director of media and constituent communications for Focus on the Family, in a statement in the ministry’s e-newsletter Citizen Link. _ Adelle M. Banks Update: Muslims File Federal Lawsuit Over Border Searches

(RNS) American Muslim and civil liberties groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Muslims who attend religious conferences outside the United States are subject to increased and unfair scrutiny upon their return to the country.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, was brought by five American citizens who are Muslim. In January, they were detained, interrogated, photographed and fingerprinted when returning to the United States from an annual conference, called “Reviving the Islamic Spirit,” in Toronto.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the suit Wednesday (April 20) on behalf of the five complainants.

The five plaintiffs, all of whom have valid U.S. passports, were among dozens who were stopped at the Buffalo border crossing. They were questioned, some of them, for as long as 61/2 hours, and had their cell phones confiscated when they tried to contact lawyers or the media, the complaint states.

The suit, which names Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff as well as customs and border officials, claims that the men and women “were subjected to this treatment solely because they had attended the conference.”

The complaint asks the court to issue a declaration that the border officials acted unlawfully, as well as an injunction against repeating the practices around other conferences.

After the January episode, CAIR set up a hot line in case similar incidents occurred when Muslims returned from hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

“When American citizens are targeted by their own government and detained, searched, fingerprinted and photographed with threat of arrest for committing no crime, this is not only unacceptable and unlawful, but also unconstitutional and un-American,” said Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for CAIR.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Conservatives Vow Not to `Follow’ Episcopal Church

(RNS) Conservative Episcopalians have drafted nine-point “covenants” for bishops, priests and parishioners to promise “I will not follow” if the Episcopal Church strays from the wider Anglican Communion.

The three “Windsor Action Covenants” were drafted by the Atlanta-based American Anglican Council and approved during an April 18-20 meeting in Bedford, Texas.

The oaths will be distributed prior to the church’s 2006 General Convention meeting in Columbus, Ohio, which promises to be a showdown between liberals and conservatives on gay clergy, same-sex unions and other issues.

“If General Convention chooses finally to walk apart, I will not follow, but will remain a faithful Anglican, God being my helper,” the covenants say.

Bishops who sign the covenant promise to “build a personal and diocesan relationship” with an overseas diocese. The covenant does not say whether that implies a direct role for foreign bishops in U.S. affairs, which has been a controversial point as conservative congregations seek to distance themselves from the Episcopal Church.

Signers also promise “a life of personal holiness” in marriage and other “family commitments.”

The statements were a response to the Windsor Report issued last October by Anglican Church leaders, which reprimanded the U.S. and Canadian branches of Anglicanism for allowing same-sex unions in both countries and an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.

The report expressed concern that if the North American churches did not conform to the standards of the wider communion, “we shall have to begin to learn to walk apart.”

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Communion Wafer Removed From eBay

WASHINGTON (RNS) A second Holy Communion wafer posted on eBay after supposedly being blessed by the late Pope John Paul II has been removed from the site by the seller.

Less than a week after a similar wafer supposedly blessed by the late pontiff was sold on eBay, another wafer hit the online marketplace April 17, with a starting bid of 100 British pounds ($196). Bidding on the wafer was scheduled to end April 27, but it was removed from the site soon after being posted.

The British seller of the recently removed wafer had said in an online posting that he would sell the wafer, supposedly blessed by John Paul II at a 1996 Mass, only to a “bona-fide purchaser who can show me proof of his intentions not to use this item for an ulterior purpose.”

Although the seller would not comment on the unceremonious removal, eBay representatives said they do not remove items unless they are illegal or promote hatred against a certain group. The company also has strict rules against the sale of guns and for limited sale of alcohol.

“We will not pull a listing because a small handful of members … consider it to be morally wrong and morally offensive based on their own experiences,” said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy. “We understand that there are certain people out there that are incredibly offended that someone is selling this and that someone would consider buying it.”

Durzy said that the sale of religious items has often sparked controversy on the site, as when sacred Mormon garments were auctioned last year.

The eBay auction two weeks ago for a Communion wafer supposedly blessed by John Paul II closed at $2,000, prompting outrage from Catholics who believe a wafer consecrated by a priest becomes the actual body of Christ.

But the Associated Press quoted Monsignor Roger J. Augustine, administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City, as saying he met with the seller, who agreed not to follow through with the transaction, handing the host over to Augustine instead.

Augustine said he had disposed of it according to the dictates of the Catholic Church.

The Rev. Nicholas Gruner _ director of the Fatima Center in Ontario, Canada _ is calling for Catholics to boycott eBay, based in San Jose, Calif., until the site changes its policy.

