c. 2007 Religion News Service
U.S. Immigration Officials Discriminate Against Muslims, Study Says
(RNS) U.S. immigration officials discriminate against Muslims when processing citizenship applications, according to a New York University Law School think tank.
Since 9/11, increased security checks of citizenship applications “have illegally delayed the processing of thousands of applications from Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian men,” according to the NYU report.
“Americans on Hold: Profiling, Citizenship, and the `War on Terror,”’ a 63-page report, was issued Wednesday (April 25) by lawyers at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU’s law school.
The report says several issues are behind the delays, such as the association of “terrorists” with men who are perceived to be Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian.
The report is also critical of a 2002 immigration law that requires non-citizen men from 25 countries _ 24 of which are predominantly Muslim _ to register with the government.
The U.S. practice of checking names against a list of suspected terrorists has also been problematic, the report says. Prior to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the list of individuals suspected of terrorism and banned from air travel had only 16 names. By October 2006, the “no-fly” list contained 44,000 names, according to the report.
Delays “are the result of discriminatory, ineffective, and undemocratic policies that violate fundamental human rights,” Smita Narula, the center’s director, said in a statement. “In the name of fighting a war on terror, the government is breaking up families, engendering fear and insecurity, and disenfranchising entire communities.”
A government official took issue with those conclusions.
“The allegations are categorically false. We treat every application, every petition the same, and conduct the same background checks regardless of name, ethnicity or religion,” said Christopher Bentley, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services.
“We realize everyone is an individual waiting for a case to be resolved,” Bentley said. “But our responsibility is not to grant benefit to someone until all background checks have been done.”
_ Omar Sacirbey
Midwest Sisters of St. Joseph Merge into Nationwide Congregation
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (RNS) More than 1,300 Roman Catholic nuns and lay associates from seven Sisters of St. Joseph congregations in the Midwest have agreed to merge into one organization to be based in Cleveland.
Members of the various congregations _ now called the Congregation of St. Joseph _ agreed last year to merge. Legal consolidation takes place in early August. Vatican officials in Rome gave approval in late March.
Included in the new congregation will be the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, said Sister Janet Fleischhacker, president of the Kalamazoo-based congregation. She attended the meeting that forged the merger in early April in Chicago.
“We will now be pooling all of our resources and governance. We are taking a lot of risks, personally and collectively. But it is our belief in God’s call to us that gives us the courage to take these risks and to create something new,” Fleischhacker said.
Although the seven congregations have been autonomous, they all trace their roots to the Sisters of St. Joseph, established in LePuy, France, in 1650. Besides the congregation here, other groups involved in the consolidation include congregations in Cleveland, LaGrange, Ill., the Cincinnati area, Wheeling, W.Va., Tipton, Ind., and Wichita, Kan.
“It is an identity change. We are now part of something new,” Fleischhacker said. “Our vowed life continues, but our congregational life itself is new. We have promised each other to revitalize our spirit and mission and create a new presence.”
With the new structure, members of the congregation hope to bolster their numbers, which have dropped dramatically in recent years. “I anticipate that we will be more visible and hopefully more attractive to women searching for a way of life based on faith and living in communities,“ Fleischhacker said.
The congregations work in various housing, health-care, educational, social-services and spiritual-direction ministries.
_ Chris Meehan
Associated Church Press Honors Top Religion Writing
CHICAGO (RNS) Religion News Service, The Anglican Journal and Alliance Life magazine took home top “Best in the Christian Press” honors from the Associated Church Press convention here on Tuesday (April 24).
Awards were given in 59 categories for work done in 2006 in the religious press. Top awards include Award of Excellence (first place), Award of Merit (second place) and Honorable Mention (third place).
Religion News Service was awarded first place for “Best in Class: News Service,” followed by Presbyterian News Service and ELCA News Service.
The Toronto-based Anglican Journal won first place for “Best in Class: National or International Newspaper,” followed by Episcopal Life. The Christian Chronicle and Mennonite Weekly Review were tied for third place.
Alliance Life won for “Best in Class: Denominational General Interest Magazine,” followed by DisciplesWorld and U.S. Catholic in second place and The Banner in third.
Other “Best in Class” winners include:
_ Regional Newspaper: The Catholic Sun (first place), The Alabama Baptist (second place), UM Connection (third place).
_ Special Interest Magazine: a Common Place (first place), Cathedral Age (second place), Lutheran Women Today and Reformed Worship (tied for third place).
_ Ecumenical General Interest Magazine: Sojourners (first place and only award)
_ Journal: Touchstone (first place) and The Cresset (second place).
_ Newsletter: Context (first place), At Home With Our Faith (second place); Lifelines and Vital Theology (tied for third place).
_ Independent Web Site or E-Zine: Cafe (first place), United Methodist NeXus (second place), Salt of the Earth (third place).
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Quote of the Day: Religion Historian Martin Marty
(RNS) “It used to be that every new Episcopal bishop was written up in Newsweek magazine. These days, just think of what you have to do as an Episcopal bishop to get mentioned in Newsweek.”
_ Religion historian Martin Marty, referring to the decline of mainline Protestant churches and the controversy surrounding an openly gay Episcopal bishop, at the Associated Church Press convention in Chicago.
DSB/LF END RNS
