c. 1996 Religion News Service
Twelve anti-abortion leaders call for intact GOP abortion plank
(RNS)-A coalition of 12 anti-abortion leaders issued a statement Tuesday (May 14) demanding that the existing anti-abortion plank of the Republican Party be adopted this year”without any change or deletion.””In the past week, there has been considerable media comment about proposals to change this language,”reads the statement, signed by Focus on the Family President James Dobson, Concerned Women for America Chairman Beverly LaHaye and other conservative leaders.”Such comments show that any change or deletion would be interpreted as a retreat from the Republican Party’s principled position.” Caia Mockaitis, a spokeswoman for Focus on the Family, said the statement was prompted by a proposal from Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed to change the plank and by calls from several Republican governors for the plank to be dropped from the GOP platform.
The statement’s signatories urge retaining the plank’s current language, which supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.”It is incumbent on those in leadership positions to work for public policies that respect and protect the sanctity of human life,”the statement reads.”We note that support for a human life amendment to provide this legal protection has been part of every Republican Platform adopted since Roe vs. Wade, and it would be (a) tragic mistake to retreat from this position.” In his new book,”Active Faith,”Reed proposed language-which he emphasized was his own and not the Coalition’s-that would not have specifically included the human life amendment but rather would have sought”all legal and constitutional means to protect the right to life for the elderly, the infirm, the unborn, and the disabled.” Christian Coalition spokesman Mike Russell said he did not take the 12-member coalition’s statement as a reprimand.”There’s far more agreement on this issue than there is disagreement,”he said.”The goal here-and let’s not lose sight of the goal-is to keep the party platform language decidedly pro-life.” He added that the Christian Coalition supports adding a sentence to”chide”President Bill Clinton for his recent veto of a proposed ban on a controversial late-term abortion procedure, known by its critics as”partial-birth abortion.” The 12-member coalition’s statement is scheduled to appear in a full-page ad in Wednesday’s (May 15) Washington Times.
Other statement signers are: Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council; Judie Brown, president of American Life League; Charles W. Colson, chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries; the Rev. D. James Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries; Richard D. Land, president of the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission; the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of First Things; Adrian Rogers, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention; Phyllis Schlafly, chairman of the Republican National Coalition for Life; Paul Weyrich, president of Free Congress Foundation; Dr. J.C. Willke, president of the International Right to Life Federation.
U.S. Supreme Court refuses case barring cross on a city seal
(RNS)-The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (May 13) refused an appeal by the city of Edmond, Okla., to overrule a lower court decision barring the town from displaying a Christian cross on its official seal.
In rejecting the city’s appeal 6-3, the Supreme Court let stand a ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said the the city’s use of the symbol violated the constitutionally required separation of church and state.”The religious significance and meaning of the Latin or Christian cross are unmistakable,”the 10th Circuit said.”We must conclude that the average observer would perceive … endorsement of Christianity.” Edmond’s city seal has been in use since 1965 and was first challenged in 1992. It is a circular design divided into four quadrants showing such symbols as a covered wagon, a train and oil well, and a building from the University of Central Oklahoma. The fourth quadrant contains a cross, which city officials say represents the historical significance of early churches in Edmond.
The three justices who said the court should hear the appeal-Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas-said the court should use the Edmond appeal to settle conflicting lower court rulings on the use of religious symbols.
It takes the votes of four justices to grant a review of a lower court ruling.
White House says Clinton opposes same-sex marriages
(RNS)-President Clinton opposes same-sex marriages but will”look carefully”at any legislation Congress passes aimed at banning it, White House spokesman Michael McCurry said Monday (May 13).
McCurry, asked during the regular White House briefing about Clinton’s views, said the president has publicly opposed same-sex marriages since at least 1992.”He believes this is a time when we need to do things to strengthen the American family, and that’s the reason why he’s taken this position,”McCurry said.
Under the legislation, called the Defense of Marriage Act and introduced in the House of Representatives, states would not have to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The proposed measure defines marriage as”the legal union between one man and one woman”for purposes of interpreting federal laws.
The Constitution subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the proposed legislation for Wednesday (May 15).
