c. 2003 Religion News Service

Church-State Groups Petition Court on Scholarship Case

WASHINGTON (RNS) A coalition of liberal groups has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Washington state policy that prohibits state scholarships from being used for theological studies.

The four groups _ the American Civil Liberties Union, People for the American Way, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund _ said a student’s religious freedom rights are not violated under the policy.

The high court agreed May 19 to hear an appeal after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last July that state officials were wrong to deny Joshua Davey a $1,125 state scholarship to pursue a theology degree from a college affiliated with the Assemblies of God.

The Washington state policy allowed scholarships for other majors such as business but not religious studies. The appeals court said the state policy infringed on Davey’s constitutional right to exercise his religion.

In an amicus brief submitted to the high court on July 17, the four groups said Davey’s education may be more expensive without the scholarship, but he is still free to pursue whatever degree he wants.

“The lack of a Promise Scholarship does not coerce Davey to perform forbidden acts or forego religious training,” the groups said. “Furthermore, the Promise Scholarship does not discriminate on the basis of the recipient’s religion.”

The joint brief said the country’s founders abhorred the idea of state-funded education of clergy, and said allowing the scholarships would raise “free exercise questions for those taxpayers of differing religious beliefs who prefer not to subsidize core religious activity of others.”

Last week, four liberal Jewish groups filed a brief urging the court to uphold the Washington program and deny Davey the scholarship. Orthodox Jews plan to file their own brief urging the court to allow Davey to receive the state aid.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

`James Ossuary’ Owner Arrested on Suspicion of Forging Antiquities

JERUSALEM _ Oded Golan, the antiquities dealer who stunned the world with dramatic revelations of two allegedly ancient inscriptions _ one referring to Jesus and another to the first Jewish Temple _ has been arrested by the Israeli police on suspicions of antiquities counterfeit and fraud.

Golan has been in police custody since Monday evening, when police and antiquities experts conducted a surprise, late-night investigation of his Tel Aviv apartment where the longtime collector stored hundreds of ancient artifacts.

“Together with people from the Antiquities Authority, we went to Golan’s home two days ago, and while searching the home we found what we suspect are sophisticated tools that were used to commit counterfeit and forge antiquities,” said police spokesman Gil Kleiman.

Golan was brought before a judge on Tuesday, and remanded into police custody for another four days while the investigation continues.

“No charges have yet been brought,” said Kleiman, “but he is being held for the purposes of the investigation. The judge orders such a step when it appears that a suspect may hamper the investigation or be a flight risk.”

Kleiman said that the arrest of Golan was specifically related to his suspected counterfeit of the so-called “Joash Inscription.” The stone tablet contains a description of temple repairs, which is similar to biblical verses from 2 Kings attributed to the Judean King Joash. The inscription was purported to date back to the eighth century B.C.

Informed sources have said that the police are also investigating Golan’s role in the suspected forgery of the even more famous “James Ossuary,” which Golan owns.

The first century-era bone box bearing the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” caused a sensation in the archaeological world when it was first displayed publicly in Toronto. Its authenticity was initially verified by a number of prominent archaeologists and paleographers, or ancient script experts.

But a panel of Israeli archaeologists recently ruled that both the Joash and the James-Jesus inscriptions were counterfeits that had been etched only recently onto authentic ancient stone items. They cited new and more precise laboratory tests indicating that the “patina” of age that supposedly covered the ancient script had been applied only recently, presumably by a counterfeiter.

_ Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Religious Leaders Urge Action on Liberia

LONDON (RNS) Archbishop Michael Francis of Monrovia, Liberia, has called for the immediate deployment of an international force in the civil war-wracked African nation.

Francis, who is visiting Britain and Ireland, was joined in the call by two of his colleagues from neighboring Sierra Leone, Bishop George Biguzzi of Makeni and Bishop Koroma of Kenema.

“Unless urgent action is taken, we fear that the current violence in Liberia will escalate, risking the descent once again of the West African region into war,” they said.

They urged President Bush to commit U.S. forces “immediately” to a peace enforcement mission while promising long-term support to rebuilding a stable Liberia.

The African prelates’ statement came amid stepped-up calls in the United States and Great Britain for quick international action in Liberia and the resumption of fighting in Monrovia, ending a brief cease-fire.

