c. 2008 Religion News Service
Catholic bishops condemn embryonic stem cell research
(RNS) The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops on Friday (June 13) approved a policy statement condemning embryonic stem cell research, but a new translation of Mass prayers unexpectedly failed to garner enough votes to pass.
By a vote of 191 to 1, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted a seven-page statement that calls embryonic stem cell research “a gravely immoral act.”
Approved at the USCCB’s semiannual meeting in Orlando, Fla., it’s the first statement exclusively devoted to embryonic stem cell research approved by the full body of bishops.
Medical researchers tout embryonic research as a possible way to treat diseases such as cancer and diabetes, but Catholic bishops said embryos are innocent human persons that should not be destroyed in the research process.
The bishops were also expected to approve a new translation of the “proper” prayers spoken at Mass on Sundays, holy days and during liturgical seasons such as Lent and Easter.
The Vatican-ordered translations are aimed at a greater fidelity to the original Latin text of the Mass. But a number of bishops called the new language incomprehensible, with one referring to it as a “linguistic swamp,” according to National Catholic Reporter, an independent weekly.
Since the new translation failed to garner the necessary two-thirds vote, it now goes to a mail ballot so the bishops not present in Orlando may cast their vote.
(OPTIONAL TRIM BEGINS)
The bishops also voted to ask their committee on doctrine to bring the USCCB’s policy on artificial nutrition and hydration in line with recent Vatican declarations on the matter.
Under most circumstances, medically provided food and water should not be removed from unconscious patients, the Vatican declarations say.
(OPTIONAL TRIM ENDS)
_ Daniel Burke
Jewish groups angered by Presbyterian statement on anti-Jewish bias
(RNS) A new Presbyterian statement against anti-Jewish bias has instead prompted an outcry from national Jewish agencies, whose leaders call it a major setback in efforts to improve interfaith relations.
Ethan Felson, a spokesman for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, called the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s updated “Vigilance Against Anti-Jewish Bias” resource a “very troubling development that we know is similarly discouraging to our many friends in the church.”
Representatives from a dozen other Jewish organizations agreed, complaining the revisions give a pro-Palestinian slant to the 3,000-word document, unraveling four years of progress made after they had protested the mainline Presbyterians’ move to consider divestment from companies in Israel.
Among other things, Jewish leaders say the new statement criticizes Israel’s actions in Palestinian territories without making corresponding statements about terrorism targeting Israelis. They also find fault with the PC(USA) interpretation of the biblical gift of the Promised Land “to all the descendants of Abraham” _ a group that would include Christians and Muslims as well as Jews.
Jay Rock, the PC(USA)’s coordinator for interfaith relations, said the revised document reflects a balanced effort to respectfully strive for resolution in the troubled region.
“I will say that talking about the issue of anti-Jewish bias in advocacy for Israeli-Palestinian peace is difficult, because it involves two commitments to justice that can easily seem contradictory,” he admitted, declining to comment further on the controversy.
Rock said the document will not be revised again before the church’s June 21-28 General Assembly in San Jose, Calif., where it will be among the top issues discussed by church leaders representing more than 2 million Americans.
_ Nicole Neroulias
Muslims launch nationwide census
(RNS) A team of Islamic advocacy groups and statistical organizations will start a nationwide census of American mosques this summer that organizers hope will paint a more accurate picture of the size and ethnic composition of U.S. Muslims.
One of the challenges will be finding all the venues where Muslims pray. Many Islamic communities do not have mosques but still meet for congregational prayers in private homes, businesses, university buildings and even some churches that have opened their buildings for Muslim prayers.
“This is very tough,” said Ihsan Bagby, an Islamic Studies professor at the University of Kentucky who is directing the study. “We will engage interviewers so they can diligently hunt for these less obvious mosques.”
The study is planned for release in early 2009.
The Council on American Islamic Relations released a similar study in May 2001 that counted 1,209 U.S. mosques and about 2 million Muslims associated with them. From that, the CAIR study extrapolated that there were between 6 million and 7 million Muslims in America.
The 2001 study also found that South Asians comprised 33 percent of mosque attendance, African Americans 30 percent and Arabs 25 percent.
Several sects who identify themselves as Muslim but were excluded in the earlier study will be counted in the upcoming study, Bagby said, including the Ahmadiyya movement and the Nation of Islam.
According to the 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, which was released last February by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Muslims comprise approximately 0.6 percent of the U.S. population _ or about 1.82 million Muslims. Bagby said he believed the Pew figure was an “undercount,” attributed in part to a higher rate of refusal among Muslims to answer survey questions.
Other groups sponsoring the census include the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim American Society, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Hartford Institute of Religion Research, and the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.
_ Omar Sacirbey
Woman elected to No. 2 spot in Christian Reformed Church
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) The Christian Reformed Church made history Saturday (June 14) by electing a woman as vice president of its annual Synod _ the first time meeting in which women were allowed to serve as delegates.
The Rev. Thea Leunk, pastor of Eastern Avenue CRC in Grand Rapids, was elected after finishing second in the vote for president on opening day of the CRC Synod meeting at Calvin College.
The Rev. Joel Boot, of Georgetown Township, Mich., was chosen president.
Applause greeted Leunk’s election, and some saw the vote as the church’s way of celebrating the breakthrough after a nearly 40-year battle for women’s full clergy rights.
Leunk pointed the spotlight away from herself, emphasizing her role as one of four officers heading up the weeklong meeting. The three other elected officers are all men.
“It’s an honor and it’s a trust more than anything else,” Leunk said following the vote at Calvin College. “All of us as officers are hoping we can live up to that trust that’s been placed in us to lead the Synod well.”
But her smile spoke of a sea change in the CRC.
“Based on the people who have come up to me, it’s a day of celebration,” said Leunk, who has served on numerous CRC boards and as a Synod deputy at regional meetings.
Sylvia Hugen, a longtime advocate for women in office, found her eyes brimming with tears after the vote.
“It’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” said Hugen, 73, a member of Leunk’s congregation. “I’m ecstatic. This is something we waited for.”
Boot, a third-time president, recognized the moment’s import in his remarks to more than 180 delegates, 26 of them women.
“Sisters and brothers,” said Boot, his voice quavering. “It’s been a long time in coming, that phrase, and this is a historic occasion. I consider it a distinct honor and privilege to be part of it.”
_ Charles Honey
Quote of the Day: Washington journalist Gwen Ifill
(RNS) “This studio, I thought of it as the `church of Tim.’ He was also the great uber priest. I would actually get a pass from my own pastor not to go to church on Sundays if I was going to be on `Meet the Press.”’
_ Washington journalist Gwen Ifill, a regular on “Meet the Press,” on the death of the show’s host Tim Russert, who died Friday (June 13). Ifill was quoted on a special tribute to Russert Sunday on NBC.
KRE/RB END RNS