c. 1999 Religion News Service
Mother of slain gay man urges Senate to pass hate crimes bill
(RNS) The mother of slain University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard urged a Senate committee Tuesday (May 11) to pass a hate crimes bill she said might have protected him from anti-gay discrimination.
The bill was criticized by groups such as the Family Research Council, which believes it will have a”chilling effect”on free speech and create a special class of victims who are given more protection than others injured by similar crimes.
Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judy Shepard made an emotional plea by recalling the late-night phone call she and her husband received when their gay son lapsed into a coma after an attack last fall.
She said the bill is not a”cure-all”but would”send the message that this senseless violence is unacceptable and un-American … If even one family can avoid getting that phone call in the middle of the night because of this legislation, then it will be worth it.” Opponents say the bill is not needed because states have not avoided prosecuting such crimes. In April, one of the two men charged in Shepard’s death pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Robert Knight, senior director of cultural studies at the Family Research, Council opposed the bill, the Associated Press reported.”While well-intentioned, a law like this could be greatly abused,”he said.
Supporters, such as the Equal Partners of Faith, a group of religious leaders advocating equality and diversity, urged the bill’s passage to prevent further murders based on prejudice and hatred.”Each of us, including elected officials, has a responsibility to safeguard the precious dreams of a hate-free nation where genuine equality and happiness can be realized,”stated the Rev. Steven Baines, projects coordinator for the Washington-based Equal Partners of Faith.”As committed people of faith, we believe the (Hate Crimes Prevention Act) is a necessary starting point to eradicate the hatred and violence deteriorating our national tapestry.” The bill, which is sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., would add sexual orientation, gender and disability to federal civil rights law. Current law prohibits crimes based on race, color, religion or national origin.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chair of the committee considering the bill, asked for additional information on bias crimes after Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder said”the data we have are inadequate.” Holder said the number of such crimes is often underestimated because victims don’t report the offenses and police do not always recognize them as bias crimes or collect the information.
World Council helps found anti-small arms network
(RNS) The World Council of Churches joined in the launch Wednesday (May 12) of the International Action Network on Small Arms, a coalition of over 200 non-governmental organizations aimed at preventing the proliferation and misuse of small arms.”The issue of disarmament has been on the WCC agenda for a long time,”said Salpy Eskidjian, the ecumenical agency’s executive secretary for international relations.”In this context our concerted effort and focus on micro-disarmament is a major contribution to the ecumenical commitment to overcome violence and to build a culture of peace.” The action network, under development since 1998, was officially announced at the five-day (May 11-15) Hague Appeal for Peace conference in the Netherlands. The meeting has brought together some 5,000 participants, including Nobel laureates, religious leaders, and such luminaries as United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and Queen Noor of Jordan.
Participants are expected to focus on a number of political campaigns aimed at promoting a 21st century without war. In addition to the small arms coalition _ one of the biggest non-governmental campaigns since the international effort to ban landmines _ the conference is expected to bolster efforts to stop the use of child soldiers and abolish nuclear weapons.
The conference commemorates the 100th anniversary of the First International Peace Conference called by Russian Czar Nicholas II. The Washington-based Worldwatch Institute has estimated that some 110 million people have died in war since the first gathering.
The anti-small arms network said the proliferation of small arms _ hand guns, rifles, machine guns and mortars _ is”one of the greatest humanitarian challenges for the next millennium.” It estimated that since 1990, 3 million people had been killed by small arms and pledged the network will work”to reduce the demand for small arms by civilians and government, stem the supply of small arms, stop the illegal gun trade, reduce the quantity of guns in circulation and reverse cultures of violence.”
Vietnam says it still has problems with religious freedom
(RNS) A new report from the Vietnam government says progress has been made in assuring religious freedom over the past year but acknowledged problems remain.”Progress has been made in the operation of religious organizations in accordance with the law and the common interest of the nation,”Le Quang Vinh, head of the Vietnam government’s Committee on Religion, was quoted as saying Wednesday (May 12).
Vinh presented the findings at a national meeting, held this week in Hanoi to review 1998 religious affairs and discuss implementation of a new decree on religion, reported the official Vietnam News Agency.
Problems cited by the report included an increase in illegal repair or construction of religious sites, disagreements over ownership of religious buildings and illegal religious promotion activities over the last year, Reuters reported.
Set to finish on Friday (May 14), some 300 delegates at the conference heard that a mood of goodwill had been created by holiday visits to Buddhist and Christian believers by Communist Party and government officials.
The VNA also said the year had been favorable to the printing of religious literature and the operation of religious schools, and added that Buddhist monks and nuns had been granted exit visas to travel overseas.
Freedom to worship in Vietnam has expanded in the last decade, although the government continues to maintain strict control over religious groups and related activities.
The government controls the printing of all religious literature. It also limits and approves all religious appointments in the state.
Recently, there has been an increasing official concern over the growth of evangelical Protestantism, especially among the Hmong ethnic minority living in the northwest and other groups living in the central highlands.
In at least one area, authorities have attempted to force some people to sign pledges saying that they will not adopt Protestantism, according to official documents reviewed by an independent news service.
According to a United Nations report, an October visit to Vietnam by the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance was plagued by restrictions.
Pope sees”sincere desire”of Orthodox for communion with Catholics
(RNS) Giving thanks for the opportunity to make an historic visit to Romania on the eve of the third millennium of Christianity, Pope John Paul II said Wednesday (May 12) the Romanian Orthodox Church has”a sincere desire for full communion”with Roman Catholics.
The pope, addressing some 15,000 pilgrims who gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audience, noted that the three-day trip he made to Bucharest last weekend would have been impossible before the fall of communism a decade ago.”Thinking of the political situation until not so many years ago, how can one not see in this event an eloquent sign of the action of God in history?”the Polish-born pontiff asked.”To foresee a papal visit then would have been completely unthinkable.” The pope said his visit was also a landmark in church history.”It was an important historical event because it was my first trip to a country where Orthodox Christians are in the majority,”he said.”I give thanks to God who, in his providence, arranged that it might happen close to the year 2000, offering Catholics and Orthodox brothers the opportunity to carry out together a particularly significant gesture on the road toward full unity in adhesion to the spirit of the Great Jubilee that is now so close.” The Roman Catholic pontiff described his meeting with Patriarch Teoctist and the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church as”particularly awaited and significant.””I was welcomed by the patriarchate with great cordiality and I could discern in His Beatitude and in the other members of the Holy Synod fraternal comprehension and a sincere desire for full communion according to the will of the Lord,”John Paul said.”On the occasion, I wanted to assure the Romanian Orthodox Church, engaged in an important work of renewal, of the affection and the collaboration of the Catholic Church,”he said.”Fraternal love is the soul of dialogue, and this is the road to overcome the obstacles and the difficulties that remain for arriving at full unity among Christians.””Europe and the world now more than ever need the visible testimony of fraternity among believers in Christ,”the pope said.
John Paul also pledged church support for Romania’s efforts to consolidate its young democracy.”Its history and its geographical position make it an integral part of the new Europe that is gradually being constructed after the fall of the Berlin Wall,”the pope said.”The church intends to serve this process of development and of democratic integration with a spirit of active collaboration.” Quote of the day: Television expert Robert Thompson
(RNS)”It proves what rip-roaring good stories the Bible can represent.” _ Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television, speaking about the top-rated but biblically inaccurate TV movie”Noah’s Ark”that aired May 2-3 on NBC. He was quoted in the May 12 edition of USA Today.
DEA END RNS
