c. 2004 Religion News Service
Vatican Warns of New Forms of Religious Intolerance
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has warned that new forms of religious intolerance are arising in the age of globalization as the right of religious communities to take part in democratic debate is being challenged.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore delivered the warning in an address to the Third Commission of the United Nations General Assembly on “Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance.” The Vatican issued the text Wednesday (Oct. 27).
The Vatican diplomat spoke at a time of renewed debate in the United States over the separation of church and state as laid down by the U.S. Constitution.
“It might be paradoxical to say that in this age of globalization new forms of religious intolerance have also emerged,” the prelate said. “The greater exercise of individual freedoms may result in greater intolerance and greater legal constraints on the public expressions of people’s beliefs.”
Attacking “those who would like to confine religious expression to the merely private sphere,” Migliore said that their attitude “ignores and denies the nature of authentic religious convictions.”
“More often than not,” he said, “what is being challenged, in effect, is the right of religious communities to participate in public, democratic debate in the way that other social forces are allowed to do.”
Migliore said that religious associations and groups should be allowed to work in the social, educational and humanitarian fields and at the same time remain “religiously distinct without having to disregard any religious commitments or moral values in providing a social good.”
“Attempts to secularize or to interfere in the internal affairs of religious institutions would undermine their raison d’etre as well as the very fabric of society,” he said.
But, the prelate said, “accommodation of religious diversity when it comes to service in the public arena … respects a specific facet of the right to religious freedom, enriches a genuine culture of pluralism and provides a much needed and sometimes indispensable service to the poor, the vulnerable and the needy.”
_ Peggy Polk
Update: Army Takes Action Against Lt. Gen. Who Made Religious Speeches
(RNS) The U.S. Army has taken “appropriate action” against an undersecretary who said the war on terrorism was a religious battle.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody told Reuters that the action against Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin was not “significant.”
“I took the appropriate action based on the recommendations of the inspector general,” Cody told the news agency during the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army in Washington.
“If it was something significant, it would be something we would talk about. So that should give you an indication.”
He declined to give details of the action or say when it was taken. Boykin, who was attending the same meeting, declined to comment.
A Defense Department investigation of Boykin had recommended “corrective action” because he did not get clearance for his remarks and failed to clarify that his statements were not official.
In the fall of 2003, media coverage about Boykin’s remarks at churches prompted controversy and charges of religious intolerance. In one speech to a church group, he said that terrorists were trying to destroy the United States “because we’re a Christian nation.”
In October 2003, he requested the inspector general investigation and issued an apology saying, “I am not anti-Islam or any other religion.” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he would not ask Boykin to step down during the investigation and President Bush declared that he did not agree with the undersecretary’s controversial statements.
Boykin’s comments prompted some religious leaders to say he should be reassigned and others to defend his freedom of religious expression.
_ Adelle M. Banks
IRS Says About 20 Churches Under Review for Improper Politicking
(RNS) The Internal Revenue Service is investigating about 20 churches on charges of improper partisan activity and said allegations that such probes are motivated by partisan politics are “repugnant and groundless.”
IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said Friday (Oct. 29) that the agency is investigating more than 60 cases of nonprofit groups possibly engaged in illegal partisan activity. About one-third of the cases involve churches.
Everson’s statement came after some conservative groups accused the IRS of telling churches they cannot pray for President Bush’s re-election. The IRS said it has made no formal ruling or change of policy.
“Career civil servants, not political appointees, make these decisions in a fair, impartial manner,” Everson said in a statement. “Any suggestion that the IRS has tilted its audit activities for political purposes is repugnant and groundless.”
Everson said the agency reviewed about 100 cases and found 60 that “merited examination.” Federal law prohibits the agency from commenting on the nature or circumstances of any case, he said.
Since April, the IRS has issued two reminders to religious groups and candidates, advising them that nonprofit groups are prohibited from working “on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.”
A Presbyterian pastor from Virginia, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, said an IRS official told his lawyers on the phone that he could jeopardize a church’s tax-exempt status if he prayed that God “grant President Bush four more years” during a speaking tour in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The IRS said allegations from conservatives that it was telling churches how to pray were baseless.
“The IRS has never issued a ruling telling people how to pray,” said IRS spokeswoman Nancy Mathis.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Despite EU Constitution, Pope Expresses Hope for a Christian Europe
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Speaking one day after the 25 countries making up the enlarged European Union signed a constitution that did not acknowledge Christianity, Pope John Paul II said he hopes Christian values will continue to inspire Europe for years to come.
