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Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

Title:Discussions from a Christian Perspective
Notice:Prostitutes and tax collectors welcome!
Moderator:CSC32::J_CHRISTIE
Created:Mon Sep 17 1990
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1362
Total number of notes:61362

41.0. "Religion in the News" by EDIT::SMITH (Passionate committment/reasoned faith) Wed Oct 03 1990 16:13

    
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41.1CSC32::M_VALENZANote with fluoxetine hydrochloride.Thu Oct 04 1990 16:1550
Newsgroups: clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.news.religion
Subject: Judge halts reading of Bible stories in classroom
Date: 3 Oct 90 20:41:20 GMT
 
	JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (UPI) -- A federal judge Wednesday temporarily
halted the reading of Bible stories to fifth grade students by a teacher
at the Emma Love Elementary School, saying the practice violates the
First Amendment.
	District Judge John Moore granted the injunction sought by the
American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. He will hold a final hearing
on the matter at an unspecified later date.
	The suit was prompted by the parents of Nicole Hatch, who brought the
issue to the ACLU after unsuccessfully appealing to the Nassau County
School Board to stop the practice.
	Moore told Nassau County school officials that reading the Bible,
Bible stories or anything regarding Jesus in the classroom violates the
First Amendment.
	Hatch is a student in the fifth grade class of Martha Mitchell, who
has been reading Bible stories to her students every morning and
allegedly encouraging daily prayer.
	The board had told the Hatches that if they did not like the Bible
readings, the girl could sit outside the classroom.
	``Whoever said or suggested that the little girl sit outside the
classroom in a chair needs to go back and learn about Constitutional
rights,'' Moore said.
	Nassau County school superintendent Craig Marsh said he will enforce
the court order, adding that he did not know anything about the Bible
reading until the Hatches complained.
	During the hearing, school board attorney Bill Sheppard mentioned
that prayers also were offered before lunch at the school. The judge did
not rule on that issue, but said he would consider it during the final
hearing.
	Last week, the Nassau County School Board voted unanimously to make
no changes in the way Mitchell conducts class. Hatch's parents were
jeered when they protested the readings at the school board meeting.
	``Nicole Hatch should never have been subject to this in the first
place,'' said Robyn Blumner, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
	``Her family, which is now the subject of attacks by the community,
should never have been put in this position and the school board should
be ashamed of itself for allowing this to happen.''
	The suit against the board, Mitchell, Marsh and the principal of the
Emma Love Elementary School was filed by the ACLU, pending a legal
challenge by Hatch's parents.
	On Saturday, area church and civic leaders vowed to support the
school board financially, if it fights the matter all the way to the
Supreme Court.
	Mitchell, 51, has said she reads from a storybook Bible for about 5
minutes every morning to settle down her students before class. She
denied trying to indoctrinate her students and said anyone who objects
would be permitted to leave the classroom.
41.2CSC32::M_VALENZANote with kid gloves.Wed Oct 10 1990 21:3443
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.europe,clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.issues.conflict
Subject: Pope condemns Israeli massacre in Jerusalem and calls for peace
Date: 10 Oct 90 14:10:21 GMT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II condemned Wednesday the
Israeli massacre of Palestinians and renewed his call for the two
peoples to live in peace ``each in its own country.''
	``It is not possible to remain indifferent and not to condemn,
together with the violence that caused more deaths and injuries, a
situation of injustice which has lasted too long, which sees opposed two
peoples -- the Palestinians and Israelis -- both of which are called upon
to live in just and lasting peace, each in its own country, in that land
so dear to them and to the believers of all the world,'' the pope said.
	John Paul commented on Monday's shooting of more than 20 Palestinians
in Jerusalem during his weekly general audience, attended by some 15,000
pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's square.
	For the first time since the summer heat the audience was held
outside St. Peter's Basilica and for the first time ever it was
broadcast live on television to Europe via the Olympus satellite.
	The pope invited the faithful ``to pray in a special way for the Holy
Land, for the Christian communities and the people living there.''
	``The news of the sad events of the day before yesterday are a motive
for acute pain, made all the greater by the fact that they occurred in
places considered sacred by great religions, in Jerusalem, the city
which is holy for Jews, Christians and Moslems,'' John Paul said.
	Then he condemned the violence and spoke of ``a situation of
injustice which has lasted too long'' and renewed his call for the
Israeli and Palestinian peoples ``to live in just and lasting peace,
each in its own country.''
	The pope has called frequently for a ``homeland'' for the
Palestinians and also for some form of international status for
Jerusalem that would guarantee access to shrines sacred to Jews,
Christians and Moslems.
	John Paul said he was ``particularly close to the pain of all those
who are mourning the victims of this violence'' and expressed solidarity
with the Christian pastors ``who have the delicate task of guiding and
supporting their faithful in situations and circumstances that are now
more difficule tnan ever.''
	``Let us pray together to the Lord so that, inspiring the hearts of
those responsible for the destinies of the peoples, He may grant to all
the Middle East region the desired peace in justice and security and
make the holy city of Jerusalem a crossroads and source of a true
reconciliation,'' the pope said.
41.3CSC32::M_VALENZAWhistle while you note.Thu Oct 11 1990 13:5334
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.religion,clari.news.hot.east_europe
Subject: Mother Teresa wins the Soviet Land Nehru award
Date: 10 Oct 90 18:31:23 GMT
    
	CALCUTTA, India (UPI) -- Nobel laureate Mother Teresa was awarded the
1990 Soviet Land Nehru award Wednesday for her contribution to the 
``cause of humanity,'' the Soviet Union consulate announced.
	``I am most grateful for awarding the prize. I accept it for the
glory of God and good of our poor. God bless you,'' said the 80-year-old
Roman catholic nun in a letter to the Soviet consulate in the communist-
ruled West Bengal state capital city of Calcutta, 830 miles southeast of
New Delhi.
	All the previous recipients of the Soviet Land Nehru award were
either communists or closely associated with different Soviet-sponsored
organizations.
	Soviet Land is a magazine published in all major Indian languages by
the Soviet embassy in New Delhi.
	The award will be handed to Mother Teresa on Nov. 14 during a
celebration to mark the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's
first prime minister, said a Soviet consulate official.
	``Mother Teresa has been awarded ... for her outstanding contribution
to the cause of humanity at large,'' said the consulate.
	The award carries a cash price of $5,500 and a two-week visit to the
Soviet Union.
	The nun in April announced her retirement, saying she wanted to step
down as head of the Missionaries of Charity, an order she founded,
because of poor health and advanced age.
	But she was re-elected last month to a six-year term as head of the
charity.
	Mother Teresa, who came to India in 1929, has suffered coronary
problems for several years and surgeons last year implanted a pacemaker
near her heart.
	Doctors have advised her to restrict her activities, but Mother
Teresa at the time of her re-election said she had to leave retirement.
41.4CSC32::M_VALENZANote instead of eating.Sat Oct 13 1990 16:2071
Newsgroups: clari.news.demonstration,clari.news.military,clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.news.religion,clari.news.top.world
Subject: Israelis limit Moslem access to Temple Mount
Date: 12 Oct 90 19:53:28 GMT
 
	JERUSALEM (UPI) -- Police, under orders to limit access to Jerusalem
from the occupied territories, fired water cannons to disperse
Palestinian youths after several thousand Moslems attended Friday
prayers at the Temple Mount amid extremely heavy security.
	Also Friday, a West Bank human rights group said Monday's riots on
the Temple Mount were not planned beforehand and charged Israeli police
who shot and killed at least 20 Palestinians and wounded 170 were not in
a life-threatening situation.
	Yossi Tuvias, Jerusalem Border Police commander, said authorities
decided to prohibit residents of the occupied territories from entering
Jerusalem because they had received information indicating at least 15,
000 worshippers were expected and ``large riots were planned for after
the prayers.''
	The military maintained curfews on the occupied Gaza Strip and much
of the West Bank, but Israeli toops killed one Arab and wounded at least
eight others defying curfews, Palestinian sources said.
	Outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, police dispersed more than
100 Palestinian youths with water cannons near the Lion's Gate after the
Arabs were not allowed into the Temple Mount complex. A short time later
the youths stoned Israeli cars.
	Earlier, about 3,000 Moslems -- mostly older men and women -- attended
Friday prayers at the Temple Mount amid extremely heavy security.
	Afterwards, small groups of Moslems shouted slogans such as: ``God is
Great'' and ``In spirit and blood we will free Palestine.'' Police did
not intervene.
	Al-Haq, a West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of
Jurists, said its preliminary investigation into the slayings found that
Moslem worshippers had not intended to attack Jews at the nearby Western
Wall.
	Jonathan Kuttab, an Al-Haq lawyer, said although some aspects of the
incident were still unexplained it was clear international and Israeli
law had been violated and that ``there is room for prosecution.''
	Israeli authorities charged that Palestinians planned the
demonstrations in advance and that police were forced to use live
ammunition when their lives were endangered. They said the demonstration
was a carefully orchestrated attempt to divert world attention from the
Persian Gulf crisis to the Palestinian cause.
	``It's clear to us, without any doubt, that there was no public call
to stone (Jewish) worshippers at the Western Wall,'' said Raja Shehadeh,
an Al-Haq lawyer. ``Nor was this purpose (Moslem leaders) had orginally
called these people for.''
	He said the stones that fell in the Western Wall area apparently were
aimed at paramilitary Border Police standing on the wall separating the
Temple Mount from the Western Wall plaza below. Several Jews among the
thousands celebrating the Succot holiday at the wall were lightly
wounded by the falling rocks.
	About 5,000 Palestinians had gathered at the Haram esh Sharaf, as the
Temple Mount is called in Arabic, in response to calls by Moslem leaders
to protect the holy site from a fringe Jewish fundamentalist group that
wanted to lay the cornerstone of the third Jewish Temple, Shehadeh said.
	Al-Haq found the disturbances were initiated not by the Palestinians
but by the firing of teargas into a group of Moslem women. Shehadeh told
a news conference it was not clear why the tear gas was fired.
	Responding to calls from the women, Arab men rushed a detachment of
Border Police who opened fire, wounding at least 20 people. From that
point, the violence escalated and at least 20 people were killed and 170
wounded, Shehadeh said.
	``Once Border Guards started firing, they did so without restraint,
and at times, used automatic gunfire,'' Al-Haq's chronology of the
incident reported. ``The Border Guards and police at no time were in a
life-endangering situation and were thus wholly unjustified in resorting
to the use of excessive and lethal force.''
	Al-Haq also charged that Israeli authorities did not contact Moslem
leaders beforehand in an effort to prevent the violence and police made
no effort to warn the crowds before using force.
	Moslem religious leaders have rejected Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir's appointment of a three-member team to investigate the slayings.
41.5CSC32::M_VALENZANote under water.Mon Oct 15 1990 14:0052
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.religion,clari.news.politics,clari.news.top.world
Subject: First religious service in Red Square in 70 years
Date: 14 Oct 90 16:09:46 GMT
 
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- Worshipers crowded into famed St. Basil's Cathedral
Sunday to celebrate the first religious service in Red Squqre in 70
years.
	The multicolored, onion-domed St. Basil's, even more of a symbol of
Russia than the Kremlin, had been empty of religious congregations since
1918 when it was made into a historical museum.
	But in the new religious freedom of perestroika, authorities
consented to allow Russian Orthodox believers to hold services
periodically in the 16th century cathdedral.
	Worshippers Saturday night crowded into the dazzling landmark while
others stood outside in cobble-stoned Red Square.
	Then Sunday morning as bells chimed, Patriarch Aleksii II, the head
of the Russian Orthodox Church, led a procession of Moscow clergy around
the church right in Red Square.
	Inside, the patriarch then celebrated the Orthodox holiday of
Intercession marking a vision by believers of the Virgin Mary who spread
her cover over the Christians fighting a battle to save Constantinople
in the 10th century.
	Called St. Basil's because one of its side altars contains the relics
of the saint, the shrine is also known as the Intercession Cathedral.
	St. Basil's was ordered built in 1555 by Czar Ivan the Terrible, who
was so dazzled by structure that legend says the autocrat had the eyes
of the two architects, Barma and Postnik, gouged out lest they produce
anything more majestic.
	Altered and burned down many times, St. Basil's has had a dramatic
history. Napoleon, who invaded Moscow in 1812, ordered the cathedral
burned down but the plans were not carried out. Instead Muscovites
burned down their entire city to force Napoleon from the capital.
	On taking power in November 1917, the Communists closed thousands of
churches and eventually converted St. Basil's into a state historical
museum.
	Rumors circulated in the late 1940s that dictator Josef Stalin was
going to dynamite the church in the same way that he razed Christ the
Savior Cathedral, destroying what was Moscow's second most beautiful
shrine. Today it is the site of Moscow's large outdoor swimming pool.
	Believers, who got wind of Stalin's plans, laid down in front of St.
Basil's to prevent the dynamite charges from being set off.
	A group of believers has asked the government to give back the
cathedral to the church. So far secular authorities have consented to
periodic religious services.
	As part of the religious reawakening in the country, believers are
also collecting money to rebuild the Christ the Saviour Cathedral, which
was razed by Stalin.
	A freedom of conscience law passed last month allows the church to
set up its own schools and to engage in charity work. It also guarantees
separation of church and state, and ends the state funding of atheist
propaganda.
41.6CSC32::M_VALENZANoter on board.Tue Oct 16 1990 22:4166
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.trouble,clari.news.group
Subject: Arms race, conflicts fueling global hunger
Date: 15 Oct 90 23:02:04 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Political leaders worldwide prefer to buy bullets
instead of bread and that is the leading obstacle to ending poverty and
hunger both in the United States and abroad, a religious lobbying group
said Monday.
	And, while full-scale war has not yet erupted in the Persian Gulf
standoff, the money poured into the confrontation is already claiming
the lives of innocents -- an escalating number of lives lost through
hunger, malnutrition and preventable diseases.
	``Millions of casualties have already fallen as the result of the
ongoing military build-up in the Middle East,'' said the Rev. Arthur
Simon, president of Bread for the World, the grass-roots Christian anti-
hunger lobby.
	``The billions we have spent to arm developing countries now haunt
us, especially since that money could have been used to meet the world's
nutritional needs.''
	Simon made his comments in releasing a report, ``Hunger 1990,''
issued on the eve of the observance of World Food Day by the United
Nations' Food and Angriculture Organization.
	According to the 134-page report, prepared by the group's Institute
on Hunger and Development, more than half a billion of the world's
people are chronically hungry, with as many as 500 million more
vulnerable to periods of hunger each year.
	At the same time, despite the easing of the Cold War, the arms race
continues to accelerate rapidly, especially in the Third World, where
the share of world military spending increased from 7 percent to 19
percent between 1960 and 1987.
	The report said, for example, one M-1 tank costs $2.5 million,
roughly equivalent to the total annual earnings of a community of 25,000
people in Ethiopia.
	``Worldwide military spending is now estimated at $1 trillion, with
the United States spending nearly one-third of that amount,'' the report
said.
	That may help explain why after seven years of continuous economic
growth, the United States is unable to make a significant dent in either
the numbers of poor people or the nation's overall poverty rate,
currently 12.8 percent.
	Even more alarming in the United States, those who are poor appear to
be falling deeper into poverty, according to the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, with 38 percent of the 32.5 million poor people
having incomes that are less than one-half -- $4,943 for a family of
three -- of the poverty line.
	The poverty gap -- the amount of money needed to raise the income of
the poor to the poverty line -- was $54.3 billion in 1989.
	Worldwide, according to the Bread for the World analysis, the
situation is even more desperate.
	Wars have caused extensive hunger, disrupted food porduction and
distribution, created tens of thousands of new refugees and led to
environmental degradation worldwide in recent years. Among the affected
areas are Afghanistan, Cambodia, East Timor, Lebanon, the Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Angola, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Mozambique,
Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, and, most recently,
Iraq and Kuwait.
	``Armed conflicts, which during the past decade killed almost three
times as many civilians as soldiers, also leave in their wake dislocated
people, disrupted economies, poverty and famine,'' the report said.
	``War-related famine affects at least 20 million people in southern
and northeastern Africa,'' it added.
	But the report also suggested the end of the Cold War could provide
some new opportunities for a drive to end global hunger as the
superpowers scale down their competition in the Third World and seek
negotiated settlements in several regional conflicts.
41.7CSC32::M_VALENZAToday's notes want to join you.Wed Oct 17 1990 18:2567
Newsgroups: clari.news.group,clari.news.religion,clari.news.trends
Subject: Baby boomers: from getting to giving; wealthy still 'stingy'
Date: 16 Oct 90 15:07:21 GMT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Greedy baby boomers, who spent the Reagan-era in
an orgy of conspicuous consumption, are showing a new spirit of caring
for others -- giving both time and money, a new study said Tuesday.
	At the same time, the new study by Independent Sector, showed that
the wealthy are still ``stingy'' and the less affluent still more
generous in terms of making monetary sacrifices for charitable causes.
	The study showed that more than 98 million Americans -- a whopping 23
percent increase over 1987 -- volunteered their time and talent to
charitable endeavors in 1989.
	It also found that 75 percent of American households are contributing
to charitable causes, with the average contribution of a household $734,
up 20 percent, after inflation, from two years ago.
	``The dramatic increase in donating time and money among the baby
boom generation is good news for today and may suggest even better news
for for the future as this very large population group assumes community
responsibility,'' said Independent Sector president Brian O'Connell.
	``Previous surveys indicated rather disappointing giving and
volunteering by this gorup,'' O'Connell said. ``These increases, plus
the group's changing attitudes and values reflected in the study make
the picture for future giving and volunteering in this country very
bright.''
	Independent Sector is a coalition of national voluntary organizations
and donor groups that work to encourage giving, volunteering and the
non-profit sector.
	The report, ``Giving and Volunteering in the United States,'' is the
second in a series conducted every two years by Independent Sector and
provides comprehensive information on trends and motivations in giving
and volunteering.
	``Fortunately, at a time when needed most, giving and volunteering
are up in almost all categories,'' said Virginia Hodgkinson, vice
president for research of the group.
	She noted that 86 percent of Americans between 35 and 44 years of age
contributed to charity in 1989, up 9 percentage points from two years
ago, and 64 percent of persons between 35 and 44 volunteered time, an
increase of 10 percentage points.
	And, perhaps reflecting a recognition of the deep budget cuts of the
Reagan era, especially among programs for the poor and needy, an
overhwlming majority -- 81 percent -- said charities are needed more today
than in the past.
	At the same time, it was low- and moderate-income people who were
most responsive, the study found.
	In 1989, contributing households with incomes under $10,000 gave 5.5
percent of their household income to charity. Those with incomes between
$50,000 and $60,000 contributed 1.7 percent of their income and those
between $75,000 and $100,000 gave 3.2 percent and those with incomes
over $100,000 gave 2.9 percent.
	``Even though giving among the wealthy has increased from two years
ago,'' O'Connell said, ``that group cannot be described as generous.
Many wealthy people are wonderfully generous and this raises the dollar
average and caring profile of their population group, lending the
impression that such generosity is routine for families with upper
incomes.
	``In fact,'' he added, ``most of America's well-to-do are not
generous. In comparison to lower income families and, in contrast to
their disposable income, most wealthy Americans have to be characterized
as stingy.''
	The study also showed Americans volunteered a total of 20.5 billion
hours to charity with a dollar value of $170 billion.
	Religion also plays a major role in stimulating charitable behavior,
the study said, with 80 percent of those affiliated with religious
institutions reporting household contributions to charity and 59 percent
volunteered. Among those not affiliated, 63 percent gave money and 42
percent volunteered.
41.8CSC32::M_VALENZANote aimlessly.Wed Oct 24 1990 14:0738
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.law.supreme
Subject: R.I. school board seeks Supreme Court ruling on graduation prayers
Date: 23 Oct 90 15:19:44 GMT
 
