c. 2005 Religion News Service Pope Preaches Christian Unity, Gives Four U.S. Archbishops Badge of Office VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday (June 29) he prays that his ministry as Roman Catholic pontiff will serve not as a “stumbling block” but as a “support” to the quest for Christian unity. The pope spoke following a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at which he bestowed the badge of office on a cardinal and 32 archbishops, including Americans Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Jose Gomez of San Antonio, Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston and Joseph Naumann of Kansas City. The Mass marked the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople traditionally sends a delegation to the Mass, repaying the visit of a Catholic delegation to Istanbul on the Orthodox feast of St. Andrew in November. Later, leading the midday Angelus prayer from his study window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Benedict said he prays that “the Petrine ministry of the bishop of Rome might not be seen as a stumbling block but as a support in walking on the road to unity.” The pope noted in his homily that papal primacy is a major issue in dialogue with Orthodox and other Christian churches but said that Catholics and Orthodox were united in the belief that their bishops descend directly from the apostles and on other key doctrinal questions. “We are deeply united one with the other in the episcopal ministry and the sacrament of priesthood, and we confess together the faith of the apostles as it was given to us in Scripture and interpreted by the great councils,” the pope said. During the Mass, the pope blessed and placed around the necks of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, and 32 new archbishops a woolen band embroidered with black crosses called the pallium, which he said symbolized their “apostolic mission” and their communion with Rome. Benedict warned the prelates against “sliding into false autonomy” that can compromise the “internal independence” of the church. _ Peggy Polk U.S. Religious Leaders Urge British Government to Increase Foreign Aid (RNS) A group of U.S. and British religious leaders met Wednesday (June 29) in London with Gordon Brown, U.K. chancellor of the Exchequer, to urge the British government to increase foreign aid with a goal of ending extreme global poverty. On Monday, the American delegation met with White House officials regarding the same issue. The meetings were timed in advance of the G8 Summit in Scotland, to begin next Wednesday (July 6), where leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations will come together to discuss international trade and economic policy. The summit “is an opportunity for the world’s leaders to take decisive action on behalf of those who live in extreme poverty,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, executive director of Sojourners, a progressive religious group based in Washington that organized the London forum. Wallis said this is the first time in history that humanity has had the technological and economic ability to end extreme global poverty. Richard Stearns, president of World Vision United States, said the increases in foreign aid being sought are minor when compared to other government expenses. “The per capita spending on foreign humanitarian assistance is about $56 per year,” Stearns said. He compared that with the roughly $1,000 dollars per capita being spent each year on the war in Iraq. “We’re calling on President Bush to make a more significant commitment to foreign assistance.” _ Hugh S. Moore UCC Leader Endorses Civil `Marriage Equality’ for Gays and Lesbians (RNS) The leader of the United Church of Christ has endorsed a move for his church to support civil marriage for gays and lesbians, a proposal that he admits could be the “tipping point” for the UCC’s conservative minority. The Rev. John Thomas, general minister and president of the 1.3 million-member UCC, said the “highly volatile debate” over gay marriage should not deter the church from endorsing equal rights for homosexuals. At the UCC’s General Synod in Atlanta July 1-5, delegates will consider a resolution that endorses civil “marriage equality,” as well as a resolution that calls for marriage to be defined as “one man and one woman.” “I believe that the General Synod should affirm the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons to have their covenanted relationships recognized by the state as marriages equal in name, privileges and responsibilities to married heterosexual couples,” Thomas said Wednesday (June 29) in a speech at Emory University. Thomas also urged the UCC’s 6,000 congregations to provide the same “liturgical and pastoral blessing” to gay couples that are provided to heterosexual couples. While the UCC already allows religious blessings for gay couples, Thomas had refrained from taking a position on civil marriage until now. He worried that church endorsement of civil marriage could cause “financial stress” and strain relationships that “are fragile at best.” Even the UCC’s gay and lesbian coalition has been cool to the resolution, saying that not all gay couples want to get married and other “covenants should also be honored and celebrated.” In an interview, Thomas conceded that UCC conservatives may see gay marriage as the “tipping point,” but argued that affirming civil marriage is “clearly within the trajectory” of the UCC’s support of gay rights. _ Kevin Eckstrom Canada’s House of Commons Approves Bill Allowing Gay Marriage OTTAWA (RNS) After two years of acrimonious debate, Canada’s House of Commons on Tuesday (June 28) passed a controversial same-sex marriage bill, making the country only the third in the world to recognize homosexual marriage, splitting its churches in the process. If approved as expected by Canada’s Liberal-dominated Senate next month, Bill C-38 will allow same-sex couples to marry throughout the land. For many, passage of the legislation was merely a formality, as courts in eight provinces and two northern territories had already struck down prohibitions against same-sex marriage over the past two years. Under the bill, the unions of couples who have already married in other jurisdictions will be recognized everywhere in Canada. The legislation split the Liberal party, with 158 voting to pass the bill and 133 voting against. The law will change the definition of marriage as “between a man and a woman” to read “between two persons, to the exclusion of all others.” With the bill’s passage, “Canadians take another unfortunate step toward eliminating civil and social recognition and appreciation for the unique importance of the committed relationship of a man and a woman in marriage,” said Canada’s top Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, in a statement. Government officials in favor of the bill stressed that no religious denominations will be forced to offer same-sex wedding ceremonies. MPs also agreed to an amendment that would protect the charitable status of any religious institution that refuses to perform same-sex marriages. That has not placated some religious groups, which fear lawsuits and human rights complaints should their clergy or officials refuse to conduct homosexual marriage. Charles McVety, a spokesman for Defend Marriage Canada and the president of Canada Christian College, called the vote an “onerous breach of trust and the deconstruction of so much that is dear to our hearts.” Conservative strategists have already begun targeting voters in immigrant and particularly Muslim communities in southern Ontario in an effort to oust the minority Liberal government in the coming election, expected for next spring. _ Ron Csillag Update: Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling Forbidding Christian Prayers

(RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday (June 28) that it would let stand a lower court ruling that a South Carolina town council violated the Constitution by opening meetings with Christian prayers.

The case was originally brought by Darla Wynne, a follower of the Wiccan faith, who argued that when the town of Great Falls, S.C., opened its council meetings with prayers invoking the name of Jesus Christ, it excluded non-Christians like herself.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July 2004 that the practice of saying prayers specifically related to the Christian faith violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. A lower court agreed with Wynne the year before and ordered the council to halt the mention of the name of Jesus Christ in its prayers.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Fire Causes Estimated $2 Million Damage at Dallas Religious Arts Center

(RNS) A rare six-alarm fire caused an estimated $2 million in structural damage to a religious arts museum in Dallas on Tuesday (June 28).

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Lt. Joel Lavender said Wednesday that estimate does not include severe damages to the Biblical Arts Center’s contents, including its most prized possession: a 124-by-20-foot painting of the New Testatment scene of Pentecost.

Witnesses told investigators the suspicious fire may have started on the 36-year-old “Miracle at Pentecost” painting, which depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles like “tongues of fire,” as the Book of Acts describes it.

“Right now, we’re looking at persons of interest,” Lavender said of the continuing investigation. “We believe it was of suspicious origin. Before we say anything, we want to talk to everyone who was there.”

The fire at the windowless, 60,000-square-foot building broke out about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. About 130 firefighters battled the blaze with outside temperatures near 100 degrees. It took about three hours to extinguish it, Lavender said.

A church tour group visiting the center smelled smoke and notified the staff. About 30 patrons inside the museum were evacuated while the staff called 911.

Firefighters rescued at least two dozen pictures and a handful of sculptures, but Lavender said it was unclear whether they could be restored.

As he watched smoke billow from the building, museum director Scott Peck told The Dallas Morning News he did not know if the center would recover.

“It looks like everything is burning, all of our collection,” Peck said. “It’s bad.”

But a few hours later, he was more optimistic. “So much was lost, but we can restore some of the paintings,” he told the newspaper. “It doesn’t look as if we’ve lost everything. There is some hope.”

Operated by the Miracle at Pentecost Foundation, the Biblical Arts Center was founded in 1966 as a nonprofit, nondenominational organization by Dallas philanthropist Mattie Caruth Byrd. The center hosts biblically themed artworks ranging from old masters to contemporary pieces, displayed in permanent and changing galleries.

_ Bobby Ross Jr.

Quote of the Day: Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin

(RNS) “In no church, no synagogue, no mosque, no temple, no religious house will those who disagree with same-sex unions be compelled to perform them. Period. This legislation is about civil marriage, not religious marriage.”

_ Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, seeking to calm fears over legislation passed Tuesday (June 28) that allows gay marriage across Canada. He was quoted by The New York Times.

MO/PH END RNS