c. 2005 Religion News Service
President Bush, First Lady to Attend Papal Funeral
(RNS) President Bush has decided to attend the funeral Friday (April 8) of Pope John Paul II.
“Laura and I are looking forward to leading a delegation to honor the Holy Father,” the president told reporters Monday while meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko at the White House.
“It is my great honor, on behalf of our country, to express our gratitude to the Almighty for such a man. And of course we look forward to the majesty of celebrating such a significant human life.”
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters that the president and first lady plan to lead a delegation of five people to Rome on Wednesday morning and the president will likely hold bilateral meetings while there.
Bill Bushong, a historian with the White House Historical Association, a nonprofit organization that is independent of the White House, believes this marks the first time a president will attend a papal funeral.
“I can’t recall a president attending a funeral” of a pope, he said.
On Saturday, the day the pontiff died at age 84, the president ordered flags to be flown at half staff “as a mark of respect.”
Bush’s proclamation that made that order applied to flags at the White House, public buildings, military posts, naval stations and vessels as well as U.S. embassies abroad. They are to remain in that position “until sunset on the day of his interment,” the proclamation states.
Immediately after the pope died, Bush attended a Saturday Mass in remembrance of the pontiff at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle just blocks from the White House.
Evangelist Billy Graham said in a statement that he had been invited to the funeral but would not be able to attend for health reasons.
He said on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Saturday that he asked his daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, to attend along with an associate of his.
“They wanted a woman to come representing me,” Graham told King. “And then my son, Franklin, will be going to the enthronement of the new pope.”
Both Lotz and Franklin Graham are involved in evangelistic ministries, which include speaking in arena events, a practice long followed by their father.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Presbyterian Church Cuts Funding of Messianic Jewish Congregation
(RNS) The Presbyterian Church (USA) will stop funding a Philadelphia church that considers itself a “messianic Jewish” congregation.
The decision by the denomination, reached by a vote in late March, drew praise from Jewish leaders, who had expressed discontent for years over what they called “a church masquerading as a synagogue.”
Avodat Yisrael, the congregation, describes itself as comprised of “Jewish believers in Yeshua (Jesus)” and taking an “ambassadorship” role in relating to the Jewish community. The congregation’s vision, published on its Web site, also mentions its affiliation with PCUSA, the nation’s fourth-largest Protestant denomination.
After meeting with Jewish leaders at the headquarters of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) last September, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the denomination’s stated clerk, issued a letter that discontinued funding of Avodat Yisrael by the Philadelphia Presbytery, the Pennsylvania Synod or the General Assembly of the PCUSA, as of July 1. The church will continue to rent meeting space from the PCUSA.
Last year, the General Assembly commissioned a study to “examine and strengthen the relationship between Christians and Jews.” The discussion of Avodat Yisrael “has prompted an important conversation for us as a denomination,” said Kirkpatrick in a statement.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the URJ, praised the PCUSA’s decision to dismiss Avodat Yisrael, calling it “a vital step toward better understanding and mutual respect between our community and the Presbyterian Church.”
Yoffie was also pleased that the denomination would no longer support “a church that uses deception to draw Jews into Christianity.”
Last year, the PCUSA drew ire from the Jewish community by announcing that it would divest from companies that do business in Israel.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Gibson’s Movie Blamed for Rise in Belief That Jews Killed Christ
WASHINGTON (RNS) Discussing the results of a survey on anti-Semitism, the director of the Anti-Defamation League said Monday (April 4) that “The Passion of the Christ” movie is at least partially responsible for the lingering belief that Jews were responsible for the death of Christ.
“`The Jews killed Jesus’ are probably the four most powerful words in the history of anti-Semitic sentiment,” Abraham Foxman said. Of the Mel Gibson-directed movie’s impact on this belief, Foxman asserted that “not only did it reinforce it, it probably did contribute to its increase.”
According to the nationwide survey, released Monday at an ADL Leadership Conference, 30 percent of Americans blame Jews for the death of Christ, up 20 percent from 2002, the last year the survey was taken.
However, the survey of 1,600 Americans also showed 14 percent hold views about Jews that are “unquestionably anti-Semitic,” a decrease from the 17 percent reported in 2002, the last year the survey was released. Anti-Semitic respondents were defined as those who agreed with six or more of 11 stereotypical statements about Jews.
Along with the survey, ADL released its annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents. That audit found anti-Semitic incidents to be at their highest level in nine years, with 1,821 incidents reported last year, a 17 percent increase over the 1,557 reported in 2003.
The audit reported increasing activity among neo-Nazi hate groups and escalating harassment and intimidation in American schools.
“We are especially disturbed that school children are engaging in anti-Semitic slurs and mockery,” said ADL National Chairwoman Barbara B. Balser. “There is a great need for anti-bias education among young people.”
In the national survey of anti-Semitic beliefs, Hispanic and African-American respondents were much more likely to hold Anti-Semitic viewpoints than white respondents. Among all respondents, anti-Semitic viewpoints decreased with education and increased with age.
“The demographics of the U.S. is changing very rapidly,” said John Marttila, president of the Marttila Communications Group, a Boston-based public opinions firm that conducted the survey. “As that does, it’s changing some of these findings.”
_ Shawna Gamache
Queen’s Church Position Will Keep Her Away From Son’s Civil Wedding
LONDON (RNS) Queen Elizabeth’s position as supreme governor of the Church of England will reportedly prevent her from attending the civil wedding Saturday (April 9) of her son, Prince Charles, to Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The wedding was originally planned for Friday (April 8), but that is the day of Pope John Paul II’s funeral in Rome, which Prince Charles will be attending.
The Sunday Telegraph quoted the queen as telling a friend: “I am not able to go. I do not feel that my position (as supreme governor) permits it.”
The newspaper quoted “a senior royal official” as saying: “The queen takes her position as supreme governor of the Church of England incredibly seriously. She also has great personal faith.”
The newspaper said the queen had decided not to attend even before the venue for the wedding was shifted from Windsor Castle _ the royal residence _ to Windsor Guildhall after it was discovered that, if the wedding were to be held in the castle, the licence for that would mean that ordinary members of the public would be able to be married there over the next three years.
A “senior royal aide” was quoted as saying: “The venue was never the issue for the queen. The civil nature of the service is the issue. She did not feel it was appropriate for her to attend.”
However, the queen will attend the service of prayer and dedication following the civil ceremony. The service will be conducted by the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. She will also host the wedding reception for more than 700 guests.
Before the postponement of Prince Charles’ wedding was announced, Windsor council officials said that the Guildhall had been booked for three other weddings on Saturday. But these are all timed for the afternoon, which leaves the morning free for the royal wedding.
As supreme governor of the Church of England, the queen has presided in person at the opening session, every five years, of each newly elected general synod of the Church of England, the church’s governing body.
_ Robert Nowell
Quote of the Day: United Methodist Liturgy Director Daniel Benedict
(RNS) “Holy Communion is not a funeral service; it is a time to remember all that Jesus did for us. It is body and blood, not milk and cookies. Diners beware!”
_ The Rev. Daniel Bendict, director of litury and worship for the United Methodist Church, speaking on ways the church can increase understanding of Holy Communion. He was quoted by United Methodist News Service.
MO/PH RNS END