c. 2006 Religion News Service

Archbishop of Canterbury: Bush’s Global Warming Stance Not Christian

LONDON (RNS) Singling out President Bush, the archbishop of Canterbury warned Tuesday (March 28) that politicians who fail to prevent global warming face “a very heavy responsibility before God.”

Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said Bush’s refusal to cut greenhouse gas emissions _ because it might compromise American jobs _ was not compatible with a Christian point of view.

At the same time, Williams urged the British government to force people to cut the dangerous emissions and to take a hard line on drivers to get them to stick to a 70 mph speed limit on highways.

Williams’ comments on British Broadcasting Corp. radio were timed to coincide with the announcement by British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government of how it intends to achieve its self-imposed 20 percent cut in carbon dioxide levels by 2010.

“We very often come across situations where people are judged for not responding to warnings,” the archbishop said.

“I think what the Bible and the Christian tradition suggest is that those who have that challenge put before them, and not only that challenge but the evidence of it, and don’t respond,” Williams said, “bear a very heavy responsibility before God.”

“Nobody likes talking about governmental coercion in this respect, whether it is speed limits or anything else,” he said. “Nobody, for that matter, likes talking about enforceable international protocols.”

But “unless there is a real change in attitudes,” Williams added, “we have to contemplate these very unwelcome possibilities if we want the global economy not to collapse and millions, billions, of people not to die.”

_ Al Webb

Members of Congress Seek Dismissal of `In God We Trust’ Lawsuit

(RNS) The American Center for Law and Justice has filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 47 members of Congress asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit that questions the constitutionality of “In God We Trust” as the nation’s motto.

The brief, filed Monday (March 27), is in response to a suit filed in district court in November by Michael Newdow, a California-based atheist who unsuccessfully attempted to halt prayers at President Bush’s inaugurations and has restarted an effort to remove “under God” from schoolchildren’s recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

“While the First Amendment affords atheists complete freedom to disbelieve, it does not compel the federal judiciary to redact religious references in every area of public life in order to suit atheistic sensibilities,” reads the 25-page brief filed by the Washington-based legal organization founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

The brief argues that “In God We Trust” is constitutional and reflects the convictions of the nation’s founders.

“Congress codified `In God We Trust’ as our national motto for the express purpose of reaffirming America’s unique history and understanding of this truth, and to distinguish America from atheistic nations who recognize no higher authority than the state,” the court document states.

“A decision holding the national motto unconstitutional would have far-reaching ramifications affecting countless other historical religious references that exist in the public arena.”

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, said the lawsuit should be dismissed because “it represents another flawed attempt to use the legal system to remove a legitimate reference to the religious heritage of our nation.”

Newdow filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento.

In it, he charged that the motto, which appears on the nation’s coins and currency, violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause because it turns him into a “political outsider.” He asked the court to halt the minting of coins and the printing of currency on which the motto is engraved.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Images of Accused Wife of Slain Minister a Study of Contrasts

(RNS) Mary Winkler, 32, wore shackles and an orange jail uniform during a Monday (March 27) arraignment in connection with her minister husband’s shooting death in Selmer, Tenn.

It was a drastically different picture than the photo the world saw of her when her husband, 31-year-old Church of Christ pastor Matthew Winkler, was found shot to death March 22 in the parsonage, and she and the couple’s three young daughters were missing.

In that Amber Alert photo, she was smiling, standing behind two of her elementary school-aged daughters, standing beside her husband, and holding their baby girl. They looked like the perfect family that their friends and congregation said they were when news broke of the minister’s death.

Authorities reported that Mary Winkler confessed to killing her husband when she and her daughters were found in Orange Beach, Ala., last Thursday evening, a day after congregation members found the minister shot dead on the bedroom floor.

She didn’t enter a plea during the arraignment. Her only words were “No, sir” when the judge asked if she had any questions after he read the complaint against her and explained her rights. General Sessions Court Judge Bob Gray delayed a decision on bail until a preliminary hearing, set for Thursday.

In his sermon Sunday, the slain pastor’s uncle, Madison Church of Christ pastor Mike Winkler, called the woman accused of killing his nephew “a good mother” and “a very wonderful person.”

“We’re grieving over the death of Matthew,” Winkler said. “We’re very grateful that Mary and the girls are safe, but you can imagine that we’re crushed … we are shocked. Never in your wildest dreams do you think something like this can or will ever happen to your family.”