John Paul spoke of his hopes for Europe to Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka at a Vatican audience Saturday (Oct. 30). He said they met “in a moment so important for Poland and for Europe.”
The signing of the constitution, he said, “is an event that in a certain sense concludes the process of enlargement of the community to those states that have always cooperated in the formation of the spiritual and institutional foundation of the Old Continent but during recent decades remained, so to speak, at its margins.”
The pope said, “The Apostolic See and I personally have tried to support this process so that Europe might breathe fully with two lungs: with the spirit of the West and of the East.”
He said he will continue to remind European leaders of their debt to Christianity.
The framers of the constitution rejected John Paul’s appeal for a reference to Europe’s Christian roots in its preamble on grounds that this would violate the separation of church and state. Poland was among countries backing the pope.
“I have faith,” said the pope, “that, even though an explicit reference to the Christian roots of the culture of all the nations making up the community today is lacking in the European Constitution, the eternal values elaborated on the foundation of the Gospel for generations of those who preceded us will continue to inspire the efforts of those who assume the responsibility of forming the face of our continent.”
_ Peggy Polk
Vermont Bishop Bans Common Communion Cup to Help Stop Flu
(RNS) As Americans rush for a limited supply of flu vaccines, the Roman Catholic bishop of Vermont has told his priests not to allow parishioners to drink from a common Communion cup or exchange a sign of peace.
Bishop Kenneth Angell of Burlington, in a brief message sent to priests on Oct. 25, said the ban will remain in effect through Easter (March 27) as a “protective measure.”
Angell’s directive is thought to be the first in the country as many Americans plan to go unvaccinated in the flu season. Vaccine supplies were slashed after a British lab that supplied most of the vaccines was shut down for unsanitary conditions.
“Because of the flu vaccine shortage, I am requesting that, as a protective measure … we do not give the `Sign of Peace’ or the chalice for Communion starting Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004, and remaining in effect until Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005,” Angell said.
Last year, parishioners in three California dioceses were asked not to hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer, and priests were instructed not to place Communion wafers on worshippers’ tongues. Similar changes were made in the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Colo.
In April 2003 during an outbreak of the SARS virus in Canada, Catholic officials discouraged a handshake during the sign of peace and told worshippers not to kiss the crucifix as a sign of veneration during Holy Week.
In 2000, Canadian cardiologist David Gould said parishioners face more risk of catching a cold from airborne germs than from sharing a common chalice. He also said dipping Communion bread into the wine rather than sipping from the cup may be worse because hands contain more germs than a person’s mouth.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Vatican Accuses World of Dismissing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has accused world leaders of dismissing the continuing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians with “a lot of peacemaking rhetoric.”
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the United Nations, leveled the charge Monday (Nov. 1) during a debate on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The Vatican issued his text Tuesday.
Migliore deplored the “unending cycle of violence and terrorism, military action and reaction, in effect a series of retaliations which begets more violence” between Israelis and Palestinians.
But, he said, the international community is virtually ignoring the crisis.
“A realistic analysis of the situation finds that there is a lot of peacemaking rhetoric but very little political will shown in the resolution of differences,” the prelate said.
Migliore said that a share of blame for the lack of progress on the so-called road map to peace must go to “the reluctance of the international community to challenge the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to negotiate in good faith.”
The plan, drawn up by the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia in 2003, seeks a two-state solution to the conflict. It calls for negotiations on an independent Palestinian state to be set up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel.
Without negotiations, the prelate said, “there are no opportunities for reconciliation, forgiveness, compromise or collaboration, all prerequisites for a lasting peace in the region.”
“There is no way in which a policy of continued separation will bring about peace,” he said.
_ Peggy Polk
Episcopal Bishop Investigating Clergy on Charges of Paganism
(RNS) The Episcopal bishop of Philadelphia is examining whether a husband and wife clergy couple violated their ordination vows by living as druid priests and promoting paganism.
Bishop Charles Bennison said he is “extremely concerned” at allegations that the Revs. Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk and William Melnyk are promoting pagan worship, but warned against a “witch hunt of any sort.”
Conservatives were outraged when Glyn Ruppe-Melnyk, rector of St. Francis-in-the-Fields Church in Sugartown, Pa., sent a “women’s Eucharist” that praised “Mother God” with prayers that “may we honor our breasts as symbols of your abundance” to the Women’s Ministries office at Episcopal Church headquarters.
When the liturgy was posted on the Web site for the Women’s Ministries office, critics said the rites echo pagan worship of the goddess Asherah, the female counterpart to Baal. Church leaders removed the liturgy, citing copyright errors.
