c. 1998 Religion News Service
Baptist seminary chairman quits in sex scandal
(RNS) The board chairman of Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, has resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct involving two female members of the church he pastors.
Ollin Collins, the pastor of Harvest Baptist Church, resigned his post at the Southern Baptist school one day after the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the two women planned a lawsuit against him.
The women claimed they had sexual relations with the 47-year-old Collins while being counseled by him for personal problems. Their attorney, John Holland, charged Collins with abuse.”He abused his power. He abused his relationship,”Holland said of Collins.
Officials at Harvest Baptist Church in Watauga, Texas, said on Monday (Oct. 5) they had indefinitely suspended Collins pending an investigation, the Associated Press reported.
Cincinnati Catholic officials meet with parents of gays
(RNS) Parents of homosexual children have been invited by Roman Catholic officials in Cincinnati to a series of meetings on the church’s stand on homosexuality.
The church holds that while homosexuals should be welcomed, homosexual acts are considered immoral.
Cincinnati Auxiliary Bishop Carl Moeddel said the meetings in three cities in the archdiocese would discuss the church’s pastoral letter,”Always Our Children,”adopted last year by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on marriage and family. The letter emphasizes that homosexuals remain”God’s children”deserving of acceptance by the church, but that they should be encouraged to refrain from gay sex.
The first meeting was held Tuesday (Oct. 6) in Cincinnati. A second meeting is set for Thursday (Oct. 8) in Dayton and a third Oct. 13 in Ft. Loramie.
Wayne Besen, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual rights group, welcomed the Cincinnati archdiocese’s outreach effort, but cautioned that the church’s stand on the issue still falls short of meeting the needs of gays.”We think the church has come a long way on this issue, and we applaud them for that. They’re moving towards a message of love, and this will help parents as well as gay people,”Besen told the Associated Press.”However, they still have a long way to go, because celibacy is no answer. What they’re asking is for gay people to live a life that’s less fulfilling than the rest of the people in this world, and that’s wrong.”
U.N. official warns churches of looming refugee crisis
(RNS) Sadko Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has told a meeting sponsored by the World Council of Churches that the world’s refugee situation has gotten worse instead of better since the end of the Cold War and is becoming increasingly urgent.”We all looked forward to better times (after the Cold War), but we found that it causes greater confusion, especially in terms of enforced human removal,”Ogata said at a Sept. 22 conference marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the international ecumenical agency.”There is no clear end of war, and no clear start of peace,”she said, calling on the churches to continue to display their solidarity with the world’s uprooted and displaced.”If we lose the sense of solidarity, I don’t know where democracy is going,”she said.”The exclusion of the weak cannot be the basis for society.” One of the first major issues tackled by the WCC in its formative years after the end of World War II was providing assistance to refugees in Europe.
Ogata praised that work and its ongoing efforts to aid the uprooted but warned the number of refugees is increasing because of the growing number of internal conflicts such as that which accompanied the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency said.
Pro-choice groups announce plans for congressional contests
(RNS) Pro-choice groups have announced their intentions to spend the month left prior to the Nov. 3 congressional elections helping candidates that agree with their position, and targeting those that do not.
The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) said it would target about 60 House and Senate races. Particular attention will be paid to candidates who NARAL believes are trying to minimize their anti-abortion stands to gain votes.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America said it would spend more than $1 million on voter education and campaign contributions to favored candidates.”Our goal is not to allow anti-choice forces to increase their numbers in Congress,”said NARAL president Kate Michelman.
However, Michelman admitted that the pro-choice task is a tough one.
Although the party not in the White House generally picks up some congressional seats in non-presidential election years, the reverse is expected this year because of fallout from President Clinton’s sex scandal.
Disney seeks exemption from Internet porn restrictions
(RNS) The Walt Disney Co., already a boycott target of conservative religious groups, is seeking exemption from a proposed law aimed at keeping Internet pornography away from children, according to Republican congressional staffers.
Disney, the Motion Pictures Association of America and other groups are lobbying Republican House members pressing for language limiting the bill only to a company that displays online harmful material”as the principal course of trade or business,”the Associated Press reported Wednesday (Oct. 7).
As currently written, the GOP-sponsored measure would apply to all companies that display photographs or other material”harmful to minors”and require commercial Web sites to verify an adult’s age before granting access to its material.
In a statement, Disney said it”is extremely concerned that children be protected from exposure to inappropriate content on the Internet”but like other opponents of the measure say the current language is too broad. Disney said it is working with members of Congress”to improve the language of the bill.” Disney operates”Disney.com _ The Web Site for Families”through its Disney Online business.
David Walsh, director of the National Institute on Media and the Family, a supporter of the law, said the”loophole”sought by Disney and others”could easily be used by the adult-oriented sites to circumvent the whole intent of the law.
The Clinton administration opposes the legislation but has not yet said it will veto the measure if it passes Congress.
The House was expected to vote on it Wednesday. A similar measure is pending in the Senate.
Quote of the day: Pope John Paul II
(RNS)”The pro-life movement is one of the most positive aspects of American public life, and the support given it by the bishops is a tribute to your pastoral leadership.” _ Pope John Paul II, in remarks Oct. 2 to a group of Los Angeles-area bishops, including Cardinal Roger Mahony, making their ad limina visit to Rome.
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