c. 1998 Religion News Service

Catholic priest doesn’t regret giving Clinton communion

(RNS) A Roman Catholic priest in South Africa who broke church rules by giving Holy Communion to President Clinton, a Southern Baptist, said Thursday (April 2) he believes he acted correctly.”I’m ready to put my head on the block for that,”said the Rev. Mohlomi Makobane, whose church in the black township of Soweto was visited by Clinton and his entourage during the president’s 12-day visit to Africa, which concluded Thursday (April 2).

Makobane said he didn’t have much choice when Clinton got in line Sunday (March 29) at Regina Mundi Roman Catholic Church to receive communion, the Associated Press reported.”If the president stands up to come receive Holy Communion, how much embarrassment would it have caused him by my saying `Please sit down,'”the priest said in an interview.”Let’s be practical. He’s a child of God and came willingly to share the Eucharist with us and pray with us,”Makobane said.”And he’s the most powerful man in the world. … If I had denied him communion when he came with the procession … there would have been much more noise.” The president bowed his head and clasped his hands before Makobane, who placed the communion wafer in Clinton’s mouth. News photographers snapped photos as he took part in the sacrament.

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia criticized the incident earlier this week. Asked about that criticism, White House press secretary Mike McCurry said the president and other non-Catholics in his entourage were invited to receive communion.”In the printed program for the service, all baptized Christians were invited to partake in communion,”McCurry said.”The president felt that was an invitation that he wanted to accept, as did many of the Protestants who were attending.” The Rev. Tony Bailey of the Catholic Diocese in Johannesburg said giving a non-Catholic Holy Communion is”definitely not church policy at all.” But one Vatican official said the”scandal”would have been greater if the priest had denied the president the sacrament.

Dallas priest convicted of sexual assault gets life sentence

(RNS) The suspended priest from the Catholic Diocese of Dallas who was convicted of sexually assaulting altar boys was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday (April 1).

Rudolph”Rudy”Kos, 52, was sentenced less than a year after the diocese was hit with a $119.6 million verdict as a result of the scandal, the Associated Press reported.

Kos was convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault. He also was given 20-year prison terms for convictions on four other counts. Kos had pleaded guilty to two counts of indecency with a child and one count of child sexual assault.”He’s gotten what he deserved,”said Wade Schlosstein, one of the former altar boys who accused Kos of assault.”It should be death, but he got the most that the law allows.” The suspended priest will be eligible to apply for parole in 15 years.

The charges stemmed from claims of four former altar boys who told police they were molested during a five-year period from the time they were 10, 11 or 12 years old. The men said they were assaulted about 1,350 times.

Some of Kos’ accusers addressed him in court before the announcement of the sentences.”Because of you, I thought I wasn’t even deserving of my own family,”said Robert Hultz.”And I asked you why, why you should do this to me? I hope you never forget my eyes and the pain you have caused. It is men like you that bedevil our society, and thank God you will no longer be a part of it.” When one of his accusers spoke to him, Kos replied,”You’re a liar.” Another jury last year issued the verdict against the Dallas diocese, the largest clergy sexual abuse award in the country’s history. The case involved lawsuits filed on behalf of 11 men who claimed the diocese covered up Kos’ assaults at three local churches from 1981 to 1992.

The diocese reached a $7.5 million settlement with three of those plaintiffs last month and is continuing mediation with the other eight.

The diocese issued the following statement after the sentencing:”We hope with the conclusion of the criminal cases that all of us can move forward with the healing process.” Disciples’ Georgia body votes to take anti-racism training

(RNS) The Georgia Regional Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has voted to hold anti-racism sensitivity training months after it became embroiled in controversy for rejecting an African-American man for its top executive post.

The vote on Tuesday (March 31) called for initial training of board members in July and the development of trainers for congregations in that region, said the Rev. Richard Hamm, Disciples’ denominational president.

The training of the board will occur before they determine who will serve as regional minister.

Members of the regional board in November rejected the Rev. William H. Edwards, a former denominational official, as a candidate for that post. Georgia officials have acknowledged that Edwards’ race was”one of several factors”in the decision to reject him.

The Black Ministers’ Fellowship issued a statement March 5 calling on the Georgia body to suspend its search for a job candidate until the anti-racism training takes place.

Hamm said the board’s decision means the fellowship’s demands have been met.”I’m very proud of the regional board for taking responsibility for addressing this issue in a forthright way,”Hamm told Religion News Service.

Historic synagogue in Latvia bombed

(RNS) A historic synagogue in Riga, Latvia, was bombed Thursday (April 2), destroying windows and doors. There were no injuries and no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

However, officials at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based group dedicated to finding former Nazis and their collaborators, said the attack was motivated by a March 16 reunion of World War II Latvian SS veterans, Reuters reported.

The same synagogue was bombed in 1995, news agencies reported.

Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis quickly condemned the attack.”The state president categorically condemns the act of vandalism … and unequivically rejects any sort of violence and use of explosives,”Ulmanis said in a statement.

But the Wiesenthal Center, maintaining the blast was connected to the Nazi reunion, is pressuring Ulmanis to outlaw all future meetings of the group.”We call upon you to officially denounce the bombing and take necessary measures to outlaw public meetings and demonstrations of those who supported Nazi Germany,”the group said in a statement to Ulmanis.

Quote of the day: President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda

(RNS)”We criticize the whites. What we do not realize is that internal weaknesses allowed it (slavery). Why is it only African people who were enslaved? Why did they not resist? With greed, tribalism and religious differences, they became conquered.” _ Ugandan President Yoweri Muserveni, talking to reporters April 1, in response to questions about President Clinton’s comments that whites were wrong in engaging in the slave trade.

DEA END RNS