	PROVIDENCE, R.I. (UPI) -- The city School Board plans to argue before
the U.S. Supreme Court that mentioning a deity at public school
graduations is as acceptable as it is in the Pledge of Allegiance, on
U.S. currency, and at government forums.
	``We're not talking about a minister, priest or rabbi proffering a
prayer of fire and brimstone,'' board lawyer Joseph Rotella said
Tuesday. ``We're talking about something very nonsectarian. Where a
prayer is the periphery element, there are cases that say it is not in
violation of the separation of church and state.''
	Rotella's assessment of the situation differed greatly from that of
Steven Brown, director of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union.
	``The basic point is that government should not be involved in
sponsoring religion,'' Brown said, adding the the ACLU will file a brief
asking the Supreme Court not to review the case.
	``Whether it is directly offensive to a religious minority, the mere
use of prayer in such a setting offends beliefs about how and when
prayers should be given.''
	The board voted without dissent Monday night to have the high court
review the ruling of a federal judge in Rhode Island, who said the
mention of a deity in public school graduation openings and closings
violates the constitutional separation between church and state.
	Last January, U.S. District Judge Francis Boyle barred the School
Department from having mentions of ``God'' or any other deity at
graduations this year and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed
with him.
	Some at Monday night's meeting questioned the wisdom of spending the
time and money to appeal the decision when the likelihood of success
appears slim.
	But Rotella said the issue is a hot and contentious one in many
states, including Utah, which has offered the School Board its support.
	``It's a grey area that some definitive statement from the court
might help solve,'' said Rotella, who estimates the appeal will cost
$30,000 to $50,000.
41.9CSC32::M_VALENZANote aimlessly.Wed Oct 24 1990 14:1633
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.interest.quirks
Subject: Bank reserves credit card for 16th century religious leader
Date: 18 Oct 90 17:35:25 GMT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Martin Luther didn't get much credit in the 16th
century when he challenged the practices of the Roman Catholic Church,
but in the 20th century, he has a chance at a $6,000 line of credit with
a Maryland bank.
	The German religious reformer, whose criticisms of Rome resulted in
his excommunication and paved the way for the birth of the Protestant
faith, has a gold card waiting for him in Chevy Chase, Md.
	The Rev. John Steinbruck, pastor at Washington's Luther Place
Memorial Church, said Thursday he received a letter from Chevy Chase
Federal Savings Bank, addressed to Luther, who died in 1546.
	``It said he is part of a unique and distinguished group of people,''
Steinbruck told United Press International. ``It said he has preferred
status.''
	The letter announcing Luther's gold card was signed by Donald
Moroney, a vice president at the bank. Moroney was unavailable for
comment Thursday.
	Meanwhile, Steinbruck took the opportunity to write a response to the
bank, to tell it Luther doesn't need a line of credit.
	``When it comes to credit, we don't need any,'' he said. ``We have
unlimited credit, which is grace. And he already enjoys a preferred
status.''
	Steinbruck said the offer was appreciated, however, since Luther
never received such recognition during his life, and still suffers some
questions over the reforms he advocated.
	The letter from the bank caused Steinbruck to wonder whether any
other notables had been offered the card.
	``I assume the same letter and application went to Abraham Lincoln
down at the Lincoln Memorial,'' he said. ``Attila the Hun would probably
get one if his name appeared in the phone book.''
41.10CSC32::M_VALENZANote aimlessly.Wed Oct 24 1990 14:1742
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.europe,clari.news.economy,clari.news.gov.international
Subject: Vatican reduces budget deficit
Date: 18 Oct 90 18:00:57 GMT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- The Vatican announced a reduced deficit of $54.7
million for the Holy See budget for the year 1989 Thursday and said the
relative success was achieved by austerity measures and improved
administrative efficiency.
	It said the deficit was entirely covered by the so-called Peter's
Pence contributions which Catholics around the world send to the pope
for his use in church administration plus part of the customary profit
shown by the Vatican City state budget.
	The Holy See budget covers the central church administration, the
Vatican's diplomatic service, its social expenses and the pope's
expenses, including the cost of his world trips.
	The figures were announced after a three-day meeting of the Council
for the Study of Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See,
which Pope John Paul II established in 1981.
	This time 10 cardinals from outside the Vatican took part in the
twice-yearly meeting, including New York Archbishop John O'Connor.
	The report issued by Cardinal Edmund Szoka, Archbishop of Detroit,
Mich., and president of the Holy See's Prefecture of Economic Affairs,
said the deficit amounted to $54.7 million, against an estimate of
slightly more than $78 million made by the cardinals in March, 1989.
	Income was $87.8 million and expenditure was dlrs 142.495 million.
	``It was possible to contain the deficit below the predictions thanks
to the efforts made to rationalize the administration and austerity in
the use of the available resources,'' the report said.
	The report said the deficit was covered by Peter's Pence which in
1989 amounted to $48.4 million and with part of the profit made by the
Governorate of the Vatican City state, which in 1989 was about $12.4
million.
	The Vatican City state receives most of its income from entrance fees
to the Vatican museums and galleries and from the sale of postage
stamps.
	The cardinals, who met under the chairmanship of the Vatican
secretary of state, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, warmly thanked the
bishops, priests, monks and nuns and Lay Catholics ``for the sensitivity
whown toward the needs of the Holy See.''
	They also called for their further collaboration ``so that the
continuation and improvement of the ecclesial service of the Holy See
can be assured.''
41.11CSC32::M_VALENZANote aimlessly.Wed Oct 24 1990 21:25130
From: harelb@magrathea.uchicago.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,talk.politics.misc,alt.censorship,misc.headlines,soc.rights.human,soc.culture.latin-america
Subject: More Censored Stories: U.S. NUN TORTURED, RAPED IN GUATEMALA
Date: 22 Oct 90 02:46:40 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago
Lines: 123
 
[From: Heartland Journal, July-August 1990]
 
	     Puppets Get Strings Crossed, Abduct U.S. Nun
             ============================================
 
GUATEMALA	By Patti McSherry
 
	The abduction and torture of U.S. nun Diana Ortiz in Guatemala
last fall generated little press interest here. Yet the reactions of
the Bush administration, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy in
Guatemala -- especially towards a recent religious delegation visiting
Guatemala on behalf of Sister Diana -- suggest that the case is
political dynamite.
 
These developments have thrown into sharp relief once again the role
of the U.S. in Central America -- particularly the relationship
between the Embassy and mysterious foreigners who work with Guatemalan
"death squads." Sister Diana's torturers were interrupted by a man who
burst into the room and halted them. The nun swore under oath that he
was an American.
 
Sister Diana was forced away from a retreat house last November by two
armed men. They took her to a deserted place where a member of the
National Police was parked. The three then took her, blindfolded, to a
warehouse where Sister Diana could hear screams and moans of men and
women in pain. There they taunted her, sexually molested her, and
burned her 111 times with cigarettes. When Sister Diana said she was a
U.S. citizen, the men just laughed. In her affidavit, Sister Diana
said, "The men who had stopped me in Guatemala City [previously] knew
I was a North American nun, so I knew their laugh was from their sense
of power, not disbelief."
 
The terror abruptly stopped when the fourth man entered, uttered a
common U.S. expletive in English, and then said in Spanish, "Idiots,
she is a North American. Let her alone. It's already on the news on
television." The foreigner took the nun out of the place and put her
in a car, saying he would take her to "A friend from the U.S. Embassy"
who would help get out of the country. However, Sister Diana escaped
from the car in heavy traffic.
 
The case was immediately met with hostile responses from the Guatemalan
government. on November 10, _Prensa Libre_ reported that Guatemala's
President Cerezo expressed doubt as to whether the attack had
occurred at all. Defense Minister Hector Gramajo -- the de facto head
of state -- stated the case was a self-kidnapping, staged in order to
conceal a lesbian tryst. Interior Minister Morales (also a General)
repeated the same accusations and officially closed the case.
 
Not only did the U.S.Embassy fail to defend Sister Diana -- at least
one official was reported to be making jokes to journalists about
"the lesbian nuns" -- but the State Department and President Bush have
maintained a deafening silence about the case. The State Department
told me November 20 that no protest had been filed, as the case fell
under Guatemalan jurisdiction, and the Guatemalan police were
investigating. This despite the fact that one of Sister
Diana's kidnappers _was_ a policeman. Moreover, according to human
rights organizations like the International Human Rights Law Group
and Amnesty International, the Guatemala National Police function as a
virtual arm of the Guatemalan army's counterinsurgency apparatus.
Members of the police often comprise the "deaths squads," usually
under direct orders from their superiors. Further, the U.S. remained
silent after the Guatemalan investigation was terminated.
 
When the U.S. Ambassador Stroock complained about the level of human
rights violations the Guatemalan government last February, Sister
Dianas' case was conspicuously absent from his list of abuses.
Despite complaints from Father Joseph Nangle and Paul Soreff, Sister
Diana's lawyer, this "omission" was never corrected in the official
record, despite their complaints to the State Department.
 
In April, the Ursuline community in Kentucky, Sister Diana's order,
sent a delegation to Guatemala expressly to protest the false
statement by Guatemalan officials and the U.S. Embassy's indifference.
Soreff reported that the delegation was immediately summoned to the
Embassy where, "evidenced by the array of stone cold faces and the
tone with which the encounter began, the Embassy people were most
upset with the Ursulines." The Embassy aggressively defended its
conduct in the case and protested allegations of collusion, arising
from the foreigners' comment to Sister Diana about his "friend from
the Embassy."
 
Father Nangle, another member of the delegation, expressed dismay at
the conduct of the Embassy. He reported that the Embassy was silent in
the face of public accusations by top Guatemalan officials that Sister
Diana was lying, and the Embassy inexplicably failed to publish
medical finding of cigarette burns on sister Diana's body -- clear
evidence of torture.
 
Father Nangle continued, "It must be said that once Sister Diana left
Guatemala, the U.S. official presence there was inimical to her good
name and interests. The Embassy did seem to show concern for her
safety while she was in captivity and again before she took lease of
Guatemala. But it is my distinct impression that afterward the chief
concern of U.S. representatives in that country was `damage
control'... Further, I am left with the strong impression that the
identity of the mysterious American, named by Sister Diana under oath
as the one with sufficient authority to take her away from her
torturers, has the Embassy so upset that their chief concern is to
sweep this case as far away from them as possible."
 
The total impunity with which Sister Diana's captors operate gives
direct evidence of several of the shady structures of Guatemala's
national security state. The Guatemalan government has long denied
the existence of secret places of detention and torture -- places
beyond the reach of the law. Yet the nuns' testimony is proof of such
clandestine centers, and the involvement of the national police.
Inevitably, questions about the precise U.S. and CIA role in
Guatemala's national security structures again arise.
-----
Patti McSherry is the human rights activists and a doctoral student in
political science. She writes frequently on Guatemala and
counterinsurgency
 
##################################################################
 
To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L <your full name>" to
the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message
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41.12CSC32::M_VALENZANote aimlessly.Wed Oct 24 1990 21:55169
From: harelb@daisy.uchicago.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,soc.culture.latin-america,alt.censorship,soc.rights.human,misc.headlines,talk.politics.misc
Subject: ``DEATH SQUADS'' are run by SALVADORAN ARMY --Amnesty International
Date: 22 Oct 90 06:41:32 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago
 
 
The following, AML-library file "AI.ES.briefs", is a collection of
quotes from Amnesty International's report "El Salvador: ``Death
Squads'' -- A Government Strategy" (ordering information at the end)
 
These brief quotes are divided into three sections which may be
titled: "Who runs the ``Death Squads''"; "Who are the victims"; and
"To what extent, if any, have the criminals been held accountable?"
 
Aside from being one of the top effectively censored facts about the
"democracy we are supporting" in El Salvador, the Salvadoran army's
*strategy* of murdering civilian noncombatants -peasants, members of
cooperatives, etc (see below)- and it's immunity from prosecution are
crucial to keep in mind to avoid the fatal mistake of linking U.S. aid
strictly to the few high-profile cases such as the murder of the
Jesuits. As one activist wrote some months ago in frustration:
 
   There will, surely, be an attempt to ram military aid through on
   the grounds that the government of El Salvador has shown its good
   faith by pursuing the murder of the priests.  If that works, it
   is the fault of critics and dissidents, who have focused on the
   murder of prominent figures as if that were more important than
   massive slaughter, torture, and terror when the targets are less
   prominent.  Who is calling for an inquiry into the death squad 
   assassination of Hector Oqueli a few days ago, not to speak of
   the murder, torture, and disappearance of innumerable others in
   what remains, as it has always been, a government policy of
   intimidation, just as AI says.
 
Read on...
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
		    Who Runs the ``Death Squads''?
                    ==============================
 
	"The testimony of armed forces personnel, the details of
thousands of case studies and other information examined by Amnesty
International lead to the conclusion that actions attributed by
authorities to "death squads" are routinely carried out by regular
units of the armed forces which include the military and the security
services, and by special intelligence units that incorporate civilian
gunmen under their supervision and control." [Conclusions, p. 44]
 
	"Amnesty International has concluded that the Salvadoran
`death squads' are simply used to shield the government from
accountability for the torture, `disappearance' and extrajudicial
executions committed in their name. The squads are made up of *regular
army and police agents*, acting in uniform or plain clothes, *under
the orders of superior officers*."  [emphasis added]
[Who Runs the ``Death Squads''", pp. 8-9]
 
	"The Salvadorian Government maintains that `death squad'-style
killings are the work of extremist groups beyond its control. However,
there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the squads are made up
of regular troops and police -- that they form an intrinsic part of
the security apparatus" [Back cover]
 
----------------------------------------------------------------
 
Having identified the murders, torturers, and kidnappers, we may ask:
 
			 Who are the victims?
                         ====================
 
"All sectors of Salvadorian society have been the target of ``death
squad''-style killings...in a great many cases the choice of victim
has been indicator of who lies behind the ``death squads''. Those
targeted have been members of groups perceived to be in opposition to
the government, or to represent a nucleus around whom such opposition
could coalesce, including students, trade unionists, members of
cooperatives, church workers and peasants." [Page 25]
 
[The Brigada Maximiliano Herna'ndez Martinez, Maximiliano Herna'ndez
Martinez Brigade (one of the death squads's signatures), is named
after the Salvadoran general who ordered the massacre of an estimated
30,000 peasants in 1932 in the wake of an uprising (from the AI
report, page 8)]
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
To what extent, if any, have the criminals been held accountable?
=================================================================
 
	"*Tens of thousands* of people have been the victims of
extrajudicial execution and "disappearance" by El Salvador's *armed*
*forces* since 1980... *None* of the armed forces officers responsible
have been brought to justice, most remain in positions of command."
[Conclusions, p. 44] [Emphasis added]
 
	"Murders of tens of thousands of Salvadorian citizens have
gone without even a semblance of investigation. Witnesses to
abductions or killing have recorded license numbers of vans used by
``death squads''. But the authorities have then refused to make public
the identity of institutions of individuals to which the vehicles were
registered..." [Page 37]
 
Related items from "Conclusions":
 
	"Efforts by El Salvador's independent and church-run human
rights organizations to investigate these killing have been hampered
by the harassment, intimidation, imprisonment, torture, mutilation,
extrajudicial execution and "disappearance" of their members..."
 
	"The military court system in El Salvador has *routinely* failed
to prosecute military personnel accused of involvement in torture,
"disappearance" and extrajudicial execution. The exclusive
jurisdiction of the military courts over members of the armed forces
provides a shield behind which armed forces personnel commit grave
crimes *with* *impunity*." [Emphasis added]
 
	"In exceptional cases in which military court jurisdiction has
been waived - notably the murder in 1981 of two American labour
advisers and their Salvadorian colleague - civilian courts have been
intimidated and proceeding obstructed by lack of cooperation by the
armed forces.
 
[See also the sections "The Courts and the Military: Obstacles to
Effective Investigation" and "The Legal Framework: A Smokescreen for
Official ``Death Squad'' Activities"]
 
	"Convictions of five National Guards were eventually obtained
in the case of the four US churchwomen murdered in 1980, but two
judges involved in the early stages of the case quit after threats to
their lives. The judge who eventually heard the case suspected that
his brother's murder was an attempt to warn him off, and the lawyer
defending one of the convicted guardsmen later said he was forced to
take part in a cover-up to prevent senior officers being indicted.
According to the lawyer's account, he was abducted by National
Guardsmen in civilian clothes, tortured at National Guard headquarters
and released only after pressure from the US Embassy and the ICRC. The
lawyer left the country shortly afterwards and was treated in Los
Angeles for broken ribs. Earlier, his brother had been arrested and
brother-in-law abducted - all part, he says, of pressure to ensure his
collaboration in the cover-up." p.32 (Section 4.6.5)
 
******************************************************************
[This 50 page report, with pictures (which are clearer in the Spanish
edition), is only $5 from Amnesty International, Publications, 322
Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001. Ask for "El Salvador: ``Death
Squads'' -- A Government Strategy", first published in October, 1988;
or call Amnesty at: (212)807-8400 (ask for "publications") No credit
card necessary. [I also have more recent AI publications, not on line,
documenting the continued terror]
******************************************************************
 
[More extensive excerpts are available in the AML file "AI.ES.rprt";
but if you view that, you may as well (and should) spend the $5 to see
the originl]
 
    ##################################################################
   # Copyright 1990, Harel Barzilai for Activists Mailing List (AML)#
  #        You may copy freely so long as you do not charge        #
 #         others for it, and include this copyright notice       #
##################################################################
 
To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L <your full name>" to
the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message
confirming that your name has been added to the list. Other addresses
to try (only) if the above fails are: "LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU"
or "ucscc!umcvmb.missouri.edu!LISTSERV"]
 
