c. 1997 Religion News Service

Russian Orthodox official says religion bill will eventually pass

(RNS) A Russian Orthodox Church official says a Russian law that would restrict the activities of all but a few specified”traditional”Russian religions will eventually be approved, despite President Boris Yeltsin’s veto of the proposal Tuesday (July 22).

Yeltsin said he rejected the measure because it could”trigger religious strife”in Russia. However, he also proposed unspecified rewording of the bill and said some law was needed to keep”radical sects”from harming Russians.

The bill _ which has wide backing in the Russian parliament and has been promoted by the Russian Orthodox Church _ would have granted full legal status to four”traditional”Russian faiths: Russian Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism.

All other groups _ Roman Catholic, Protestant or otherwise _ would have been required to wait 15 years before gaining full legal status. During that period, they would not have been allowed to own property or open bank accounts, effectively crippling their ability to function.

The activities of foreign missionaries would have also be severely restricted.

The bill was widely viewed as an attempt by the Russian Orthodox Church to protect its ranks from evangelical Protestant and other faiths _ both mainstream and fringe _ that have found success in gaining Russian converts since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The bill was broadly criticized as anti-democratic. Pope John Paul II urged its rejection by Yeltsin, as did President Clinton and the U.S. Congress, which voted to cut off economic aid to Moscow if the measure was approved.

Alexander Bulekov, a Russian Orthodox Church spokesman, told the Washington Post that after rewording the bill to mute some of the criticism the measure would be resubmitted”and we expect that (parliament) will eventually overcome the president’s rejection.”We are counting on the president to note that this law was supported by both the right and left in parliament,”Bulekov said.

Southern Baptists attempt to monitor Disney boycott

(RNS) Southern Baptist leaders _ taking steps to try to monitor their boycott of the Walt Disney Co. _ are asking individual Southern Baptists and others to write monthly letters to the entertainment conglomerate saying how their families refrained from spending money on Disney products.

The plan was detailed in a recent issue of Salt, the magazine of the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, formerly known as the Christian Life Commission.”Since Disney will not release figures, the only way to measure the financial impact on Disney is to call for Southern Baptists and others who join them to write (Disney chairman) Michael Eisner a letter at the end of every month noting how much money each family did not spend on Disney products that month in support of Southern Baptists’ financial protest and send the ERLC a copy of the letters,”wrote Richard Land, commission president.

Land said in his Salt column that commission staff will regularly tally the results from the letters they receive and report them to the public.

In a June 30 letter addressed to Southern Baptists asking about the boycott, Land suggested that letters to Eisner list specific products that were not purchased, including movies, videos, merchandise and expenses related to theme-park visits.

He suggested that a letter to Eisner might begin:”As a result of the Southern Baptist financial protest against your company’s radical shift away from a wholesome pro-family philosophy, my family did not spend the following amount on your products this month.” Land said his family has”already not spent $42 that we would have spent on attending Disney-affiliate movies.” In June, delegates at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly to boycott Disney because of what they believe is its promotion of”immoral ideologies.”One example Southern Baptists have cited is the company’s offering of insurance benefits to partners of homosexual employees.

Same-sex marriage suit filed in Vermont

(RNS) Three homosexual Vermont couples filed suit Tuesday (July 22) against that state and three of its towns, saying their constitutional rights were violated because they were denied marriage licenses.

No state currently recognizes same-sex marriage, although a court in Hawaii has ordered that state to allow such marriages. That decision is pending an appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

Because its constitution is broadly worded, some legal specialists believe Vermont, with its tradition of accepting alternative lifestyles, could prove an even better opportunity than Hawaii for gays to secure marriage rights.”InVermont, we’re beginning to look at the equal-protection clause as one that affords some positive rights,”Sheldon Novick, professor of law at Vermont Law School, told the Boston Globe.

