c. 2008 Religion News Service
Appeals court affirms limits on funeral protests
(RNS) A federal appeals court has upheld an Ohio law that limits picketing at funerals, rejecting an appeal by Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-gay Kansas congregation that has held protests across the country.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps, argued that a law amended in 2006 by the Ohio legislature was unconstitutional because it imposed unreasonable restrictions on speech. She suggested that attendees could “avert their eyes” from protests and are voluntary participants at funerals.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the rule “serves an important governmental interest” and is reasonable.
“Friends and family of the deceased should not be expected to opt-out from attending their loved one’s funeral or burial service,” wrote Senior Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich. “Nor can funeral attendees simply `avert their eyes’ to avoid exposure to disruptive speech at a funeral or burial service. The mere presence of a protestor is sufficient to inflict the harm.”
Phelps-Roper and other members of her Topeka church picket military funerals because they believe God is punishing America for its acceptance of homosexuality with deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. They carry signs with messages such as “Thank God for dead soldiers.”
The court also disagreed with Phelps-Roper’s argument that the law was “overbroad,” ruling it was “narrowly tailored” because it restricts protests within 300 feet of a burial or funeral service.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Catholic bishops take Pelosi to task on abortion
(RNS) Prominent Catholic prelates are accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., of misrepresenting church doctrine on abortion, saying Catholic law on the issue has been settled for centuries.
Pelosi, America’s highest-ranking Catholic elected official, said on “Meet the Press” Sunday (Aug. 24) that she isn’t sure when life begins, and that “over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy.”
Not so, say several Catholic prelates.
“The church teaches that from the time of conception, each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life,” said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., in a joint statement.
The two prelates acknowledged that theologians during the Middle Ages disagreed about when the soul enters a human body and that canon law once proscribed different penalties for “very early and later abortions.”
But, Rigali and Lori said, “the church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any state of development.”
Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington said the church’s catechism is unequivocal on abortion, and it’s important to “make this correction for the record.”
“We respect the right of elected officials such as Speaker Pelosi to address matters of public policy that are before them, but the interpretation of Catholic faith has rightfully been entrusted to Catholic bishops,” Wuerl said in a statement.
Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput said that Pelosi has “many professional skills. Regrettably, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them.”
Pelosi’s comments came in defense of her party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Barack Obama. The Illinois senator on Sunday (Aug. 24) told megachurch pastor Rick Warren that the question of when life begins is “above my pay grade.”
Obama’s selection of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden once again highlights the uneasy relationship between some Catholic Democrats and church leaders. Chaput recently said that Biden, who is Catholic, should not receive Communion because of his support for abortion rights.
_ Tim Murphy
Seventh-day Adventist leader to head religious freedom commission
(RNS) A Seventh-day Adventist legislative expert, James D. Standish, has been named the new executive director of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Standish’s background in human rights and religious freedom advocacy has made him a “respected leader, both on Capitol Hill and among … widely varying constituencies,” said Felice D. Gaer, chair of the 10-year-old commission.
Standish, 43, previously served as director of legislative affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, representing his church on Capitol Hill and visiting several continents.
“The magnitude and severity of violations of the universal right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion worldwide cannot be understated,” he said.
Standish has testified on religious freedom issues before the House of Representatives and has written widely on religious liberty matters.
He succeeds Joseph R. Crapa, who served as executive director of the commission from 2003 until his death in October 2007.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Seventh-day Adventist Rocky Twyman
(RNS) “(God) owns everything; He owns the gas. All we to do is ask, and we shall receive.”
Seventh-day Adventist Rocky Twyman of Rockville, Md., explaining why he holds vigils to pray for lower fuel prices. He was quoted by The Associated Press (Aug. 20).
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