If you have problems/questions, contact the list Administrator: Rich
Winkel at MATHRICH@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU or MATHRICH%UMCVMB.BITNET
41.13CSC32::M_VALENZAI came, I saw, I noted.Sat Oct 27 1990 14:0865
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.group
Subject: Study finds drop in religious giving
Date: 26 Oct 90 15:27:47 GMT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Even as the personal income of most Americans has
been rising, the percent they give to support the work and mission of
their churches and other religious groups is dropping.
	And, according to one new study, if the present trend continues, in
just a decade the amount of people's disposable income they give to
their churches will drop below 2 percent.
	The new study -- a follow-up to results first published in 1988 --
presents one potential underside to a separate report last week that
showed baby boomers were showing a new spirit of charity toward others
and boosting their philanthropic giving.
	That study, ``Giving and Volunteering in the United States,''
released by Independent Sector, found that the average charitable
contribution of a household was $734 in 1989, up 20 percent, after
inflation, over two years ago.
	But the new study, prepared by John and Sylvia Ronsvalle for the
North American Conference on Christian Philanthropy, shows a slippage in
giving when it is based on the percentage of a person's disposable
income.
	``In this study, we not only look at past patterns, but also project
ahead to the beginning of the century,'' the two said.
	``Based on our earlier 1988 study, we estimated that giving to
churches will represent 2.53 percent of members income by the year 2002,
down from 3.05 percent in 1968. However, adding in the (new) data from
1986 through 1988, we now project that giving may be as low as 1.94
percent in 2002, if the present trend holds,'' they said.
	Using constant dollars -- for which inflation has been taken into
account -- Americans in 1968 gave $247.40 to their churches, according to
the Ronsvalles, from disposable, after-tax income of $8,099. That
represented 3.05 percent.
	In 1985, giving had increased to $296.44 out of $10,609 in disposable
income and by 1988, giving rose a little less than $6, to $302.10 from
$11,458 in disposable income, or just 2.64 percent.
	According to the ``Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 1990,''
per capita giving by members in 42 Protestant denominations in 1988 --
the last year for which figures are available -- was $376.04 in current
dollars, up from $356.67, in 1987. In current dollars, per capita
disposable income is $14,116.
	When inflation is taken into account, the increase since 1961, when
the figures were first kept, averages just 1.4 percent a year,
suggesting that churches are barely holding their own in raising money
to meet mission and other requirements.
	A study of six congregations by the Ronsvalles aimed at reversing the
negative trend found that the subject of money and stewardship is
difficult for many congregations.
	``The wolf at the door is actually welcome,'' said one pastor,
because ``it gives you a valid excuse for talking about money.''
	Another parishioner suggested that there has been a change in church
members -- from stewards to consumers.
	``They no longer return a portion of their incomes to God,'' she
said. ``They buy certain services -- like a youth program or a place to
have ceremonies -- from the church.''
	The Ronsvalles said that advertising may be influencing church
members as much as worship of Sunday school.
	``Advertising is addressing many of the same felt-needs that have
been the church's area of concern over the years,'' said Sylvia
Ronsvalle. ``Communication companies suggest you will never be lonely if
you use their service; vacation spots promise your family will be happy
if you spend your money at their place; disappointments in life can be
met by buying an expensive product.
	``The church suggests that God will meet all these needs,'' she
added.
41.14CSC32::M_VALENZAI came, I saw, I noted.Mon Oct 29 1990 18:2473
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.law.crime.trial,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.religion,clari.news.top.world
Subject: American's declarations stir controversy in Jesuit case
Date: 28 Oct 90 18:52:16 GMT
Note: (Analysis)
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- A U.S. military adviser who gave
key testimony in the case of six murdered Jesuit priests is again the
center of attention with the revelation that he told investigators he
and others had prior knowledge of plans for the killings.
	Documents recently supplied to the Salvadoran court handling the case
show Maj. Eric Buckland told Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in
January that he and Salvadoran officers he advised had prior knowledge
of plans to kill the priests, all of them university lecturers.
	Buckland told FBI investigators Jan. 11 that he learned from
Salvadoran Col. Carlos Armando Aviles that Col. Guillermo Alfredo
Benavides wanted to kill Ignacio Ellacuria, rector of the University of
Central America.
	Ellacuria, five other Jesuits, their housekeeper and her teenage
daughter were killed last Nov. 16 by members of the U.S.-trained
Atlacatl battalion.
	The Jesuit university, located within blocks of the military academy
headed at the time of the killings by Benavides, was considered by many
in the military to be sympathetic to the Salvadoran rebels.
	Buckland said Col. Rene Emilio Ponce -- then chief of staff and now
defense minister -- sent Aviles to the military school before the
killings to ``smooth out a problem with Benavides.''
	``Benavides told Aviles that Ellacuria was a problem,'' Buckland said
in a handwritten statement. ``Aviles told me they wanted to handle it
the old way by killing some of the priests.''
	Buckland said he ``felt unconcerned that it would happen because
other people were talking along those lines and I didn't feel that the
El Salvador armed forces would do something about it ... I didn't think
they would do something that foolish.''
	Buckland's statements were supported by a series of lie-detector
tests administered by the FBI. The polygraph examiner concluded in his
report that Maj. Buckland ``became aware of this information several
weeks before the Jesuits were murdered.''
	Buckland recanted much of his story, however, when on Jan. 18 he
maintained that Ponce had sent Aviles to handle a problem with
Benavides, but said he had forgotten Aviles' explanation of what that
problem was.
	In his second statement to FBI agents, Buckland said his interrogator
during the first interview had pressured him into thinking he had prior
knowledge of the killings.
	U.S. officials swept the incident under the rug, where it stayed for
10 months until Rep. Joseph Moakley (D-Mass) found out about it and
pressed for the information to be made public.
	``The fact is that American officials withheld from Salvadoran
authorities for more than 10 months a statement that I believe is of
obvious relevance to the investigation into the Jesuit murders,''
Moakley said in a statement delivered in Congress Oct. 18.
	Moakley described the omission as ``an unbelievable and inexcusable
error in judgment'' by U.S. officials.
	U.S. Embassy spokesman Jefferson Brown said the information was
finally handed over Oct. 17 to Judge Ricardo Zamora, who is in charge of
the case, but said the embassy had no comment on the delay.
	Benavides has been arrested and charged with murder along with three
lieutenants and four other soldiers of the commando unit. Although two
of the lieutenants told investigators Benavides ordered them to kill the
priests, their testimony is inadmissable in court because of their part
in the crime.
	Sources close to the case say that Buckland's testimony is key
because Salvadoran officers have been unwilling to come forward with
information.
	Moakley, who heads a congressional commission monitoring the Jesuit
case, said in August that the Salvadoran military has stonewalled the
investigation in order to ``limit the rank and number of the officers
who will be held responsible for the crimes.''
	The Senate approved a foreign aid bill last week that retains half of
the $85 billion in U.S. military aid to El Salvador in 1991 pending
progress in peace talks with rebels and in prosecuting those responsible
for killing the priests.
41.15CSC32::M_VALENZADon't note and drive.Tue Oct 30 1990 03:59169
From: harelb@daisy.uchicago.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,soc.culture.latin-america,alt.censorship,soc.rights.human,misc.headlines,talk.politics.misc
Subject: ``DEATH SQUADS'' are run by SALVADORAN ARMY --Amnesty International
Date: 22 Oct 90 06:41:32 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago
 
 
The following, AML-library file "AI.ES.briefs", is a collection of
quotes from Amnesty International's report "El Salvador: ``Death
Squads'' -- A Government Strategy" (ordering information at the end)
 
These brief quotes are divided into three sections which may be
titled: "Who runs the ``Death Squads''"; "Who are the victims"; and
"To what extent, if any, have the criminals been held accountable?"
 
Aside from being one of the top effectively censored facts about the
"democracy we are supporting" in El Salvador, the Salvadoran army's
*strategy* of murdering civilian noncombatants -peasants, members of
cooperatives, etc (see below)- and it's immunity from prosecution are
crucial to keep in mind to avoid the fatal mistake of linking U.S. aid
strictly to the few high-profile cases such as the murder of the
Jesuits. As one activist wrote some months ago in frustration:
 
   There will, surely, be an attempt to ram military aid through on
   the grounds that the government of El Salvador has shown its good
   faith by pursuing the murder of the priests.  If that works, it
   is the fault of critics and dissidents, who have focused on the
   murder of prominent figures as if that were more important than
   massive slaughter, torture, and terror when the targets are less
   prominent.  Who is calling for an inquiry into the death squad 
   assassination of Hector Oqueli a few days ago, not to speak of
   the murder, torture, and disappearance of innumerable others in
   what remains, as it has always been, a government policy of
   intimidation, just as AI says.
 
Read on...
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
		    Who Runs the ``Death Squads''?
                    ==============================
 
	"The testimony of armed forces personnel, the details of
thousands of case studies and other information examined by Amnesty
International lead to the conclusion that actions attributed by
authorities to "death squads" are routinely carried out by regular
units of the armed forces which include the military and the security
services, and by special intelligence units that incorporate civilian
gunmen under their supervision and control." [Conclusions, p. 44]
 
	"Amnesty International has concluded that the Salvadoran
`death squads' are simply used to shield the government from
accountability for the torture, `disappearance' and extrajudicial
executions committed in their name. The squads are made up of *regular
army and police agents*, acting in uniform or plain clothes, *under
the orders of superior officers*."  [emphasis added]
[Who Runs the ``Death Squads''", pp. 8-9]
 
	"The Salvadorian Government maintains that `death squad'-style
killings are the work of extremist groups beyond its control. However,
there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the squads are made up
of regular troops and police -- that they form an intrinsic part of
the security apparatus" [Back cover]
 
----------------------------------------------------------------
 
Having identified the murders, torturers, and kidnappers, we may ask:
 
			 Who are the victims?
                         ====================
 
"All sectors of Salvadorian society have been the target of ``death
squad''-style killings...in a great many cases the choice of victim
has been indicator of who lies behind the ``death squads''. Those
targeted have been members of groups perceived to be in opposition to
the government, or to represent a nucleus around whom such opposition
could coalesce, including students, trade unionists, members of
cooperatives, church workers and peasants." [Page 25]
 
[The Brigada Maximiliano Herna'ndez Martinez, Maximiliano Herna'ndez
Martinez Brigade (one of the death squads's signatures), is named
after the Salvadoran general who ordered the massacre of an estimated
30,000 peasants in 1932 in the wake of an uprising (from the AI
report, page 8)]
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
To what extent, if any, have the criminals been held accountable?
=================================================================
 
	"*Tens of thousands* of people have been the victims of
extrajudicial execution and "disappearance" by El Salvador's *armed*
*forces* since 1980... *None* of the armed forces officers responsible
have been brought to justice, most remain in positions of command."
[Conclusions, p. 44] [Emphasis added]
 
	"Murders of tens of thousands of Salvadorian citizens have
gone without even a semblance of investigation. Witnesses to
abductions or killing have recorded license numbers of vans used by
``death squads''. But the authorities have then refused to make public
the identity of institutions of individuals to which the vehicles were
registered..." [Page 37]
 
Related items from "Conclusions":
 
	"Efforts by El Salvador's independent and church-run human
rights organizations to investigate these killing have been hampered
by the harassment, intimidation, imprisonment, torture, mutilation,
extrajudicial execution and "disappearance" of their members..."
 
	"The military court system in El Salvador has *routinely* failed
to prosecute military personnel accused of involvement in torture,
"disappearance" and extrajudicial execution. The exclusive
jurisdiction of the military courts over members of the armed forces
provides a shield behind which armed forces personnel commit grave
crimes *with* *impunity*." [Emphasis added]
 
	"In exceptional cases in which military court jurisdiction has
been waived - notably the murder in 1981 of two American labour
advisers and their Salvadorian colleague - civilian courts have been
intimidated and proceeding obstructed by lack of cooperation by the
armed forces.
 
[See also the sections "The Courts and the Military: Obstacles to
Effective Investigation" and "The Legal Framework: A Smokescreen for
Official ``Death Squad'' Activities"]
 
	"Convictions of five National Guards were eventually obtained
in the case of the four US churchwomen murdered in 1980, but two
judges involved in the early stages of the case quit after threats to
their lives. The judge who eventually heard the case suspected that
his brother's murder was an attempt to warn him off, and the lawyer
defending one of the convicted guardsmen later said he was forced to
take part in a cover-up to prevent senior officers being indicted.
According to the lawyer's account, he was abducted by National
Guardsmen in civilian clothes, tortured at National Guard headquarters
and released only after pressure from the US Embassy and the ICRC. The
lawyer left the country shortly afterwards and was treated in Los
Angeles for broken ribs. Earlier, his brother had been arrested and
brother-in-law abducted - all part, he says, of pressure to ensure his
collaboration in the cover-up." p.32 (Section 4.6.5)
 
******************************************************************
[This 50 page report, with pictures (which are clearer in the Spanish
edition), is only $5 from Amnesty International, Publications, 322
Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001. Ask for "El Salvador: ``Death
Squads'' -- A Government Strategy", first published in October, 1988;
or call Amnesty at: (212)807-8400 (ask for "publications") No credit
card necessary. [I also have more recent AI publications, not on line,
documenting the continued terror]
******************************************************************
 
[More extensive excerpts are available in the AML file "AI.ES.rprt";
but if you view that, you may as well (and should) spend the $5 to see
the originl]
 
    ##################################################################
   # Copyright 1990, Harel Barzilai for Activists Mailing List (AML)#
  #        You may copy freely so long as you do not charge        #
 #         others for it, and include this copyright notice       #
##################################################################
 
To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L <your full name>" to
the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message
confirming that your name has been added to the list. Other addresses
to try (only) if the above fails are: "LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU"
or "ucscc!umcvmb.missouri.edu!LISTSERV"]
 
If you have problems/questions, contact the list Administrator: Rich
Winkel at MATHRICH@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU or MATHRICH%UMCVMB.BITNET
41.16CSC32::M_VALENZAAvast, ye scurvy dogs!Wed Oct 31 1990 15:4723
Newsgroups: clari.news.interest.people,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.religion
Subject: Methodist award to Gorbachev
Date: 30 Oct 90 14:02:48 GMT
 
	DALLAS (UPI) - The World Methodist Council has announced that its
1990 Peace Award will go to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the
winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
	The Rev. Joe Hale, chief executive of the 500-member council,
announced the award on Monday in the United Methodist Reporter published
in Dallas. He said Gorbachev had agreed to accept the honor.
	``Mr. Gorbachev does not profess to be a Christian but since the late
1980s, and especially since the Millenium Celebration of the Conversion
of Russia in 1988, he has taken steps to free churches in the U.S.S.R.
from oppressive laws that have prohibited the full expression of
Christian witness and deprived the church of land and properties,'' the
award announcement said.
	Gorbachev is the 11th person to receive the World Methodist Peace
Award. Others include Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978, South
African Methodist leader Abel Hendricks in 1979 and former President
Jimmy Carter in 1985.
	The award was created in 1976 to recognize individuals pursuring
peace and reconciliation between people and nations.
	The council represents 64 Methodist denomiantions worldwide.
41.17CSC32::M_VALENZANote the night away.Sat Nov 03 1990 02:4262
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Bible agencies in historic meeting
Date: 2 Nov 90 05:12:51 GMT
 (Commentary)
 
	Even the best of causes can create differences -- sometimes even feuds
-- among adherents.
	And so it has been with the Bible and the century-old effort to
translate Scripture into every conceivable tongue and dialect and make
it available to everyone.
	The result, often, is a duplication of efforts, wasted resources and
unproductive competition.
	But in early October, in the first-ever such meeting, a group of 12
Bible agencies, including the United Bible Societies, met together to
see if they could put some of their differences behind them.
	They also sought to raise a unified voice to urge the many churches
and denominations within Christendom to give a higher priority to the
Bible cause.
	``This historic meeting will lead to a more strategic distribution of
much-needed Scriptures and we pray that it may significantly accelerate
the task of world evangelization,'' said the Rev. Fergus Macdonald,
general secretary of the National Bible Society of Scotland.
	Participants said the meeting surpassed their expectations.
	Importantly, they agreed to test the rhetoric of cooperation with a
concrete effort at collaboration, agreeing to jointly develop pilot
projects to reach non-literate peoples in Ethiopia and the Philippines.
	The Oct. 2-5 meeting, in Horsley's Green, England, had its genesis at
the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization congress in Manila, the
Philippines, in 1989.
	The Lausanne Committee is another effort to promote cooperation among
evangelists and mission leaders, who sometimes are jealous of their
denominational turf, resentful and suspicious of others and not very
enthusiastic about cooperation.
	According the United Bible Society, the remaining task is still
momemtous.
	It estimates there are hundreds of millions of people speaking more
than 3,000 languages and dialects who still do not have the Christian
Scripture in their mother tongue.
	The 12 agencies at the England meeting committed themselves to ``work
together in seeking ways of ensuring the best possible stewardship of
the God-given resources entrusted to each organization.''
	``The task of translating the Scripture and distributing it to
everyone who wants it is too big for any one church or organization to
do alone,'' said the Rev. Philip Oliver, a United Bible Society
official.
	``Our Christian witness, and sheer practicality, demand that we
forget that which divides us and concentrate on that which unites us:
providing easy access to the Word of God for all people everywhere.''
	In a final communique, the Bible organizations said they live in ``a
world with a greater openness and hunger for the word of God more than
ever before in history.''
	They said churches should ``make the Scriptures central to their
worship and ministry'' and give ``higher priority than ever to prayer
and financial support of the worldwide ministry of Bible translation and
distribution.''
	In addition to the United Bible Socities, other agencies at the
meeting were: Wycliffe Bible Translators, Open Doors, Living Bibles
International, Scripture Union, England and Wales, The Bible League,
International Bible Society, Bibles for the World, Institute for Bible
Translation, Lutheran Bible Translators, Envangel Bible translators, and
Pioneer Bible Translators.
41.18CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Thu Nov 08 1990 14:19147
Article         6326
From: harelb@arthur.uchicago.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism
Subject: Congress Cuts Funding of Salvadoran Army -- Editorial from PeaceNet
Date: 7 Nov 90 01:12:28 GMT
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Organization: University of Chicago
 
Fwd from Peacenet:
PROCESO 449
October 24, 1990
 
Editorial:
		     Historic vote in the Senate
 
     After ten years of uninterrupted and unconditional military
aid, the U.S. Senate has finally resolved to withhold and
condition the funds which the administration has used to support
the successive governments and, especially, armed forces of El
Salvador. Although in the immediate run, the measure will not
substantialy alter the course of the conflict and the U.N.-
sponsored negotiating process, and the withheld aid could also
eventually be restored depending upon President Bush's evaluation
of how the conditions placed upon it are being met, it certainly
reflects important judgments -and carries serious repercussions-
on the nature and achievements of U.S. policy toward El Salvador,
as well as indicating a new policy direction.
     Without a doubt, the posthumous work and service of the
massacred Jesuits is behind this radical turn of events. It is
not merely that their murders are the outcome and trademark of
ten costly and tragic years of a U.S. policy aimed at
"professionalizing" and "democratizing" the Armed Forces. What
really stands out is what ten months of investigations have
produced: the Armed Forces' shameful spectacle of complicity and
coverup.
     The fact that the shady network of military crime and
coverup has been so completely revealed is also thanks to the
fact that the UCA massacre incited the direct involvement of a
special task force of the U.S. Congress to monitor the case, a
development which was partially responsible for the Senate vote.
Without the diligent and impartial work of the Moakley Task
Force, the top military chiefs would not have been forced to
testify and expose themselves before the public, an unprecedented
step in and of itself. Even more importantly, it revealed how
U.S. policy was behind their corrupt and criminal impunity.
Convincing proof of this is the fact that even in such a public
and crucial case, U.S. policy was still unable to throw off its
traditional complicity with the Armed Forces -which it has been
dragging around since last decade- to keep up with the pace of
the inquiries generated by the Task Force's investigation,
inquiries which indeed brought to light inexcusable displays of
complicity with the masterminds of the massacre on the part of
U.S. Embassy officials.
     In fact, over and above the tragic events of last year, what
produced the overwhelming 74-25 Senate vote, and which made the
vote even more decisive and difficult, was the inevitable and
gradual acknowledgment of the accumulated failure, mistakes and
tragedy of ten years of U.S. policy toward El Salvador. The chief
opponent of the Senate's verdict was the Bush administration, as
it attempted to sabotage it or at least mitigate its impact with
unacceptable proposals poorly disguised as concern about stepped-
up extremist violence, although the administration's fears were
actually grounded in a cynical recognition of the precarious
nature of the democratic "achievements" of a decade of U.S.
policy in El Salvador.
     However, although the vote was a decisive moral blow for the
Bush administration, it would be hard to overestimate the setback
and extremely serious repercussions it represents for the ARENA
government, a setback enhanced by Cristiani's loss of personal
prestige after his last-minute lobbying efforts, in which he
tried at all costs to dissuade the Senators from passing the
Dodd-Leahy amendment. It matters little that Cristiani can make
up for the withheld funds by budget transfers, although he was
publicly and hastily forced to take back his threats to turn over
to the military any of the resources destined for the poorest of
the poor. The crucial issue is that despite all the arguments and
pressure tactics with which the U.S. government persuaded its
allies in Congress to support its strategy in El Salvador, it was
soundly rejected by the Senate vote.
     The clearest "signal" most feared by Cristiani is not the
one received by the FMLN, but rather the one that Congress has
sent to the world, which explains how quickly and brazenly he
attempted to disguise the blow by saying that the Senate vote
took up the proposals he had made during his visit to the United
States. The fact that this has happened to a government with the
genocidal and terrorist history of the ARENA party increases the
significance and repercussions of the vote; from now on Cristiani
will take refuge in and appeal even more strongly to the other
Central American governments, who are always ready to mortgage
their independence in exchange for Washington's dollars.
     With the amendment passed in the Senate, the United States
has taken a first step toward making a just and negotiated peace
viable in El Salvador. This is not only because it represents the
first concrete act which distances it from the bellicose policy
imposed by and inherited from the Reagan administration, but also
because the conditions placed on the aid -even if subject to the
discretion of someone with such a poor record of impartiality-
represent an important show of support for U.N. mediation. From
now on, Bush should be more careful not to risk new and
disastrous defeats at the hands of Congress, and the assassins
within the Salvadoran Armed Forces will know that their days
-although perhaps still many in number- are counted.
 
