c. 2006 Religion News Service
Alliance of Baptists to Appeal Fine for Cuban Travel
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Alliance of Baptists plans to appeal a Treasury Department notice alleging that churches affiliated with the group violated rules regarding travel to Cuba and should be fined $34,000.
The notice, dated July 5, said itineraries of five churches that used the alliance’s travel license “did not reflect a program of full-time religious activity.”
Treasury Department officials accused workers from at least one church of using their license for “sightseeing and beach time,” but officials from the moderate Baptist group said their activities were legitimate.
It comes at a time when the Bush administration has been tightening sanctions against Cuba, including blocking humanitarian aid from reaching the Cuban Council of Churches.
The Rev. Stan Hastey, executive director of the Washington-based alliance, said a majority of the group’s board members have asked him to send a written response appealing the notice from the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Hastey said the “prepenalty notice” arose from an investigation of churches that traveled to Cuba between 2003 and 2005.
“We’re told that they engaged in substantial tourist activities and that’s simply not the case,” he said. “They engaged, by any reasonable definition, in programs of full-time religious activity.”
He said the participating churches met with partner churches in Cuba, attending worship services and visiting homes in nearby communities. The alliance intends to file its written appeal by early September.
The alliance, which is affiliated with 117 U.S. churches, is among religious organizations that have been affected by recent regulation changes by the Treasury office and no longer have a license to travel to Cuba.
Its previous license was suspended in 2005 when that office determined that one of the five churches spent time earlier that year on “sightseeing and beach time.” Hastey said the purpose of a stay at a beach resort with ties to a religious group was to visit a church, not go to the beach.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Poll: Four in Ten Americans Admit Prejudice Against Muslims
(RNS) Almost 40 percent of Americans acknowledge having some prejudice against Muslims, but those with Muslim acquaintances are more likely to show favorable attitudes, a new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows.
Thirty-nine percent of Americans asked to “honestly” assess themselves said they have “at least some feelings of prejudice against Muslims” while 59 percent said they did not.
Respondents were fairly evenly divided about whether Muslims are respectful of other religions, with 47 percent agreeing and 40 percent disagreeing. There was clear disagreement about whether Muslims are too extreme in their religious beliefs, with 44 percent saying yes and 46 percent saying no.
A substantial minority _ 39 percent _ of Americans favor more strict security measures for Muslims than other U.S. citizens, such as requiring Muslims to carry a special ID; 59 percent said they would oppose such a requirement. Forty-one percent favored Muslims undergoing more intensive security checks at U.S. airports, while 57 percent opposed such action.
When comparing feelings based on whether respondents personally know a Muslim, pollsters found dramatic differences. Forty-one percent said they personally knew a Muslim.
Nearly a quarter of those who said they know a Muslim _ 24 percent _ favored a special ID for Muslims; 50 percent who do not know someone of that faith favored the special ID. Ten percent of those who know a Muslim said they would not want a Muslim as a neighbor, compared to 31 percent of those who did not know one.
Some of the findings were based on interviews of a random national sample of 1,007 adults between July 28-30 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Others were based on a “half-sample” of 500 national adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Coast Guard Changes Rule, Will Allow Some Religious Headgear on Duty
(RNS) The U.S. Coast Guard has changed its rules and will now permit some religious headgear to be worn on duty.
Chief Petty Officer Daniel Tremper said the Coast Guard has made a “verbal” commitment to enact the change, which aligns it with other U.S. military services. He said a written policy should be released soon.
The rule changes will permit the wearing of a yarmulke, worn by some Jews, but will not allow the hijab worn by Muslim women.
“It must be of a style and size that it can be completely covered by and not interfere with the wearing or appearance of any uniform military headgear,” said Tremper, a Coast Guard spokesman, in a Thursday (Aug. 9) interview.
Permitted apparel cannot cover the face or forehead or “interfere with the proper wear or functioning of protective clothing or equipment,” he said.
For example, religious headgear could not be worn by firefighting team members who wear masks on Coast Guard cutters. “We’re talking about safety concerns there,” Tremper said.
The policy comes after a meeting of the guard’s Uniform Board, which recommended the change to Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard. Allen agreed to the revision.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Scientologists Win Tax Battle With British Government
LONDON (RNS) The Church of Scientology has won a tax fight with British authorities, a victory that means the government will be forced to reimburse the millions of pounds in past payments the church has made.
After years of legal wrangling, a tax tribunal ruled Thursday (Aug. 10) that British Revenue and Customs will have to pay back at least 4.1 million pounds ($7.8 million) in taxes that the church paid while its status was in legal limbo, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.
The dispute was over value-added tax, or VAT, a levy on the final consumption of goods and services, and applicable to profit-making organizations. Religions are normally exempt, since they are viewed as charities “for the public benefit.”
For the Scientologists, the trouble started when the church sought charity status. The claim was rejected by the government’s Charities Commission on grounds that it was not a religion and that there was “no public benefit arising out of the practice of Scientology.”