“Episcopal Church leaders want you to … defy God. Worship pagan deities,” warned Ted Olsen, online managing editor for Christianity Today, in a weblog. “There is no other possible reading of this `Eucharistic’ text.”
William Melnyk, the rector of St. James’ Church in Downingtown, Pa., is known on druid Web sites as “OakWyse” and “Druis,” while his wife is known as “Raven,” according to media reports.
David Virtue, who runs the conservative VirtueOnline listserve, found a February posting from Melnyk that said he and his wife “are both priests in the Episcopal (Anglican) Church. Between us, we lead two groves (some call them `congregations’) of Christians learning about druidry numbering about 1,200.”
Bennison said the couple has “contributed very positively to their parishes and this diocese for four years” and have assured him they do not use the pagan rituals at their churches or in personal prayer. “I will not allow this situation to turn into a witch hunt of any sort,” he said.
National church leaders called it a “non-starter of a non-story.” The Women’s Ministries office said it solicited sample liturgies used by women and said the rites “were sent to us in good faith” and were meant to spark discussion.
“There is quite a difference in presenting resources for people’s interest and enlightenment and promoting resources as official claims of the Episcopal Church,” the office said.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Player Who Left Team Over Islamic Dress Returns to Christianity
(RNS) Andrea Armstrong, a college basketball player whose desire to compete covered in Muslim clothing caused a national controversy, says she has returned to the Christian faith in which she was raised.
In a recent letter to the editor of The Oregonian newspaper, Armstrong wrote that loneliness and distance from her family led to her conversion to Islam. Armstrong, who attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, is from Lakeside, Ore.
“I know that my actions caused great controversy over the past few weeks,” Armstrong wrote. “I had no idea that a decision that I thought I was making for myself would reach out so far beyond myself and affect so many.”
Armstrong converted to Islam last June, according to a Sept. 11 story in the St. Petersburg Times. She began wearing a head scarf, long pants and long-sleeved shirts in keeping with the religion’s traditions.
Armstrong and USF basketball coach Jose Fernandez agreed that she would not wear traditional Muslim clothing in games, according to the Times. Yet when Armstrong, 22, returned to school in August, she told the coach she wanted to adhere to her faith. She showed up for team photos Aug. 30 fully covered.
What happened next is in dispute.
Fernandez told The Oracle newspaper of USF that Armstrong quit the team that day to pursue her faith. Armstrong told the Times that Fernandez said wearing long clothing would make her teammates uncomfortable and that Islam oppressed women. She told the Times that she left over the dispute about her clothing.
School officials said they would seek a waiver from NCAA guidelines to accommodate her dress, and Armstrong quickly returned to the team. Yet on Sept. 15, four days after news broke of the alleged dispute about her clothing, Armstrong issued a statement saying she had quit the team because she did not want the issue “to cause further distraction.”
South Florida officials said they would allow Armstrong to keep her basketball scholarship even after she left the team. But Armstrong withdrew from school Sept. 23, according to the registrar’s office.
_ Rachel Bachman
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Moves Triennial Meeting Location
(RNS) InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has announced plans to move its triennial student conference from its longtime location in Illinois to downtown St. Louis.
The 21st Urbana Student Mission Convention will convene in December 2006 during its usual time between Christmas and New Year’s Day. It will be held at Edward Jones Dome, with additional programming at the adjacent America’s Center.
Since 1948, the meeting has been held on the campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
Ministry leaders said St. Louis was chosen as the new location after a lengthy evaluation. It was picked over dozens of other cities because of its central location and convenient facilities.
“I believe a new location gives Urbana a different lens through which to see God’s heart for the world,” said Jim Tebbe, InterVarsity vice president and director of missions, in a statement released Oct. 20.
“A new venue helps us explore new possibilities and redesign the event with fresh vision and energy.”
The evangelical Christian ministry based in Madison, Wis., has 880 field staffers working with chapters on more than 550 campuses across the country.
According to ministry statistics, more than 19,000 people participated in the gathering held in 2003. Its first convention was held in Toronto in 1946, drawing 575 students from across North America.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Week: Seminary President Paige Patterson
(RNS) “Whatever the lugubrious prognostications of the pundits may be on Nov. 3, and however much pressure evangelical Christians may experience, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats can save us. Neither can they destroy us. Our future resides wholly in the hands of a sovereign, transcendent God.”
_ Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, writing in a commentary for Baptist Press.
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