c. 2003 Religion News Service
Virginia’s Episcopal Church Bishop Supports Bush on Iraq
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Episcopal bishop of Virginia, whose diocese includes the Pentagon and counts Secretary of State Colin Powell as a member, said the United States has a right to “name the threats to peace and to participate in removing them.”
Bishop Peter Lee, in an address Friday (Jan. 31) to his diocesan convention in Reston, Va., emerged as one of the few mainline Protestant religious leaders to support President Bush’s war plans in Iraq.
“In a fallen world, we understand that one of the responsibilities of international leadership is to name the threats to peace and to participate in removing them, by diplomacy if necessary, by measured, necessary force as a last resort,” Lee said.
Lee, leader of the nation’s largest Episcopal diocese since 1985, cautioned against the “false assumption that American interests are always the interests of others.”
“Pray that we may participate in planting seeds that will grow into an international order that promotes justice, peace and love,” he said.
Lee asked for prayers for Powell, a member at St. John’s Church in McLean, and for “faithful members of our diocese whose work for peace is to assure the strength of our diplomacy through their active military service.”
Most mainline leaders, including Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, have sharply condemned possible war with Iraq. Last week New York Bishop Mark Sisk wrote to Bush, saying, “If we do go to war, the evidence from my diocese suggests that you will be leading a country that is deeply divided. You and I both remember from the 1960s and early 1970s how painful that can be.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Researchers: Religiously Active Latinos Fare Better in School
(RNS) An analysis of research about the education of Latinos has found that students who are actively involved in church or consider faith important are more likely to do well in school.
Researchers for the Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame discovered that the religious involvement of students and their parents affected how they fared in the school environment.
“We find that Latino students who actively attend church or who see their religious faith as very important to their lives are achieving higher grades in school, are staying on-track in school, are having less trouble with teachers, other students and homework, and identify with school more strongly,” concluded David Sikkink and Edwin I. Hernandez, co-authors of the January report.
In reviewing a survey of first-grade Latino children, they found parents with high religious involvement were more likely to read to their children and take part in other activities with them, such as visits to the library.
But their analysis also produced “mixed findings.” While first-grade Latino children whose parents attended religious services weekly had the highest reading scores, those from families attending more than once a week had slightly lower average scores than children of families that never attended services.
When reviewing studies of teenagers, the scholars found that Latinos attending religious services weekly or more often felt more comfortable in school and were absent less often than those who did not attend worship services.
“Religious practice is especially important for the educational success of Latino youth living in impoverished neighborhoods,” the authors concluded. “And supervision of Latino teenagers, which is important for keeping children on-track in school, is strongly related to the religiosity of parents.”
The Center for the Study of Latino Religion was founded in 2002 and is part of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies. The publication of the report was funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Bush Budget Draws Mixed Reviews From Religious Leaders
WASHINGTON (RNS) Religious leaders cautioned that President Bush’s proposed $2.23 trillion budget threatens money for poor Americans to pay for expensive tax cuts.
The Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities USA, said his local agencies “are concerned that another round of tax cuts may leave governments at both the federal and state levels unable to play their essential roles in promoting the common good and preserving essential community services and support.”
Hehir, in a letter to Congress, did not endorse or oppose tax cuts, but urged members to expand social service block grants to states, boost spending for Medicaid and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
Bush’s budget, as proposed to Congress, includes $1.5 trillion in tax cuts and $390 billion in defense spending. Most domestic spending would be frozen at or near current levels, but the budget would still contain an estimated $307 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year.
The Rev. David Beckmann, president of the ecumenical hunger group Bread for the World, praised Bush’s proposal to spend $1.79 billion on hunger assistance, particularly in Africa, where the White House also wants to spend $15 billion over five years on AIDS relief.
Beckmann said he is still unsure where the money will come from, but praised Bush for understanding “the plight of 800 million people in God’s world who suffer from hunger. For too many years, leaders in both political parties have demonized foreign assistance for short-term political gain, so I applaud President Bush’s leadership on this issue.”
The Bush budget also contains $75 million in a pilot program for school vouchers. Nathan J. Diament, the Washington director for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, praised the experiment, saying, “Parents are the best decision-makers when it comes to the education of their children and public policy must empower parents, first and foremost, to make the decisions they prefer.”
But the Rev. Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said the voucher program “would force taxpayers to pay for religious indoctrination. That’s unfair and an intrusion into all Americans’ right to support only the religious institutions of their free choice.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Vandals Sentenced to Procession With Donkey for Defacing Jesus Statue
FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio (RNS) The religious symbolism was hard to miss as church members clutching Bibles watched a young couple trudge down a snow-covered road in search of salvation.
Jesus wasn’t there for the ride, but the procession through Fairport Harbor went on anyway with plenty of fanfare, provided mostly by the media and passersby.
Jessica Lange and Brian Patrick, both 19, had been ordered to make the procession after they admitted defacing a statue of the baby Jesus stolen from the Nativity scene at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church on Christmas Eve.
There were no blessed palms to wave. But groups of residents, clustered outside homes and businesses, clutched coffee cups and nodded as the pair walked through the tiny lakefront village looking for forgiveness for an act of vandalism.
They led Sidney, a gentle donkey provided by a Madison Township petting zoo, through the streets carrying a sign that said, “Sorry for the jackass offense.”
The procession allowed Lane and Patrick to avoid a longer jail sentence.
Police said the statue was stabbed and the Satanic numerals “666” painted on it.
As part of their sentence, they must replace the statue, but they have had trouble locating one that isn’t part of a Nativity set. Once they find a statue, they are to deliver it to the church.
“This is a kind of conscience-flogging,” said Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti, who is known for his unusual sentences meant to shame criminals. “It is intended to bring them some public humiliation. Hopefully it will serve as a deterrent.”
Starting at the church, the two slogged through snow-spattered streets for about 30 minutes leading the donkey on a rope.
“Maybe this will teach them to respect others,” said Stanley Braid, one of several hundred who watched the parade. “I think the judge got his point across.”
When the journey ended at the Fairport Harbor police station, Lange spoke to the crowd.
“I just want to apologize to Fairport Harbor for the prank,” she said. “It shouldn’t have been done.”
_ Maggi Martin
World Assemblies of God Congress in Africa Canceled
(RNS) The World Assemblies of God Congress scheduled for August in Nairobi, Kenya, has been canceled, organizers announced.
“The leaders felt it would be wisdom to cancel, not because of the fear of death but founded on the general climate of unrest and concern in the world at large,” said the Rev. Thomas E. Trask, chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship.
The decision marks the first time in the 12-year history of the congress that an event will be canceled. Future meetings, such as the next triennial congress scheduled for 2006 in Australia, are still planned.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Retired Episcopal Priest Vincent Uher
(RNS) “O God who names the starry host and by whose love not one is lost, Who stretched thy arms wide to the sky from cross to heav’n so death would die, Oh care for those who traversed space, embrace them now who touch thy face.”
_ The Rev. Vincent Uher, a retired Episcopal priest in Houston, wrote a special verse to “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” to commemorate the seven astronauts who died on the Shuttle Columbia. He was quoted by Episcopal News Service.
DEA END RNS
