c. 1997 Religion News Service
Prominent Baptist leader denies affair
(RNS) The Rev. Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, has”categorically”denied having an affair with his business partner.
Lyons is facing questions about his morality and finances after his wife, Deborah, was charged with arson for allegedly setting fire to an opulent Florida house he co-owns with the business partner, Bernice Edwards.”It is a tragedy that a close friend of our family for several years and a business partner of mine has been falsely misrepresented as a mistress of mine,”Lyons said at a news conference Friday (July 11) at his St. Petersburg, Fla., church.”I want to state straight out that I categorically deny that Ms. Bernice Edwards and I were carrying on an affair.” The incident involving the alleged arson _ to which Deborah Lyons pleaded not guilty Thursday (July 10) _ has lead to revelations about Lyons’ wealth and problems in both his and Edwards’ past, which have been reported in the St. Petersburg Times.
Edwards is the public relations director of corporate affairs for the denomination, Lyons said. He described the house that has been found to be deeded in his and Edwards’ names as a”guest house for developing corporate relationships and receiving national and international visitors in a private setting.”Lyons said he doesn’t live there.
The Times reported that Edwards was convicted in 1994 in Milwaukee of embezzling more than $60,000 in federal funds from an alternative high school. At the time, she was known as Bernice Jones, and she has used at least nine different names in recent years.
The newspaper also reported that Henry Lyons paid $85,000 in restitution after he was investigated for federal bank fraud and reached a 1991 agreement with federal prosecutors to reimburse the bank. He became president of the National Baptist Convention, USA _ the nation’s largest black denomination _ in 1994 in a hotly contested election.
Lyons appeared with his wife at the news conference and blasted the media, claiming its members had a problem with his”living well”and have damaged his reputation.”I have been slandered, and make no mistake about it, I will work through counsel to repair my reputation and me and my wife’s good name,”he said.
Lyons plans to meet with his denomination’s board of directors Thursday (July 17) to give them”a detailed report”about the situation.
Religious, legal experts discuss post-RFRA protections
(RNS) Religious and legal experts gathered for a hearing Monday (July 14) that marked the first formal Capitol Hill discussions on the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its Boerne vs. Flores decision.
Rep. Charles T. Canady, R-Fla., chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, called the hearing to consider new proposals offering legal protection for religious groups he believes was lost with the court’s June 25 decision.”The Boerne decision has left men and women of faith without adequate protection against laws that interfere with their free exercise of religion,”Canady said in a statement at the start of the hearing.
Supporters of RFRA at the hearing offered a variety of suggestions for addressing what they consider a legislative loss. Among them were the possibilities of a constitutional amendment _ though some said the process is too slow or risky _ federal legislation, state-level versions of RFRA, and the linking of local government’s acceptance of federal funds to requirements that they be bound by rules similar to RFRA.
RFRA supporters also sought a congressional resolution supporting of religious liberty protections.”It is important that Congress itself be on record, not against Boerne … but for religion and for religious liberty,”said Mark E. Chopko, general counsel of the U.S. Catholic Conference, in his written testimony.
Other representatives of religious organizations who testified were Charles Colson, chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries; the Rev. Oliver Thomas, special counsel for the National Council of Churches; and Marc Stern, co-director of the American Jewish Congress’ Commission on Law and Social Action.
Jeffrey Sutton, Ohio state solicitor, testified about the difficulties RFRA caused local and state governments. Opponents of RFRA said the act prompted a plethora of lawsuits from inmates trying to circumvent prison rules.”RFRA’s greatest harm was that it greatly disrupted corrections officials’ ability to maintain safety and security inside the nation’s prisons and jails,”he said.
Sutton noted that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the majority decision in the case, said there was not much evidence of laws creating widespread religious discrimination.”One reason for the general tolerance of different religious beliefs is the widespread presence of state and local laws protecting against the infringement of religious liberty,”Sutton wrote.”In the wake of the City of Boerne decision, the states are acting to fill any gap that may have resulted from the invalidation of RFRA.”
Egyptian health minister bans female circumcision in hospitals
(RNS) Female circumcision will not be allowed in Egyptian hospitals, despite a court ruling that recently declared the ban on the practice null and void, the Egyptian health minister has said.