He said that too often, people mask what’s really going on, that people hide their problems because they fear admitting their less-than-perfect truths will be seen as weakness or lack of character.

Winkler’s funeral was held Tuesday at Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer.

_ Patricia C. McCarter

Archbishop Cancels Masses at Catholic Church Occupied by Protesters

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) The archbishop of New Orleans has closed embattled St. Augustine Catholic Church indefinitely until it is clear that worship can resume without the threat of disruption that stopped a Mass there Sunday (March 26).

In a Monday news conference at Notre Dame Seminary, Archbishop Alfred Hughes offered no estimate of how long that might take. Meanwhile, both the historic church and the rectory remained in the hands of former parishioners and secular supporters of St. Augustine Parish, who occupied the premises March 20 to protest a forced March 15 merger with nearby St. Peter Claver Parish.

Hughes said he hoped the occupiers would return the property to the Archdiocese of New Orleans immediately and without incident. He also suggested that informal negotiations with some protesters were under way. “We’ve received some signal they may be willing to vacate,” he said but did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, parishioners who have maintained a nearly constant vigil outside the church for more than a week were dismayed at the news of the church’s closure.

Some noted the presence of armed plainclothes New Orleans police officers at Sunday’s Mass. Several angry supporters said the presence of weapons in church was both inappropriate and provocative.

“We had signs. They had guns. And we’re the criminals?” six-year parishioner Marge Paletou said when she heard of the closure.

The Sunday morning confrontation between protesters and the Rev. Michael Jacques altered the dynamic between supporters of the historic parish and the archdiocese.

Hughes said the protests constitute a “sacrilege” under Catholic canon law as a “defilement” of a place of worship. He said St. Augustine cannot be used for worship again until it is formally reconsecrated in a relatively rare liturgical ceremony.

The archdiocese decided to close the parish because it has not offered the range of religious activity the Catholic Church expects of a parish, Hughes said.

In the year before the closure decision, the parish conducted only 12 baptisms, administered no First Communions to children learning the faith, conducted no confirmations for older children and had no adult education programs for adults seeking instruction in Catholicism.

“That’s the fundamental issue that led to the decision,” Hughes said.

_ Bruce Nolan

Survey: Seven of 10 Jewish Collegians Find Moral Life Very Important

(RNS) A new survey finds that Jewish college students place far more importance on leading a moral life than on more uniquely Jewish practices such as remembering the Holocaust or observing the Sabbath.

The survey, conducted by the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass., also found that most Jewish collegians don’t participate in organized student groups designed to engage them in Jewish life.

In response to questions asking students to rank a broad array of issues on their level of importance in their personal lives, 71 percent of the Jewish college students said leading a moral or ethical life was very important and nearly the same number, 70 percent, ranked becoming successful in their professional life as very important.

Fifty-nine percent ranked remembering the Holocaust as very important. Caring about Israel was very important to 35 percent of the Jewish college students. Observing the Sabbath was very important to 9 percent.

“We are not shocked by these findings because these students look very much like their parents, but we had hoped the campuses were doing better than that,” said Amy Sales, associate director of the Cohen Center, which conducted the survey of 2,000 undergraduate students at 20 colleges and universities in the U.S.

Sales added that “it’s a complex mix and difficult to arrive at simplistic generalizations.”

About 55 percent of Jewish college students reported they spend no time at Hillel or other Jewish-affiliated clubs or organizations, 33 percent said they engaged at least one hour a week and 12 percent said they held leadership positions.

The results, released in March, are published in “Particularism in the University: Realities and Opportunities for Jewish Life on Campus,” co-authored with Leonard Saxe, the center’s director.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to be a divisive issue for Jewish campus groups. Forty-three percent of Jewish undergraduates say that they are ignorant about the history of modern Israel and feel only minimally connected to Israel. Students who have visited Israel are twice as likely to hold a positive attitude toward Israel compared with those who have not.

_ Penny Schwartz

Quote of the Day: Rev. Raymond J. Lawrence of New York-Presbyterian Hospital

(RNS) “I don’t see how you could quantify prayer _ either the results of it or the substance of it. God is beyond the reach of science. It’s absurd to think you could use it to examine God’s play.”

_ The Rev. Raymond J. Lawrence of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center on attempts to study the link between prayer and healing. Lawrence was quoted by The Washington Post.

MO/PH END RNS