c. 2008 Religion News Service
Vatican bars use of `Yahweh’ in Catholic churches
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Catholics at worship should neither sing nor pronounce the name of God as “Yahweh,” the Vatican has said, citing the authority of both Jewish and Christian practice.
The instruction came in a June 29 letter to Catholic bishops conferences around the world from the Vatican’s top liturgical body, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, by an explicit “directive” of Pope Benedict XVI.
“In recent years the practice has crept in of pronouncing the God of Israel’s proper name,” the letter noted, referring to the four-consonant Hebrew “Tetragrammaton,” YHWH.
That name is commonly pronounced as “Yahweh,” though other versions include “Jaweh” and “Yehovah.” But such pronunciation violates long-standing Jewish tradition, the Vatican reminded bishops.
“As an expression of the infinite greatness and majesty of God, (the name) was held to be unpronounceable and hence was replaced during the reading of sacred Scripture by means of the use of an alternate name: `Adonai,’ which means `Lord,”’ the Congregation said.
That practice continued with Christianity, the letter explained, recalling the “church’s tradition, from the beginning, that the sacred Tetragrammaton was never pronounced in the Christian context nor translated into any of the languages into which the Bible was translated.”
Invoking a Vatican document from 2001, the Congregation reminded bishops that the name “Yahweh” in Catholic worship should be replaced by the Latin “Dominus” (Lord) or a word “equivalent in meaning” in the local language.
The Vatican’s move will require changes in a number of hymns and prayers currently used in American churches, but not to the Mass itself, said the U.S. bishops’ top liturgical official.
Catholic News Service quoted an Aug. 8 letter from Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, informing American prelates of the policy.
The Vatican’s instruction, Serratelli wrote, would serve as “an encouragement to show reverence for the name of God in daily life, emphasizing the power of language as an act of devotion and worship.”
_ Francis X. Rocca
Tenn. sheriff to draft church-goers as special deputies
(RNS) Citing recent high-profile shootings across the country, a Tennessee sheriff has introduced a new plan to train parishioners as law enforcement officers.
Under the “Church Protection Plan,” churches in Bradley County in southeastern Tennessee can nominate parishioners to serve as special deputies during Sunday services.
“The chances of a violent shooting occurring in a church are remote, but it can and has happened,” Sheriff Tim Gobble wrote in a statement. “If this program helps save a life or prevent a shooting, it will be worth it.”
Two people were killed and seven wounded when a gunman opened fire at a Unitarian church in Knoxville, Tenn., about 80 miles north of Bradley County, on July 27.
Under the program, churches with nonprofit status and more than 50 parishioners would have the option of submitting two names to the sheriff’s office to serve as “special deputies.” If appointed, special deputies would be required to participate in 40 hours of training each year, and would be authorized to carry firearms. Their authority would be restricted to church services and events.
Some county commissioners have questioned the program, saying it rests on a fragile legal framework.
“I’m very concerned about the county’s liability, but I’m equally concerned about the church’s liability,” county attorney Joe Byrd said, according to the local Cleveland Banner newspaper.
According to Chief Deputy Bill Dyer, the program existed for more than a century, and the new deputies will come at no price to the taxpayer.
“Any time we have a large gathering of citizens, whether it be a church or a block party, or a fireworks demonstration, or a parade, the potential is there for a lot of people to be injured,” said Dyer. “So we’re trying to protect citizens wherever they gather.”
Church security has become a thriving business in the United States, with many megachurches employing security guards to protect parishioners. Last December, a shooter killed four people in a pair of shootings in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Although Dyer said there have been no recent threats made against churches in Bradley County, churches have been quick to sign up, he said.
_ Tim Murphy
Man petitions court over conversion rules in father’s will
(RNS) An Illinois man has petitioned the state supreme court to weigh in on a clause in his father’s will that disinherits grandchildren who marry non-Jewish spouses.
In a 2-1 decision, a state appeals court on June 30 upheld a lower court ruling that a provision in a will known as the “Jewish clause” was “unenforceable” and “contrary to state policies.”
“I believe (the case) does create a precedent for conditions attached to estate planning,” said Michael J. Durkin, attorney for Michael Feinberg, who wants the “Jewish clause” in his father Max Feinberg’s will held intact.
“It would be a reduction of a person’s right to dispose of his or her property as he sees fit, and an intervention by virtue of public policy by those rights.”
