c. 2003 Religion News Service

Gay Issue Looms as Episcopalians Open Minneapolis Meeting

(RNS) The Episcopal Church opened its General Convention in Minneapolis on Wednesday (July 30), with an appeal from Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold to be led by the “diverse center” of the church and not “either extreme.”

More than 300 bishops and 853 lay and clergy delegates will meet through Aug. 8 to consider a host of issues, including whether to approve the election of an openly gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire, and whether to create liturgies to bless same-sex unions.

Griswold, speaking at the convention’s opening session, acknowledged the anxiety over the gay issue, especially from conservatives in the Anglican Communion who have threatened to break ties with the U.S. church if it allows the Rev. V. Gene Robinson to serve as bishop in New Hampshire.

“The genius of Anglicanism was to contain divergent and passionately held points of view,” Griswold said. “This capacity to contain difference within a context of common prayer is who we as Anglicans are called to be.”

Griswold, who has said previously that officially sanctioned gay ordination and same-sex unions are likely inevitable, said human sexuality does not have to divide the church.

“I deeply believe that having the mind of Christ means we are able to see reality not as either/or but as both/and,” he said.

He borrowed from a letter he had sent to overseas Anglican archbishops and said “declarations of being `in’ or `out’ of communion may assuage our fears, or our angers, but they do not reflect the gospel,” he said.

Robinson’s election will first be voted on by lay and clergy delegates in the House of Deputies, probably on Sunday. If confirmed there, his nomination will then be considered by 106 diocesan bishops, including Griswold. He declined to say how he will vote.

“I will have my own perspective and my own opinions,” he told reporters. “But I think it would be singularly unhelpful to my brothers and sisters in the House of Bishops to state my position.”

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Lawsuits Allege Abuse Cover-Up By Leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses

(RNS) Four lawsuits were filed in late July claiming that Jehovah’s Witnesses officials have covered up alleged sex abuse of children by congregational leaders.

Law firms involved in the suits filed in three northern California counties are seeking more victims and witnesses, the Associated Press reported.

“It is a widespread problem and nothing’s been done about it to protect these children, to protect future children,” said Bill Brelsford, one of the Sacramento lawyers who filed four lawsuits July 24 in California.

“Once they (Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders) know about it, they don’t do anything to stop it.”

Philip Brumley, general counsel for Jehovah’s Witnesses, said the religious group’s own investigation of previous lawsuits found that its elders did nothing wrong as they sought to protect victims, heed biblical warnings against accepting accusations by a single witness, and comply with sexual abuse reporting laws.

“We abhor child abuse,” Brumley said. “The assertion or allegation of a cover-up, or a nonchalance about child abuse, is just so far from the truth.”

Brumley said the new suits follow 10 others that have been filed. William H. Bowen, who was disfellowshipped from the religious body after creating a critical Web site and hotline for abuse victims, said he expects there to be more suits.

“I have literally the last couple months been bombarded with this stuff,” he said. “These are not liars; they’re abuse survivors. … It never stops. New victims are coming in on a weekly basis.”

Update: Governor Promises Action on Halal Food Law

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey has prodded the Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Consumer Affairs to implement a landmark state law passed three years ago to protect consumers of food labeled halal, the Islamic equivalent of kosher.

McGreevey appealed for faster action after reading a news story in the Newark Star-Ledger noting discontent among Muslim leaders over delay in putting procedures to implement the law in place, said Juliet Johnson, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office.

“Frankly, the governor found it unacceptable that the halal rules had not been implemented and immediately asked his staff to act aggressively to make sure the rules are put into practice as soon as possible,” Johnson said.

New Jersey became the first state to pass a law to protect consumers of halal food in July 2000. Similar measures have since passed in California, Illinois and Minnesota.

Among other things, the law forbids dealers of nonhalal food from labeling it halal. Halal meat often sells for prices twice as high as nonhalal meat.

McGreevey also has sent a letter to various mosques and Muslim leaders “to invite their participation in the process, and to make it clear that it’s not acceptable that it’s taken this long, but that it is being fixed,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she could not explain the delay. Former Gov. Christie Whitman signed the halal bill into law July 12, 2000. The bill said the law would be implemented 180 days from that date.

_ By Jeff Diamant

Abuse Victims Appeal to Episcopalians for Vigilance

(RNS) Victims of clergy sex abuse, who have maintained pressure on Catholic officials to purge pedophiles from the priesthood, are warning that abusive priests may “resurface” in the Episcopal Church.