UCA CASE: On October 22, two U.S. Embassy officials turned over to 4th
Penal Court Judge Ricardo Zamora 29 pages of photocopies of statements
made by Maj. Eric Buckland to the FBI on the UCA case. The statements
were given on January 10 and 11 of this year in Washington, and on
January 18 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  According to press
versions, Buckland asserted that several days before the offensive,
Col. Benavides was talking with other officers about whether or not it
was a good idea to neutralize the Jesuits since they were "ringleaders
of the subversives". The documents were given to the judge after
Congressmember Joe Moakley complained publicly that they should have
been sent down ten months ago. Moakley has even recommended that the
Defense Department, State Department and FBI investigate some
officials at the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador for having covered up
key information about the massacre. In comments on the affair, Jesuit
Provincial Fr. Jose Maria Tojeira said: "I am sure the U.S.  Embassy
has acted in an underhanded way in this investigation", mentioning as
examples the FBI treatment of witness Lucia de Cerna and the attempt
to conceal the abovementioned Buckland statements.  (Note: contact
MATHRICH@UMCVMB.BITNET for info on FBI interrogation and mistreatment
of the sole witness to the Jesuit slayings)
 
[    Proceso is published weekly in Spanish by the Center for
Information, Documentation and Research Support of the Central
American University (UCA) of El Salvador. Portions will be sent
in English to the carnet.elsalnews conference of PeaceNet. Please
make sure to mention Proceso when quoting from this publication.
     Subscriptions to Proceso in Spanish can be obtained by
sending a check for US$35.00 (Americas) or $40.00 (Europe) made
out to 'Universidad Centroamericana' and sent to Apdo. Postal
(01)575, San Salvador, El Salvador. Computerized searches of
Proceso (1980-present) by keyword are available upon request.]
 
   ###################################################################
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 #harelb@zaphod.UChicago.EDU /\ harelb%zaphod@gargoyle.Uchicago.EDU#
###################################################################
To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L <your full name>" to
the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message
confirming that your name has been added to the list. Other addresses
to try (only) if the above fails are: "LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU"
or "ucscc!umcvmb.missouri.edu!LISTSERV"]
 
If you have problems/questions, contact the list administrator: Rich
Winkel at MATHRICH@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU or MATHRICH%UMCVMB.BITNET
41.19CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Thu Nov 08 1990 14:21101
Article         6297
From: harelb@arthur.uchicago.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,soc.rights.human,talk.politics.misc,misc.headlines,soc.culture.latin-american
Subject: BACKGROUND on: Congress Cuts Funding of Salvadoran Army
Date: 7 Nov 90 01:28:12 GMT
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Organization: University of Chicago
 
 
   "Amnesty International has concluded that the Salvadoran `death
   squads' are simply used to shield the government from accountability
   for the torture, `disappearance' and extrajudicial executions
   committed in their name. The squads are made up of *regular army and
                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   police agents*, acting in uniform or plain clothes, *under the orders
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   of superior officers*."
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
	Amnesty International, "El Salvador: ``Death Sqauds'' -- A
	Government Strategy"
	[emphasis added; from Who Runs the ``Death Squads''", pp. 8-9]
 
The following, AML-library file "AI.ES.briefs", is a collection of
quotes from this report by Amnesty International (ordering information
at the end) These brief quotes are divided into three sections which
may be titled: "Who runs the ``Death Squads''"; "Who are the victims";
and "To what extent, if any, have the criminals been held
accountable?"
 
Aside from being one of the top effectively censored facts about the
"democracy we are supporting" in El Salvador, the Salvadoran army's
*strategy* of murdering civilian noncombatants -peasants, members of
cooperatives, etc (see below)- and it's immunity from prosecution are
crucial to keep in mind to avoid the fatal mistake of linking U.S. aid
strictly to the few high-profile cases such as the murder of the
Jesuits. As one activist wrote some months ago in frustration:
 
   There will, surely, be an attempt to ram military aid through on
   the grounds that the government of El Salvador has shown its good
   faith by pursuing the murder of the priests.  If that works, it
   is the fault of critics and dissidents, who have focused on the
   murder of prominent figures as if that were more important than
   massive slaughter, torture, and terror when the targets are less
   prominent.  Who is calling for an inquiry into the death squad 
   assassination of Hector Oqueli a few days ago, not to speak of
   the murder, torture, and disappearance of innumerable others in
   what remains, as it has always been, a government policy of
   intimidation, just as AI says.
 
Read on...
------------------------------------------------------------------
 
		    Who Runs the ``Death Squads''?
                    ==============================
 
	"The testimony of armed forces personnel, the details of
thousands of case studies and other information examined by Amnesty
International lead to the conclusion that actions attributed by
authorities to "death squads" are routinely carried out by regular
units of the armed forces which include the military and the security
services, and by special intelligence units that incorporate civilian
gunmen under their supervision and control." [Conclusions, p. 44]
 
	"The Salvadorian Government maintains that `death squad'-style
killings are the work of extremist groups beyond its control. However,
there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the squads are made up
of regular troops and police -- that they form an intrinsic part of
the security apparatus" [Back cover]
 
[Plus see opening quote]
 
----------------------------------------------------------------
 
[Continued in next article]
 
******************************************************************
[This 50 page report, with pictures (which are clearer in the Spanish
edition), is only $5 from Amnesty International, Publications, 322
Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001. Ask for "El Salvador: ``Death
Squads'' -- A Government Strategy", first published in October, 1988;
or call Amnesty at: (212)807-8400 (ask for "publications") No credit
card necessary. [I also have more recent AI publications, not on line,
documenting the continued terror]
******************************************************************
 
[More extensive excerpts are available in the AML file "AI.ES.rprt";
but if you view that, you may as well (and should) spend the $5 to see
the originl]
 
   ###################################################################
  #        Harel Barzilai for Activists Mailing List (AML)          #
 #harelb@zaphod.UChicago.EDU /\ harelb%zaphod@gargoyle.Uchicago.EDU#
###################################################################
To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L <your full name>" to
the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message
confirming that your name has been added to the list. Other addresses
to try (only) if the above fails are: "LISTSERV@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU"
or "ucscc!umcvmb.missouri.edu!LISTSERV"]
 
If you have problems/questions, contact the list administrator: Rich
Winkel at MATHRICH@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU or MATHRICH%UMCVMB.BITNET
41.20CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Fri Nov 09 1990 13:4362
Article          553
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Changing patterns in church attendance
Date: 9 Nov 90 05:08:13 GMT
 
	Pollsters and sociologists looking at present practices and future
possibilities are forecasting some changes in U.S. religious behavior.
	For example, a recent Gallup Poll reported in Emerging Trends found
that nearly 75 percent of the American people -- three of every four
adults -- say they have made a commitment to Jesus Christ.
	And nearly two of every three -- 63 percent -- believe religion still
has answers to today's problems.
	At the same time, however, only 40 percent of those surveyed said
they attend church in a typical week, suggesting to some church
officials that many people have a weak -- or at least different --
understanding of the relationship between belief and commitment.
	Still, the 74 percent of Americans claiming a commitment to Jesus
Christ is a record high, according to Gallup officials. A 1988 study
found 66 percent responding positively to the question, while a 1978
study registered just 60 percent.
	Church and syngagoue attendance, however, has remained at about the
40 percent level through the 1970s and 1980s, according to Gallup, down
from its levels of the 1950s, when it reached 46 percent.
	Darrell Robinson of the Southern Baptist Convention's Home Mission
Board suggests that the disparity between the stated commitment to
Christian belief and low church attendance could provide a potential
boon for mission efforts.
	He said the poll figures show that Americans are are open to
spiritual things. ``This reflects a harvest that is ready to be reaped
through personal and mass evangelism,'' he said.
	How might that stated committment work itself out?
	Robert Wuthnow, a sociology professor at Princeton and one of the
premier observers of change on the American religious scene, believes
that Christians will increasingly look beyond their local congregations
to fulfill their spiritual yearnings.
	``Religious knowledge can be sought in the college classroom, or if
not there, in the pages of any of the hundreds of religious magazines
and books available through the mail or a local religious bookstore,''
Wuthnow told a recent conference on ``The Church as Community: Being the
People of God.''
	``Emotional support can be sought at the counseling center and
through 12-step groups (such as Alcoholics Anonymous),'' he said. ``For
inspiration, put some religious music on the CD player. For an angry
prophetic voice, turn on religious television.''
	The conference was sponsored by the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary's Dehoney Center for the Study of the Local Church and financed
with a grant from the Pew Charitable Trust.
	Wuthnow said that the local church may remain the primary place of
community for ``a core of active laity,'' others will treat the church
primarily as a ``referral service.''
	He noted that in recent years congregations have tended to be larger,
more program oriented and less personal.
	The intimate fellowship sought by many is more likely to be found in
smaller groups such as singles and young married ministries, choirs or
other special interest groups.
	While the church as a whole has often been strengthened by these
groups, Wuthnow said, that is not likely to be the case in the future as
the groups spin off their own identity apart from congregational or
denominational identity.
	The ``greatest gap'' left by these alternative forms of religious
community, he said, will be the training of children.
41.21CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Fri Nov 09 1990 15:3041
Article          548
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.interest.people,clari.news.europe,clari.news.religion
Subject: Pope expresses confidence in the new united Germany
Date: 8 Nov 90 18:30:35 GMT
 
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II praised united Germany
Thursday for its commitment to peaceful coexistence and ``the well-being
of all the European territory.''
	He expressed confidence in a united Germany and its capacity ``to
assume in future important responsibilities toward its immediate
neighbors, toward Europe and all the family of peoples.''
	The pope was addressing new German ambassador to the Holy See Hans-
Joachim Hallier, 60, during a ceremony in which the ambassador presented
his credentials.
	``It is for me a particular joy to greet in you the first
representative of united Germany,'' the pope said.
	He said the German people and its governments of the past 40 years
have shown that ``a new Germany has emerged which is strongly committed
to promoting a trustworthy coexistence in peace and in the well-being of
all the European territory.''
	The Polish pope recalled that the date German restored its unity,
Oct. 3, was the date in 1945 on which World War II finally ended.
	``This is a date that evokes reflections that are bitter, but also
full of hope not only for Germany, but also for both Eastern and Western
Europe and for the world, north and south,'' John Paul said.
	He recalled the ``millions of human beings who, innocent, died in in
this war'' and also the ``genocide of the Jewish people.''
	He said the murder of Jews in wartime Nazi death camps ``must be for
all Christians a lasting warning that we must overcome every form of
anti-Semitism and from that achieve a new relationship with our brother
people of the Old Testament.''
	The pope expressed ``great satisfaction'' for the decision of the
German government to commit itself economically ``not only to the
reconstruction of the eastern regions of your country and of Central and
Eastern Europe, but also toward the Third World.''
	In reference to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe,
the pope said: ``Totalitarian ideologies are now discredited.
Reconstruction is not easy. The material needs are great and the
devastation of souls is even greater.''
41.22CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Fri Nov 09 1990 16:4742
Article          555
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MALCOLM FRIED)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.group.blacks,clari.news.issues.civil_rights
Subject: South Africa: churches end meeting in disagreement
Date: 9 Nov 90 15:23:50 GMT
 
 
	RUSTENBURG, South Africa (UPI) -- The largest gathering of church
leaders in 30 years ended in disagreement Friday when the white wing of
the Dutch Reformed Church rejected a final communique that carried
political recommendations.
	During the final moments of debate by about 330 delegates
representing 80 denominations, members of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde
Kerk unilaterally issued a statement saying they could not accept
raising political issues.
	The final communique called for a transitional government pending the
implementation of a post-apartheid constitution, the immediate release
of all political prisoners and an end to discriminatory laws, including
the Land Act restricting black ownership of most South African land.
	The NGK delegation said it accepted the bulk of the communique issued
at the end of the five-day meeting in the northwestern town of
Rustenburg but that political views of the other churches were
unacceptable.
	The developement followed the confession of guilt for apartheid
earlier this week by a delegate of the NGK, the wing of the church
representing the Dutch-descended Afrikaner that until recently had given
a biblical underpinning to apartheid.
	The confession and subsequent comments from NGK delegates had
suggested rapproachment with the black and mixed-race wings of the Dutch
Reformed Church was within reach, but Friday's action appeared to
unravel much of what had been put togther.
	Delegate Beyers Naude called it a ``shocking and horrifying
development'' while Sam Buti, moderator of the black NGK in Africa,
described Wednesday's confessions as ``cheap talk of reconciliation.''
	Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu had a more guarded reaction Friday.
He said he still believed the delegates were ``persons of integrity''
and that he hoped the lack of endorsement for the communique ``does not
indicate any change of heart.''
	It was the first time since 1960 that so many church leaders had come
together in a bid to forge a common repsonse to the country's political
develpments. In the 1960 meeting, delegates drafted a short-lived unity
pact in reponse to the police killings in Sharpeville township.
41.23CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Fri Nov 09 1990 21:2664
Article          556
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MALCOLM FRIED)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.group.blacks,clari.news.issues.civil_rights
Subject: South Africa: White Afrikaner church sours meeting of clerics
Date: 9 Nov 90 17:13:10 GMT
 
 
	RUSTENBURG, South Africa (UPI) -- The powerful white wing of the
country's Dutch Reformed Church soured the largest meeting of church
leaders in 30 years Friday when it refused to endorse a final communique
that carried political recommendations.
	During the dying moments of debate after five days by 330 delegates
representing 80 denominations, members of the Afrikaner church -- the
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk -- issued a brief handwritten statement
saying they could not agree with a communique that raised political
issues.
	The NGK group, other delegates said, had come under strong pressure
from laymen, ministers and former President Pieter W. Botha to back down
and did so knowing it would undermine the goodwill built up during the
gathering in the northern town of Rustenburg.
	The NGK has traditionally played a major role in justifying the
racial and political policies of the National Party government, which
has ruled since 1948.
	The final communique, a general call for an end to apartheid,
specifically demanded some form of transitional administration pending
the implementation of a new constitution, the immediate release of all
political prisoners and an end to all discriminatory laws, including the
Land Act restricting black ownership to less than 15 percent of South
African land.
	Moderator of the NGK and delegation head Pieter Potgieter said his
church accepted ``the great majority of the very lovely sentiments that
were expressed here'' but added, ``It is not for us to prescribe
particular solutions to the government or anybody else.''
	The development followed an admission of guilt for apartheid
Wednesday by senior NGK member Willie Jonker and an endorsement of his
act by the rest of the group, which conceded the church fashioned a
bibilical justification for racial separatism in the 1940s.
	But observers said a direct call for specific political actions would
have embarrassed the government, as most senior members and supporters
of the National Party are NGK members and Pretoria has already said the
political steps called for are premature.
	``Besides, the NGK people came under a great deal of informal
pressure,'' said Rudolph Meyer, a close friend of Jonker and liaison
officer for the black wing of the NGK.
	Meyer said Botha, who has criticized the racial reforms of President
Frederik de Klerk, telephoned Jonker and Potgieter to complain about the
confession of guilt and ``dozens of unhappy ministers and church-goers''
also called.
	Another delegate, veteran anti-apartheid Afrikaner theologian Beyers
Naude, said the NGK action was a ``shocking and horrifying development.
They knew it would damage good will.''
	Delegates said the confession and subsequent conciliatory comments
from the NGK had suggested rapprochement with the black and mixed-race
wings of the church was within reach. To varying degrees, the delegates
agreed with Naude that the action Friday cast a shadow over the meeting.
	Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu was less forceful in his reaction.
He said he still believed the NGK delegates were ``persons of integrity''
and hoped their rejection of the communique ``does not indicate any
change of heart as regards their earlier conciliatory attitude.''
	It was the first time since 1960 that so many church leaders had met
to forge a common response to the country's political developments.
	At the 1960 gathering, delegates drafted a short-lived unity pact in
response to police killings of blacks rebelling against the apartheid
system.
41.24CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Fri Nov 09 1990 21:2747
Article          557
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (CHARMAIN KOSEK)
Newsgroups: clari.news.law.supreme,clari.news.religion
Subject: Educator banned from teaching creation science
Date: 9 Nov 90 18:23:48 GMT
 
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has banned a New Lenox
educator from teaching creation science in his classes as an alternative
to the theory of evolution, lawyers for both sides said Friday.
	The attorney for the school district said the 7th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals has upheld a federal judge's ruling that teaching creation
science amounts to teaching religion, which New Lenox District 122 has
the right to prohibit.
	The lawyer for teacher Ray Webster says the ruling is ironic since
teaching evolution has come full circle from being banned from schools
to being the only theory that is allowed to be taught.
	The case began in the spring of 1987 when a student complained about
Webster's teaching creation science in his social studies class at
Oster-Oakview Junior High. School officials later ordered Webster to
stop the practice, prompting him to file suit in U.S. District Court
claiming his 1st and 14th Amendment rights had been violated.
	A federal judge dismissed the suit and the appeals panel on Tuesday
upheld the lower court's ruling.
	The appeals panel said it is well established that school districts
may determine classroom curriculum and cited the U.S. Supreme Court case
barring Louisiana from requiring teaching creation science, ``which
would constitute religious advocacy.''
	Webster said he wanted to teach that subject ``to develop and open
mind in students'' as opposed to teaching only the theory of evolution
but the appeals panel ruled ``the school board has successfully
navigated the narrow channel between impairing intellectual inquiry and
propagating a religious creed.''
	Creation science ``is really an attempt by creationists to make it
into a science and argue it's not a religion,'' said Richard Winter, a
lawyer for the school district. ``The key to the court's holding that it
has been interpreted by the (U.S.) Supreme Court to more or less be a
religion. That colored the (appeals) court's decision.''
	Webster's lawyer, Charles Herbas, said the longtime teacher would
abide by the ruling but is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
	``I think that what is odd about the issue in 1990 is back in the
1920s, Mr. (John) Scopes was told you can't teach evolution in our
schools. The crusade was to have some freedom in that area. Now we've
gone full circle and it is now improper to teach any form of non-
evolutionary theory in class. The court is allowing a school district to
ban alternate theories,'' Herbas said.
41.25CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Sat Nov 10 1990 12:3775
Article          558
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JEFF BERLINER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.lifestyle,clari.news.issues
Subject: Alaska churches to build Soviet Far East religious center
Date: 9 Nov 90 21:02:30 GMT
 
 
	ANCHORAGE, Alaska (UPI) -- Alaska church leaders have reached an
agreement with Soviet officials to build the first religious center in
Magadan, a regional capital in the Soviet Far East, the Archdiocese of
Anchorage announced Friday.
	``The significance of this,'' said Archbishop Francis T. Hurley, ``is
the expression of openness of the people over there and their interest
in religion -- all religion -- and their desire to explore religious
concepts.''
	Religious leaders representing various faiths in Alaska signed the
agreement with Soviet officials to establish an Ecumenical Center for
Religion and Culture in Magadan, a relatively new city of about 150,000
people with no religious history or churches.
	``There is no religious history in the Soviet Far East,'' Hurley
said. ``We're in a rather pristine area.''
	Magadan was built in 1939 and, unlike most older Soviet cities, had
no churches to shut down or organized religion to suppress. Magadan
became a regional hub, famous as a gold mining center, infamous as a
gulag outpost and, more recently, a key area in the emerging ties
between Alaska and the Soviet Far East.
	Regular flights across the Bering Sea between Magadan and Anchorage
are slated to start next spring.
	The growing number of exchanges between Alaska and the Soviet Far
East in science, business, arts, education and the affairs of native
peoples eventually led to one previously off-limits area -- religion.
	``This will provide a base for exchanges under the aegis of religion,
'' Hurley said. ``There is a new openness to religion among the people
as well as in the new law of religious freedom in Russia. There is much
we will be able to share with one another.''
	Although construction of a Russian Orthodox Church recently began in
Magadan, Hurley said he was struck, on his first visit to the region
last year, by the absence of churches. He said there were several
unorganized religious movements in their infancy.
	His suggestion that a Roman Catholic Center be built evolved into a
proposal for the multi-religious Christian center.
	The newly formed Anchorage Committee for Religion and Culture and its
Soviet counterpart, the Magadan Committee for Religion and Culture,
signed theagreement Oct. 31 establishing goals for the ecumenical
center.
	They also reached a preliminary agreement for construction of the
center by Fluor Daniel Alaska Inc. on up to 10 acres of land on the edge
of Magadan.
	The religions involved in developing the center include Catholic,
Lutheran, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Protestant
and Russian Orthodox. The Soviet committee also includes government
officials.
	``It's a very mixed group on both sides,'' Hurley said.
	He stressed that the center will not be a church nor will it be a
base for proselytizing, but rather a religious resource center open to
all.
	``The center will be somewhat like a retreat house facility, a place
in which there can be lectures on religious and cultural subjects,
workshops and training sessions for small groups and opportunity for
private and group prayer. The facility will include a chapel.''
	The conceptual agreement calls for the center to develop programs
focusing on theology, religious history, religious education, church-
state relations in both the United States and the Soviet Union, church-
sponsored social services, spiritual and family values, and even
chemical dependency and cultural activities in both countries.
	The Magadan committee will appoint the center director, and the
Anchorage committee will designate the assistant director. The two
committees will jointly establish ecumenical center policies, according
to the agreement.
	Costs of construction and operation will be shared, but financial
details and ownership must still be worked out.
	Fluor Daniel Alaska, a subsidiary of an international construction
company, already has drawn up plans for the center -- with architect's
designs prominently displayed on the walls of the Anchorage archdiocese
-- and will estimate construction costs in a trip to Magadan next month.
41.26CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Sat Nov 10 1990 13:5630
    The original article in Usenet was rather long, and included many news
    items that did not pertain specifically to Christianity, but I am
    including one item that is of interest:
    
Article         6371
From: harelb@arthur.uchicago.edu (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.activism
Subject: CENTRAL AMERICA UPDATE [Excerpts from LADB report for 11/7]
Date: 10 Nov 90 06:49:59 GMT
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Organization: University of Chicago
 
    [text deleted...]
    