The Scientologists appealed, and a year later, in 2000, the Revenue and Customs department ruled that the church, which counts among its members film stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta, was a not-for-profit organization after all and did not have to pay VAT.
The fight was reminiscent of the church’s battle with the U.S. government, which granted a tax-favored designation to the church only after the settlement in 1993 of a long series of court battles between Scientology and the Internal Revenue Service.
Although the VAT tribunal ruled that the British government would have to pay back 4.1 million pounds, the Telegraph report said that since VAT was introduced in Britain in 1973 and the Scientologists arrived four years later, “the full amount due to the Church of Scientology has yet to be determined.”
The tribunal’s decision reinforced an earlier case that had forced the British government to abandon its claim that VAT reimbursement claims could be taken back only three years. Under its ruling, the Church of Scientology could claim all the way back to 1977, when it established itself in Britain.
_ Al Webb
Pope Says Women Will `Make Their Own Space’ in Church
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI said women should not have to face obstacles as they seek a greater role in the church even as he reiterated church teaching against female priests.
In an interview aired Sunday (Aug. 13) with German broadcasters and Vatican Radio, the pope responded to a question on the feasibility of women assuming roles of greater visibility and responsibility in the church.
“I believe that women themselves, with their energy and strength, with their superiority, with what I’d call their `spiritual power,’ will know how to make their own space,” Benedict said. “And we will have to try and listen to God so as not to stand in their way.”
The pope supports church law that prohibits women from being ordained as priests or making legally binding decisions for the church. But he said that women today are “very present in the offices of the Holy See,” and praised women throughout church history, such as St. Catherine of Siena, who mediated Pope Gregory XI’s return to Rome from Avignon in the 14th century.
In the rare and lengthy interview given at his summer palace in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome last week, the pope also emphasized that the church should not be seen as an institution that only says no to things like abortion and gay marriage.
“Christianity, Catholicism, isn’t a collection of prohibitions _ it’s a positive option,” Benedict said, explaining that marriage fits into the development of love that includes sexuality and procreation.
_ Kristine Crane
Pet-Friendly Church Becomes an Unwelcome Animal Sanctuary
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (RNS) It’s a mystery most fowl. Someone has been abandoning roosters and chickens at the Episcopal Church of St. Andrew.
“We have this reputation as being pet-friendly,” said the Rev. Michael Delaney, the church’s pastor. “But we really need people to stop doing this.”
The first drop-off was on the weekend of the church’s annual antiques fair in July. Two roosters and five hens, all Rhode Island reds, were dropped off outside the parish offices.
Then recently, according to facilities manager Rich Ragsdale, came “more chickens.” On his way into work he found a box containing another rooster and hen.
“There was a bag next to the box,” said Ragsdale. “I thought maybe it was food for them, but out popped the head of another black thing. I don’t know what it was.” Whatever it was, it got away.
The Rhode Island roosters acted so aggressively toward the new arrivals that Delaney feared for the newcomers’ safety. So he brought them to the rectory where they are now living under a bush.
When Karen Kelly, the parish’s administrative assistant, approached with a bag of bread crumbs, the chickens came running. The chickens swarm her and Ragsdale as they arrive for work in the morning, apparently knowing breakfast has arrived.
The church is home to the only pet cemetery in New York City, but these robust birds certainly aren’t ready for interment.
Delaney said whoever abandoned the birds may have chosen his church because it is known for its Franciscan hospitality to animals.
“You feel sorry for any abandoned animals,” Delaney said. “We’ve been taking care of them. But we want them gone by September.”
_ Leslie Palma-Simoncek
British Archbishop Camps Out Inside Cathedral for Peace
LONDON (RNS) The Church of England’s second-ranking prelate has begun a weeklong “camp-out” inside York Minster cathedral to fast and pray and urge others to “light a candle for peace” in the conflict-torn Middle East.
Archbishop of York John Sentamu began his vigil Sunday (Aug. 13) by having his head shaved and being anointed with oil, then set up inside the cathedral’s St. John’s Chapel. For the rest of the week, his diet is limited to liquids.
Sentamu, second only to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in the Church of England hierarchy, had planned a seven-day family vacation to Austria but called it off in favor of his camping vigil after fierce fighting continued to rage between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
As a fragile cease-fire settled uneasily over the war-raved region Monday, the archbishop said he intended to spend every waking hour of his camp-out praying for peace between the combatants.
In a statement, he described his act as “a rallying call to people of all faiths and none, to encourage them to feel that there is something that can be done.” He said he was “inviting people from all over the country to pause for a prayer and light a candle for peace.”
Sentamu said the United Nations “has a role, diplomacy has a role and our (British) government has a role to play in bringing this conflict to an end. But we as people also have a role to play, in showing our common humanity with all those who are suffering.”
