c. 2006 Religion News Service
Puerto Rican Branch of UCC Severs Ties Over Gay Issue
(RNS) The Puerto Rican branch of the United Church of Christ has voted to break from the American church because of “discomfort” over the denomination’s liberal stance on sexuality issues, according to a UCC news release.
The Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Puerto Rico voted during its annual assembly June 10 to formally dissolve the union between the two churches, which stretched back to 1961. According to the news release, 75 percent of those assembled voted in favor of the split.
“The news … is deeply and profoundly disappointing,” the Rev. John Thomas, general minister and president of the UCC, said in a statement. “The action will draw to a close the formal partnership between the United Church of Christ and the IEUPR.”
Formed in 1931, the Puerto Rican church was recognized by the Congregational Christian Churches, a forebear of the UCC, as a regional branch of the denomination. The Puerto Rican church allied with the United Church of Christ itself in 1961.
According to Thomas’ statement, UCC leaders have “known for several years that actions by UCC’s General Synod regarding the membership and ministry of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians have been troubling to many in the Puerto Rico Conference.”
The UCC is one of the most progressive denominations in American Christianity, especially in its treatment of sexuality. The church voted last July to support civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples, which angered the church’s small conservative minority.
It is also a “covenantal” church, which means there is no central authority to impose doctrine on any of its 1.3 million members or almost 6,000 churches.
The break with the IEUPR comes despite attempts to open formal dialogue and conversation with Puerto Rican church leaders, Thomas said. “I regret this very much,” he added.
Untangling the financial ties between the churches _ including pensions, loans and health insurance programs _ will take time, according to the UCC.
_ Daniel Burke
Victims’ Watchdog Group Launches Online Database of Accused Priests
BOSTON (RNS) Members of the public Thursday (June 15) will be able to search a new online database of about 2,900 American priests and other religious professionals accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Launched by Boston-based BishopAccountability.org, a lay reform group, the database enables readers to link to media reports as well as court decisions regarding allegations against specific individuals.
The launch marks the first attempt to consolidate all such information from the public domain into one clearinghouse location.
Organizers timed the launch to coincide with a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Los Angeles. The bishops’ preference for “secrecy” over disclosure of information about accused priests has made the database necessary, according to BishopAccountability.org co-director Anne Barrett Doyle.
“This is not a situation we created. It’s a situation the bishops in the United States created,” Doyle said. “We do feel tremendous grief if we … damage the reputation of someone who is innocent. But what would be far worse would be to deprive victims and parents of this information that would be so essential to their safety.”
The bishops conference did not respond to requests for comment.
About 2,670 names on the list are priests. Based on victims’ track records for reliability, Doyle added, “We assume 98 percent of the priests on the list are guilty.” When information exonerating a priest becomes public, she said, a database manager adds relevant documents and reports to his file, but prior allegations remain in view.
The project began months after a widespread clergy sexual abuse scandal came to light in January 2002. What started with 600 names grew over time to about 2,000 earlier this year. Such listings cited sources but didn’t attach links and included some errors, Doyle said. The expanded database breaks new ground in allowing readers to view records and reports for themselves.
Although the new database does not include the addresses of accused priests who are no longer in ministry, Doyle likens the database to a registry of sex offenders that parents can use to protect their children.
“All we do is list their names, and from that (parents) can use their own investigative techniques to figure out where (the accused) are now.”
_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Jehovah’s Witnesses Gain Recognition in Berlin
BERLIN (RNS) Jehovah’s Witnesses will soon have the same rights as other churches in Berlin thanks to a court order.
The Berlin Senate, which passes legislation for the city-state, formally recognized the church Tuesday (June 15). Although Jehovah’s Witnesses were allowed to practice their religion without the official recognition, the change in status grants the church additional rights.
For example, members of recognized religions are allowed to notify the state of their faith. The state then draws a church tax from the residents’ pay, which is funneled to the church, which can then offer church-run activities.
Additionally, recognized churches can organize religious instruction within public schools, provided there is enough interest.
The recognition has been a long time coming. The church fought the case in the courts for 10 years before Berlin’s highest court ruled last year that the city had to recognize the church. A federal court backed up that ruling in February.
In an online statement, spokesman Werner Rudtke said, “We are relieved that, after 15 years of legal uncertainty, we have finally reached clarity on this issue.”
The city sought to block recognition, arguing that church policies hurt family relations. The city-state also opposes the church’s refusal to allow members, particularly children, to receive blood transfusions.
The church is not popular in Germany and is considered to be a sect by large swaths of the population. Now that Berlin has recognized the church, other states have expressed concerns that they too will be forced to officially acknowledge it. The problems in Germany mirror the church’s issues in other countries, such as Russia, where church members are often harassed for their beliefs.
_ Niels Sorrells
Director of Controversial UCC Ad Campaign Stepping Down
(RNS) The creator of the United Church of Christ’s much-hyped “God Is Still Speaking” ad campaign announced Monday (June 12) that he is leaving his position with the denomination.
Ron Buford, 49, who directed the controversial effort to “rebrand” the UCC through expensive television commercials and other efforts, said the decision to part ways was mutual.
“Any time you do something that is a radical departure, you’re going to create conflict,” Buford said Tuesday. “This was not an exception.”
Though the marketing entrepreneur’s work brought conflict, it also brought the 1.3 million-member UCC into the national spotlight. The denomination made headlines when television networks refused to air ads that touted the UCC’s inclusiveness.
One commercial, in which a black woman, a gay couple and other minorities are ejected from church pews, was deemed “too controversial” by the networks. The commercial’s ejections were followed by the line “God doesn’t reject people. Neither do we.”
The denomination’s increased “visibility” is marked by the number of visits to the UCC’s Web site, according to Buford, which he said had increased from 950,000 each year to 7.1 million in 18 months, and by the numbers of churches that have opted into the “Stillspeaking” campaign. Buford said 58 percent of the UCC’s 6,000 member churches have adopted elements of the initiative.
Though Buford had planned to direct “Stillspeaking” for 18 more months, he said the last installment, “weaving the ideas into the church,” could be taken on by church administrators.
“Ron leaves a permanent legacy on the UCC for which the church will always be grateful,” said the Rev. John Thomas, general minister and president of the denomination. “The Stillspeaking initiative will continue to be a transforming movement within the life of our church and Ron’s creativity and devotion have been a driving force behind it.”
Buford said he became a member of the progressive UCC almost 30 years ago.
“For me, as an openly gay African-American man, to find a church like this was a big surprise,” he said. “I was a deeply religious person. I read my Bible and prayed and people welcomed and embraced me. I started telling my friends about it. The same thing happened with this campaign.”
When asked if he thought church leaders would continue his work after he left, Buford invoked the Rev. Charles Cobb, who lead the UCC through the civil rights struggle.
“Charlie Cobb said the church does the right thing when pushed,” Buford said. “If the people love this work, they will have to continue to push to make sure their leaders make the right decisions.”
_ Daniel Burke
Quote of the Day: Boston priest Walter Cuenin
(RNS) “I told a friend of mine … that I was going to be here today, speaking at a gay pride interfaith service, and she said to me, `What’s a Catholic priest doing at a gay pride service?’ My response was, `Why wouldn’t a Catholic priest be here?’ In the tradition of my own Christian faith, it seems to me, as I read it, that Jesus was always with those who were often the target of hatred and persecution.”
_ The Rev. Walter Cuenin, speaking June 11 at an interfaith prayer service that was part of Boston’s gay pride festivities. He was quoted by The Boston Globe.
KRE/PH END RNS