Before he died in 1986, Max Feinberg stipulated in his will that any grandchild who married a non-Jew would be considered “deceased” for the purposes of his inheritance. The death of his wife in 2003 triggered a series of lawsuits among descendents, all of which ultimately rested on the legal merits of the so-called Jewish clause.
The generational feud pits Max Feinberg’s two children, Michael Feinberg and Leila Taylor, against Michael Feinberg’s daughter, Michele, who opposes the Jewish clause. Taylor’s three children are only nominal participants in the suit and did not appear in court. Only one of the elder Feinberg’s five grandchildren married a Jewish spouse.
Writing for the majority, Appellate Judge Joy V. Cunningham cited state-wide judicial precedent in affirming the lower court decision, while acknowledging that other courts nationally have ruled otherwise.
“The provision’s clear intent was to influence the marriage decisions of Max’s grandchildren based on a religious criterion and thus to discourage marriage by the grandchildren other than to those of the Jewish faith,” Cunningham stated.
In a concurring opinion, Judge Patricia J. Quinn warned that allowing the Jewish clause to stand would open the door to bigotry.
The lone dissenting voice on the bench, Judge Alan Greiman, framed the clause as merely an attempt by the Feinbergs to “preserve their 4,000-year-old heritage.”
“The majority places us in the minority of jurisdictions that have considered this issue,” Greiman wrote. “Max and Erla had a dream with respect to the provisions of their will and if you will it, it is no dream.“
_ Tim Murphy
Pope calls for aid to victims in Georgian war
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI called for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors” between South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia, to facilitate aid to victims of the conflict between Georgia and Russia.
The pope made his remarks on Sunday (August 17), following his weekly public recitation of the Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence near Rome.
“I ask for the opening, without further delays, of humanitarian corridors between the region of southern Ossetia and the rest of Georgia, so that the already abandoned dead might receive a worthy burial, that the wounded might be adequately treated, and that those who desire it might be reunited with their loved ones.”
The conflict began on August 7, when Georgia sent troops into South Ossetia, a breakaway region whose population is dominated by ethnic Russians. Moscow responded three days later with an invasion of the region and other parts of Georgia.
While voicing hopes that the current cease-fire will lead to a “stable peace,” Benedict also demanded respect for the “fundamental rights” of the “ethnic minorities involved in the conflict.”
_ Francis X. Rocca
Evangelical Christians converge on Capital to witness for moral issues
WASHINGTON (RNS) _ Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians converged on the National Mall here Saturday (Aug. 16) to highlight moral issues before the fall presidential election with a day of fasting, prayer and music.
Organizers of TheCall DC said 70,000 people turned out for the event, though that number could not be confirmed independently by the National Park Service.
“It was a spiritual confrontation,” said Lou Engle, the evangelical activist who founded TheCall in 2000, “challenging the nation to end abortion and releasing God to act on behalf of … the unborn.”
The 12-hour event featured a variety of speakers, including former Republican presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Anita King, niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
At times, the event seemed to have all the makings of a rock concert, with speakers blaring power chords and stadium-size Jumbotrons flanking the stage.
But the message of the day was anything but sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
“America needs revival,” said Bob Ream, 47, of Manassas, Va. “Just look at the way things are these days.”
Fighting abortion took center stage, but a range of issues was addressed, including immigration and gay marriage.
Engle warned of the “homosexual agenda,” and announced a plan for “40 days of prayer and fasting for California” ahead of the state’s fall referendum on gay marriage.
TheCall was first held here eight years ago, when an estimated 400,000 people attended the event. Similar Calls have been held in 12 cities and six countries.
_ Tim Murphy
Calif. court: Doctors can’t discriminate based on sex orientation
(RNS) California’s Supreme Court ruled Monday (Aug. 18) that doctors cannot discriminate against gays and lesbians even if they believe their religious freedom will be violated during a course of treatment.
The case involved a San Diego County lesbian, Guadalupe Benitez, who informed doctors that she and her partner wanted to pursue fertility treatments. Two doctors in a Vista, Calif., practice said that their religious beliefs would prevent them from performing an artificial insemination for Benitez.
Benitez sued, citing California’s civil rights act.