The issue has gained prominence because of a pending court decision in Hawaii that could legalize gay marriages in that state.
Under the doctrine of reciprocity, states are required to recognize marriages performed in other jurisdictions, raising the fear among some opponents of gay marriages that homosexuals would travel to Hawaii for their wedding and then demand that their home state recognize the marriage.
According to Kim Mills, spokeswoman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay and lesbian rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., eight states have already banned same-sex marriage and legislation opposing gay unions has been introduced in another two dozen states.
Vatican: No help for Agca in plea for pardon
(RNS)-The Vatican said Tuesday (May 14) it would not help the family of Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca seek a pardon of the life sentence he is serving for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981.
The terse response by spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls followed an appeal by Agca and his mother and brother for his release on the 15th anniversary of his imprisonment.”He has paid more than anyone else,”his mother said at a Rome news conference.”Let him go so that I can take him back to Turkey, possibly tomorrow.” Agca’s lawyer said he would seek a pardon from Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.
But the request is unlikely to be granted. While some prisoners convicted of violent crimes have been released after 15 years, none of the cases has involved the shooting of a pontiff. The pope nearly died from the attack, in which he was hit in the hand and stomach.
The pope forgave Agca, now 38, of his crime just four days after the shooting and later held a private meeting with him in jail.”The Holy Father shares the suffering of the mother and of Ali Agca himself,”Navarro-Valls said in his statement. But, he added, the pope will”leave it up to the Italian justice system what to do.” Italian officials have previously said there is virtually no prospect of Agca’s pardon, which would almost certainly set off international protests.
After the shooting, Agca claimed that the Bulgarians had conspired with the Turkish mafia to kill the pope. Others claimed the former Soviet Union targeted the pope for his strong support of Poland’s Solidarity Union. None of the theories has ever been proved.
This week’s events, which began with Agca’s plea from prison, appeared to be stage-managed by the Italian media. The state broadcaster RAI conducted the prison interview on Sunday and flew Agca’s mother and brother to Rome from Turkey for the news session.
Episcopal Bishop Edward Chalfant resigns as head of Diocese of Maine
(RNS)-Episcopal Bishop Edward Chalfant, who took a leave of absence last month after revelations that he had been involved in an extra-marital relationship, has resigned as bishop of the Diocese of Maine.”The diocese has complicated work to do in order to proceed with its mission and ministry,”Chalfant said in a resignation letter dated May 6.”I do not want to impede that work by creating nonessential and peripheral concerns of conjecture about my possible return following my leave of absence,”he added.
On April 16, the diocese’s Standing Committee, which oversees clergy matters in a diocese, announced that, because of”a serious breach of … ecclesiastical vows and marriage vows,”Chalfant had agreed to take a leave of absence beginning immediately.
In its announcement, the Standing Committee said it had requested the leave of absence in order to keep open”the possibility of reconciling the bishop and the Diocese of Maine after what must be characterized as a significant betrayal of trust.” In his own statement, Chalfant acknowledged”grievous errors in judgment and behavior”that he said had caused”great pain and heartbreak to my wife, placed the church in embarrassment and risk, and involved another human being in a painful situation.” The Standing Committee refused to identify the other person in the affair and said only that she is an unmarried laywoman who is not an employee of the diocese.
A diocesan convention on May 17 will consider what steps the diocese will take to fill the leadership vacuum.
Quote of the day: Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry on what spiritual renewal means to him
(RNS)-Politically beleaguered Mayor Marion Barry of the fiscally troubled city of Washington, D.C., returned Monday from a self-imposed leave of absence to deal with what he called physical exhaustion and to seek spiritual renewal. In comments to city workers on his return, Barry spoke of what spiritual renewal means in his life:”Let me pause and define what I mean by spiritual renewal. It’s not complex. It is a more active, stronger and reciprocal relationship with the God of my understanding-who, for me, is Jesus Christ. … I know that many people don’t understand why or believe that an elected official should be publicly talking about the Holy Spirit of God. This nation was founded by God-fearing people, men such as Martin Luther King Jr., who have shown us that internal values impact external actions in every area of our lives.”
LJB END ANDERSON