ARCHBISHOP RIVERA DENOUNCES SALVADORAN MILITARY FOR
OBSTRUCTING JESUIT MURDER INVESTIGATION
 
     On Nov. 4, Archbishop of San Salvador Arturo Rivera
asserted that the Salvadoran military continues to obstruct
the investigation into the November 1989 murders of six
Jesuit priests, adding that military officers had destroyed
key evidence.
     The prelate cited a recent report by UN special envoy
on human rights in El Salvador, Pastor Ridruejo, who visited
the country in October.  Ridruejo's report said there had
been no progress in the proceedings concerning the Jesuit
case, nor on serious human rights abuses that occurred in
recent years.  (Basic data from AFP, 11/04/90)
 
    [text deleted...]
41.27CSC32::M_VALENZALambada while you bungee jump.Sat Nov 10 1990 19:2341
Article          563
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.state,clari.news.religion
Subject: Texas Education board adopts textbooks teaching evolution
Date: 10 Nov 90 19:42:30 GMT
 
 
	AUSTIN, Texas (UPI) -- The state Board of Education approved Saturday
the use of textbooks for the next six years that will teach evolution,
writing at least a temporary end to a dispute between evolutionists and
creationists.
	The decision will take effect with the 1991-92 academic year and
because of the massive orders Texas places with textbook publishers, the
standards for Texas schools are imposed on educators in other states who
use the same books.
	The 11-4 vote drew predictable reactions from the two sides.
	Michael Hudson, of People for the American Way, said it ``will go a
long way in reversing the trend toward scientific illiteracy in the
country.''
	But creationism proponent Mel Gabler said, ``The board voted against
its own proclamation to include counter-evidence thories to evolution.''
	Creatism ascribes the origin of all living things to God;
evolutionism holds that all species developed from earlier forms.
	Board member Jane Nelson, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the
action. ``We are doing our children a disservice,'' she said. ``We need
facts of evolution, along with those theories questioning evolution. How
can the board ignore what the public has instructed us to do?''
	Board member John Shields, who lost a battle to include revisions to
the proposed texts, said the board became ``paranoid'' by the
controversy surrounding the issue.
	``The board got caught up in the polemics of evolution versus
creationism,'' Shields said. ``We missed the opportunity to improve the
books by giving the students of the state the opportunity for critical
and analytic thinking.''
	But board member Will Davis disagreed, saying the books do include
references to counter-theories to evolution.
	``The books seem to say this is the best that science has to say. The
books do not come across as fact. The books are very carefully
presented, and hedge a great deal, and it should be obvious to any high
school student that it (evolution) is a theory and is not proven,''
Davis said.
41.28CSC32::M_VALENZAThu Nov 15 1990 12:5953
Article          574
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (KEN ROSS)
Newsgroups: clari.news.tv,clari.news.religion,clari.news.issues,clari.news.top
Subject: 'Love in the Rectory' TV report outrages bishop
Date: 15 Nov 90 06:59:13 GMT
 
 
	PROVIDENCE, R.I. (UPI) -- Rhode Island's Catholic leader blasted a
local TV station for its recent news series on ``Love in the Rectory''
and announced to parishioners he has canceled telecasts of Thanksgiving
and Christmas masses on the station.
	In a letter to be published in the Diocese of Providence's newspaper
Thursday, Bishop Louis E. Gelineau said he was ``outraged'' by the 
``cavalier treatment given to the Catholic faith and the Catholics of
Rhode Island'' in the series, which aired on WPRI-TV, East Providence,
on Nov. 7, 8 and 9.
	About 65 percent of Rhode Island's more than 900,000 residents are
Catholic -- the highest percentage in the United States.
	Gelineau said that as a ``first step'' he ``must cancel all
arrangements for the production and telecast'' of the masses, though he
recognized the inconvenience it may cause Catholic viewers. He did not
say what his next steps, if any, might be.
	``In conscience, I cannot ignore what has happened,'' said the
letter, which was published in the Providence Visitor and sent last week
to Robert Finke, vice president and general manager of WPRI.
	``It's their prerogative,'' Finke said. ``I feel bad they canceled
it. I think it served a need and I feel bad they felt a need to do
that.''
	``Love in the Rectory'' began by stating that, since 1984, several
Rhode Island priests had been accused of sexual assault. It went into
detail on two cases in particular.
	One involved the Rev. William O'Connell, a pastor at St. Mary's in
Bristol who was convicted of molesting boys in the parish and sentenced
to a year in jail. The other focused on a former chaplain at Rhode
Island College, the Rev. Robert Marcantonio, who is accused of sexually
assaulting a young teenage boy while a graduate student at Iowa State
University.
	Marcantonio's alleged victim graphically recounted the sexual acts he
says he and Marcantonio engaged in.
	The series also included a study by a psychotherapist and former
priest on the frequency with which priests break their vow of celibacy.
	Gelineau said he was most offended by the station showing the
sacrament of the Eucharist -- during which Catholics believe bread and
wine are turned into the body and blood of Christ -- while discussing the
subjects of pedophilia and celibacy.
	``Using the Eucharist as a backdrop for the distasteful commentary of
this segment is an insult to faithful Catholics everywhere,'' the letter
said. ``It is little wonder then that our phones have not stopped
ringing with calls from those offended by such insensitivity.''
	Gelineau acknowledged that some priests fail to remain celibate and
that there are a few who are guilty of pedophilia. But he insisted there
are ``many more teachers, child care providers and parents, for example,
who molest young children.''
41.29CSC32::M_VALENZAFri Nov 16 1990 13:1463
Article          579
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Evangelicals unhappy with Bush
Date: 16 Nov 90 05:01:27 GMT
 
	Evangelical Protestants, who enjoyed unparalleled access to the White
House of Ronald Reagan, are increasingly unhappy and frustrated with
President Bush.
	And in a little noted meeting at the White House at the end of
October, the conservatives told the president so in the bluntest of
terms.
	``We told him the truth -- that his administration is on the ropes
with evangelicals,'' said Robert Dugan, director of the Washington
office of the National Association of Evangelicals.
	Evangelicals and fundamentalists, while having sharp theological
differences, have over the past two decades coalesced into a powerful
political bloc, generally called the Religious Right.
	A significant element in the winning coalition that put and kept
Ronald Reagan in the White House for two terms, the evangelicals have
never been happy or especially comfortable with Bush, whose more-or-less
moderate Republicanism and Episcopalian faith do not fit well with black
and white absolutism that drives the Religious Right.
	``We need to be reassured that our president is on the side of the
moral law of God in the culture war that divides our nation,'' Dugan
told the president during the Oct. 30 meeting.
	Close to the top of the agenda for the evangelicals' cultural war is
the issue of homosexuality and it is that issue that brought the stewing
displeasure to the boiling point.
	It began in April when Bush invited represenatives of homosexual
rights groups to a White House ceremony at which he signed the Hate
Crime Act, requiring the federal government to collect information on
crimes inspired by bigotry.
	Then in July, the White House did it again -- this time for signing of
the Americans With Disabilities civil rights act.
	The invitations outraged religious conservatives.
	``Large numbers of Southern Baptists want to know why you are giving
such an official recognition to a homosexual/lesbian lifestyle they find
abhorrent,'' demanded Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist
Convention's Christian Life Commission.
	The anger at Bush was heightened with the firing of Doug Wead, the
White House liaison with evangelicals after Wead went public with his
own displeasure at the invitations.
	Dugan said that in addition to the homosexual issue, other subjects
brought up at the White House meeting included White House support for
the National Endowment of the Arts, which has been under fierce attack
by the Religious Right for its financing of allegedly blasphemous and
obscene art; the implications for religious groups of the recently
passed child care bill and evangelicals' desire that Bush provide more 
``moral leadership'' on a host of religious freedom and family issues.
	Dugan said he gave Bush a proposed executive order on ``affirmation
of traditional values'' that would require all members of the government
to ``uphold traditional family values in all ... decision-making.''
	Bush was described as non-commital about supporting the proposal.
	And, while Bush expressed some displeasure at the invitation to the
homosexual activists, Dugan described the president as ``curtly
reaffirming'' his opposition to restrictions on arts funding.
	The meeting between the president and the evangelicals no doubt
cleared the air for the moment but it seems unlikely that Bush will ever
be embraced by the Religious Right with the same fervor as was Ronald
Reagan.
	Bush, who tries to keep his lines of communications open with all
groups, may not be displeased by that.
41.30CSC32::M_VALENZABungee jump naked.Sat Nov 17 1990 13:0635
Article          582
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (CHARLES RIDLEY)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.europe,clari.news.gov.international
Subject: Gorbachev to visit with pope
Date: 17 Nov 90 00:28:41 GMT
 
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will have an
audience with Pope John Paul II during his one-day visit to Rome Sunday,
the Vatican announced Friday.
	It will be the second time Gorbachev has met the pope in the Vatican,
following a historic encounter Dec. 1, 1989, that symbolized the end of
72 years of hostility between the Soviet Union and the Catholic Church.
	``President Gorbachev has requested an audience and will be received
in the Vatican, presumably Sunday,'' chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin
Navarro Valls told reporters.
	During his brief visit to Rome, Gorbachev will have talks and lunch
with President Francesco Cossiga and Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti
during which a Treaty of Peace and Cooperation will be signed.
	At the Quirinale presidential palace he will also receive a prize
worth an equivalent of $435,000 awarded by the Italian Fiuggi Foundation
for his efforts in favor of world peace.
	Gorbachev is scheduled to leave Sunday evening for Paris, to attend
the 34-nation Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe to be
held there Monday and Tuesday.
	At his 75-minute meeting with John Paul in the Vatican, Dec. 1, which
preceded his Dec. 2-3 summit meeting with President Bush on the island
of Malta, Gorbachev invited the pope to visit the Soviet Union.
	John Paul did not accept immediately, but said he hope that 
``developments of the situation'' in the Soviet Union would make it
possible for him to accept it at a later date.
	Since than the Soviet parliament has passed a ``law on freedom of
conscience'' promised to the pope by Gorbachev at their meeting, and
Vatican sources believed this would be enough for the pope to accept the
invitation.
41.31CSC32::M_VALENZANote with toes curled.Wed Nov 28 1990 13:4069
Article          590
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.features,clari.news.religion,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.issues.civil_rights
Subject: Slain priests may yet contribute to peace in El Salvador
Date: 25 Nov 90 00:03:13 GMT
 
_U_P_I_ _N_e_w_s_F_e_a_t_u_r_e
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- A year after the slaying of six
Jesuits at the hands of Salvadoran soldiers, the priests' colleagues
hope the memory of the ``martyrs'' may help bring peace and justice to
the war-torn nation.
	Although the soldiers who fired the shots are in custody, the Rev.
Jose Maria Tojeira, head of the Jesuit order in Central America,
expressed skepticism that El Salvador's weak justice system could get to
high-ranking officers who he suspects are the ``intellectual authors''
of the crime.
	But he added that pressure generated by international outrage at the
murders has brought important moral, if not legal, condemnation of the
Salvadoran armed forces.
	``Our hope is that their blood will serve to bring peace to this
country, that itndiminishes the impunity of the armed forces, that it
diminishes the mentality that you solve problems by killing people,
Tojeira said. ''If that happens, we will be satisfied.``
	Jon Sobrino, director of the Pastoral Center at the Jesuit-run
University of Central America, said the slaying of the six priests,
their housekeeper and her teenage daughter on Nov. 16, 1989, has helped
illuminate the sad truth about El Salvador.
	``Our Salvadoran reality is characterized by an unjust poverty of the
masses that daily produces slow death, and that often produces rapid and
violent death in the form of repression and war,'' Sobrino said at
ceremony commemorating the murders. ``Something is very wrong in El
Salvador. That is what our martyrs have cried out to the world.''
	A colonel and eight lower-ranking members of the military have been
charged with murdering the Jesuits, but there have been widespread
allegations that the military is covering up involvement by other top
officers.
	As a result of the killings and doubts raised by the investigation,
the U.S. government has wavered in its staunch support of the Salvadoran
armed forces' decade-old fight with leftist rebels.
	After providing close to $1 billion in military aid during the 1980s,
the U.S. Congress voted late this year to withhold half of the $85
million in 1991 military aid that the Bush administration had requested.
	Rep. Joe Moakley, chairman of a congressional commission following
the Jesuit investigation, said recently in Washington that military
abuses were largely responsible for the birth of the Farabundo Marti
National Liberation Front, known in Spanish as FMLN.
	``It is important to remember that if it were not for the corruption
and human rights violations of the military, the FMLN would not exist,''
Moakley said.
	As well as pressuring the Salvadoran military to ``abandon abhorent
practices,'' Sobrino said reduced U.S. support for the war effort could
contribute to a negotiated settlement.
	Ignacio Ellacuria, one of El Salvador's top leftist intellectuals and
rector of the University of Central America until his murder a year ago,
was a strong proponent of a negotiated solution to the civil war which
has cost the lives of more than 72,000 Salvadorans.
	The Jesuits' strong identification with the poor and devotion to
changing what they saw as an unjust social order in El Salvador earned
them the hate of many within the armed forces, who called the priests
Marxists and intellectual leaders of the guerrillas.
	``(The priests' killers) wanted to put out the light, but now it
shines more brightly,'' the University of Central America said in a two-
page advertisement published this week in San Salvador's major
newspapers.
	The priests' ``bodies have not stayed where they were thrown face-
down on the lawn, but together with that somber morning of Nov. 16.,
they have risen to illuminate the future of El Salvador,'' the
advertisement said.
 _a_d_v_ _s_u_n_ _n_o_v_ _2_5
41.32CSC32::M_VALENZANote with savoir-faire.Thu Dec 06 1990 17:3540
/** reg.elsalvador: 203.2 **/
** Written  2:43 pm  Dec  5, 1990 by wccas in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
BUCKLAND PRESSURED TO RECANT: NEWSWEEK
 
An unsigned article in the November 19 issue of Newsweek
charged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and
the U.S. State Department pressured Special Forces Army
Major Eric Buckland into retracting his testimony that the
Salvadoran High Command knew of a plot against the Jesuit
leaders of the Central American University (UCA) at least
ten days before they were killed.
 
"He was grilled and grilled until finally he cracked,"
Newsweek cites a Bush administration source as saying.  The
magazine also cites "U.S. officials" as stating that
Buckland's original statement was "100 per cent accurate."
 
"The administration didn't want that story to come out,"
the Newsweek sources said, because it "wasn't productive to
the conduct of the war."
 
Buckland was the man who first revealed the identity of
Salvadoran Colonel Guillermo Alfredo Benavides, the officer
who ordered a commando group from the Atlacatl Battalion to
carry out the murders of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and
her daughter at their residence on the campus of the UCA a
year ago.
 
Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador Gregorio Rosa Chavez on
November 25 reiterated his belief that Benavides had acted
on the orders of other officers in the killing of the
Jesuits.
 
Addressing the question of whether these higher-ups would
ever be punished, Rosa Chavez stated that "Often there is
prosecution of the material authors, who are almost always
following orders, while the persons most responsible get
off."  (SP 11/25; NW 11/19)
 
** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **
41.33CSC32::M_VALENZARMHTue Dec 18 1990 23:1737
Excerpts from:
/** reg.elsalvador: 215.0 **/
** Topic: SALPRESS News 12/09/90 **
** Written  8:31 pm  Dec 14, 1990 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
                NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR
           WEEKEND SUMMARY for DECEMBER 7 - 9, 1990
 
AID SPEED-UP CRITICIZED
 
The U.S. Secretary of State James Baker's expediting of $48
million in military aid for the Salvadoran government was
criticized by religious and grassroots leaders over the
weekend.  Salvadoran Archbishop Arturo Rivera y Damas said on
December 9 the aid speed-up will fuel the war and push
negotiations to the sidelines.  Orlando Arevalo, a leader of
the Permanent Committee for the National Debate (CPDN) said
that the aid would "continue propping up an army whose only
purpose has been to repress the population."  Arevalo and more
than 70 other CPDN members completed a three-day fast for
peace on December 8.  Fast participant Jim Barnett a U.S.
Dominican priest from Denver, Colorado indicated that the aid
"contributes absolutely nothing" to a negotiated end to the
war.  The U.S. State Department expedited the military aid
delivery in response to an intensive rebel military campaign
launched on November 20.
 
