c. 2003 Religion News Service

Buddhists, Catholics Launch First Formal Dialogue

(RNS) Buddhists and Roman Catholic bishops sat down at a California retreat center recently for their first round of official dialogue.

The March 20-23 talks were the first for the two sides, organized by the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the San Francisco Zen Center and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The 14 Buddhists and 14 Catholics spoke about what it means to follow the way of Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) and the way of Jesus Christ. The group reflected on the writings of everyone from the Dalai Lama to St. Ignatius.

“Several times participants discussed their understanding of terms such as transformation, grace, the incarnation and the passion of Jesus, discernment of spirits, prayer, Buddha-nature and related terms,” a church news release said.

Each day was opened with 45 minutes of optional meditation in the Buddhists’ meditation hall. The Buddhist hosts transformed their Confucius Hall into a space for Christian worship, with a newly constructed wooden cross on the wall.

The two sides plan to meet again in 2004 and continue the regular talks through 2006.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Imprisoned Former Baptist Leader, Wife Reach Divorce Agreement

(RNS) Imprisoned former National Baptist Convention, USA, leader Henry J. Lyons and his wife, Deborah, have reached a divorce agreement.

Lyons, who is serving prison time in Florida on grand theft and racketeering charges, reached an amicable agreement with his ex-wife, who had stood by him during two years of federal and state investigations and trials, the Associated Press reported.

It was formalized by a judge in late March.

Lyons sued for divorce in 2001, demanding that his wife pay him alimony and repay part of more than $6 million he owes victims in judgments and liens, court records show.

But in the agreement, the former prominent Baptist leader accepted responsibility for that debt as well as $20,496 in unpaid state taxes.

The couple shared in the paying of a $2,500 American Express bill and split up life insurance annuities, court documents show.

Their St. Petersburg, Fla., home, along with jewelry, cars and a $700,000 home Lyons owned with another woman, were seized by the U.S. government.

Henry Lyons continues to be imprisoned at the Bartow Work Release Center. He is scheduled to be released Nov. 30.

According to the divorce agreement, Deborah Lyons can seek alimony of as much as $14,400 a year beginning one year after her ex-husband leaves prison.

Mahony Fights Document Release; Lennon Says No to Reformers’ Money

(RNS) Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles formally asked a judge on Tuesday (April 1) to block the release of sex abuse-related documents, saying that confidential communications with his priests are essential to the exercise of his faith.

Mahony, leader of the nation’s largest archdiocese, has come under fire for trying to withhold the internal documents. Victims groups accused Mahony of going against his own promise of full disclosure on all sex abuse policies.

A decision from the judge is expected within a week, according to The New York Times. Prosecutors said the church’s move was a “stalling tactic that, although disappointing, was not entirely unanticipated.”

In Boston, where the sex abuse scandal erupted last year, Bishop Richard Lennon met for the first time with a victims group but turned down a $35,000 donation from a lay reform group.

Lennon, who was appointed interim administrator following the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, met with members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests for more than an hour on Saturday (March 29). SNAP leaders said they asked Lennon not to fight the release of church records and to call off “hardball” tactics by church lawyers.

Lennon told the Boston-based Voice of the Faithful movement that he will not accept money from their alternative fund-raising campaign. The money will now be given to the National Catholic Community Foundation, which will attempt to give it to Catholic Charities. To date, Voice of the Faithful has raised nearly $100,000 from Catholics who do not want to give to the archdiocese.

Meanwhile, Catholics in New Hampshire have launched a petition drive to force the resignation of Bishops John McCormack and Francis Christian. The group, New Hampshire Catholics for Moral Leadership, say the bishops have “brought disgrace upon the church,” “protected known abusers” and “have endangered souls.”

“The people of our diocese cry out for a moral leadership, yet the occupants of the chancery, promising a recent conversion, cling stubbornly to power.”

By Wednesday (April 2), the petition had 28 signers.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Rep. Chet Edwards Recipient of Religious Freedom Award

(RNS) Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, will be honored in an April 10 ceremony with the 2003 Associated Baptist Press Religious Freedom Award, the independent news service announced.

“He is a strong ally of the Baptist Joint Committee in the struggle to preserve and protect the First Amendment’s religion clauses,” said Marv Knox, ABP board chairman and editor of the Texas Baptist Standard, in a statement.

“He also is a compassionate friend and supporter of churches, helping them exercise their rights to express their faith without government hindrance.”

Previous winners of the honor include Baptist civil rights activist Will Campbell, former New York Times religion correspondent Gustav Niebuhr and retired Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs head James Dunn.

Edwards opposed a 2002 bill that would have permitted churches to engage in partisan political activities while keeping their tax-exempt status. The bill, which was supported by members of the religious right, ultimately failed.

“I consider my efforts in behalf of church-state separation to be the single most important cause I will ever have in public service,” Edwards told the news service. “Religious freedom is the first freedom, and if it is put at risk, all the others _ freedom of speech, association, etc. _ are endangered.”

Quote of the Day: Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh

(RNS) “While stockholders in a corporation may have the ultimate authority over the structure of the corporation itself, and while in a democracy sovereignty rests with the majority … neither of these models serves when we address the nature and function of the church. We must be careful not to use a political model for a reality that transcends political institutions.”

_ Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh, speaking to a conference at Yale University on March 28 about governance and accountability in the church. He was quoted by The Boston Globe.

DEA END RNS