c. 2006 Religion News Service

New York Court Refuses to Intervene in Greek Orthodox Church Dispute

(RNS) A New York appeals court refused to intervene in a dispute between the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and a group of parishioners over the church’s charter, ruling that the Constitution forbids government intrusion into church matters.

“The First Amendment to the United States Constitution precludes courts from intervening in ecclesiastical matters, such as church governance, to resolve disputes involving religious organizations,” wrote state Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman in a June 22 ruling.

In 2004, 34 parishioners sued the archdiocese, which is the governing authority of the one-million member Greek Orthodox Church of America, over changes in the church’s charters. Three parishioners subsequently discontinued their claims.

The charter changes, which were made in 2003, added eligibility criteria for archbishop candidates, modified procedures for handling a vacancy in the office of archbishop and gave the church’s top synod the additional authority to change the number, seat and boundaries of metropolises _ or dioceses.

The parishioners argued that the 2003 changes had not been appropriately approved by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who is spiritual leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians. They also argued that the church did not serve notice of the changes, as is required of American corporations.

But Gammerman, in affirming a lower court’s decision, ruled that there are significant differences between churches and American corporations and those differences require the courts to stay out of church business.

“The courts simply do not have the authority to interfere with the manner in which churches organize the titles of their clerics, to determine the eligibility criteria for candidates for archbishop or bishop, to oversee monasteries, or to inject the state judicial authority into the other matters raised by this action,” Gammerman wrote in his decision.

The Rev. Frank Marangos, an archdiocesan spokesman, said the archdiocese had expected the ruling to be in its favor, though he added that “unfortunately, people continue to want to push this.”

_ Daniel Burke

Benedictine Community Breaks Ties with Roman Catholic Church

(RNS) The St. Benedict Center, a Benedictine ecumenical community in Madison, Wis., has ended its affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church, but hopes to continue serving Catholics through its ecumenical vision.

“It was our desire to be equal with our Protestant sisters,” said Sister Mary David Walgenbach, the prioress, or elected leader, of the community.

For the past 12 years, the women at St. Benedict’s have been working toward inclusion of other denominations with an ecumenical board including Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Catholics, and a former president of the United Church of Christ. Soon after, non-Catholics began walking through their front doors.

Sister Walgenbach said that this change in affiliation, in effect since June, will not affect the community’s Benedictine traditions with 1,500-year-old roots, such as prayer and silence five times a day. The community now calls its residence Holy Wisdom Monastery.

“Our life is balanced by prayer and work,” she said, mentioning how the community turned the property into prairies and wetlands.

But the women at St. Benedict’s say that while this will attract those who are looking for an ecumenical experience, it might deter those who are looking for a Catholic community.

Bishop Robert Morlino of the Diocese of Madison encouraged Catholics to participate, but asked the center to remove particularly Catholic elements such as implements used in Holy Communion.

“To avoid the potential for confusion I have asked that Catholic Mass or a substantially similar liturgy no longer be celebrated at the St. Benedict Center,” said Morlino in a statement.

_ J. Edward Mendez

Pakistan Moving to Revise Islamic Laws

(RNS) When Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf amended a law July 7 extending bail to 1,300 women in jail awaiting trial, it may have signaled his willingness to revise laws traditionally held to be God-given and taboo to dispute, according to several experts.

Approximately 130 women were released on bail, according to the Associated Press. Bail had traditionally been denied to women in Pakistan under the Hadood Ordinance, a body of law established by an Islamic council in 1979.

Most of the women awaited trial for murder and theft, according to the AP.

Recently, Musharraf asked the Council of Islamic Ideology, which advises the government on religious law, to revise the ordinance. He is expected to discuss those revisions with the Pakistani Parliament.

For a month before the bail amendment a Pakistani television station aired debates featuring more than 20 Islamic scholars discussing whether the Hadood Ordinance, a body of law based on the Quran but established just 27 years ago, is man-made or God-given.

Most of the scholars on the program, “Zara Sochieye” (“just think”), didn’t want the ordinance repealed, but concluded that it’s man-made, and therefore can be amended, according to Aliya Salahuddin, a producer for “Zara Sochieye.”

“We broke the myth that it is sinful to amend the ordinance,” Salahuddin said in a telephone interview July 11.

Pakistani courts distinguish between punishments declared in the Quran, called “hudd’ and man-made punishments, called “tazeer.”

“Hudd is reserved for the most serious crimes and are fixed punishments, while Tazeer is meted for less serious offenses at the judge’s discretion,” said Ziad Haider, who studied women’s rights and Islamic law in Malaysia, and is now a staffer on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.

“By recognizing that these laws are man-made, Pakistanis are acknowledging that the power and responsibility (are) theirs to rethink the laws,” Irshad Manji, author of “The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith,” wrote in an e-mail.

“Allah is perfect. Allah’s interpreters are not,” Manji wrote.

-J. Edward Mendez

Quote of the Day: Roman Catholic Bishop Charles Grahmann of Dallas

(RNS) “I hope that he writes on my letter: `You can go fishing.”’

_ Bishop Charles Grahmann, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, commenting on his offering his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI upon turning 75 on Saturday (July 15). He was quoted by The Dallas Morning News.

DSB/RB END RNS