c. 2008 Religion News Service

Methodists pull proposed divestment action

WASHINGTON (RNS) The United Methodist Church’s social policy agency has pulled a proposed resolution that would have withdrawn church investments in Caterpillar Inc. because the company supplies bulldozers to Israel.

The Methodists’ General Board of Church and Society had submitted a petition to the church’s upcoming General Conference but withdrew it Thursday (April 17) after Caterpillar agreed to talks with church leaders.

Critics complain that Caterpillar machines are used to raze Palestinian homes and olive groves. The company maintains it opposes “illegal or immoral use of any Caterpillar equipment,” but will not discontinue sales.

About $5 million of the total $17 billion United Methodist investment portfolio is tied to Caterpillar.

Jim Winkler, who directs the Methodists’ Washington office, said a pastor in Peoria, Ill., who counts Caterpillar CEO James Owens as a parishioner set up the talks between the two sides.

“Caterpillar cannot monitor the use of every piece of its equipment around the world,” the company said in a statement. “However, we recognize the responsibility companies have to encourages the constructive use of their products.”

Church delegates will still consider other proposals to divest from companies involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Wayne Miller, a spokesman for the Washington office, said none of those petitions targets a specific company.

Miller said those remaining petitions “deserve careful consideration by the delegates.”

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Pope presents chalice to New Orleans Catholics

WASHINGTON (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI ended a prayer service for bishops on Wednesday (April 16) by acknowledging “the immense suffering endured by the people of God in the Archdiocese of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina.”

He then presented a silver chalice to New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes as “a sign of my prayerful solidarity with the faithful of the Archdiocese and my personal gratitude for the tireless devotion” shown by Hughes and other local Catholic leaders.

Hughes seemed touched with the pope’s presentation, extending his hands to the pope to express his appreciation. It came a week after Hughes announced the merging, downsizing or clustering of 33 parishes by the end of the year, a move he said would cause “a lot of frustration and anger and grieving.”

After receiving the chalice, Hughes said he was thrilled with what he described as unique honor.

He said the chalice would be used at Mass Sunday at St. Louis Cathedral, and that other archdiocese churches could use it during future Masses.

It’s unusual for a pope to single out an archdiocese for recognition. Catholic scholars said the gesture indicates the importance he gives to the continuing rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina four months after he assumed the top position in the Roman Catholic Church.

Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center, said the gift of the chalice reflects the pope’s desire to promote the rebuilding of a city that has long had a large, devout Catholic population.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., attended the pope’s welcoming ceremony at the White House earlier on Wednesday and said she was thrilled the pope mentioned New Orleans and its long road toward recovery.

“His message of peace, love and reconciliation is particularly welcome to Louisianians and our archdioceses as we still struggle to recover from the 2005 hurricanes,” Landrieu said.

_ Bruce Alpert

ACLU gets damages over Jesus portrait

SLIDELL, La. (RNS) A federal judge on Wednesday (April 16) agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana that a decision by Slidell officials to hang a portrait of Jesus on the wall at Slidell City Court was unlawful.

The judge awarded the ACLU nominal damages as well as attorneys fees for its role in a lawsuit filed last summer.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle provides the ACLU with $1 in damages and paves the way for the ACLU to collect the fees it incurred when it sued the court, Judge Jim Lamz, the city of Slidell and St. Tammany Parish.

Marjorie Esman, the ACLU of Louisiana’s executive director, hailed the judge’s decision as a victory for all people, who she said the legal system is designed to protect. However, she said she would have preferred to settle the matter amicably and in a way that wouldn’t have forced Slidell taxpayers to foot the cost.

“We feel very strongly that this shouldn’t have happened,” Esman said. “It’s a shame that it had to come to this.”

The ACLU filed the lawsuit after court officials refused the organization’s request to remove the portrait and lettering underneath that says, “To know peace, obey these laws.” A week before the case went to court last September, court officials expanded the display to include other “notable law-givers,” replacing the Jesus portrait with a copy of the Constitution in the center position and moving the portrait to the end of the wall.

Lemelle said at the time that he likely would have granted a request by the ACLU to remove the portrait, as it clearly demonstrated a religious purpose and intent, which violates the First Amendment.

But Lemelle said he chose to allow the portrait to stay after officials expanded the display. Lemelle added that court officials had corrected their initial mistake.

_ Christine Harvey

Calvin College safety officials may carry guns

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) By next fall, Calvin College is likely to become one of the first private colleges in Michigan to allow safety personnel to carry handguns on campus.

Under the new policy, which must be approved by Calvin’s board, a handful of safety department supervisors would be cleared to pack heat on the job, as long as they meet specific training and experience requirements.

The policy also bans all other weapons from campus. This is meant to fill gaps in state law, which prohibits weapons from residential halls, classrooms and college venues with a capacity of more than 2,500 people, such as sports facilities.

The new rules come during the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, in which 32 people were killed in a two-hour period before the shooter killed himself.

A year ago, many people might have thought a tragedy like Virginia Tech never could happen at Calvin. That’s no longer true, said William Stevenson, a political science professor.

“Had they recommended this a year ago, we all would have been looking aghast, but historical experience can be quite powerful,” said Stevenson, a member of the campus committee that drew up the plan.

“You have to prepare for the worst-case scenario and hope it will never happen,” said Calvin’s Campus Safety Director William Corner.

He said the new “Use of Force” policy would allow safety personnel to promptly respond to immediate threats, but would not replace the need for help from area law enforcement agencies.

Of the 43 employees in Calvin’s safety department, only three are supervisors who would meet the criteria to carry a gun.

_ Nardy Baeza Bickel

Quote of the Day: Vice President Dick Cheney

(RNS) “I guess my cousin Barack has sat through some mighty riveting sermons over the years. If he gets elected, you’re not going to want to miss those Washington prayer breakfasts.”

_ Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, about his distant relative, Barack Obama, and his fiery former pastor.

KRE/CM END RNS