Health Minister Ismail Sallam said in remarks published in a government newspaper Friday (July 11) that his agency will challenge the ruling in a higher court.
A lower court ruled in June that Sallam did not have the authority to legally ban the ancient practice. The ruling was applauded by Islamic leaders and denounced by feminist and human rights groups.
Some Islamists say the practice _ also known as female genital mutilation _ is Islamic, but the operation is rarely performed outside Africa and many Muslims dispute that there is religious authority for it, Reuters reported.”The decision to ban female circumcision was a sound decision in line with the proper concept of religion,”Sallam said.”Linking female circumcision with Islam is an insult to the religion.”
British religious leaders oppose gene-patenting directive
(RNS) Religious leaders in Britain have united to protest a proposed European Union directive that would allow the patenting of genes and other living material.
The directive is set to be presented to the European Parliament Tuesday (July 15) and is scheduled for a vote on Wednesday.
In a letter to The Independent, a London newspaper, Catholic, Jewish and Anglican leaders said the directive, if passed as currently written,”would give industry explicit rights to life patency and therefore the right to monopolize the commercial exploitation of life forms.” The signatories cited ethical objections to a company holding patent rights over living material it had neither created nor invented.”If this directive were passed, merely extracting and describing a gene would entitle a company to a patent, allowing them not only a monopoly control over the procedure but also over the genes themselves,”they wrote. Such a move would credit a company”with all future unforeseen developments and applications of that basic discovery.” A company’s monopoly over such a procedure also”could lead to increased patient expenses for treatment and to a financially exclusive service,”they said.
Netanyahu aide pledges to help Russian clerics
(RNS) A top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Friday (July 11) to assist a group of Russian clerics evicted by Palestinian police from a Hebron monastery claimed by Patriarch Alexii II, head of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church.
The monks and nuns belong to an offshoot Russian Orthodox church that developed in exile during the communist era. Alexii has been touring the Holy Land trying to regain properties lost by his church during the communist period.
On July 5, Palestinian authorities served an eviction notice to the monks and nuns of the monastery, and allegedly beat two nuns when they refused to leave, the Associated Press reported.
David Bar-Illan, Netanyahu’s top aide, condemned the eviction and said it violated peace agreements stating that Israelis and Palestinians would respect holy sites. The monastery is in a region under Palestinian control.
The Palestinian Authority seems to be on the side of Alexii, who is the leader of the world’s largest Orthodox church with an estimated 80 million members.
Bar-Illan met with a delegation of exiled church leaders Friday and said Israel would try to help them through diplomatic channels.
Update: Pastor to homeless ordered to remove porch dwellers
(RNS) The pastor who helped spearhead the Southern Baptist Convention’s recent boycott of Walt Disney Co. can no longer allow homeless people to sleep in an enclosed porch at his church.
A superior court judge issued the ruling Thursday (July 10) when he granted a preliminary injunction requested by Buena Park, Calif., officials against Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park.
Drake could be found in contempt by the court if he does not evict 24 homeless people, the Associated Press reported.
The decision, by Superior Court Judge Randall L. Wilkinson, came as jurors were being sworn in for a criminal case against Drake and the church concerning the church’s homeless shelter.
Drake faces misdemeanor charges that he violated the city’s anti-camping ordinance by allowing homeless people to camp on his church’s property.”They are coming at us on two different fronts,”said John Alexander, lawyer for the church, which is located about six miles from Disneyland.
If Drake is found guilty of the criminal charges, Buena Park officials plan to order all homeless people camping on the property _ including those in trailers and cars in the parking lot _ to leave the grounds.
Quote of the Day: Sexual abstinence promoter Richard Ross
(RNS) In a recent speech to youth leaders at the National Conference for Church Leadership in Glorieta, N.M., Richard Ross acknowledged that students who pledge to abide by the”True Love Waits”sexual abstinence campaign he has spearheaded do not always stick with their promise. According to Baptist Press, the official news agency of the Southern Baptist Convention, he spoke of national statistics that show 1.1 million teen-agers get pregnant each year:”If it were not for the fact that pregnant girls tend to drop out of church or quietly have abortions, we would see pregnant girls in our youth groups often.”
MJP END RNS