Others said the prospect of gay marriage is likely to stir up conflicting opinions even in Vermont, the first state to abolish slavery and one of the first to outlaw hate crimes.

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell and his predecessors have advised town clerks that state laws sanction only heterosexual marriage, because language specifying”bride and groom”indicates that the partners must be of different genders.

The Vermont case involves a male couple that has been together for 25 years, and a two lesbian couples, one of which is parenting a 2-year-old boy.

The lawsuit maintains that”the refusal to allow our clients to marry violates both state marriage laws and the state Constitution, which require that all citizens and families have the same access to the legal protections and obligations of civil marriage.” Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a Boston-based homosexual rights legal agency, said victory in the suit would require churches to perform same-sex marriages”only if they want to,”since the case concerns civil and not religious marriages.

The towns of Shelburne, South Burlington and Milton were included in the suit because clerks in those jurisdictions refused to issue the three couples marriage licenses.

N.J. court says clergy counselors may be sued for sexual abuse

(RNS) A landmark decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court Tuesday (July 22) could have major ramifications for all clergy charged with sexual misconduct while conducting pastoral counseling.

The court ruled that priests, ministers, rabbis and other clerics may be sued for sexual abuse.

The 5-2 decision supporting a woman in her 40s _ identified only as”F.G.”_ involved in a”sexual relationship”during her two-year counseling period with an Episcopal priest, sparked an immediate debate in the religious community over church-state separation concerns.

Proponents applauded the decision and called it”reprehensible”that the defense would attempt to hide a cleric behind the First Amendment to protect sexual misconduct. Opponents said the ruling sets a”dangerous precedent”by allowing judges to settle religious disputes, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

The ruling stems from a suit filed against the Rev. Alex MacDonell, married and now retired, and the woman who came to him saying she did not feel loved by God. The court decision said they had a sexual relationship short of intercourse in 1992 and 1993.

The suit urged the state’s high court to make New Jersey the first state to recognize”clergy malpractice”as grounds to sue a minister. The court did not go that far but did reject claims that such lawsuits against clergy infringe on the constitutional separation of church and state.

A study by Christianity Today reported that 17 percent of ministers surveyed admitted having sexual intercourse with someone in counseling. In New Jersey, at least three dozen cases are pending that involve pastors accused of sexual misconduct with adult parishioners.

Senate continues ban on federal abortion funding

(RNS) The Senate voted 54 to 45 Tuesday (July 22) to continue barring federal workers’ health plans from covering the cost of most abortions.

The restriction was part of a $25.2 billion appropriations bill for the Treasury Department, Postal Service and other agencies for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

Except for fiscal 1994 and 1995, the restriction has been in effect since 1984. The House has not acted on its version of the current bill, but has previously approved the provision.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., denounced the measure because it”singles out female federal employees and denies them a medical benefit enjoyed by all other working women.”Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., called it a”gratuitous slap”at women in government.

Oldest Maryknoll brother dies at 99

(RNS) The Rev. William R. McCarthy, the oldest member of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, died in Maryknoll, N.Y., of congestive heart failure Monday (July 21).

McCarthy, 99, had been a Maryknoll priest for 57 years, reported Maryknoll News, the order’s news service.

McCarthy was ordained in 1940 and sent to the Philippines. At the outbreak of World War II, he was captured by the Japanese and spent four years in internment camps in Manila.

He served in Peru from 1946 to 1974, when he returned to the United States. Still ministering in his 80s, he volunteered for one of Maryknoll’s newest missions in Bangladesh, a request his superiors felt they could not honor.

Quote of the day: The Rev. Leon Sullivan

(RNS) The Rev. Leon Sullivan was a leader of the anti-apartheid economic boycott of South Africa. He returned to South Africa this week, and Monday (July 21) spoke at Regina Mundi Catholic Church, a meeting place for black activists during the apartheid years. Noting apartheid’s demise, Sullivan said:”We are here today because God answers prayers.”

MJP END RNS