POLL WATCHERS MAY BOYCOTT
 
Poll watchers threatened to boycott the March mayoral and
parliamentary elections if the ruling ARENA party continues
blocking voter registration and other balloting preparations.
Polling official and Nationalist Democratic Union party (UDN)
member, Eduardo Calles, said December 7 that ARENA is denying
registration to the governing party's opponents.  Poll
watchers from 8 opposition parties said unless the Central
Elections Council steps in, there is no sense in their
carrying out poll monitoring duties on March 10.
41.34CSC32::M_VALENZARMHTue Dec 18 1990 23:1729
Excerpt from:
/** reg.elsalvador: 217.0 **/
** Topic: SALPRESS News 12/11/90 **
** Written  8:33 pm  Dec 14, 1990 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
                 NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR
                for TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1990
 
U.S. CRITICIZED FOR NON-COOPERATION IN MURDER CASE
 
Central America's Jesuit provincial, Jose Maria Tojeira,
yesterday sharply criticized Washington for its refusal to
turn over 81 files on the Jesuit murder case.  "We believe
those documents contain information that will solve the
crime," he said.  While nine members of the army, including
Col. Guillermo Benavides, have been indicted, the Jesuit
leader insisted that other members of the army command were
involved in the murder.  "It was a duly planned military
operation," said Tojeira of the November 1989 assassination of
the six priests and two women.  The provincial was critical of
the cases being brought to trial before full investigation of
involvement of other military chiefs.  He accused the army of
a "lack of real cooperation" shown by "a multitude of
contradictions and lies."  Yesterday the district attorney,
Rigoberto Zelaya, confirmed that the documents requested from
the United States had not yet been turned over and said
Washington has cited national security and protection of its
informants in El Salvador as its reasons for retaining the
information.  Zelaya denied that the case had been ordered to
trail under pressure from the U.S. government.
41.35CSC32::M_VALENZARMHTue Dec 18 1990 23:1822
Excerpt from:
/** reg.elsalvador: 219.0 **/
** Topic: SALPRESS News 12/13/90 **
** Written  8:35 pm  Dec 14, 1990 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
                 NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR
                for THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1990
 
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS SAID TO INCREASE
 
The independent Salvadoran Human Rights Commission (CDHES)
revealed yesterday that the army assassinated 51 civilians and
captured 35 in November.  The rights monitor attributed two
assassinations to the FMLN for the same month.  In October the
army was accused of committing 49 assassinations and 20
unwarranted arrests.  CDHES leader Celia Medrano indicated
that violence increases as the March mayoral and parliamentary
elections draw closer.  She expressed skepticism that the
upcoming vote would strengthen democracy because of the lack
of negotiations, agreements over the armed forces.  The CDHES
report cited death squads and the incapacity of the judicial
system to prosecute the killers of six priests and two women
as serious human rights problems.
41.36CSC32::M_VALENZARocky Mountain HoneyFri Dec 21 1990 13:1657
Article          596
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.interest,clari.tw.science
Subject: Scientist: Reflection caused mystery light in church
Date: 7 Dec 90 23:59:07 GMT
 
 
	COLFAX, Calif. (UPI) -- Sunlight shining through a stained-glass
window is the cause of a shimmering image on a church wall that has
drawn thousands of pilgrims for a glimpse of what many believe is an
apparition of the Virgin Mary, an optics expert said Friday.
	James Phelps, a physics professor who examined the image on the wall
of St. Dominic's Catholic Church, said the multicolored light that has
appeared above a statue of Jesus daily since Thanksgiving is a
reflection of the sun through a stained-glass window that bounces off a
hanging lamp.
	``Light is coming through a large stained-glass window behind the
pulpit,'' Phelps said. ``It hits that light fixture and bounces off onto
the wall above a statue of Jesus and forms the apparition.''
	Police said more than 3,000 pilgrims flocked to the tiny Sierra
Nevada foothills town Friday to see the image, which some believers say
is a silhouette of the head and shoulders of the Madonna. Hundreds lined
up in the cold winter dawn and packed the 40-year-old church for the
second week in a row.
	The image stays for about one hour every morning. Phelps said the sun
moving across the sky temporary shines directly through the window and
reflects off the concave-shaped surface of a lamp hanging from the
ceiling.
	``Theres some slight focusing that happens because of the bent shape
of the fixture,'' he said. ``That's why it is as intense as it is.
Otherwise it would be a featureless floodlight.''
	The image will disappear if sunlight becomes diffused on a cloudy,
gray day, Phelps said.
	``When that happens, you're not going to see it,'' said Phelps, who
teaches a course in optics, the study of light.
	Parish Coordinator Ed Molloy said the explanation does not mean the
image is not divinely inspired.
	``I don't care what the skeptics think,'' Molloy said. ``God created
light. He can do with that light whatever he wants.''
	``I don't care what they may discover scientifically. It happened at
this particular time. There's a message for us who believe,'' he said in
a telephone interview.
	The only motel in the Placer County town of about 1,100 is filled and
many people are camping out, said Colfax Police Chief Bill Mintline,
whose seven-member police department has worked overtime to manage the
huge crowds.
	Bishop Francis Quinn of the Sacramento Diocese said there are three
possible explanations for the image in the church, located 45 miles
northeast of Sacramento.
	``It might just be a natural phenomenon and nothing divinely
inspired. It could be a natural phenomenon inspired by God. Some of the
faithful say God works through natural means instead of direct
intervention. The third possibility is direct divine intervention,''
Quinn said.
	``It is a matter of belief,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``For
those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not
believe, no explanation is possible.''
41.37CSC32::M_VALENZARocky Mountain HoneyFri Dec 21 1990 15:3239
Article          597
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.terrorism,clari.news.religion,clari.news.gov.international
Subject: Jesuit case to go to trial
Date: 8 Dec 90 23:28:51 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- Nine members of El Salvador's armed
forces will stand trial on murder and terrorism charges in the deaths of
Jesuit priests killed just over a year ago, a court official said
Saturday.
	``The judge decided that all nine of those charged in connection with
the case, including Col. Guillermo Alfredo Benavides, will stand trial,''
said Supreme Court spokesman Mario Gonzalez. ``They will stand trial for
the crimes of murder and acts of terrorism.''
	Gonzalez said Judge Ricardo Zamora signed the decision late Friday
night and that a trial date had not yet been set.
	Sources close to the case said the actual trial would take only one
day, but that the jury selection process and an expected pretrial appeal
by defense attorneys could delay the trial for weeks.
	The Jesuit intellectuals, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter
were killed by members of the military at their residence on the
University of Central America campus Nov. 16, 1989, during a massive
rebel attack on San Salvador.
	The killings focused international outrage on the Salvadoran army and
prompted the U.S. Congress to withhold half of the $85 million in 1991
military aid to El Salvador.
	Benavides, three lieutenants and four lower ranking soldiers charged
with murder in the case have been in custoday since January. A ninth
soldier who deserted will be tried in absentia.
	No officer of the Salvadoran armed forces has ever been convicted of
human rights crimes, despite evidence that the army has committed
thousands of abuses El Salvador in 10 years of civil war.
	Progress in the investigation has been characterized by diplomats as
``a historic step'' toward making the politically powerful military
answer to civilian rule.
	But accusations that the military covered up the role of higher level
army officials in the Jesuit killings may indicate that the armed forces
remains above Salvadoran law.
41.38CSC32::M_VALENZAWed Jan 02 1991 13:04175
/* Written  4:10 pm  Dec 31, 1990 by christic in cdp:christic.news */
/* ---------- "LA PENCA SUIT NEARS TRIAL" ---------- */
-----------------------------------------------------------------
LA PENCA LAWSUIT NEARS TRIAL: ORAL ARGUMENTS IN FEBRUARY
 
Convergence Magazine, Christic Institute, Winter 1991, p. 9
 
Avirgan v. Hull, the Christic Institute lawsuit that charges 29
Iran-contra figures with political assassination and drug
trafficking, is one step closer to trial.
 
In December, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals announced it will
hear oral arguments on the case the week of Feb. 15 in Miami.
The Institute is asking the court to reinstate the suit, which
was dismissed in June 1988 by Federal Judge James L. King of
Miami.
 
Avirgan v. Hull charges that members of a criminal racketeering
enterprise of contra supporters detonated a bomb during a 1984
press conference in La Penca, Nicaragua, killing three reporters
and wounding several others. Defendants include arms merchant
Albert Hakim, C.I.A. operative John Hull, Iran-contra courier
Robert Owen and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard Secord.
Secord controlled the secret bank accounts in Switzerland used to
deposit the profits of illegal missile sales to Iran.
 
The suit was filed more than four years ago in Miami by the
Christic Institute on behalf of journalists Tony Avirgan and
Martha Honey. Avirgan was covering the La Penca press conference
for ABC News when he was wounded by the explosion.
 
The bombing was an attempt to assassinate Eden Pastora, a rival
contra leader who refused to merge his small guerrilla band with
a larger contra army controlled by the Central Intelligence
Agency.
 
The Avirgan lawsuit has been on appeal since Judge King dismissed
the case three days before the trial was scheduled to begin. King
said the Institute had no evidence proving the identity of the La
Penca bomber, his connection with any of the other defendants or
even that he was at the scene of the bombing.
 
The ruling was followed several months later by an order that the
Institute and its clients pay a $1.2 million penalty to the
defendants and their attorneys because the Institute ``must have
known prior to suing that they had no competent evidence to
substantiate the theories alleged in their complaints.'' The
penalty was imposed under Rule 11, which allows Federal judges to
impose punitive sanctions on plaintiffs and lawyers for
``frivolous'' lawsuits.
 
The Institute immediately challenged both rulings, and last year
was joined by 13 churches and public-interest groups in amicus
curiae briefs asking the appeals court to strike down the
sanctions order.
 
Lawyers for the plaintiffs and the Institute will argue that
Judge King never asked for evidence on the bomber's identity
before cancelling the trial, says Christic Institute General
Counsel Daniel Sheehan. ``If the trial had been allowed to
proceed, jurors would have seen videotape footage showing the
bomber at the scene and heard eyewitness testimony describing his
movements before, during and after the bombing.''
 
The footage was shot by a Costa Rican television news cameraman
minutes before he died in the explosion.
 
Costa Rican police who combed the bombing scene for evidence
found that the device used to detonate the bomb was wrapped in
red tape that matched a piece of tape discovered in the bomber's
hotel room. State prosecutors in Costa Rica have concluded that
the man identified as the bomber in the Christic Institute's
lawsuit--a professional terrorist posing as a Danish journalist--
planted and detonated the bomb.
 
Costa Rican prosecutors have also acted against John Hull, the
businessman who served as liaison between the C.I.A. and contra
forces in Costa Rica. Hull is now facing a murder indictment in
Costa Rica for his role in the bombing. He fled the Central
American country after he was released from jail last year on
bail, and now reportedly has rejoined the contras in Nicaragua.
 
Judge King never ruled on the other charges made by the
plaintiffs, especially allegations that some of the defendants
organized a ``drugs-for-guns'' ring that smuggled weapons to
contra bases and used the same bases as staging areas for cocaine
shipments to the United States. Those charges have been supported
by investigations by United States and Costa Rican congressional
committees.
 
Lawyers supporting the Institute say the sanctions will have a
``chilling effect'' on other public-interest law firms unless the
appeals court reverses the ruling. ``The outrageous nature of the
sanctions order in this case threatens every public-interest
group that seeks to use the judicial system to correct
injustices,'' said Alan Morrison, director of the Public Citizen
Litigation Group. Morrison was one of three authors of an amicus
brief supporting the Institute filed by Public Citizen and the
Alliance for Justice. The brief argues that ``because there was
no bad faith or improper purpose in bringing this action, and
because appellants conducted a more than sufficient investigation
of the facts supporting the complaint and the legal theory
underlying it prior to filing this action, the decision should be
set aside.''
 
In a separate brief, 10 leading religious organizations and
churches argued that the sanction ruling ``leaves the impression
that the order was not based upon the authority of the cited law,
but upon political animus toward plaintiffs and their counsel.''
They added: ``The award of sanctions in an order so lacking in
references to legal standards but bristling with hostile
characterizations of the actions of plaintiffs' counsel creates
the impression that the district court sought to punish the
plaintiffs for bringing a case simply because it was fraught with
political implications.''
 
The religious groups include the National Council of Churches,
Church of the Brethren, the Mennonite Church, Unitarian
Universalist Association, the Women's Division of the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and the two leadership
councils of Roman Catholic religious communities in the United
States. The groups represent more than 30 million Americans.
 
``There is too much evidence supporting our allegations for the
courts to ignore,'' Avirgan told Convergence. ``This suit is
painful because it exposes violent crimes committed by self-
described `patriots' in the name of `national security,' but it
must be given a fair hearing before an impartial jury and
judge.''
 
In a related development, the Federal judiciary is scheduled to
open a review in January into charges that Rule 11 sanctions have
been misused by Federal judges to punish civil rights lawyers.
One prominent target of a Rule 11 ruling is Julius Chambers,
director of the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Fund, who was punished for
filing a civil lawsuit charging racial discrimination on an Army
base. Another is former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. He was
sanctioned by Federal judges because he challenged the legality
of the 1988 United States air attack on Libya.
 
Trial lawyers and law professors are urging the Federal judiciary
to change the rule, which they say is so vague it can be abused
by judges who are politically hostile to civil rights attorneys
and their clients. More than 60 percent of all Federal judges
were appointed during the conservative Nixon, Reagan and Bush
Administrations.
 
One question facing Christic Institute lawyers will be the
political views of the three judges who will consider the appeal.
Their names will not be announced until the week before oral
arguments. The 11th circuit, which handles appeals for Federal
courts in the southeastern states, includes six active judges
appointed during the Carter or Johnson Administrations. Five of
the judges were appointed during the Nixon, Ford or Reagan years.
 
Two prominent attorneys will represent the Institute and their
clients when oral arguments are heard. Eugene Scheiman, senior
partner and litigation director at the New York law firm of Baer,
Marks and Upham, will ask the court to reinstate the lawsuit and
strike down sanctions against Avirgan and Honey. Morton Stavis,
director of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York,
will seek reversal of the sanctions order against Sheehan.
Sheehan will also speak in his own behalf before the court.
 
The Institute is also asking the appeals court to remove Judge
King from the case because his rulings have demonstrated a clear
``animus of hostility'' against the plaintiffs and their lawyers.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew Lang            151251507 CHRISTIC                   telex
Christic Institute     tcn449                                 TCN
Washington, D.C.       christic                          PeaceNet
202-529-0140 BBS       uunet!pyramid!cdp!christic            UUCP
202-797-8106 voice     cdp!christic%labrea@stanford        Bitnet
202-462-5138 fax       cdp!christic@labrea.stanford.edu  Internet
41.39 >Bombings<DAZZEL::ANDREWSlove is behavior, not feelingWed Jan 02 1991 13:2387
    [The following article is reprinted without permission from _Gay
    Community News_, Volume 18, No. 21, Dec 9 - 15, 1990:]

    Firebomb strikes MCC in San Francisco

    Three local synagogues and a Jewish Community Center have also been
    recent arson targets

    By Laura Briggs

    SAN FRANCISCO - Firebombings of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC),
    three synagogues and a Jewish community center have rocked the gay and
    Jewish communities here.  Police have made no arrests in five
    firebombings at four religious and community centers that have occurred
    in the Greater San Francisco area since late August.

    "It's a crime of hatred and self-hatred," said Rev. Jim Mitulski, pastor
    of MCC.  "It needs to be stopped," he told _GCN_.

    Two synagogues, Temple Adath Israel and Temple Beth Israel-Judea, were
    the targets of incendiary incidents on Aug 24 and 27, respectively.
    While September and October saw no additional firebombings, on Nov. 16 a
    Molotov cocktail was thrown through a window of the MCC church building
    in the Castro district.  Four days later, Temple Beth Israel-Judea was
    bombed a second time, and the Shalom Jewish Center was also the victim
    of an arson attempt.

    None of the fires caused significant damage, which Mitulski said was
    "only luck."  He added, "If whoever tossed the Molotov cocktail threw it
    during a church service, a lot of people would have been hurt."

    Mitulski said the incident was particularly stressful for the MCC
    congregation because it "contradicts the feeling of safety people have
    in the Castro," a predominantly gay neighborhood of San Francisco.
    People "don't want to feel unsafe sitting in church," he added.

    The 21-year-old MCC church, the second oldest in the country, had
    received no threats of violence prior to the firebombing, according to
    Mitulski.  He said that if neighbors had not quickly awakened and
    alerted firefighters at 2:30 in the morning, the attached houses and the
    MCC building could easily have burned.  The bomber "really put lives in
    danger," he said.

    The building, which MCC owns, is used not only by the congregation, but
    also by many community organizations.  Because San Francisco has no gay
    community center, a large number of groups - from a bridge club to
    Alcoholics Anonymous to gay Democrats - use meeting space at MCC.  As a
    result, the building is not locked most of the time, and it is difficult
    to take adequate safety precautions.  While the church is installing
    unbreakable glass in the front windows, Mitulski says that no other new
    safety features are planned.  "The only alternative is just not to let
    people use the building," he said, "and we're not willing to do that."

    Inspector Joseph Kennedy of the San Francisco Police Department's arson
    squad called the incidents "really cowardly acts."  While police are
    unsure about whether the same individual or group is responsible for all
    five bombings, Kennedy told _GCN_ that, "You can reasonably assume that
    it's the same mentality that would bomb [a series of] religious
    institutions."

    While speculation has connected the bombings to the White Aryan
    Resistance, a group that allegedly tried to bomb a gay bar and a
    synagogue in Seattle last May, Kennedy could not confirm the suspicion.
    He said that the investigation was hampered by the fact that a lot of
    people and groups want to claim responsibility for the bombings, which,
    he said, "shows what kind of mentality you are dealing with."

    Kennedy says the policy are hopeful about the investigation, however,
    because a reward for information about the bombings has been offered by
    the cities of San Francisco, San Leandro, and Oakland, as well as
    Alameda County, where the bombings have occurred.  "Sometimes, a reward
    is really helpful in getting the kind of information we need," said
    Kennedy.

    The incidents come in the context of fairly frequent hate-motivated
    attacks against gay and lesbian people and institutions in the San
    Francisco area.  After a significant rise in reported anti-gay incidents
    locally last year, which some attribute to better reporting, Ming-Yeung
    Lu of Community Against Violence told _GCN_ that this year, "our
    statistics have pretty much stabilized at 85 to 95 incidents per
    quarter."  Lu called the firebombings a "vocalization of the hatred that
    is out there" against Jewish and gay and lesbian people.

    "These incidents give us a sense that there is room for coalition
    building between the Jewish community and the gay community, as well as
    between Asian, Blacks, and Hispanics," said Lu.
41.40CSC32::M_VALENZANote when not enveloping.Wed Jan 09 1991 14:3341
Article          633
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.law.crime.trial,clari.news.military,clari.news.religion
Subject: Prosecutors resign in Jesuit case
Date: 8 Jan 91 23:06:52 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- The two main prosecutors in the
case of six Jesuit priests murdered by members of the Salvadoran army
resigned Tuesday, the Attorney General's Office said.
	``They hoped that (their resignation) would cause the Attorney
General's Office to reflect on handling the case with more honesty,''
said a court source, who asked not to be identified.
	The Attorney General's Office confirmed that Edward Sydney Blanco and
Henry Campos resigned and that two attorneys had been named to replace
them.
	Blanco and Campos were part of a seven-man team from the Human Rights
division of the Attorney Generals Office in charge of prosecuting the
controversial case.
	Blanco and Campos were not immediately available for comment, but
they have gotten into trouble with their bosses in the past for publicly
complaining about official obstacles to justice in the Jesuit case.
	The Nov. 16, 1989, slayings of the six Jesuit priests, their
housekeeper and her teenage daughter prompted the U.S. Congress to
withhold half of $85 million in 1991 military aid earmarked for the
Salvadoran armed forces.
	Officials in Washington are now considering release of the withheld
aid following the apparent execution of two U.S. servicemen by rebels of
the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN.
	However, Congressman Joseph Moakley, head of a congressional
commission monitoring the Jesuit case, reacted strongly when reached in
Washington with news that Blanco and Campos had resigned.
	``The armed forces and the government of El Salvador need to remember
that the future of the entire U.S. military aid program hinges by law on
progress in the Jesuit case. That progress to date is profoundly
unsatisfactory,'' Moakley said.
	A helicopter carrying three U.S. servicemen was shot down last week
by rebels. Witnesses said two of the three men survived the crash and U.
S. officials say rebels executed the two survivors.
	The FMLN claimed responsibility for shooting down the heclicopter,
but denied executing the two servicemen.
41.41CSC32::M_VALENZANote when not enveloping.Wed Jan 09 1991 14:4745
Article          630
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.group.women
Subject: Weakland would consider married priests
Date: 8 Jan 91 18:09:12 GMT
 
 
	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- Archbishop Rembert Weakland said Tuesday he would
consider asking the pope to ordain married men as Roman Catholic priests
if it was t he only way to help the church survive the decline in the
number of priests.
	Weakland, who heads the 10-county Milwaukee Archdiocese, made the
proposal in the first draft of a pastoral letter on parishes and the
future of the priesthood in his archdiocese.
	He expressed a willingness to propose to Pope John Paul II the
possibility of ordaining married men in parishes where no other priest
would be available.
	The Catholic church currently allows only single men who have taken a
vow of celibacy to become priests.
	The catholic church in America faces a projected 26 percent decline
in the number of priests by the end of the century and the celibacy
restriction is considered one of the difficulties in attracting men to
the priesthood.
	``As the number of priests decreases, we are worried about two
things: the vitality of our faith communities and the health of those
priests who will have to serve larger numbers of faithful with fewer
hands,'' he said.
	Weakland, considered a liberal in many of his views on church
doctrine, said if no regularly ordained priest was available for a
parish and the parish was a ``viable community,'' he would consider
ordaining a married man.
	``I would be willing to help the community surface a qualified
candidate for ordained priesthood -- even if a married man,'' he said.
	Weakland said he would do that only if there were no other way to
keep a church community alive.
	``I hear you (Catholics) saying that you wish to hold on to a
sacramental tradition and remain communities gathered around the
Eucharist. I see no other solution to maintain this tradition,'' he
said.
	However, in the pastoral letter, Weakland urged Catholics to pray for
more priests willing to take the vow of celibacy.
	``Because we are thankful for the celibate priesthood and the
tradition that it has sustained in our midst, we want to continue to
pray for such vocations and do all in our power to support those who
respond to the call,'' he said.
41.42CSC32::M_VALENZAEnvelop five times a night.Fri Jan 11 1991 14:0049
/** reg.elsalvador: 211.0 **/
** Topic: SALPRESS News 01/10/91 **
** Written  5:31 pm  Jan 10, 1991 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
                   NEWS SERVICE ON EL SALVADOR
                 for THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1991
 
                  A Special Service of SALPRESS
 
U.S. EMBASSY, ARMY OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE:  PROSECUTIONS
 
Two prosecutors accused the Salvadoran army and the U.S. embassy
of obstructing the investigation of the conspiracy behind the
November 1989 assassination of six Jesuit priests.  Henry Campos
and Edward Sidney Blanco, two of seven of the case's prosecuting
attorneys, resigned on January 8.  The men said the U.S. embassy
and the Salvadoran army know the names of those who planned the
murder, but that both institutions have blocked investigators'
access to the upper levels of the military where the crime's
planners are believed to be.  According to Blanco, the American
embassy and the investigating commission "have an understanding
with respect to how far the investigation into the crime's
intellectual authorship is allowed to go."  He indicated that the
Jesuits' assassination was possibly not planned by the army, but
the cover-up is being carried out by the armed forces as an
institution.  Blanco and Campos recalled how U.S. embassy
officials warned them of a guerrilla plot to kill judicial
personnel.  The two said they later learned that no such rebel
plan existed and understood the embassy warning to be pressure
from those concerned about where the Jesuit investigation might
lead.  Both prosecutors indicated that case judge, Ricardo
Zamora, is honest, but that uncovering the conspiracy depends on
the army's high command.  They said the case is being brought to
trial now to keep the investigation from reaching higher up.
According to Blanco and Campos, if their hands were not tied,
they would have arrested a long list of persons form the army
chiefs of staff, the defense ministry, the army's Honor
Commission responsible for investigating the Jesuit murder, and
the Atlactl Battalion to which eight of the nine accused
assassins belong.  Th criticized defense minister Gen. Rene
Emilio Ponce, for his refusal to wave immunity and testify in the
case.  Regarding the crime's material authors, they said it is
possible these would be punished if a jury is found that feels it
can freely decide the case.
 
NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR is a special service of SALPRESS,
available Monday through Friday.  For more details on information
included in this summary, contact SALPRESS: 011-525-705-6532
(fax) or 011-525-592-2184 (voice).
** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **
41.43CSC32::M_VALENZAEnvelop while you bungee jump.Fri Jan 11 1991 21:5958
Article          638
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (RICHARD LOVEGROVE)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.law.civil
Subject: Falwell loses bond issue case
Date: 11 Jan 91 20:15:09 GMT
 
 
	RICHMOND, Va. (UPI) -- The Virginia Supreme Court said Friday tax-
exempt bonds for religious-oriented Liberty University would be
unconstitutional, a ruling attacked by founder Jerry Falwell as court-
enforced religious discrimination.
	The justices said although bonds have been approved for other church-
related schools, Liberty is different because it requires teachers and
students to subscribe to the college's religious doctrine and even
mandates chapel attendance.
	The Baptist minister had intended to use the tax-free bonds to
consolidate a crushing long-term debt and to expand Liberty's Lynchburg
campus. He said because of high legal costs -- and because Liberty must
still refinance its debt -- the ruling will not be appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
	In a sharply worded reply, Falwell called the ruling ``religious
discrimination as endorsed by the Virginia Supreme Court.''
	``Having just read the opinion (written) by Justice Henry H. Whiting,
if Christian distinctives such as spiritual compatibility of students
and faculty and compelled attendance at church and chapel services are
grounds for being denied the right to issue tax-free bonds, then we
proudly plead guilty,'' Falwell said.
	The debts have become so pressing, Falwell had been seeking $76
million in taxable bonds to tide the school over until the tax-free bond
issue was settled. Weeks ago, he said the failure to secure the bonds 
``is keeping us in terrible straits.''
	The Supreme Court decision reverses a ruling by Lynchburg Circuit
Court Judge Mosby Perrow III last April, which said Liberty's primary
mission is liberal arts education and not religious indoctrination.
Perrow also ruled the bonds would not constitute state aid.
	The Supreme Court ruled, however, that ``undisputed evidence'' showed
that the university's aim is the ``equipping of young people for
evangelistic ministry in the local church.''
	``The pursuit of this aim makes Liberty an institution in which
religion is so pervasive that a substantial portion of its functions are
subsumed in (its) religious mission,'' wrote Whiting. ``Thus, the
proposed bond issue would violate the establishment of religion clauses
of the United States and Virginia constitutions.''
	One of the groups which appealed, Americans United for Separation of
Church and State, hailed the decision. Executive Director Robert L.
Maddox said the decision re-affirms one of the ``cornerstones of our
national life.
	``Jerry Falwell has every right to operate a university as part of
his religious ministry,'' Maddox said. ``However, he has no right to
rely on the government for help in financing that ministry.''
	In addition to making faculty and students adhere to its religious
doctrine, Liberty also requires them to attend church and chapel six
times a week. The student honor code includes expulsion for drinking
alcohol.
	Liberty officials told Perrow it had -- or would -- make certain
changes, including dropping a requirement that all students take
creationism and evangelism classes, and requiring they be born-again
Christians.
41.44CSC32::M_VALENZAAttention, K-Mart noters.Sat Jan 12 1991 14:3256
Article          639
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.military,clari.news.fighting
Subject: Jesuit order accuses government office of complicity
Date: 11 Jan 91 22:55:38 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- The Jesuit order Friday accused the
Salvadoran attorney general's office of failing to actively pursue high-
ranking military officers in the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests.
	``The attorney general's office is falling into real complicity with
those who are hiding evidence or have lied throughout the (legal)
process,'' the Jesuits' Central American office said in a statement.
	Attorney General Roberto Mendoza denied the accusations, which follow
the resignations earlier this week of two government prosecutors in the
case.
	``In no way am I covering up for military officers,'' Mendoza told
reporters. ``I have not compromised myself with anyone. My only
commitment is to God and to my people and I am ready to take this case
to its ultimate consequences.''
	Government prosecutors Henry Campos and Sydney Blanco stepped down
Tuesday, saying they were not allowed to pursue high-ranking officers
who might have been involved in planning or covering up the Nov. 16,
1989, army operation that ended in the killings of the six priests,
their housekeeper and her teenage daughter.
	The Jesuits said they were considering hiring Campos and Blanco as
private prosecutors to represent the families of the slain priests.
	``The resignation under pressure of both prosecutors makes us lose
our relative confidence in the public ministry. And it confirms that the
attorney general's office has abandoned the thesis, if it ever
subscribed to it, that there was broader participation in the plotting
of the murders of the Jesuit fathers,'' the Jesuits said.
	Col. Guillermo Alfredo Benavides has been charged with ordering the
murders and eight other soldiers are charged with carrying them out. But
the United Nations and a U.S. congressional panel have said the
Salvadoran military has obstructed the investigation to prevent other
officers from being charged.
	``We have seen the report from the United Nations ... (and) of
lawyers associations that the investigation must go further than
Benavides. And the attorney general's office says nothing,'' Blanco said
Wednesday.
	``What good does it do for us to be there as decorations if they are
not going to let us work,'' Campos added at a news conference.
	Mendoza told United Press International his office would prosecute
anyone implicated in the killings. But he added that there was no
concrete evidence that other high-ranking officers were involved and
said his office did not have the resources to mount an effective
investigation of the military.
	A judicial source close to the case, who asked not to be identified,
said fear has also inhibited the attorney general's office.
	``It is not a lack of willingness but fear that has held us back. It
is the survival instinct,'' it said.
	Outraged at the murders, the U.S. Congress last year withheld $42.5
million in 1991 military aid to El Salvador. However, after the killings
of three U.S. servicemen in El Salvador last week, the Bush
administration indicated it would seek to restore the money.
41.45CSC32::M_VALENZAGo Bills.Fri Jan 25 1991 22:4044
/** reg.elsalvador: 217.0 **/
** Topic: SALPRESS News 01/20/91 **
** Written  5:28 pm  Jan 23, 1991 by salpress in cdp:reg.elsalvador **
                   NEWS SERVICE ON EL SALVADOR
             for WEEKEND UPDATE, JANUARY 18-20, 1991
                  A Special Service of SALPRESS
 
BISHOP SAYS AVERTED ATTENTION ENDANGERS HUMAN RIGHTS
 
Human rights violations in El Salvador may worsen because world
attention has shifted to the Persian Gulf war, according to San
Salvador's auxiliary bishop, Gregorio Rosa Chavez.  In his
January 20 homily, the bishop expressed fears that the Middle
East conflict will allow repression in El Salvador to rise.  He
said that the 28 deaths over the last week of the Salvadoran
price is "a high price to pay for not yet having obtained peace."
On January 18, the independent Human Rights Commission (CDHES)
revealed that 1005 civilians were killed by the Salvadoran army
in 1990.  The commission blamed another 27 deaths on the
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and 189 on death
squads, defined as armed men in plainclothes.   The CDHES was
unable to attribute 102 civilian deaths to either side.  November
and December were reported as particularly fatal months, with 115
and 118 civilian deaths.  Over these two months the army
allegedly killed 97 civilians and the FMLN, four.
 
OPPOSITION VICTORY PORTENDS DEMILITARIZATION
 
Social Christian politician Ruben Zamora predicted January 19
that an election victory by opposition parties will favor
demilitarization of the country.  On March 10, voters will choose
84 representatives to the country's Legislative Assembly and 262
mayors.  The Assembly is currently dominated by the ARENA party.
Speaking at a judicial seminar in San Salvador, Zamora indicated
that an ARENA party victory would likely lead to the Assembly's
vetoing of negotiations agreements reached between the government
and guerrillas.  Demilitarization is a central demand of the
rebels and is supported by broad sectors of the population.
 
NEWS SYNTHESIS ON EL SALVADOR is a special service of SALPRESS,
available Monday through Friday.  For more details on information
included in this summary, contact SALPRESS: 011-525-705-6532
(fax) or 011-525-592-2184 (voice).
** End of text from cdp:reg.elsalvador **
41.46CSC32::M_VALENZACreate peace.Wed Feb 06 1991 16:3455
Article          702
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DANIEL ALDER)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.fighting,clari.news.religion
Subject: Church accuses Salvadoran army of killing family
Date: 3 Feb 91 23:44:38 GMT
 
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- El Salvador's top Catholic Church
official blamed members of the armed forces Sunday for last month's
massacre of 15 members of a family in northern San Salvador.
	``All of the evidence that has been gathered points exclusively to
members of the 1st Infantry Brigade as being responsible for this crime
.... which has the characteristics of a death squad killing,'' Archbishop
Arturo Rivera Damas told Salvadorans in a sermon.
	At about 11 p.m. on Jan. 21, a group of masked men stabbed or shot to
death 15 members of the Aragon family. Ages of the victims ranged from
14 to 60.
	The massacre occurred after the family of peasant farmers and street
vendors had bedded down in their grouping of small, wooden and mud
houses in the El Zapote neighborhood of Ayutuxtepeque, on the northern
edge of the capital.
	An 88-year-old woman who was not killed in the attack maintains that
she saw and spoke with the murderers. Her 13-year-old grandson, who
survived by hiding under a bed, said he witnessed some of the killings,
but neither he nor his grandmother were able to identify the masked
assailants.
	The army has denied involvement in the killings, but Damas claims a
17-page report by the San Salvador Diocese Human Rights Office shows
that the military was responsible for the killings.
	The report said the killers wore military clothing, and that the
murders occurred in an area that is heavily patrolled by the 1st
Brigade. It also saidthe assailants came from and departed in the
direction of a nearby power station where the army maintains a 24-hour
guard post.
	Civilians regularly fall victim to the country's 11-year-old civil
war, and make up more than half of the estimated 75,000 deaths
associated with the conflict. They are often caught in the cross-fire of
rebel and U.S.-backed government troops, or are murdered for
sympathizing, or allegedly sympathizing, with one side or the other.
	Several days after the El Zapote massacre, rebels of the Farabundo
Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, issued a statement identifying
a member of the Aragon family as a rebel combatant and several others as
FMLN supporters.
	The last confirmed massacre of peasants occurred Sept. 21, 1988, when
10 people were executed in San Sebastian, 26 miles east of San Salvador.
	Last year, a Salvadoran judge dropped charges against eight of the
nine soldiers accused in the massacre despite strong evidence linking
the men's patrol to the killings. Maj. Mauricio Beltran, who headed the
patrol, is still being held, but he has yet to stand trial for the
killings.
	Death squads were responsible for the murder of thousands of
suspected leftists in the early 1980s. Human rights groups say that at
the peak of the repression in 1982, 800 bodies a month appeared at well-
known dumping grounds, commonly found with their hands tied behind their
backs and a bullet hole in the back of their heads. 
41.47Report from the Mennonite Central CommitteeCSC32::M_VALENZANote cuisineFri Feb 22 1991 16:5623
Militarization is the chief cause of hunger and famine in the world,
according to the Hunger 1990 report published by Bread for the World.
The Gulf crisis illustrates the link between arms and huger, the 134
page report said.  The invasion of Kuwait was "a consequence of the
Cold War, whose sponsers have poured billions of dollars worth of arms
into the region."
 
Tens of thousands of Sudanese will starve this spring and a million
more could die unless the government admits there is a famine and allows
a relief program to be organized, a Western ambassador said last week.
Sudanese officials deny there is a problem.  One official spoke of
"this alleged famine."
 
Relief agencies, such as the Mennonite Centeral Committee (MCC), have
estimated the from 5 to 12 million people in southern Sudan will experience
famine in the coming year.  This is a direct result of the war in the
Persian Gulf.  Since the Sudanese government has been siding with Iraq,
western aid to southern Sudan has been curtailed.  Tension between the
Moslem north and the Christian south complicate these ungoing problems
in Sudan.
 
[Taken from reports in the Mennonite Weekly Review and from the Mennonite
Central Committee.]
41.48CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:0069
Article          787
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Looking for peace in Northern Ireland
Date: 15 Mar 91 00:00:04 GMT
 
_ _R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n_ _i_n_ _A_m_e_r_i_c_a
	Christians are learning a lot about Muslims these days as all eyes
are turned to the Middle East and its tangled web of religion and
politics.
	But one of the bloodiest and seemingly most intractable conflicts
lies much closer to home -- the religion-tainted confrontation between
Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland, or the six counties
of Ulster.
	Repeated efforts to solve the problem have come to naught but
religious leaders keep trying.
	And they're trying again, as the Irish and the millions who wish they
were Irish, prepare to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17.
	The new project, a unique one-day international fund-raising drive,
is being called ``Peace for Ireland'' and is organized by a group called
Co-operation Ireland.
	Co-operation Ireland, founded in 1979, is a non-profit, multi-
denominational group that has been instrumental in setting up cross-
border and cross-community programs to build bridges of friendship and
understanding between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland and Ulster.
	Last year, according to officials, 25,000 people participated in its
programs.
	In the Peace for Ireland project, set for St. Patrick's Day, church
leaders are being asked to offer special prayers for peace in Ireland
and hold special collections to support Co-operation Ireland's aims of
dispelling prejudice, changing attitudes and increasing dialogue among
all the people of Ireland, north and south.
	``We have been very gratified by the positive response and strong
support we've received for our Peqce for Ireland mission from churches
throughout the United States,'' said Desmond Whelan, executive director
of the group.
	``These churches represent a significant voice for reconciliation in
Ireland and their good will is enormously important to our St. Patrick's
Day effort and beyond,'' he said.
	The St. Patrick's project was officially launched in mid-February at
simultaneous news conferences in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Dublin,
Ireland, and London.
	``The campaign shows that what unites us is more important than what
divides us,'' said the Rev. Robin Eames of the Church of Ireland. Added
Archbishop Cahal Daly, the Catholic primate of all Ireland: ``May this
campaign achieve its objective, which we all aspire to -- peace in this
land.''
	In Dublin, Catholic and Protestant leaders were joined by Jewish and
Muslim officials in their pleas for greater cultural and social
understanding as a way to achieve peace and end the violent political
conflict that has pitted the Catholic IRA, which seeks the union of the
six counties of Ulster with Ireland, against fundamentalist Protestants
who seek to remain aligned with England.
	In London, Cardinal Basil Hume, England's top Roman Catholic
official, endorsed the campaign.
	``Help for economic, social and cultural co-operation in North and
South is the key to the future,'' Hume said.
	``Meanwhile, all share to some extent in collective guilt for wrongs
that go back into far into the past,'' Hume said.
	The Episcopal archbishop of York, John Habgood, said people ``need
help to escape from the nationalistic, religious and cultural trap of
their feelings about the Irish problem.''
	Officials of Co-operation Ireland said they hope the St. Patrick's
Day project will not only raise money to continue their projects but
call the world's attention to the vital need for greater efforts to
promote religious understanding, mutual respect and trust.
	Peace may not be at hand in Northern Ireland but getting people to
stop hating one another is a pretty good first step.
 _(_a_d_v_ _f_r_i_ _m_a_r_c_h_ _1_5_)
41.49CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:0053
Article          788
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.hot.east_europe,clari.news.hot.ussr,clari.news.religion,clari.news.europe,clari.news.politics.people
Subject: Shevardnadze has private audience with pope
Date: 15 Mar 91 18:44:44 GMT
 
