c. 2005 Religion News Service
Pope Meets with Dissident Theologian Hans Kung
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has met with dissident theologian Hans Kung in a push to improve relations with an outspoken Vatican critic that many regard as the pope’s main theological adversary.
In a statement released Monday (Sept. 26), Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls described the Saturday meeting as a “friendly” exchange that avoided doctrinal issues, which have divided the two theologians in the past.
“Both parties agreed that during the meeting there was no sense getting into a dispute over the persistent doctrinal questions between Hans Kung and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church,” Navarro-Valls said.
Kung, a professor at the University of Tubingen, Germany, was barred from teaching theology under the late Pope John Paul II in 1979 after challenging the Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility. As archbishop of Munich, Joseph Ratzinger _ the future pope _ was believed to have played an instrumental role in the censure.
Benedict, himself a former professor at Tubingen, has written affectionately about Kung, describing his onetime colleague as a friend and mentor. The pair split when student unrest spread through the campus in the 1960s with Kung embracing progressive movements and Benedict favoring a conservative path.
As John Paul’s top theologian at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger frequently crossed swords with Kung and his allies, provoking a decadeslong standoff between the two.
In one article, Kung referred to Ratzinger’s doctrinal watch as the “Roman Inquisition” that “must be destroyed.” Kung greeted Ratzinger’s election to the papacy in April as “an enormous disappointment” but added that the papacy could have a softening effect on his former colleague.
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According to Navarro-Valls, Kung and Benedict focused their meeting on Kung’s work in ethics and his efforts to improve dialogue between the worlds of science and faith _ subjects to which Kung turned after the Vatican refused to renew his license to teach Catholic theology.
“The pope appreciated the effort that Professor Kung has made to renewing awareness of humanity’s essential moral values,” Navarro-Valls said. Kung, he added, “expressed praise over the efforts of the pope to favor dialogue between religions.”
Benedict biographer John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter described the Saturday meeting as “an almost unprecedented meeting of minds.”
“What you have is not only a meeting between two old friends but between the `Grand Inquisitor’ and the most inquired,” Allen said.
_ Stacy Meichtry
At Anti-War Rally, Diverse Faith Group Prays for end to Conflict
WASHINGTON (RNS) At the end of a weekend of anti-war rallies that drew thousands of protesters, a multi-faith crowd of more than 500 people gathered under a large white tent Sunday (Sept. 25) to pray for an end to the conflict in Iraq.
The five-hour service near the Washington Monument featured speeches and prayers from ministers, rabbis and an imam who walked into the tent in a processional as the audience sang “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
Featured prominently as a guest was Cindy Sheehan, who gained national attention by staging a vigil outside President Bush’s Texas home while he was vacationing there this summer. She protested the Iraq war, in which her son was killed.
The Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president of the Hip Hop Caucus, standing next to Sheehan, called up all parents affected by the Iraqi war.
“They lost a child to an unjust war or they’ve been displaced because (the government) wouldn’t pay for the levee …,” Yearwood said. “We pray for these families.”
Mairead Maguire, a 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate from Ireland who staged a 30-day fast outside the White House in March 2003, said Bush’s Iraq policy is wrong and people no longer will put up with it without protest.
“We believe (that Bush and his administration) have committed crimes against humanity,” said Maguire. “And they must be … made accountable.”
Mary Lord, a Quaker from Philadelphia, warned the crowd not to follow President Bush’s path of “righteous anger,” even if their anger is aimed at Bush and the war, because it goes against Christian values.
Bishop Michael Banks of the New York City Council of Mennonite Churches said the government should follow the example of Christ as “the prince of peace.”
Two Buddhist monks from a Seattle monastery, dressed in white and golden yellow robes, sang the spiritual “Let my people go.”
The gathering, called the “Interfaith Tent Revival for Peace and Justice,” was organized by Clergy & Laity Concerned about Iraq, United for Peace and Justice, and Faith Voices for the Common Good.
_ Kabuika Kamunga
After Israel Trip, Jewish and Mainline Leaders Promise More Engagement
(RNS) Jewish and mainline Protestant leaders have returned from a joint visit to the Middle East with promises to “deepen our engagement with each other” after more than a year of tense relations.
A delegation of 16 Jewish and Christian leaders traveled to Israel and the Palestinian territories to see the region “through each other’s eyes” and try to overcome bitter disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.
Relations between the two groups have frayed over some churches’ actions to pursue economic pressure against Israel to protest the plight of the Palestinians. Jewish groups have called the actions ineffective and unfair.
“We have demonstrated that Christians and Jews can work together to seek peace even when there is disagreement on specific policies and solutions,” the group said in a joint statement on Friday (Sept. 23).
