c. 2007 Religion News Service

Farrakhan Uses Last Major Speech to Call for Unity

(RNS) Louis Farrakhan, the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, used what was billed as possibly his last major address to urge followers to unite and cooperate with other faiths, but also used it to reshape the organization’s theology.

“My time is up,” Farrakhan told tens of thousands of people on Sunday (Feb. 25) at Ford Field in Detroit, where the Nation of Islam was holding its annual Saviour’s Day convention. Farrakhan, who turns 74 on May 11, checked-out of a Washington, D.C., hospital Jan. 28 after recovering from complications of prostate surgery performed on Jan. 5.

Farrakhan told the crowd that he had been at “death’s door” but had been saved by God and the prayers of people of all faiths, striking an inclusive tone that he maintained throughout his two-hour speech.

Still, black pride and unity were a main part of his message.

“My love for black people here and throughout the world is unconditional,” he said, “because I believe in the resurrection and redemption of black people. And I believe in the resurrection and the redemption of the whole human family.”

Farrakhan’s speech was occasionally interrupted by chants of “Long Live Muhammed,” a reference to Elijah Muhammed, who led the NOI from 1934-1975, and is regarded by NOI followers as a prophet of God. His son W.D. Muhammad was chosen to succeed him, even though he rejected the group’s theology and brought the movement into mainstream Islam.

Farrakhan, who joined the movement in the 1950s, remained a fervent black nationalist and disagreed with Muhammad’s more moderate direction and restarted the Nation of Islam in 1978.

Saviour’s Day commemorates the birth of Wallace Fard Muhammad, who founded the Nation of Islam in 1930. He preached that blacks were a superior race but had been oppressed by whites, who were irredeemably evil.

Farrakhan also used his speech to reshape the theology of the Nation, which despite its name, relied on the Bible as its primary reference and worshipped on Sundays. In recent years, however, the Nation has incorporated the Quran into its teachings and participated in Islamic congregational prayers, traditionally held on Fridays.

Farrakhan peppered his speech with references to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, and most notably, said Fard Muhammad was not God, a long-held Nation view.

“We praise him for his coming, but who did he praise? He had to have praised the originator,” Farrakhan said in reference to Fard Muhammad. “Even though we say Allah came in the person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, they honorable Elijah Muhammad says … there is no God but Allah.”

_ Omar Sacirbey

Tehran Delegation Returns Stressing Talks Between the U.S., Iran

WASHINGTON (RNS) A delegation of 13 U.S. Christian leaders who recently traveled to Iran to help defuse tensions over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions will meet with members of Congress next week to discuss their trip.

“Our governments have not spoken for 30 years,” said the Rev. Jeff Carr, of Sojourners/Call to Renewal. “We think that beginning dialogue and paving the way for mutual respect and peaceful relations is really something that needs to happen, and religious leaders could play a significant role in that.”

During the Feb. 17-25 trip, the group met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, members of parliament and local religious leaders.

The trip was organized by the Mennonite Central Committee and the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group. Others participating include Sojourners/Call to Renewal; the Episcopal, Catholic and United Methodist churches; the National Council of Churches and Pax Christi USA.

In the meeting with Ahmadinejad, the delegation spoke about topics including the role of religion in easing conflict, the Iraq war, nuclear proliferation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

During the 21/2-hour discussion, the president told the group that Iran has no intention to acquire or use nuclear weapons, according to the delegation’s statement. He also advocated solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through political rather than military means.

Carr said members of Congress from both sides of the aisle encouraged the religious leaders to make the trip.

“I think they understand the tensions between (Iran and the U.S.) need to somehow be resolved peacefully, that war is not the answer,” Carr added.

Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodists’ Board of Church and Society, said the group will stress the need for dialogue with Iran when they meet with members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“There have to be talks,” Winkler said. “The president’s statement that he will not speak to somebody that doesn’t meet his standard of behavior is just not a realistic or appropriate way to deal with the situation.”

“I think there’s no one better to extend the olive branch of peace than the followers of Jesus Christ,” he added, “so I felt like I was really carrying out my responsibility as a disciple of Jesus when I traveled to Iran.”

_ Katherine Boyle

Voice of the Faithful Honors Gumbleton With Award

WASHINGTON (RNS) The lay Catholic reform group Voice of the Faithful awarded retired Detroit auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton its “Priest of Integrity” honor Saturday (Feb. 24) in Washington.

Gumbleton was honored for his advocacy on behalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse and greater lay involvement in the church. The 77-year-old bishop has been criticized for meeting with liberal groups, though, and was removed from his Detroit parish in December.

