c. 2006 Religion News Service
Federal Judge Dismisses Suit by `Connecticut Six’ Against Bishop
(RNS) A federal judge in Connecticut dismissed a lawsuit filed by six conservative Episcopal pastors against their bishop, ruling that the dispute is a matter of church _ not federal _ law.
The six pastors, known as the “Connecticut Six,” have fought with Connecticut Bishop Andrew D. Smith over his acceptance of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.
Their lawsuit alleged that Smith has deprived the six pastors of their First Amendment and other constitutional rights during a protracted dispute that has impacted diocesan finances, property and personnel.
Throughout the 2.1-million member Episcopal Church, conservatives, unhappy with the election of an openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire in 2003, have battled Episcopal leaders over church resources.
The Aug. 21 federal ruling in Connecticut could have important repercussions for those disputes.
“A declaration of unconstitutionality by this Court would not redress plaintiffs’ actual grievances: their theological disputes with Bishop Smith over `human sexuality;’ their obligation to remain in communion with (the Episcopal Church)…” wrote U.S. District Judge Janet B. Arterton in her decision.
_ Daniel Burke
Lawyer Files Complaint for Immigrant Living in Chicago Church
(RNS) A lawyer has filed a complaint with a federal judge arguing that deporting illegal Mexican immigrant Elvira Arellano, who has sought refuge inside a Chicago church, would effectively mean illegally deporting her 7-year-old, U.S.-born son.
“By deporting a 7-year-old boy’s mother when he has no other family here, then you are in effect deporting him,” Matthews said in an interview. Arellano, 31, an immigration activist and custodian at O’Hare International Airport, has garnered attention from the religious and activist communities since she took shelter with her son Saul at her Chicago Methodist church on Aug. 15 _ the day she had been ordered to report to the Department of Homeland Security office for deportation.
Joseph Matthews, a Chicago lawyer who is representing Saul Arellano pro-bono with about 10 other lawyers, said he filed the complaint Tuesday (Aug. 22) with a U.S. District Court in Chicago. Matthews said the judge would have 20 days to respond to his complaint.
The Rev. Walter Coleman, of Alberto United Methodist Church, has stood by Arellano, saying in a recent interview, “I fear God a lot more than I do Homeland Security.”
Tim Counts, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),said he could not give specifics on the agency’s plans.
“We will carry out the deportation as required by law at an appropriate time and place in the future,” Counts said.
The spokesperson said that ICE does not have jurisdiction over U.S. citizen Saul Arellano, but that does not change their plans to deport Elvira Arellano.
“People who knowingly violate U.S. immigration laws place themselves and their family members in difficult situations where they may have to make difficult decisions,” Counts said.
Matthews said if ICE deported Elvira Arellano before the case was heard, he would ask the court to bring her back to the U.S.
_ Kat Glass
Judge Says Religious Rights Extend to Prisoners in Private Facilities
(RNS) A federal judge in Mississippi extended the right to free religious worship behind bars to prisoners housed in private facilities last week (August 16).
U.S. District Judge Michael Mills ruled that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, or RLUIPA, applies to private prisons operating under state contracts, as long as the states receive some of their prison funding from the federal government.
The Corrections Corporation of America, the defendant in the case, is the largest private prison company in the nation, overseeing 63 institutions with about 69,000 beds.
The defendant, a Hawaiian imprisoned in one of CCA’s facilities in Mississippi, argued that his First Amendment rights had been violated because the prison would not serve him food that conformed to his religious beliefs. Mills ruled that the prison is obligated to accommodate his request if Hawaii _ where he was convicted _ receives federal funding for prisons, an issue that has not yet been settled.
In mid-2005, nearly 7 percent of all prisoners in the United States, or more than 101,000 inmates, were in private facilities.
Under RLUIPA, the government may not restrict the religious practices of prisoners unless those practices conflict with a government interest, such as the safety of other inmates. The law was passed by Congress in 2000 and validated by a Supreme Court ruling in 2005.
