c. 2007 Religion News Service

Evangelicals Try to Correct `Misperception’ on Middle East

WASHINGTON (RNS) A broad coalition of evangelical leaders is attempting to “correct a serious misperception” that all evangelicals oppose creating a Palestinian state.

Led by Ron Sider, a professor at the American Baptist-affiliated Palmer Theological Seminary and head of Evangelicals for Social Action, the coalition sent a letter to President Bush expressing support for a proposed two-state solution.

“The only way to bring the tragic cycle of violence to end,” reads the July 27 letter, “is for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a just, lasting agreement that guarantees both sides viable, independent, secure states.”

Historically, evangelicals have adopted a pro-Israel stance in defense of the biblical “chosen people.” The letter reflects a more nuanced perspective on the conflict _ one that affirms legitimate property rights on both sides while also placing blame for violence on both sides.

“We know that blessing and loving people (including Jews and the present state of Israel) does not mean withholding criticism when it is warranted,” the letter said, suggesting that “the best way we can bless Israel” might be to “remember … the profound teaching on justice that the Hebrew prophets proclaimed so forcefully.”

Thirty-four evangelical leaders signed the document, including a former president of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, current presidents of Fuller Theological Seminary and Bethel University, the editor of Christianity Today and the national director of Vineyard USA.

The letter was released not long after a recent Washington convention hosted by John Hagee, a San Antonio megachurch pastor who heads Christians United for Israel, a staunchly pro-Israel group. He told The New York Times, “Bible-believing evangelicals will scoff at that message.”

The letter also affirmed the new diplomatic role of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and requested a meeting with Bush to discuss how evangelicals might help the administration negotiate peace in the Middle East.

_ Michelle Rindels

John Paul as Big in Death as in Life at Catholic Expo

CLEVELAND (RNS) Judging by some of the paraphernalia offered to retailers at the Catholic Marketing Network’s international trade show, one thing is clear: Pope John Paul II is as big as Bono.

A photo of him before he became Bishop of Rome, in which he is wearing shades, a beret and a slightly devilish smile graces coffee mugs, T-shirts and key chains.

“Is that JP II??!!!” yelped a young woman working the entrance of the recent International Exposition Center in Cleveland, which housed nearly 60 exhibitors for four days. She had spotted an “Xtreme Papa” dog tag around a guest’s neck. “I LOVE JP II! I bawled my eyes out when he died.”

“Papa Ben” merchandise, featuring current pontiff Pope Benedict XVI, doesn’t move as well.

“As far as T-shirts go, you can’t beat Pope John Paul,” said Dominic Scarnecchia, an associate moving “Catholic to the Max” merchandise, a hip division of Nelson Woodcraft in Steubenville.

A student at Franciscan University, he could easily be working the floor at Abercrombie & Fitch or Old Navy, but instead, he was hawking “Get Holy or Die Tryin’ ” and “Puttin’ the STUD back in Bible study” license plate frames and messenger bags.

“You have to start with the youth,” Scarnecchia said. “It’s the future of the Catholic Church, like Pope John Paul said.”

Which explains “Heavenly Lips” _ tubes printed with images of holy icons and marketed as “Our Lady of Guadalupe LipPro Lip Balm.” The irreverent tone is meant to be playful, not sacrilegious, and trendy enough to appeal to buyers swaddled in brand-name apparel from cradle to high school graduation.

While traditional religious artifacts were in evidence _ crucifixes and giant praying hands “handmade in the holy land,” heavy embroidered vestments, glow-in-the-dark Fatima statues from Portugal _ there was a decided whiff of Madison Avenue at the 2007 Expo.

Like the Wearable Service Rosary, also known as the “tough guy rosary necklace” made with a safety break-away clasp. Why? Because traditional rosaries, strung onto piano wirelike thread, can be used to choke troops in hand-to-hand combat, explained Dede Laugesen of The Rosary Project. There have been no such reports, but “it could happen,” she said. Introduced in November, “they’re selling like hotcakes.”

The Boulder, Colo., company also markets rosaries for jocks; strung among the plastic beads are tiny baseballs, basketballs or footballs.

_ Andrea Simakis

Lawmakers Urge Probe into NIH Chaplain Complaints

WASHINGTON (RNS) Several Congressmen are urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate an allegedly anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic chaplain at a government-run clinical research hospital in Bethesda, Md.

The Rev. O. Ray Fitzgerald, a Methodist minister and former head of the Spiritual Ministry Department, was demoted after a Catholic chaplain that he fired was judged the victim of “discriminatory and retaliatory animus” in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission decision.

But while the Catholic chaplain was reinstated, Fitzgerald still holds a chaplaincy position at the clinic, which is run by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In light of a lawsuit and two EEOC complaints against Fitzgerald, fourteen Congressmen want that changed.

“Intolerance has no place at the National Institutes of Health, especially within the Spiritual Ministry Department,” wrote Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who spearheaded the letter from Capitol Hill.

In a July 9 letter to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, a bipartisan group urged him to send the administration’s Inspector General “to investigate all allegations of impropriety and mismanagement.”

Allegations of intolerance include claims that Fitzgerald organized schedules so some patients could not access a chaplain from their faith tradition. Former chaplains complained that he fired those who challenged him and that he referred to Rabbi Reeve Brenner as “the butthead Jew” and “the crass Jew.”

Edar Rogler, a former Greek Orthodox chaplain who filed the lawsuit, testified in an EEOC hearing that Fitzgerald told her that Catholic priests are pedophiles.

The HHS issued a statement to The Washington Post saying the NIH has already performed a thorough, independent review of the spiritual ministry department. But with Fitzgerald still on the payroll, the coalition still isn’t happy.

“We do not believe that the NIH management has acted sufficiently to remedy this serious matter,” the letter said.

_ Michelle Rindels

Quote of the Day: New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson

(RNS) “If all the gay people stayed away from the church on a given Sunday the Church of England would be close to shut down, between its organists, its clergy, its wardens … it just seems less than humble not to admit that.”

_ New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, speaking about homosexuals in the Church of England, which, like the U.S.’s Episcopal Church is part of the global Anglican Communion. He was quoted by the Times of London. (July 27)

KRE/RB END RNS