c. 1997 Religion News Service
Secretly married priest enters real estate business
(RNS) A Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla., whose secret marriage of 15 years was made public last year, has informed former parishioners he plans to remain married and has entered the real estate business.
Patrick J. Clarke began working for a real estate agency in January and listed his wife’s address on his real estate license, the Associated Press reported.
Although he’s been in contact with former parishioners, Clarke has not officially informed the church of his career plans.”I know nothing,”said Mary Jo Murphy, spokeswoman for the Diocese of St. Petersburg.”All I know is officially he is still on a leave of absence.” Bishop Robert Lynch announced Clarke’s marital status last October after church officials received an anonymous copy of the priest’s marriage license. Clarke, 52, was asked by Lynch to take the leave and make a choice between his wife and the priesthood, which requires him to be celibate and single.
In a letter sent last week to former parishioners, Clarke said,”You can be assured of my concern for your welfare in the important and personal decisions of purchasing or selling property.”The letter made no mention of his ministry.
Clarke apparently made a decision regarding the ministry before last Christmas.
Former parishioner Andrew Rodnite Jr. said Clarke sent Christmas cards that included a letter declaring his decision to remain committed to his marriage and pursue the real estate field.
Rodnite, whose children were baptized by Clarke, said the situation has had a big effect on him.”It’s like losing a friend,”he said.
Clarke did not return messages left Thursday (Feb. 27) at his office or home. His wife, Barbara Rominger, who he married in a 1981 civil ceremony, has said she will support her husband no matter what he decides.
Kathy Erickson, who hired Clarke to work at her real estate agency, expressed confidence about her new employee.”I felt he was a good person and he could fit in well here,”she said.”I feel very strongly that he’s a wonderful asset.”
UCC appoints first national staffer for gay issues
(RNS) The United Church of Christ (UCC) has appointed its first national staff minister for lesbian and gay concerns.
The Rev. William R. Johnson, who has been the HIV/AIDS ministries specialist for the United Church Board for Homeland Mission since 1990, will now add lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns to his portfolio.
He is believed to be one of the first national staff members of any major mainline Protestant denomination to be specifically in charge of ministry to homosexuals.
The homeland board is the domestic missions arm of the 1.5 million-member denomination.
Various agencies of the UCC have long supported equal rights for homosexuals in the church and society, but no member of the national staff has previously been specifically responsible for lesbian and gay issues.”We are committed to responding to the resourcing needs of local church clergy who seek to provide pastoral care to lesbian and gay people and their families,”Johnson said.”The increasing visibility given to these concerns will deepen our commitment to be an open and affirming church.” He plans to develop resources for pastors, parents of lesbians and gays, and homosexual youth.
Johnson also will be a spokesman for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, a topic on which the Board for Homeland Mission would like to have a churchwide dialogue.
Johnson also is chair of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Cluster of the UCC’s Justice and Peace Ministry, a new network involving national UCC agencies and UCC members who are interested in being active on social issues.
Ordained in 1972, Johnson is believed to be the first openly gay man ever ordained to the Christian ministry, according to UCC officials.
Roman Catholic group wins Methodist peace prize
(RNS) The Community of St. Egidio, a lay Roman Catholic community based in Rome, has been named the winner of the 1997 World Methodist Peace Prize.
The community, founded in 1968 to work with the poor, is best known for its efforts at international mediation and reconciliation.
Its president, Andrea Riccardi, was one of the official mediators in the successful talks that led to an end to the civil war in Mozambique in 1992.
The award to St. Egidio will mark the first time it has been given to a community rather than an individual. Previous recipients have included Anwar Sadat, the assassinated president of Egypt, and former President Jimmy Carter.
It consists of a medallion, a citation and a symbolic gift of $1,000.”The recognition that we have been given by a church whose roots are immersed in the evangelical revival and in the profound link between preaching and love for the poor, encourages us to work for reconciliation,”Riccardi told Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.” The Rev. Joe Hale, the World Methodist Council’s general secretary, said the award honored the community for”its remarkable work in lifting the level of life for thousands of persons and its efforts to further human reconciliation and the cause of world peace.”
Brazilians pray for opportunity to host Olympics
(RNS) In an effort to swing the decision of the International Olympic Committee on a site for the 2004 Olympic Games in their direction, some 1 million Brazilians offered a”prayer to heaven”Sunday (March 2) that the committee would select Rio De Janeiro.”We are showing the world our strength,”Ronaldo Cezar Coelho, the president of the Rio 2004 Committee, said of the event.
The Brazilians gathered for prayer on Rio’s Copacabana beach to support the city’s bid to host the games. According to a report by the Associated Press, no South American city has ever hosted the Olympic Games, but Brazilians, including soccer legend and Sports Minister Pele, hope to change that.
Christian Reformed World Missions elects new head
(RNS) The Rev. Merle Den Bleyker has been elected the new executive director of Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM).
Den Bleyker, a Calvin College and Calvin Seminary graduate, said after his Feb. 18 election that he wants the missions and relief agency to be identified by two characteristics _”obedience to Jesus Christ, and compassion.” He also said the agency has to continue its”strong tradition of responding to the needs of the world in obedience to the mission heart of our Lord.” Den Bleyker, with his wife Donna, spent ten years in Puerto Rico with CRWM and served as the CRWM program director for Asia and Latin America for five years before being elected as CRWM executive director.
CRWM is the overseas mission agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. It supports more than 300 missionaries in 30 countries.
Vatican tells priests to be more understanding about birth control
(RNS) A new guide from the Vatican instructs Roman Catholic priests to be more compassionate with couples who confess to using contraception, a practice officially banned by the church.
The 20-page guide, issued Saturday (Mar. 1), affirms the church’s opposition to artificial birth control, but also tells priests to absolve couples readily if they repent and admit their sin, according to a report from Reuters news service.”Sacramental absolution (forgiveness of sins) is not to be denied to those who, repentant after having gravely sinned against conjugal chastity, demonstrate the desire to strive to abstain from sinning again,”the document said.
But to encourage priests to be more forgiving to couples practicing contraception, it said”frequent relapse into sins of contraception does not in itself constitute a motive for denying absolution.” Although the document stresses that the official church position has not changed, Italian media called it a crack in the door. A headline in the La Repubblica newspaper Sunday (Mar. 2) read,”The Vatican closes an eye toward the pill.” Birth control, which is banned by the church because it blocks the transmission of life, was once one of the most controversial issues for Catholics worldwide but is widely practiced and accepted by Catholics in most industrialized nations.
Quote of the Day: Benjamin Chavis Muhammad
(RNS) Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, formerly known as Benjamin Chavis, was quoted in The New York Times about his recent conversion to the Nation of Islam. Wearing the group’s trademark bow tie, Chavis, who has long been affiliated with the United Church of Christ, now describes himself as a minister in the Nation of Islam, which is led by Minister Louis Farrakhan. He told reporters:”I want to live the rest of my life working closely with the person I consider the most effective black leader in America today.”
MJP END RNS