In his ruling, Mills said because private prisons operate under the purview of states, they are essentially part of the state government. Even if the prisons do not receive direct federal funding, they must comply with the religious practices law as long as the state paying for an inmate’s cell gets money from the government.
_ Peter Sachs
Alabama Christian Coalition Is Third to Split from National Group
WASHINGTON (RNS) Alabama’s chapter of the Christian Coalition of America dropped out of the national organization Wednesday (Aug. 23), declaring it has drifted from its founding conservative principles.
It was the third state affiliate to leave the national group.
Although both sides said they wished each other well, the split was not completely amicable. The president of the Alabama splinter group defiantly predicted a mass exodus of other state chapters and the possible organization of a separate Christian grass-roots group with a national presence in Washington.
“All of us are taking care of the home battlefronts now, but we’ll be swimming up the Potomac River soon,” said John Giles, president of the Alabama organization.
Roberta Combs, the president of the national organization, was unapologetic and accused the Alabama faction of disobeying legal advice and jeopardizing its tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service.
Combs said the Alabama group recently sent out its 2006 candidate survey without getting it cleared by the Washington office, which is required under a recent legal settlement with the IRS. A January letter from the national organization’s attorney warned state chapters that their affiliation could be revoked if the policy was not followed, Combs said.
“We will have another organization in Alabama. We will rebuild in Alabama,” Combs said.
_ Mary Orndorff
Mattson Elected First Woman to Head Major Muslim Organization
(RNS) North America’s largest Islamic organization elected Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian-born convert and Islamic scholar, as president this week (8/22), making her the first woman to lead any major Muslim organization on the continent.
Mattson, whose many roles include director of the Islamic Chaplaincy program at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, steps into the Islamic Society of North America’s top spot after serving two terms as the vice president of the Indianapolis-based group, founded in 1963.
During that time, Mattson earned a reputation among many Muslim Americans as an eloquent voice better suited than her foreign-born colleagues for defending Islam at a time when many believe their faith is under siege.
Muslim American observers see Mattson’s election as a chance to redefine both the image and the role of Muslim women in America and the Islamic world.
“There are so many professional women who choose to be devoted Muslims, but in America we mostly see images of oppressed Muslim women,” said Asma Afsaruddin, an Islamic studies professor at the University of Notre Dame.
Mattson converted to Islam as an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo in Canada, where she graduated in 1987. She spent the next two years in Pakistan working with Afghan refugee women, and has since held a variety of educational positions while also emerging as a spokesperson on Muslim issues.
But Muslim women said female concerns should be only one of her priorities.
“She was elected not just because she’s a woman, but because she’s the best person for the job,” said Shahina Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Social Services Association in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “You don’t want her to be a one-issue president. There are many things facing the Muslim community.”
_ Omar Sacirbey
Intelligent Design Didn’t Cost Astronomer His Job, Director Says
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The former director of the Vatican Observatory was not replaced because of his vocal opposition to “intelligent design,” the observatory’s new director said Thursday (Aug. 24).
In an interview with Catholic News Service, the Rev. Jose Funes rejected speculation that his predecessor, U.S. Jesuit George Coyne, was dismissed from the observatory’s top job for his criticisms of intelligent design _ the idea that the world is too complex to have been created by natural events alone.
“It’s simply not true that this was the reason he left,” Funes told CNS. He described Coyne’s work as “wonderful,” adding that Coyne’s nearly two-decade tenure made it natural for him to leave the post.
Coyne, 73, has repeatedly affirmed Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as scientifically valid and evidence of God’s “creativity.” He has also attacked the proponents of intelligent design as promoting a “religious movement.”
In his interview, Funes declined to make any statements on intelligent design, stating that he stood for “good science and good theology. No more than that.”
“I don’t see any contradictions between science and religion. What I see are tensions. But it is healthy to have tensions in life. Sometimes tensions allow us to mature,” he said.
