c. 2008 Religion News Service

Vatican responds to Jewish concerns over prayers for conversion

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A new prayer for the conversion of the Jews reflects no change in the Catholic Church’s commitment to “reconciliation” with the Jewish people, the Vatican said Friday (April 4), seeking to soothe feelings over a recently amended portion of the Old Latin liturgy.

But the Vatican did not meet critics’ demands that the church disavow proselytizing Jews, and the prayer could remain an issue during the upcoming U.S. visit of Pope Benedict XVI. The pontiff will meet with Jewish leaders and visit a synagogue in New York on April 18.

Interfaith principles espoused by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s “today continue to sustain the bonds of esteem, dialogue, love, solidarity and collaboration between Catholics and Jews,” the Vatican said Friday.

The statement responds to controversy over the so-called Latin Mass, which fell out of use after Vatican II made local-language Mass the norm, but which Pope Benedict revived last July.

Some Jewish leaders objected to a prayer in the Latin Mass’ Good Friday liturgy calling for the conversion of the Jews.

The Vatican published a new version of the prayer in February, removing references to Jews’ “blindness” and a request that God “take the veil from their hearts.”

The new prayer calls on God to “enlighten (Jews’) hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men” and expresses the hope that “all Israel may be saved.”

The 1,600-member Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Rabbis issued a unanimous resolution stating that it was “dismayed and deeply disturbed” by the new prayer.

The Vatican’s statement on Friday “does not go far enough to allay Jewish concerns,” said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

“It is reassuring that the Catholic Church remains committed to the ideals” of Vatican II, Foxman said. “Yet it is troubling that the statement still does not specifically say that the Catholic Church is opposed to proselytizing Jews.”

_ Francis X. Rocca

Court dismisses Baptist church-state case

(RNS) A federal court has dismissed a 10-year-old legal challenge brought by Kentucky taxpayers who questioned government funding of a Baptist social service agency.

The case involving Sunrise Children’s Services, formerly known as Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children, initially centered on the dismissal of Alicia Pedreira, who the agency learned was a lesbian. In 2001, a federal judge in Louisville, Ky., dismissed her claims of religious discrimination.

Pedreira and other taxpayers continued the suit, claiming that public funds were used for services “infused with the teachings of the Baptist faith.”

Citing a recent Supreme Court decision, the same judge again ruled in favor of the agency, saying that the taxpayers did not demonstrate standing, or their right to sue the government.

In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Supreme Court ruled last June that taxpayers affiliated with an atheist group did not have standing to challenge President Bush’s faith-based initiative.

“We find that the claim of the taxpayers in this case is comparable to that in Hein,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Simpson III in a March 28 opinion.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union had represented the taxpayers in the case.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said lawyers are considering an appeal.

“It is a very sweeping reading of what I thought was a narrow ruling by the Supreme Court last year,” Lynn said.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Civil War-era law pertains to Episcopal dispute, judge rules

(RNS) A Virginia court has ruled that a Civil War-era law applies to a property dispute between the state’s Episcopal diocese and 11 congregations that have seceded from it.

The statute in question, which dates to 1867, relates to the settlement of property when there is a division in a church or religious society.

“The Court finds that the evidence of a `division’ within the diocese, the (Episcopal Church), and the Anglican Communion is not only compelling but overwhelming,” wrote Judge Randy I. Bellows of the Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The 11 breakaway churches have gathered as the Anglican District of Virginia. They are now fighting with the Virginia diocese and the Episcopal Church over who gets to keep church property, which has been estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.

“We are pleased with this initial victory today,” said Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the district. “We have maintained all along that the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia had no legal right to our property because the Virginia Division Statute says that the majority of the church is entitled to its property when there is a division within the denomination.”

The Diocese of Virginia, in a statement, noted that the court has not made a decision on the property issues on this matter and still has constitutional matters to address at a May 28 hearing.

“We strongly believe that, while we may have theological disagreements within the Episcopal Church, those disagreements are ours to resolve according to our faith and governance,” the diocese said.

The court battle stems from disagreements about the national church’s acceptance of gays and lesbians. The 11 congregations split from the Episcopal Church and the Virginia diocese in 2007 and joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, which is headed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Prominent Jews back controversial Texas pastor

JERUSALEM (RNS) Two influential Israelis defended American evangelical John Hagee on Friday (April 4), after the head of the largest group of U.S. Jews called the Texas pastor an “extremist.”

Rabbi Benny Elon, a Knesset member and chairman of the Christian Allies Caucus, called Hagee a “man of courage.” He also told the Texas pastor, who is traveling in Israel this week, that he’s “the right man in the right time in the right place.”

On Wednesday, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, blasted Hagee for his opposition to compromise with the Palestinians and his negative comments about other Christian denominations, most notably the Catholic Church.

Yoffie also urged members of his movement’s 900 synagogues not to participate in evangelical celebrations of Israel’s 60th anniversary next month.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the chief rabbi of Efrat, said Yoffie’s remarks were politically motivated.

“Yoffie was unfortunately letting his particular brand of Israeli politics get in the way of seeing a magnificent outpouring of support on the part of the evangelical community,” Riskin said.

I’ve been working with Pastor Hagee a long time and I’ve never heard him take a philosophical stand on any particular political posture Israel should take,” Riskin added.

Hagee is founder of Christians United for Israel, a pro-Israel organization that donates large amounts of money to Israel and Jews around the world.

_ Michele Chabin

Quote of the Day: The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

(RNS) “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

_ The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., quoted in an exhibit at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site in Atlanta that commemorates the 40th anniversary of his assassination on April 4, 1968. It was cited by the Associated Press.

DSB/PH END RNS