Jewish leaders said Christian churches needed a better understanding of Israel’s need to protect its citizens from terrorism. Protestant church leaders said they hoped to see more sensitivity to the Palestinian population _ especially the Christian minority _ which has been cut off from work and schools because of Israeli security measures.
The two sides agreed to work for “a secure, viable and independent Palestinian state alongside an equally secure State of Israel.” The communique, however, did not mention if the churches would seek to scale back economic pressure on Israel.
The joint statement said there were “many difficult moments” but the trip ended with “our trust in each other deepened.”
The Jewish participants on the trip included officials from the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Union of Reform Judaism.
Christian leaders represented the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the United Methodist Church, the National Council of Churches, the Alliance of Baptists and the Episcopal Church.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
African Church Leader Says Continent Needs Fewer Strings on HIV/AIDS Help
WASHINGTON (RNS) One of Africa’s most prominent Christian leaders said the Bush administration’s funding guidelines for HIV/AIDS relief should allow more room for condoms and allow Africans more leeway in spending U.S. aid.
Bishop Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, said U.S. guidelines that put a focus on abstinence programs are good for the long term but do not address the AIDS crisis in the short term.
“The United States has got to believe that we are as committed to values as you are,” Dandala told reporters Friday (Sept. 23) during a summit of international ecumenical bodies.
The United States’ so-called “A-B-C” model _ which stands for abstinence, be faithful in marriage, and condoms as a last resort _ will not work long term if Africans are already dead from AIDS because they have no access to condoms to help stop the spread of the disease, Dandala said.
The U.S. policy has also been reluctant to commit aid to governments that do not meet U.S. standards for accountability and transparency. The result, Dandala said, is that aid is not getting to places where it is needed most.
“It is our prayer that in the partnership there will be less conditionalities into how funds will be used, and that there will be more trust that Africans know how best these funds should be used,” he said.
The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the New York-based National Council of Churches, said U.S. policy should be less tied to conservative concerns that the availability of condoms might promote promiscuity.
“Let’s take some of the restrictions off that have been placed there for political reasons,” said Edgar, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania.
The annual summit brought together the general secretaries of ecumenical councils in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean, as well as officials from the World Council of Churches.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
In Custody Battle, Court Decides in Favor of Mother’s Religious Sabbath
(RNS) The Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that a mother’s religious convictions about a Sabbath outweighed a father’s desire to spend regular weekends with his daughter.
The case involves a custody dispute between Amy B. Paradis and Steve T. McArthur, both residents of the Salem, Ore. area.
Never married, Paradis and McArthur had a child in 1992. Paradis had custody of the girl, but McArthur was involved with his daughter for most of her life and paid some child support. In 2001, he sought custody.
Before the custody trial, McArthur and Paradis agreed she should retain custody, but a dispute arose over parenting time.
Paradis, 33, and her daughter and other family members attend the Church of God, Body of Christ. They strictly observe the Sabbath, which, according to their religion, runs from sundown Friday and to sundown Saturday.
During the Sabbath, television and radio are prohibited, and travel is allowed only in order to worship.
A state custody evaluator recommended that McArthur, 34, have custody of his daughter on alternate weekends from sundown Saturday to Wednesday morning. He also recommended that the parents split alternate two-week periods during the summer.
McArthur objected to the weekend arrangement, saying it violated his constitutional parental rights and interfered with his ability to form a traditional family relationship.
McArthur said he wanted custody of his daughter, now 15, starting Friday night “in order for me to have a normal weekend,” he testified at the trial court. “(We) can’t go anywhere or do anything as a family unit. We’re not able to go away for the weekend or do anything as such, or vacations.”
Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge Walter Edmonds said on Wednesday (Sept. 21) that he recognized “the persuasiveness of the father’s argument that to permit the child to continue her Sabbath practice could prevent her from developing a `typical traditional relationship with her father and his family.”’
However, Edmonds noted more evidence on the other side.
“The evidence indicates that consistency is important for the child. Child has practiced mother’s Sabbath observance her entire life. She expressed to her therapist her preference for being allowed to continue her practices,” Edmonds wrote.
_ Ashbel “Tony” Green
Quote of the Day: Actor Kirk Cameron
(RNS) “If we present the gospel simply as a life improvement program, well, boy _ there’s lots of things that work to improve your life. You could get into yoga, become a vegetarian.”
_ Actor Kirk Cameron, known for his role in the 1980s situation comedy “Growing Pains” as well as a more recent role in the “Left Behind” movie series, commenting on findings of a Newsweek/Beliefnet poll. He was quoted by Agape Press, an online Christian news source.
MO/JL END RNS