“eBay is responsible for a public crime against religion,” said Gruner. “Catholics … should not use their services until the company apologizes and promises to never do it again.”

_ Shawna Gamache

Methodists Name Panel to Probe Abuse Allegations at Congo Hostel

(RNS) A three-member panel has been appointed by the United Methodist Church to probe decades-old allegations of child abuse at a hostel for missionary children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, church officials said.

Retired Mississippi Bishop Marshall Meadors will chair the panel that will review and assess allegations of abuse at the Methodist-Presbyterian Hostel in Kinshasa.

Also serving will be Edith Fresh, an expert in child abuse issues at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and the Rev. Jim Evinger, a Presbyterian who teaches at the University of Rochester in New York.

The panel is a followup to a 2002 report by the Presbyterian Church (USA) that documented serial abuse at a separate Presbyterian school in Congo between 1945 and 1968.

Presbyterian officials told the Methodists that abuse was also alleged at the Kinshasa hostel, which was administered by both churches, and said Methodist children or personnel may have been involved. Evinger assisted the Presbyterians in investigating those cases.

Methodist leaders previously said the panel will not “reach conclusions” about any civil legal liability in the abuse cases. The panel is expected to report its findings annually to church leaders.

Both facilities are now closed, and all the abuse allegations are decades old. Church officials are urging anyone who was abused to contact the panel.

The church’s Board of Global Ministries recently adopted a policy that says “child abuse is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ” that is expected to be fully implemented by March 2006, according to United Methodist News Service.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Jewish Groups Urge Protestant Churches to Reject Israel Sanctions

(RNS) A group of seven Jewish organizations is urging five mainline Protestant denominations and the National Council of Churches to reject economic and political sanctions against Israel.

The joint letter is in response to last year’s decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to protest Israeli policies by seeking “phased selective divestment” from certain companies that do business in Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Orthodox Union, Union for Reform Judaism and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism signed the April 22 letter, which said that the divestment initiative is hurting relations between Christians and Jews.

The letter was sent to the Presbyterians, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.

“The Jewish community is committed to engage in dialogue, even with those with whom we disagree _ that is the very nature of dialogue,” the letter read.

“Yet any Protestant denomination that would consider the weapon of economic sanctions to be unilaterally and prejudicially used against the State of Israel … creates an environment which makes constructive dialogue almost impossible,” it continued.

Calling on the Christian groups to repudiate the sanctions and refuse to participate in them, the letter said that religious leaders’ energy is better spent fostering peace in the embattled region.

“At this fragile time in the Middle East peace negotiations, all who seek peace should be focused on continued economic and political engagement, and what can be done to support efforts to peace and confidence building,” the letter said.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Canadian Hospital Removes Bibles to Stop Spread of Germs

(RNS) A Canadian hospital has sparked the ire of some citizens and public officials for its decision to take Bibles out of its patients’ rooms to help stem the spread of germs.

The Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, New Brunswick, said the Bibles _ along with phone books and hospital directories _ were removed to stop the spread of germs, according to a Monday (April 25) report from the National Post of Canada.

Critics, like Mayor Brad Woodside of Fredericton, are charging the hospital with trying to do away with Christian symbols. Woodside told the National Post that numerous constituents opposing the policy have called his office.

“A lot of it, in my mind, seems to be political correctness,” Woodside said.

Canadian hospitals have been increasingly concerned about infectious diseases since the SARS virus _ an acute form of pneumonia _ claimed dozens of lives in Toronto in 2003.

The River Valley Health Authority, which removed the Bibles from Chalmers Hospital and six others in the area, said Bibles would still be available on request from the hospital chapel, according to the National Post.

The Rev. Karl Csasz, a hospital chaplain and pastor of a Fredericton Baptist church, said the Bible is no greater threat to a hospital patient than other objects in the room, and it is inconsistent to remove it for hygiene’s sake, he told Catholic World News.

“If the Bible is a threat in a drawer, where does it stop?” Csasz said. “Is it possible for these germs to reside and live on lampshades, curtains?”

Woodside also said the patients most likely to be affected by the ban are those who are not actively religious, and might not feel comfortable asking hospital staff for a Bible.

“When you’re transitioning from life to death, it can be bigger than you can handle,” Woodside said. “If you’re not a religious person, it can be so personal that you don’t want to be calling, `Can somebody go get a Bible?”’

Quote of the Week: Catholic League President Bill Donohue

(RNS) “From the Jewish Forward (newspaper) to People magazine, we have learned that the new pope previously governed at a Catholic office once associated with the Inquisition. After listening to these people rant, the idea of bringing it back is awfully tempting.”

_ Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, calling for “non-Catholics to butt out” of commenting on the new pope, Benedict XVI.

KRE/PH END RNS