Leaders from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) delivered a letter to Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold on Thursday (July 30), thanking him for past efforts but urging him not to become complacent.

The 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church is meeting in Minneapolis through Aug. 8 for its triennial General Convention meeting. Jim Solheim, a spokesman for the Episcopal Church, said he was unaware of the letter and could not comment on it.

“We worry that a dangerous complacency may set in, a dangerous indifference based on the mistaken notion that `We’ve already addressed this problem,”’ three SNAP leaders wrote to Griswold.

SNAP lauded the Episcopalians for “some early steps” to address the issue, including criminal background checks on clergy and abuse training for church employees. “At the same time, we know that every denomination can and must do better.”

SNAP director David Clohessy and founder Barbara Blaine said “dozens” of SNAP’s 4,600 members were abused by Episcopal clergy. Clohessy said it was “not clear” whether he would approach other Protestant leaders about the abuse issue.

Clohessy said he was concerned that former Catholic priests could “resurface” as Episcopal clergy. He said Episcopal leaders should alert congregations to any documented abuse, publicize SNAP resources and urge victims to pursue civil and criminal penalties against their abusers.

SNAP asked Griswold to investigate the case of the Rev. E. Brian “Skip” Carsten, a former Catholic and Episcopal priest who is now a bishop in the independent Community of the Cross in Angola, Ind., affiliated with the Orthodox Catholic Church in America.

Carsten said Thursday he left the Episcopal Church in 1989 after charges were made against him in Michigan City, Ind. He said all of his accusers have since recanted, and said he is “clueless” why the issue has resurfaced. “Those issues were resolved years ago,” he said.

The letter also said civil charges would soon be filed against an unnamed Episcopal priest who still heads a parish. SNAP said the priest “abused a California youngster years ago.”

_ Kevin Eckstrom

Lutheran World Federation Backs Mideast `Road Map’

(RNS) Delegates to the Lutheran World Federation’s assembly meeting in Winnipeg, Canada, have voiced support for the Middle East “road map” peace plan.

Palestinian Bishop Munib A. Younan, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan, which includes Lutherans in Palestine and Israel, told delegates the “road map” _ especially U.S. involvement in the process _ represented a “golden opportunity” but warned the United States needed to be “an honest broker” in the quest for peace.

In his remarks on Tuesday, Younan strongly criticized the fact that Israel was pushing ahead with construction in the West Bank of a “physical wall” _ Israel calls it a “security fence” _ between Israel and Palestine territories and which sometimes divides the Palestinian area, the Geneva-based Ecumenical News International reported.

The LWF statement outlined a series of what it called “benchmarks” _ steps it said were prerequisites to the establishment of a full and free Palestinian state contiguous to Israel by 2005.

They include the end of military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem by Israel; ending Israeli settlements on Palestinian land; resolving the question of Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homes in Israel; fair distribution of water resources; and the immediate razing of the “security fence.”

Younan also said Israelis should be allowed to stay in Palestinian territories if they want, but would have to do so under Palestinian rule. In addition to the set of goals put forward by the assembly, Younan said Christians had a special responsibility to foster peace in the war-torn area from which Palestinian Christians have been fleeing.

“The church is the only hope for the oppressed people of the region, because a living church condemns injustice,” he said.

The Lutheran World Federation is made up of 136 member churches that represents about 94 percent of the worldwide Lutheran community. Its Tenth Assembly ended Wednesday (July 30).

_ Emily Dagostino

Emory University Names New President

(RNS) The provost and vice president of Case Western Reserve University has been named as the next president of Emory University.

James W. Wagner will leave the Cleveland school and begin his job at the Atlanta university in August, succeeding William M. Chace. Chace is retiring to the faculty after serving nine years as president.

“This is someone who understands higher education, someone who understands the uniqueness of Emory’s heritage and the role Emory can play,” said Ben Johnson, chairman of Emory’s board of trustees, in a Wednesday (July 30) announcement.

Emory was founded by the Methodist Church in 1836 and continues to have a significant percentage of United Methodists on its board of trustees.

Wagner has served as the top academic officer and second-in-command at Case Western Reserve since 2000.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Quote of the Day: Retired Judge Robert Bork

(RNS) “There is an advantage in waiting until you’re 76 to be baptized, because you’re forgiven all of your prior sins. Plus, at that age, you’re not likely to commit any really interesting or serious sins.”

_ Judge Robert Bork, whose 1987 nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was defeated because of his conservative views, discussing his recent conversion to Catholicism. He was quoted by the National Catholic Register.

DEA END RNS