The archbishop said his vigil will end next Sunday morning (Aug. 20).
_ Al Webb
Iran Opens Exhibit of Holocaust Cartoons
(RNS) A new exhibit of cartoons depicting the Holocaust has opened in Iran after Muslims were angered earlier this year when a Danish newspaper published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The contest, which received 1,200 entries from around the world, prompted outrage from Abraham Foxman, national director of the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.
“Aside from the fact that it’s outrageous, hateful and cynical, it’s also ironic,” Foxman said in an interview, noting that Jews were not behind the original Muhammad cartoons that appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
The collection of 204 selections from Iran, the U.S. and more than 40 other countries opened this week in Tehran, according to the Associated Press. The host gallery, Caricature House, co-sponsored the contest with the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri, according to the AP.
Foxman also criticized the lack of “even logic” in the Iranian government. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran drew criticism last year for calling the Holocaust a “myth” and saying that Israel should be destroyed, the AP reported.
“Here is a government and institutions who say the Holocaust didn’t happen, and at the same time they accuse the Israeli government of acting like Nazis,” Foxman said.
A cartoon in the exhibit by Indonesian Tony Thomdean features the Statue of Liberty holding a book on the Holocaust in its left hand while giving a Nazi salute with the other, the AP reported.
Foxman, a Holocaust survivor, said that the competition and Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denials were troubling on a personal level.
“This is so hurtful because what it tries to do is not only deny that they weren’t killed, but you’re killing them again. … It’s like killing even their memory,” he said.
The exhibition, located next to the Palestinian Authority’s embassy, will run until Sept. 13, and the winner will receive $12,000, according to the AP.
_ Kat Glass
It’s a Dirty Job, But Satan’s Got to Do It
(RNS) Satan is not evil, he just has a dirty job.
That’s the argument put forth by Henry Ansgar Kelly, an English professor and former Jesuit who led the inaugural “Satan Seminar” at the Catholic Biblical Association’s recent (Aug. 5-8) meeting in Chicago.
Attended by about two dozen Bible scholars and academics, the “Satan Seminar” included a spirited examination of the few ancient texts that mention the prince of darkness.
Kelly, a professor of English at the UCLA who’s written a new biography of Satan due out this month, said he managed to persuade a few colleagues of his thesis: that Satan is not the enemy of God but the employee of God. Satan’s job, Kelly said, is to smoke out bad people so only the truly virtuous will reach heaven.
“He wants to test (humans), he’s suspicious and he doesn’t care about his methods,” Kelly said.
Highlighting his role in the Book of Job, Kelly said Satan is a member of the divine “old guard bureaucracy.”
“He’s a hated member of the government, like an IRS agent or (former U.S. Sen. Joseph) McCarthy.”
It was the early church fathers who recast Satan as “the Evil One,” and as God’s opposite, Kelly said.
In what he hopes will become an annual seminar, Kelly may have many more chances to persuade his colleagues. Very few, he said “know that I’ve got something new on Satan.”
_ Daniel Burke
Bush Signs Law Putting Controversial Cross Under Federal Control
(RNS) President Bush signed a measure into law Monday (Aug. 14) that aims to preserve a controversial cross on public land in San Diego.
The law permits the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial to be owned by the federal government, marking the latest juncture in a legal battle over its constitutionality.
In July, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy issued a stay that suspended a lower court decision that would have forced the city to remove the 29-foot cross from public property.
Even as further court action is expected, groups on both sides of the issue reacted to Bush’s signing of the law.
“This legislative victory is an important step in safeguarding the Mount Soledad cross,” said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice, which has represented members of Congress who wanted to preserve the cross. “While we applaud the legislative victory, our focus remains on ensuring that we secure a decisive and lasting legal victory to keep the Mount Soledad cross in place.”
While supporters argued that the religious symbolism of the memorial did not merit its removal, opponents said its use of the symbol of the Christian faith was inappropriate because veterans have a range of religious backgrounds.
“Americans of many different faiths and none fought in our wars,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It is wrong to use the symbol of only one faith to memorialize all those who died in service to their country.”
The American Humanist Association was disappointed that a federal judge in San Diego denied a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the transfer. But further legal action is expected as soon as September.
“Transferring control of the cross to the federal government does nothing to resolve the basic issues of the case,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the Washington-based association.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Week: Protester Timothy Truett of Montgomery Village, Md.
(RNS) “It was basically an experiment. I had heard that Muslims were generally intolerant of views other than their own, and so I thought I would put it to the test. I wanted to see what would happen.”
_ Timothy Truett, a protester who sat outside the Gaithersburg, Md., home of a Muslim candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates holding a sign that read “Islam sucks” and wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “This mind is an Allah-free zone.” Quoted by the Associated Press, Truett of Montgomery Village, Md., explained his protest of Saqib Ali, who would be the first Muslim member of the House of Delegates if elected.
KRE/JL END RNS