_ Stacy Meichtry
Judge Rules for AME Zion Church in Long-Running Property Fight
(RNS) In the latest chapter of a six-year legal saga, a Maryland judge has ruled that a Washington-area megachurch must turn church property over to the denomination it left in 1999.
From the Heart Church Ministries, a 26,000-member church based in Temple Hills, Md., placed its property in trust with the AME Zion Church in 1981, when it joined the denomination, Judge Sheila Tillerson-Adams ruled Aug. 17.
Citing legal documents and AME Zion’s Book of Discipline, Tillerson-Adams of the Circuit Court of Prince George’s County said the trust is irrevocable.
A news release from AME Zion Church said the property in dispute is worth more than $25 million.
The battle between From the Heart and AME Zion, a 1.4 million-member denomination based in Charlotte, N.C., has been bouncing through the courts since 2000. The Aug. 17 decision was the second time the Prince George’s County Circuit Court ruled in the denomination’s favor.
Bishop James McCoy, president of AME Zion’s board of bishops, said the ruling “firmly reinforces a vital component of our connectional policy and doctrine _ the principle that, as a single unified Body of Christ, all local churches _ no matter how large or small _ are but a part of a larger fellowship.”
From the Heart Church Ministries could not immediately be reached for comment.
_ Daniel Burke
Study Says Muslim Men Saw Wages Drop After Sept. 11
(RNS) Men from predominantly Arab and Muslim countries employed in the U.S. saw their wages drop about 10 percent in the years following the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a new study.
While approximately the same number of hours were worked before and after Sept. 11, 2001, the men’s average wages fell from about $20 to about $18, according to the study. The study found mixed results for the wages of Arab and Muslim women during the same period.
“Sept. 11 was a catastrophic event for everybody and it clearly raised prejudice,” said Robert Kaestner, a labor-market specialist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who co-wrote the study. “We wanted to find out _ what were the consequences?”
The study tracked 4,322 first- and second-generation immigrants ages 21 to 54 who live in the 20 states where 85 percent of Arab and Muslim U.S. residents live. The immigrants were from predominantly Arab and Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Wage decreases were larger in areas with more reported hate crimes related to religious and ethnic bias, according to the study. The study also found that post-Sept. 11, Arab and Muslim men were more likely to be employed in a low-wage job, despite the fact that more than 50 percent reported having a college degree.
The study compared those Arab and Muslim immigrants’ wages against immigrants from other countries, to account for the post-Sept. 11 economic downturn.
“Despite their higher education levels, men in the (Arab and Muslim) group earned less than men in the comparison group both before and after Sept. 11,” the study reports.
_ Daniel Burke
Swearing Gets Bishop Banned From Two Pulpits
LONDON (RNS) The controversial former Anglican bishop of Durham has been barred from delivering sermons at two of his local churches for swearing in the pulpit, The Sunday Times in London reported (Aug. 27).
The newspaper said Bishop David Jenkins, who stirred up church fury two decades ago when he questioned the literal truth of Jesus’ resurrection, was barred for using the words “damn” and “bloody” (considered a curse word in parts of Britain) during a sermon.
Peter Midwood, rector of the northeast England parish of Romaldkirk and Laithkirk who suspended Jenkins from preaching at two churches, said he had felt “forced to act” after congregants complained.
Jenkins _ who was bishop of Durham from 1984 to 1994 _ conceded that he might have been guilty of “a bit of anger and swearing,” but he said, “I get worked up in the pulpit, and I get quite lively.”
According to the Sunday Times report, the swearing popped up as the former bishop railed “against splits in the Anglican Communion over homosexual priests.” Jenkins himself had enraged Anglican conservatives last year when he become one of the first clergymen to bless a “civil partnership” between two men, one of them a priest.
In defending his “swearing” sermon, the cleric said, “I am fed up with the disgraceful quarreling among Anglicans when they should be addressing major world questions. … Dogmatism is destroying the reasonableness and realism of religion.”
