c. 1998 Religion News Service

Stereotype of long-term homeless out-of-date, survey shows

(RNS) The prevalent stereotype of America’s homeless as long-term drifters is woefully out-of-date, according to a survey released Monday (Nov. 23).

A 1998 survey of 20,000 homeless people released by the International Union of Gospel Missions shows that 61 percent said they had been homeless less than a year. That figure is 11 percentage points higher than the findings of a 1989 survey.

Seventy-two percent of survey respondents come from within their communities, a 12 percentage point increase from the original survey by the association of rescue missions.

Through surveys over the last 10 years, the association has chronicled the changing face of America’s homeless. For example, the 1998 survey found that women with children composed 66 percent of the families surveyed, compared to 46 percent in 1989. Clients younger than 18 comprise 12 percent of the survey total in 1998, an increase of 4 percent from the 1989 survey.”Rescue mission programs are changing to deal with the new demands required of them,”said the Rev. Stephen E. Burger, executive director of IUGM.”Specifically, missions have developed or enhanced programs for women and children to meet the needs of the ever-increasing number of single-parent families on the streets.” Burger said the effects of changes in welfare legislation on the homeless need to be studied further.”Twenty-two percent of those surveyed say they have lost government benefits in the past year _ mostly women with children,”he said.”They’ve lost AFDC benefits and food stamps.” The survey, taken in mid-October by 144 rescue missions, is the largest in the history of IUGM.

Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed were male and 22 percent were female. The racial make-up of the survey participants was as follows: 42 percent African-American; 40 percent Caucasian; 12 percent Hispanic; 4 percent Native American; and 2 percent Asian.

Member missions of the IUGM provide shelter, emergency food, rehabilitation programs for addicted persons and assistance to at-risk youth and poor elderly people.

Denver doomsday cultists reported in Israel

(RNS) At least 10 members of a Denver-area doomsday cult have surfaced in Israel, where authorities are concerned they and other Christian extremists may seek to commit suicide as the millennium approaches.

More than 70 members of the Concerned Christians cult led by Monte Kim Miller _ who has said he will die in Jerusalem in December 1999 and be resurrected three days later _ sold their belongings and left the Denver area in October. Reports at that time said the cultists were probably headed for Israel.

Israeli police confirmed at least 10 members of the group were now in Israel and were being closely watched, the Associated Press reported Monday (Nov. 23). Police in Jerusalem said the cultists posed no danger to themselves or others at this point.

Israeli officials have established a special task force to prepare for groups such as Concerned Christians who are expected to flock to Jerusalem as the millennium approaches. Some Christians have reportedly rented housing in Arab neighborhoods on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the Temple Mount within the walled Old City, in expectation that Jesus will return to earth on or around the millennium.

Officials are concerned some of the groups also may seek to destroy the Muslim mosques currently on the Temple Mount, site of the ancient Jewish temples, out of a belief that to do so will hasten Jesus’ return.

Indonesian Muslim-Christian violence leaves 14 dead

(RNS) At least 14 people died when a fight Sunday (Nov. 22) between Indonesian Muslims and Catholics at a gambling hall exploded into Muslim mob attacks on Christian churches in Jakarta.

Eight of the dead were pulled from the rubble of the burned-out gambling parlor, where officials said the violence erupted. The Associated Press reported that Muslims who disapproved of gambling attacked the parlor, which was guarded by Catholics originally from the eastern Indonesian island of Amboina. Catholics reportedly retaliated by throwing rocks at a mosque.

At least five Ambonese were killed. Some 179 people were detained by police and dozens were reported injured.

The violence spread from the gambling parlor when Muslim mobs began attacking Chinese neighborhoods in north Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. When the violence ended, nearly a dozen Christian churches were left burned or otherwise damaged.

Indonesian Chinese, who control much of the Indonesian economy, have become a frequent target of Muslims caught in the Asian nation’s current economic downswing and political uncertainty. With 90 percent of its 202 million people professing Islam, Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. However, most members of the minority Chinese community are Christians or Buddhists.

In addition, East Timor and Amboina in eastern Indonesia are home to Catholics. East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. East Timor has been seeking independence from Indonesia ever since.

Abdurrahman Megawati, a prominent Indonesian Muslim leader, blamed the violence on Muslim thugs. The violence followed on the heels of pro-democracy political violence in Indonesia that left at least 17 dead.

Bishop: politicians who support legal abortion not welcome

(RNS) Bishop Donald Trautman, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Pa., has told politicians who support abortion rights they are not welcome speakers at church-owned facilities.

And Gov. Tom Ridge, a Catholic from Erie who, while personally opposing abortion supports allowing women the legal right to choose, has told Trautman he’ll be glad to abide by the bishop’s ban.

Trautman said the separation of public and private beliefs espoused by Ridge and other public figures is no longer acceptable following the approval last week of a new, toughened policy statement by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Associated Press reported.”I intend on honoring my bishop’s instructions,”Ridge said.”I will honor his request but I had pretty much concluded in my mind that’s pretty much what I should do anyhow.” Ridge has been picketed by opponents of legal abortion when he has been invited to speak at church-owned facilities.

In a statement released at a news conference Friday (Nov. 20), Trautman defended the church’s position by quoting from the new policy statement.”Catholics who are privileged to serve in public leadership positions have an obligation to place their faith at the heart of their public service, particularly on issues regarding the sanctity and dignity of human life,”the new policy statement says.

Update: Cardinal’s fiscal anti-abortion effort results in 87 babies

(RNS) In a dramatic gesture made in March 1997, Cardinal Thomas Winning, archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland, offered financial help to any pregnant woman who might otherwise have an abortion.

Since then, according to archdiocesan officials, 87 babies have been born to women helped by the program and another 38 pregnant women are currently being helped. The 87 births included three sets of twins.”As far as I am aware, all the mothers kept their babies,”a spokesman for the cardinal said, adding that the mothers would continue to receive help from the church for as long as they needed it.

More than 300 women have contacted the church for help or information.

Quote of the day: Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua

(RNS)”To have people watch someone be killed, I think it’s a low in journalism.” _ Roman Catholic Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua of Philadelphia, commenting on the television program”60 Minutes”segment showing Dr. Jack Kevorkian administering a lethal dose of drugs to a terminally ill man on Sunday, Nov. 22.

DEA END RNS