c. 2007 Religion News Service

Judge: Veterans Affairs’ Spiritual Assessments Constitutional

(RNS) A federal judge has upheld aspects of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ chaplaincy program, saying its use of “spiritual assessments” of patients is constitutional.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sued VA officials last April, charging that they violated the First Amendment with an expansion of spiritual care services to outpatient veterans and a requirement that veterans be assessed to determine if a spiritual dimension of their health care is needed. Assessments can include questions about how often patients attend a house of worship and whether they would like to speak with a chaplain.

“All aspects of VA’s chaplaincy program being challenged by plaintiffs are constitutionally permissible under the First Amendment because they do not have the principal or primary effect of advancing religion,” wrote U.S. District Judge John C. Shabaz of the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., in a Monday (Jan. 8) ruling.

Shabaz said the spiritual assessments are voluntary because administrators will halt them if patients state they are not interested in being assessed in that way.

“Voluntariness lies at the heart of each and every aspect of VA’s chaplaincy program being challenged,” he wrote.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the foundation, which is based in Madison, said it will appeal the case.

“We think we would have a strong appeal because coercion is not necessary to show a violation of the Establishment Clause and that is what Judge Shabaz rests his ruling on,” she said.

Her foundation was contacted by a veteran who sought a referral for an eye doctor at an outpatient VA center and was informed that he first had to get a physical and spiritual assessment.

“When he objected, they dropped it,” she said of the religious assessment. “That’s an imposition. He’s an outpatient.”

Gaylor said her organization did not challenge the VA chaplaincy as a whole because it did not object to its aim to accommodate the right of hospitalized patients to have access to worship and pastoral care.

_ Adelle M. Banks

New Scientology Center Has Berlin on Edge

BERLIN (RNS) The planned gala opening of a new Scientology center has further strained the already tense relationship between the religious movement and the German government.

The planned Saturday (Jan. 13) opening of the new headquarters _ rumored to be a gala event that will feature appearances by famous Scientologists such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta _ has seemingly caught the city of Berlin by surprise and prompted officials to consider actions to keep tabs on the group.

The Berliner Zeitung (Berlin Newspaper) reported this week that members of the conservative Christian Democrats have called for the city to begin surveillance operations on the group, despite a 2003 court ruling that expressly forbids such actions. The ruling affected only Berlin, meaning other German states and the federal government continue with their own surveillance operations.

Berlin’s minister for internal operations, Ehrhart Koerting, has ruled out surveillance operations, though he referred to Scientology as an “awful organization” in the same statement.

Such inaction is unlikely to calm nervous Berliners, many of whom have been contacting the city to find out what actions it will take to keep Scientologists from harassing their children, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt General Newspaper).

Scientology is not banned in Germany, but it is also not considered a religion. That distinction prevents the church from taking advantage of a variety of benefits, such as collecting church taxes, which the state automatically levies on members of recognized churches.

Thomas Gandow, an expert on sects with the German Protestant church, told the Berliner Zeitung that the new facility proves that Scientologists are engaged in an aggressive campaign to earn legitimacy in Europe. “This building is too big for the little Berlin group,” he said, speculating that the group is moving to Berlin to be free of surveillance activities in other German states.

Additionally, moving to Berlin gives the group greater access to politicians. “The group has been trying to beef up its lobbying work for a long time,” Gandow said.

_ Niels Sorrells

Santorum to Head `Enemies’ Project at Think Tank

WASHINGTON (RNS) Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was defeated in November, but he hopes his new job will allow him to slay America’s enemies.

Santorum, a Republican, will lead the “America’s Enemies” program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative Washington think tank.

He plans to continue speaking about the threats posed by “Islamic fascism” and such unfriendly nations as Venezuela, North Korea and Iran.

Santorum, who served 12 years in the Senate and four in the House, made the issue the centerpiece of the final months of his failed re-election campaign. He gave a series of speeches about what he dubbed the “gathering storm,” a reference to the characterization of Europe leading up to World War II by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

“In these perilous and uncertain times, I believe it is critical that we define the threats that confront America,” Santorum said in a statement released by the center, where he also will serve as a senior fellow.

“Without a clear definition and precise understanding of our enemies we cannot fight effectively, and our own citizens become divided,” he said. “It is my hope that the America’s Enemies program at EPPC will help the American people _ including our leaders _ understand and communicate with clarity, honesty and consistency the enemies we face and the complex and enormous threat that they pose to our lives and the freedoms we all enjoy.”

Santorum was defeated in November by state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., a Democrat.

In his new position, Santorum will lecture, write articles and organize conferences to identify and focus attention on threats that face the United States, the West and, in particular, religious freedom. He also will be responsible for raising several hundred thousand dollars annually to fund the program.

“As a United States senator, Rick Santorum was a champion of efforts to counter the threat of radical Islamic fascism, to protect victims of religious persecution, and to promote democracy and religious liberty around the world,” said Ed Whelan, the center’s president. “We are honored that he is joining EPPC to continue his important and courageous work on these matters.”

_ Brett Lieberman

Twenty-five U.S. Bishops Could Retire This Year

(RNS) Twenty-five U.S. Roman Catholic bishops, including five cardinals, will be at least 75 years old this year, the age at which they are requested to submit their resignation to Pope Benedict XVI.

Though Catholic prelates are asked to submit their resignation at 75, the pope often allows them to serve beyond that age. Fourteen active U.S. bishops, including three cardinals, are older than 75, according to Catholic News Service. Eleven bishops, including two cardinals, will turn 75 in 2007.

Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, the nation’s second-largest Catholic archdiocese, will turn 75 in April. Cardinal F. James Stafford, a U.S. native who is now a senior Vatican official, will celebrate his 75th birthday in July.

Cardinals Adam Maida of Detroit, William Keeler of Baltimore and Bernard Law, archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, turned 75 in 2006, CNS reported. Law was archbishop of Boston from 1984 to 2002, before resigning amid the clergy sex abuse scandal.

According to Catholic News Service, additional archbishops and bishops who will turn 75 years old in 2007 include Archbishop Elden Curtiss of Omaha, Neb., and Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans.

_ Daniel Burke

Quote of the Day: Hip-Hop Christian Group Leader Bennie “Preacha” Foster

(RNS) “We’re fishing. The bait youngsters are eating is hip-hop. So we take that music, dice it up, we put some Jesus flavor to it and save souls in Jesus’ name. That’s how we do it.”

_ Bennie “Preacha” Foster, leader of the sextet Dem Unknown WarriorZ, which performs Christian hip-hop music. He was quoted by The Associated Press after a performance in Jonesboro, Ga.

KRE/PH END RNS