West African political leaders are meeting in Dakar, Senegal, in an effort to create a 3,200-strong international peacekeeping force. The African political leaders want the United States to participate in the force but Bush has not yet committed troops. The United States has said it will support but not lead a peacekeeping operation.

In the United States, meanwhile, the top executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries issued a statement calling on the international community to establish stability in Liberia.

“We call upon the United Nations and such organizations as the Economic Committee of West African States to speedily stabilize the situation in Liberia,” Day said. “We appeal to those same international bodies to bring to justice Charles Taylor.” Taylor has been indicted by a United Nations tribunal for crimes against humanity.

Separately, four of Britain’s major aid agencies _ CAFOD, Christian Aid, Save the Children, and Action Aid _ called for the immediate deployment of peace enforcement troops in Liberia.

They urged the United Nations “as a matter of urgency” to pass a resolution allowing international forces to enter the country.

“If President Bush is unwilling to commit troops under a U.N. mandate, then he must make a clear and immediate declaration to that effect and other countries, including those of the European Union, should step into the breach,” the agencies said.

They quoted Francis, who met with British government ministers and who is now in Dublin, as saying: “Lives are being lost while the governments of the United States and the international community sit back and discuss whether or not to act. A decision must be taken now to avoid further bloodshed.”

In their statement, the African bishops said: “An enforced cease-fire, followed by complete enforced disarmament overseen by an international peace enforcement mission, is the only way that Liberia can start the journey toward peace. It is only through these actions that the children of Liberia can face the future with hope not fear.”

_ Robert Nowell and David E. Anderson

Falun Gong Supporters Rally at Capitol

(RNS) About 1,500 supporters and practitioners of Falun Gong gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday (July 22) in their fourth annual Washington demonstration marking the anniversary of the July 1999 crackdown on the Chinese sect.

The group, which practices a combination of meditation and gentle physical movements, says 750 of its members have died in custody while others have been routinely detained and tortured by the Chinese government.

China has banned the group, which it calls an “evil cult,” for the last four years.

Protesters at the Capitol conducted a mock trial of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, concluding several days of activity that began with the arrival of about 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners from around the world.

“I feel pained when I read the news about my fellow practitioners in China,” Peter Houben, who traveled from Europe to participate in the demonstration, told the Boston Globe. “I can practice in Holland and everywhere in the world __ but not in China.”

Lawyers in the United States have filed lawsuits against Jiang on behalf of Falun Gong followers using available U.S. laws, including the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act. But legal experts told the Washington Times that the lawsuit will likely be dismissed because national leaders are immune to prosecution.

Marchers also demanded the release of Charles Li, an American citizen from Menlo Park, Calif., who was sentenced to three years in prison by the Chinese government for his reported plans to broadcast informational videos about Falun Gong. Protesters held that Li, who was arrested Jan. 24 in the southern city of Guangzou, is innocent of charges of sabotaging the state-run television system.

Latter-day Saints to Rebuild Samoan Temple Destroyed By Fire

(RNS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced plans to rebuild its temple in Apia, Samoa, after it was destroyed in a July 9 fire.

No one was injured in the blaze at the 14,000-square-foot structure, the first in the religious body’s history to be destroyed by fire.

Dedicated in 1983, the temple had been undergoing renovation and expansion.

Church officials predict it will take about six months to design a new temple and about 18 to 24 months to construct it.

The proposed design will be for a structure of more than 16,000 square feet and will include a fire prevention sprinkler system that building codes now require.

The temple, used for special ceremonies rather than weekly services, has served American Samoa and the two Samoan islands of Upolu and Savi’i. Latter-day Saints will use other temples in Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia during the reconstruction period.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: BBC World Service Program Participant Dele Aloko of Nigeria

(RNS) “Christianity has brought Africa in general and Nigeria in particular to moral ruins as a prelude to social and political ruins. The fact that Christian missionaries came as fore-runners of their exploiting governments is clear enough. It is also clear that these foreign relations have ripped apart the core of our Africanness. I think these churches have stopped the African continent from developing.”

_ Dele Aloko of Nigeria on the church’s role in Africa. Aloko was quoted by the BBC World Service program `Africa Live!”

DEA END RNS