The Constitution’s “right to the free exercise of religion does not exempt defendant physicians here from conforming their conduct to the Act’s antidiscrimination requirements even if compliance poses an incidental conflict with defendants’ religious beliefs,” wrote Associate Justice Joyce L. Kennard in a unanimous decision.
The judge said the civil rights act imposes “certain antidiscrimination obligations” on business establishments, including medical groups.
One of the doctors, Christine Brody, said her religious objection was because Benitez was not married. But Benitez argued that Brody objected to performing the procedure because Benitez is a lesbian.
The judge said the doctors could refuse to perform the medical procedure for all patients or refer them to a physician in their practice who did not hold the same religious objections.
Lawyers for the doctors are considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Vatican to beatify parents of popular French saint
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican on Tuesday (Aug. 19) announced that the mother and father of a popular French saint will soon be venerated as “blessed,” placing them just one step below sainthood.
Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin will be beatified this Oct.19 in a ceremony in Lisieux, France. The couple were the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-97), popularly known as “the Little Flower of Jesus.”
A Carmelite nun who died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, Therese is one of only three women recognized as a “doctor” of the Catholic Church, and is unofficially considered a patron saint of AIDS patients.
The beatifications are consistent with a relatively recent Vatican policy of recognizing sanctity in Catholic lay men and women, in addition to the priests and nuns who have traditionally dominated the ranks of saints.
The Vatican on Tuesday also announced four other beatification ceremonies, which will take place this fall in Italy and Poland.
_ Francis X. Rocca
Presbyterian minister will return to court over lesbian wedding
(RNS) A Presbyterian minister who officiated at a lesbian wedding in 2005 is heading for church court again, two years after charges against her were dismissed on a technicality.
The Rev. Janet Edwards of Pittsburgh will again face possible expulsion if convicted by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Pittsburgh Presbytery.
Edwards will appear before the commission Oct. 1, to answer charges that she defied her ordination vows and Presbyterian Church (USA) rules by officiating at the Pittsburgh wedding of a lesbian couple in 2005.
“I am trying really hard to speak clearly about how what I did reflects Jesus’ love and justice, and so I hope the permanent judicial council acquits me,” Edwards said.
The PCUSA allows ministers to perform same-sex unions as long as they are not equated with traditional marriage. Edwards says her church’s positions on gay relationships are recommendations, not binding laws.
Similar charges against Edwards, who is a direct descendant of famed Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards, were dropped in 2006 after prosecutors missed a deadline to file charges.
The Rev. James Yearsley, a Presbyterian minister from Tampa, Fla., has re-filed the charges against Edwards, according to Presbyterian News Service. Seven other ministers and six elders have joined the complaint as “co-accusers,” PNS reported.
Earlier this year, the PCUSA’s high court dismissed charges against another minister who performed same-sex weddings, ruling that the ceremonies were not marriages.
_ Daniel Burke
ELCA reports membership drop for 16th consecutive year
(RNS) Membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the country’s largest Lutheran denomination, has fallen for the 16th consecutive year, the ELCA announced Thursday (Aug. 14).
While the ELCA grows worldwide _ particularly in sub-Saharan Africa _ baptized membership in U.S. declined by more than 64,000 in 2007, a 1.34 percent drop.
The church now counts 4.7 million baptized members in 10,500 congregations.
John Brooks, an ELCA spokesman, said a committee has been formed to identify potential causes of the decline.
“We are working on a number of strategies to try to change the trend,” he said.
Brooks attributed the pared membership rolls in part to improved bookkeeping.
“One of the things that is going on is we’ve made a much stronger effort to get congregations to make sure that their rolls are accurate,” Brooks said.
The church has made a concerted effort in recent years to diversify its members, who are more than 98 percent white. According the report, “multi-ethnic” membership rose by 13.3 percent from 2006 to 2007.
“One of our strategic priorities is to become a multi-cultural church,” Brooks said.
The church was formed in 1987 when three Lutheran denominations _ the American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America _ merged.
_ Tim Murphy
Quote of the Week: Hartford Seminary sociology professor Scott Thumma
(RNS) “The fact is that megachurches aren’t _ and never have been _ solely grandiose political pens in which only Republican elephants lumber about.”
_ Scott Thumma, co-author of “Beyond Megachurch Myths,” writing in a commentary in USA Today following the political forum at Pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., with Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.
DSB END RNS