_ Al Webb
Pioneering Nun Mary Luke Tobin Dies at 98
(RNS) Sister Mary Luke Tobin, a peace activist and one of three American women to participate in the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, died Aug. 24 at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Loretto, in Nerinx, Ky. She was 98.
Tobin, who was born Ruth Marie Tobin, became Sister Mary Luke in 1927. She began her career teaching for more than 20 years at elementary and high schools.
Tobin moved up the ranks, elected in 1952 as superior general of the Sisters of Loretto. She served two consecutive terms as president of the order from 1958 to 1970.
She was also tapped to head the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group of the leaders from U.S. congregations of religious sisters.
Along with 14 other women worldwide, Tobin was invited to attend the Second Vatican Council’s third session in Rome in 1964 and 1965. She was one of three women to participate in drafting documents produced by the council.
A strong advocate for peace, Tobin picketed with United Farm Workers and risked arrest at nuclear weapons sites during demonstrations. She also wrote and spoke about the rights of women, both in the church and in society.
_ Kat Glass
Polish Churches Asked to List Names of Drunk Drivers
(RNS) Hoping to curb alcohol abuse, Polish officials have asked Roman Catholic churches to read the names of convicted drunk drivers from the pulpit during Mass, according to Catholic News Service.
Church leaders will consider the request, a spokesperson for the Polish bishops’ conference told CNS, and at least one diocese has reportedly agreed to read the names at the end of Mass.
“The Justice Ministry has instructed us to publicize cases of drunken driving and publicly censure those involved _ the Catholic Church would be well-suited for this,” Malgorzata Bednarek, a chief prosecutor in Poland, told CNS.
Despite tougher penalties, drunken driving incidents increased by about 46,000 between 2001 and 2005, CNS reported.
Still, the Rev. Piotr Brzakalik, a Catholic sobriety chaplain in Poland who recently launched a campaign against drunken driving, refused to endorse the plan.
“To risk killing someone is a violation of the Fifth Commandment. But I’m skeptical about this idea _ the pulpit shouldn’t be used for stigmatizing people,” he told CNS.
_ Daniel Burke
Pinocchio, Heidi Receive Islamic Makeover in Turkish Books
ISTANBUL (RNS) The latest victim in the rising tensions between the West and the Islamic world didn’t want to become an international symbol for the clash of civilizations; in fact, Pinocchio’s only wish was to become a real boy.
Book publishers in Turkey, reacting to controversy that arose over inclusion of such titles in the Turkish government’s recommended reading list for schoolchildren, have reprinted several of the classics with Islamic elements inserted into the storylines.
In “Pinocchio,” when the wooden puppet arrives at the end of his quest, he exclaims to his maker, Geppetto, “Thanks be to Allah, I am a real boy!” Earlier in the book he says, “If Allah wills it, please give me some bread.”
In Alexander Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers,” as D’Artagnan is en route to Aramis’ house, he is told on the street that he can’t visit his friend because Aramis was in the company of religious men since he had converted to Islam following the recovery from his illness.
When Johanna Spyri’s “Heidi” asks if there is a benefit to prayer, she is told that praying to Allah is comforting.
Turkish Minister of Education Huseyin Celik blasted the publishers of the Islamicized books, threatening them with a lawsuit since the publishers put the Ministry of Education’s logo on their books without government approval. “If you like Heidi, then write your own `Heidi.’ Don’t work to Islamicize her,” he said in the Turkish newspaper Radikal.
Celik said the government only approved the book titles, not the altered versions printed by the publishing companies.
_ Scott Rank
Quote of the Week: Ohio Gubernatorial Candidate Ted Strickland
(RNS) “The two of us are running to become governor of Ohio, and there are so many issues that need to be discussed and debated: job creation, health care, quality education, affordable college. I don’t think people care which one of us is more, quote, religious, close quote.”
_ Ted Strickland, Democratic nominee for governor of Ohio, reacting to a group of Ohio clergy who endorsed his opponent, Republican Ken Blackwell, on religious grounds. He was quoted by The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.
END RNS