The bishop is the fourth recipient of Voice of the Faithful’s award, according to spokesman John Moynihan. “In each of these cases (the recipient) was someone who was speaking out against the hierarchy and being punished for it,” said Moynihan.

Gumbleton, who was the nation’s youngest bishop when he was appointed in 1968, stunned the church in January 2006 when he said he had been abused by a priest when he was a teenager.

Voice of the Faithful, founded in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse crisis, counts 120 affiliates and 35,000 members. More than 200 people attended the award ceremony, according to president Mary Pat Fox.

_ Daniel Burke

Funds Furnished Lavish Home for Bishop, Ex-Workers Say

CLEVELAND (RNS) Nearly half of the $177,000 that was secretly funneled to former Bishop Anthony Pilla was spent to furnish and remodel a spacious home that was to be used as a getaway spot, a former top diocesan official said.

Pilla kept many of the household items _ including a large-screen television _ after the diocese sold the house and 30-acre lot in 2003. Movers took the furnishings to a home Pilla owns in Cleveland Heights.

The allegations about the money come from two former church employees who are accused of defrauding the diocese and are facing federal charges. The two men say that the diocese had hundreds of secret accounts _ including one in Pilla’s name _ to hide and distribute money.

The diocese issued a statement Saturday (Feb. 24) denying what it called “scurrilous accusations.” Pilla said that the diocese cooperated fully with federal investigators and that the only wrongdoing that was uncovered involved the two former employees.

Diocesan spokesman Bob Tayek said private donations paid for improvements at the property. After the sale, items in the home were split among diocesan headquarters, St. John Cathedral and the Cleveland Heights residence that Pilla inherited after his mother died.

“The diocese is responsible for a retirement residence for him,” Tayek said.

The home in Munson, Ohio, was donated to the diocese in 1995 by Larry Dolan, now the owner of the Cleveland Indians, who suggested that it be used as a retreat house for the bishop of Cleveland, Tayek said.

Ivanhoe Furniture was contacted in 1996 to update the 5,000-square-foot house, said Tom Dottore, whose family owned the now-defunct furniture company. Ivanhoe Furniture was paid $78,759 for its work, according to a motion filed by lawyers defending former diocesan Chief Financial Officer Joseph Smith and Anton Zgoznik, a former diocesan employee.

Smith and Zgoznik are scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court in April on charges including conspiracy, money laundering, fraud and tax evasion. The two are accused of defrauding the diocese of at least $784,000 in a kickback scheme in which they enriched themselves using church money.

But lawyers for the two men say church supervisors knew and approved of the transactions. The diocese had hundreds of accounts not listed on its official books or in records that were used to give additional compensation to employees, the lawyers said.

In Saturday’s statement, Pilla said, “The diocesan records and all employees were open and available to federal investigators.” Pilla said that he followed Smith’s “advice and counsel” while making financial decisions as bishop.

_ Mike Tobin

Pastor Says Solicitation for Sex Shouldn’t Be a Crime

OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) A former member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee went on trial here on a charge of offering to engage in a lewd act.

Lonnie Latham, then 60 and pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church, was arrested Jan. 3, 2006, after allegedly inviting a male undercover Oklahoma City police officer to his hotel room for sex. He pleaded not guilty in February, 2006.

In a non-jury trial in Oklahoma County District Court on Thursday (Feb. 22), Judge Roma M. McElwee said she would rule on the case in about two weeks. Latham waived his right to a jury trial.

The case drew the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union and national gay rights organizations who maintained that inviting someone to a hotel room for sex was not a crime.

Latham’s attorney, Mack Martin, argued that his client was charged under a lewdness statute that should be unconstitutional because the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 legalized consensual sex between two adult males.

“If it’s not illegal to engage in that conduct, then it shouldn’t be illegal to talk about it (solicit),” he said.

He filed a motion asking that the case be dismissed.

Attorney Michael Salem, along with the American Civil Liberties Union Oklahoma Foundation, argued that Latham’s solicitation for sex was protected free speech.

First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland argued that the state still has laws against _ and an interest in controlling _ public solicitation, even for sexual activity that has been legalized by the Supreme Court.

If convicted, Latham could face a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and 40 to 80 hours of community service.

As a spokesman for Southern Baptists, Latham often defended the church’s opposition to same-sex relations. After his arrest he resigned from his pulpit, the SBC executive committee, and state leadership roles.

_ Bill Sherman

Quote of the Day: Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson

(RNS) “Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn’t think I was going to win.”

_ Jennifer Hudson, reacting to her Oscar win for best supporting actress in “Dreamgirls” on Sunday (Feb. 25) in Los Angeles. The “American Idol” finalist was quoted by The Associated Press.

KRE/CM END RNS