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard
Shevardnadze had a private audience with Pope John Paul II Friday, the
Vatican announced.
	As is customary with private audiences, the Vatican gave no details
of their conversation. But a Soviet Embassy spokesman said the situation
in the Soviet Union and the Middle East, including prospects for an
Arab-Israeli dialogue, were the main topics.
	The spokesman said the audience lasted 40 minutes and at the end of
it Shevardnadze's wife and the Soviet ambassador to the Vatican were
ushered in to meet the pope.
	Shevardnadze was to fly back to Moscow late Friday in time to meet U.
S. Secretary of State James Baker, currently visiting the Soviet
capital, the spokesman said.
	Shevardnadze has met the pope on previous occasions and it was during
his five years as foreign minister that Soviet-Vatican relations emerged
from the deep freeze after 72 years of antagonism.
	The audience marked the first anniversary of the announcement that
the Vatican and the Soviet Union were establishing ``permanent
diplomatic contacts'' at ambassador level, just short of full diplomatic
relations.
	Full relations are expected to follow when the pope is satisfied that
the Roman Catholic Church is fully free from state interference in the
Soviet Union. Then the pope is expected to visit the Soviet Union,
returning the two visits Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made to the
Vatican, in 1989 and 1990.
	Shevardnadze is in Italy on a three-day private visit, primarily to
present the Italian translation of his book, ``The Crisis of Power and
International Policy''.
	On Thursday he received an honorary degree in international science
and diplomacy from Trieste University in a ceremony in Gorizia, on the
Italian-Yugoslav border near Trieste.
	In various speeches, Shevardnadze, who is currently president of the
Soviet Foreign Policy Association, has been outspoken on the Soviet
situation, including his fears of a return to dictatorship which caused
him to resign as foreign minister Dec. 20.
	During a television talk show late Thursday, Shevardnadze said he
quit as a protest ``against the re-emergence of reactionary forces and
to invite the democratic forces to stay united in order to face up to
them.''
	He said he had ``not too much hope'' about the outcome of Sunday's
referendum in the Soviet Union, ``firstly because not all the republics
are taking part in it and secondly because many forces are proposing to
sabotage it.''
	While in Rome Shevardnadze had informal meetings with Prime Minister
Giulio Andreotti, Foreign Minister Gianni De Michelis and other leading
politicians and met President Francesco Cossiga at the Quirinale Palace.
41.50CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:0099
Article          793
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (GREG HENDERSON)
Newsgroups: clari.news.law.supreme,clari.news.religion,clari.news.issues.civil_rights
Subject: Court to rule on legality of prayer at school graduations
Date: 18 Mar 91 15:18:33 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Monday agreed to decide if
prayer as an official part of a public school graduation violates the
separation of church and state requirement of the Constitution.
	The high court will review a decision of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals that use of the word ``God'' was illegal in an invocation and
benediction at a middle school graduation in Providence, R.I.
	Another federal appeals court, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
ruled in 1987 that such non-sectarian prayers at public school
graduations are permissible.
	The Supreme Court will hear arguments next term to settle the dispute
in a case that could extend or limit its landmark 1962 ruling
prohibiting states from imposing prayer in public school classrooms.
	The decision could affect public high schools and other schools with
graduation ceremonies in virtually every community in the nation.
	The Bush administration urged the high court to overturn the 1st
Circuit and affirm the right of prayer for such a ``non-coercive,
ceremonial acknowledgment of the heritage of a deeply religious people.''
	It also asked that the justices fashion a new standard by which
courts, in such circumstances, can decide if a particular activity or
utterance violates the First Amendment command that ``Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment of religion.''
	Four days before the 1989 graduation of eighth-grader Deborah Weisman
from Nathan Bishop Middle School in Providence, her father, Daniel
Weisman, sought a temporary restraining order banning invocations and
benedictions at all public schools in the city.
	A district court denied the motion, and Rabbi Leslie Gutterman
performed a non-denominational invocation and benediction that began
with the word ``God,'' and ended with ``amen,'' but whose contents were
more patriotic than religious.
	The next month, Daniel Weisman sought a permanent injunction against
prayer at graduations in the school district, and a federal court
granted it, ruling that the Providence schools had ``in effect endorsed
religion in general by authorizing an appeal to a deity in public school
graduation ceremonies.''
	The 1st Circuit affirmed the decision.
	``The invocation and benediction struck down in this case as an
establishment of religion pose none of the dangers of coercion that the
court has found in the classroom prayer cases and in the other cases
invalidating official religions indoctrination,'' Providence school
officials wrote the high court. ``It is simply difficult to believe that
Mr. Weisman or his daughter felt inhibited in their religious choices --
or in any way alienated from the political community -- because Rabbi
Gutterman made reference to God.''
	Daniel Weisman, who is Jewish, said the district court and 1st
Circuit simply followed ``well established'' Supreme Court precedent
prohibiting public schools from ``becoming a vehicle either to foster or
discourage a particular set of religious beliefs or religion generally.''
	In recent years courts have relied on either the three-pronged test
announced by the Supreme Court in its 1971 Lemon vs. Kurtzman ruling, or
the historical analysis laid down in its 1983 Marsh vs. Chambers
decision when deciding church-state issues.
	In Lemon, the court ruled that reimbursing private church schools
with public funds even for secular educational services violated the
establishment clause. It said a policy is unconstitutional unless it
meets three conditions: It has a secular legislative purpose; it does
not ``advance'' nor ``inhibit'' religion; and it does not foster an 
``excessive government entanglement with religion.''
	In Marsh, the court ruled that starting a legislative session with
prayer did not violate the law because it was a historical practice and
``part of the fabric of our society.''
	In the 1987 6th Circuit decision, the Marsh standard was used to
determine that non-sectarian prayer at graduations is legal. It noted
that parents were in attendance at graduation to act as a buffer from
religious coercion and prayers were not led by teachers, safeguards not
present in classrooms.
	In the Rhode Island case at issue here, a federal district court
relied on the Lemon test to outlaw graduation prayer, and the 1st
Circuit agreed.
	``On every school day, at every school function, the establishment
clause prohibits school-sponsored prayer,'' wrote the district court. 
``If the students cannot be led in prayer on all of those other days,
prayer on graduation day is also inappropriate under the doctrine
currently embraced by the Supreme Court.''
	The district court acknowledged that if Rabbi Gutterman had given the
``exact same invocation'' but left out the word ``God,'' no
constitutional violation would have occurred.
	The Bush administration asked the high court to replace the three-
pronged Lemon test, most often used in church-state issues dealing with
schools, with a ``single, careful inquiry into whether the practice at
issue provides direct benefits to a religion in a manner that threatens
the establishment of an official church or compels persons to
participate in a religion or religious activity contrary to their
consciences.''
	Both the Justice Department and Providence school officials asked the
court to rule that an establishment clause violation cannot be found
without evidence of at least indirect government ``coercion,'' something
they claim was not present here.
	The National School Boards Association, Association of State Boards
of Education, and the attorneys general of five states asked the court
to resolve the question.
 ------
90-1014 Robert E. Lee, et al., vs. Daniel Weisman, et al.
41.51CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:0154
Article          794
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.law.supreme,clari.news.religion
Subject: Court lets stand ban on in-school Bible study
Date: 18 Mar 91 15:34:03 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Monday let stand a decision
against a supposedly ``non-sectarian'' Bible study in a public
elementary school during school hours, even when attendance is voluntary
and it is led by unpaid community members.
	The court, without comment, refused to review a decision of a federal
district court in Arkansas and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
that the weekly Storytime Bible instruction at Gravette Elementary
School -- a tradition for half a century -- violated the First Amendment.
	The district court found that regardless of semantics, the classes 
``are clearly Christian, and therefore sectarian in nature,'' and
outlawed by the high court's 1948 ruling that struck down an Illinois
practice of letting children be released from class to attend in-school
religious instruction offered by religious leaders.
	``If defendants have established Christianity as a state religion, it
is irrelevant whether they have done so through officials of a church or
through Christian lay people unconnected with any denomination,'' the
district court wrote.
	School officials in Gravette, a community of some 1,400 people
located in the northwest corner of Arkansas, contend the Bible study was
taught in more of a historical than a religious context, and therefore
should be allowed. They also claim the moral values children could wean
from the teachings were beneficial to the community.
	They claimed their Bible study should not be viewed under the 1948
ruling but instead by a 1952 decision upholding a New York program where
children were released from classes to attend religious instruction off
campus in their respective churches.
	Gravette officials said their case differs from the 1948 ruling
because they had a single ``non-denominational'' Bible study, unpaid
laypersons did the instructing, and there was no pressure for a student
to attend (although 96 percent of the students did).
	School officials who challenged the 8th Circuit ruling said Storytime
``clearly'' had a secular -- rather than religious -- purpose: 
``Developing character, training in moral values, and helping students
understand a book that has exerted an enormous influence on Western
literature, art, music, law, philosophy, government, history, and life
in general.''
	The challenge to Storytime was filed in 1989 by the parents of an
elementary school child. In their brief to the high court they took
exception to the school officials' claim that the ``people of Gravette
have chosen a unique and promising way of coping with the throny
question of whether and how to teach the Bible in public schools.''
	``It may be that some of the people of Gravette want this program of
religious instruction and would be content to default their power of
choice to the authority of the state; however, at least three of them do
not,'' wrote an attorney for the family.
 ------
90-1193 Paul Dee Human, et al., vs. John Doe and Mary Doe, et al.
41.52CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:0181
Article          797
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (GREG HENDERSON)
Newsgroups: clari.news.law.supreme,clari.news.religion,clari.news.issues.civil_rights,clari.news.top
Subject: Court delves back into school prayer issue
Date: 18 Mar 91 18:20:18 GMT
 
_ _W_r_a_p_u_p_ _o_f_ _S_u_p_r_e_m_e_ _C_o_u_r_t_ _a_c_t_i_o_n_:
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Monday agreed to decide if its
1962 ban on organized school prayer extends to non-denominational
invocations and benedictions at public school graduations.
	The court, in a case to be argued next term, will decide if prayer as
an official part of a graduation ceremony violates the separation of
church and state requirement of the Constitution.
	The high court will review a decision of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals that use of the word ``God'' was illegal in an invocation and
benediction at a middle school graduation in Providence, R.I.
	The Bush administration urged the high court to overturn the 1st
Circuit and affirm the right of ``non-coercive'' prayer at graduation,
currently a part of public high school graduations nationwide.
	At the same time Monday, the court refused to review a decision
outlawing a 50-year-old ``non-sectarian'' Bible study in a public
elementary school in Gravette, Ark.
	A district court had found that even though attendance was voluntary
and the class was led by unpaid community members who claimed to teach
the Bible more as history than religion, the classes ``are clearly
Christian, and therefore sectarian in nature,'' and illegal.
	The high court let that ruling stand without comment.
	The graduation prayer issue stems from a case that began four days
before the 1989 graduation of eighth-grader Deborah Weisman from Nathan
Bishop Middle School in Providence.
	Deborah's father, Daniel Weisman, sought a temporary restraining
order banning invocations and benedictions at all public schools in the
city.
	A district court denied the motion, and Rabbi Leslie Gutterman
performed a non-denominational invocation and benediction that began
with the word ``God,'' and ended with ``amen.''
	Daniel Weisman then sought a permanent injunction against prayer at
graduations in the school district, and a federal court ruled that
Providence schools had ``in effect endorsed religion in general by
authorizing an appeal to a deity in public school graduation ceremonies.
''
	The 1st Circuit affirmed the decision.
	School officials claim the prayer struck down poses ``none of the
dangers of coercion that the court has found in the classroom prayer
cases and in the other cases invalidating official religions
indoctrination.''
	Generally, non-sectarian graduation prayer has been allowed on the
grounds that teachers are generally not leading the prayer and parents
are present to counter any efforts to sway students to a certain
religious belief.
	``On every school day, at every school function, the establishment
clause prohibits school-sponsored prayer,'' wrote the district court. 
``If the students cannot be led in prayer on all of those other days,
prayer on graduation day is also inappropriate under the doctrine
currently embraced by the Supreme Court.''
	The district court acknowledged that if Rabbi Gutterman had given the
``exact same invocation'' but left out the word ``God,'' no
constitutional violation would have occurred.
	In other action Monday, the court agreed to decide if federal
sentencing guidelines preclude a judge from using convictions that
occurred more than 15 years in the past to justify imposing a harsher
than mandated sentence.
	The court will hear an appeal from Joseph Williams of Wisconsin, who
was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 1989 after being convicted of
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
	Sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 18 to 24 months. But
the judge pointed to convictions that occurred more than 20 years
earlier for car theft and forgery in deciding that Williams' sentence
should be stricter.
	The federal Sentencing Commission has said that convictions more than
15 years old should not be used in determining a suspect's criminal
history category. The Justice Department argued other factors went into
the judge's decision as well.
	And the court announced it will decide if federal labor law allows
union organizers to distribute organizational literature on private
property. The case involves a dispute between Lechmere, a retail store
chain, and the National Labor Relations Board.
	The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the right of union
organizers to distribute literature to workers in a parking lot outside
Lechmere's Newington, Conn., store in an effort to organize the
employees. Lechmere's called it trespassing and appealed.
41.53CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:0259
Article          800
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.trends
Subject: ``Thirtysomething'' Catholic priests happy in job
Date: 19 Mar 91 15:55:47 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- An overwhelming majority of Roman Catholic priests
ordained in the first half of the 1980s -- the ``thirtysomething''
generation -- are happy in their jobs and would enter the priesthood
again, a study said Tuesday.
	At the same time, however, the study pointed to some problems --
including questions about the authority of church teachings on moral
issues and the always thorny issue of celibacy -- that the church
hierarchy must confront.
	According to the study, ``A Survey of Priests Ordained Five to Nine
Years,'' 80 percent of those ordained between the years 1980 and 1984
report they are satisfied with their work and would enter the priesthood
again if they had to choose again.
	And 90 percent reported they had no problems working side by side
with sisters or lay leaders in a parish.
	``The overall findings are in sharp contrast with many reports of low
morale among Catholic priests,'' said the Rev. Robert Wister, executive
director of the seminary department of the National Catholic Educational
Association, which sponsored the study.
	``The picture we've taken reveals individuals with high job
satisfaction -- a notable attribute for priests who soon will be moving
into positions of leadership in the Catholic church,'' he added.
	Wister, however, did point to two findings that suggest areas where
morale could be improved: The typical living arrangements of priests in
a rectory and preparation of priests to work with minority groups.
	The survey showed that 86 percent of diocesan priests and 69 percent
of religious priests (those belonging to an order such as the Jesuits or
Paulists) would prefer living outside of an assigned rectory or
community.
	Only 26 percent said their training had equipped them to work with
minorities.
	The young priests also suggested seminaries need to talk more and
more openly about celibacy and they need to be more realistic about its
demands.
	Funded by the Lilly Endowment, the study was based on responses from
1,519 priests, most aged between 34 and 40 years old but the full range
included priests between the ages of 30 and 81 years old.
	Those ordained at an older age reported higher job satisfaction and
are more definite about entering the priesthood if they had their choice
again.
	The survey found that among diocesan priests, those working in
education are more satisfied than those serving in parishes but among
various aspects of the job reported being most comfortable celebrating
the sacraments and least comfortable with the governance of the church
and with its moral teachings.
	Bishop Daniel Buechlein of Memphis, Tenn., chairman of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Priestly Formation, said
the survey ``suggests the beginning'' of a potentially important issue,
``namely misunderstandings about authority in the church.''
	``The controversy about authority and loyalty in the church has
become even more intense in much of seminary formation in the 1990s,''
he said. ``The misunderstanding derives from a fundamentally secular
evaluation of ecclesial authority.''
41.54CSC32::M_VALENZASic transit gloria notei.Wed Mar 20 1991 14:3782
Article          802
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON)
Newsgroups: clari.news.labor,clari.news.religion,clari.news.gov.usa,clari.news.economy,clari.news.top
Subject: Religious leaders join anti-strikebreaker drive
Date: 20 Mar 91 14:06:06 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A score of religious leaders from the nation's
Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish religious denominations Wednesday
sharply criticized employers who hire permanent replacements for
striking workers.
	``The moral issue must be raised once again,'' said the Rev. Theodore
Erikson, co-chair of the newly formed Religious Campaign for Workplace
Fairness. ``In an era when a spirit of meanness and bottom-line
economics appears to dominate many corporate approaches to labor
relations, we must again be reminded of our common humanity and our
democratic ideals.''
	In a joint statement, the religious leaders noted that the right of
workers to strike was guaranteed more than 35 years ago with the
National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
	But they said that in the past 10 years, growing numbers of employers
have taken advantage of a technicality in the law by hiring permanent
replacements for strking workers, thereby threatening workers with the
loss of their jobs if they exercise their legal rights.
	In the most notorious cases, managements at Eastern Airlines and the
Greyhound company, quickly resorted to the use of replacement workers in
an effort to break strikes.
	In their statement, the religious leaders pointed to ``an intense
struggle'' now taking place between management and labor that ``will
determine the quality of life for workers in generations to come.''
	Formation of the campaign could initiate a new round of labor-
religion partnership. Cooperation between the two groups has been an on-
again, off-again thing in rercent years.
	Even as they have worked toward similar domestic goals, tensions have
arisen -- especially among Protestants and the labor movement -- over U.S.
foreign policy and sharp attacks on mainline Protestantism by some
elements of the labor movement.
	``At their best, the religious community and labor respond to the
claims of justice with a broader vision of the whole of common life,''
said the Rev. Philip Newell, a co-chair of the campaign.
	``Neither has always been faithful to that broader vision, but
together we share the vision that God intended all of us to live in
peace, harmony and fulfillment with each other.''
	Passage of legislation to curb the use of replacement workers is high
on the agenda of the labor movement despite threats from the Bush
administration that it will veto any such bill. Lynn Martin, the new
secretary of labor, testified against the bill earlier this month.
	On March 13, the House Education and Labor subcommittee on Labor-
Management Relations, by a 15-7 vote, approved a bill that would bar the
use of strikebreaking replacement workers. The full committee plans to
take up the measure in mid-April.
	The religious campaign leaders, in a letter sent to other religious
leaders across the country, urged support from the religious community
for ``working Americans in the struggle to restore fairness to the
workplace'' and called on congregations ``to reach out to workers who
have been denied their jobs, their respect, and their livelihoods and to
join with them in their struggle for justice.''
 ------
	Signers of the statement included: Senior Bishop John Adams, African
Methodist Episcopal Church; the Rev. Kenyon Burke, associate general
secretary, National Council of Churches; Bishop John Burt, chairman of
the Urban Bishops Coalition of the Episcopal Church; Anthony Campolo,
Evangelicals for Social Action; Gretchen Eick and Arthur Keys, co-
directors, Interfaith Action for Economic Justice; the Rev. Stan hastey,
executive director Southern Baptist Alliance; the Rev. Brian Hehir,
counselor for social policy, U.S. Catholic Conference; the Rev. George
Higgins, Catholic University of America; Bishop J. Clinton Hoggard,
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; the Rev. T.J. Jemison,
president, National Baptist Convention, USA; the Rev. H. Michael
Lemmons, executive director Congress of National Black Churches.
	Also: The Rev. Joseph Lowery, president Southern Christian Leadership
Conference; Belle Miller McMaster, director, Social Justice and
Peacemaking Unit, Prebyterian Church (USA); Rev Randolph Nugent, general
secretary, Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church; the Rev.
Owen Owen, American Baptist National Ministries; the Rev. Tyrone Pitts,
general secretary, Progressive National Baptist Convention; the Rev.
Shelby Rooks, executive vice president, United Church for Homeland
Ministries; the Rev. Patricia Rumer, general director Church Women
United; Rabbi David Saperstein, co-director, Religious Action Center,
Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Rev. Wayne Stumme,
director, Institute for Mission in the USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America.
41.55CSC32::M_VALENZAVoulez-vous noter avec moi?Fri Mar 22 1991 19:2766
Article          814
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Group urges celebrating Easter with laughter
Date: 22 Mar 91 00:02:07 GMT
 
_ _R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n_ _i_n_ _A_m_e_r_i_c_a
	The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the followers of Jesus at
Corinth, urged the new Christian's to be ``fools for Christ's sake.''
	In a religion where the cross is a central symbol and many people
still harbor memories of dour pastors preaching damnation, the notion of
a band of merry Christians is passing strange.
	Sure, there was Robin Hood and his merry band. And Ken Kesey and his
hippie group of Merry Pranksters. But a laughing Jesus?
	Sure, says Cal Samra, founder and chief guru of the ever-expanding
Fellowship of Merry Christians, a group that tries to recapture and
spread the spirit of joy and humor it finds among the early Christians.
	This year the 5-year-old Fellowship is trying to push a couple of
projects: the return of April Fool's Day (April 1) to the caldendar of
the Christian year and the celebration of April as ``Holy Humor Month.''
	Easter Monday is celebrated in many places as a holiday and Samra and
his ecumenical band of jokesters and humorists delight in its falling on
April Fool's Day this year.
	In Greece, for example, the celebrations that begin on Easter Monday
last for a week called 'Bright Week.`` Polish Christians mark Easter
Monday as Dyngus Day. In many countries of Northern Europe, Easter
Monday is a traditional day of ''drenching`` in which boys and girls
drench one another with water.
	Samra notes that the idea of Easter Monday celebrations stem from a
number of fourth-century theologians, notably John Chrysostom, Augustine
and Gregory of Nyssa.
	``These theologians,'' Samra said, ``suggested that God played a sort
of cosmic practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead.
God had the last laugh.''
	The group began encouraging celebration of April as Holy Humor month
last year and Samra said hundreds of churches and prayer groups
sponsored a host of parties, pot-lucks, ice cream socials and worship
services during the month.
	At the campus chapel of Christian Reformed Ministry at the University
of Michigan, Socataco the Clown (in other dress he's the Rev. Floyd
Shaffer, a Lutheran pastor) preached the April 1 sermon. In Appleton,
Wis., the children of Emmanuel United Methodist Church all donned red
clown noses while the Rev. Ruwal Freese led the congregation in singing,
joking, and ``celebration of the deep joy of faith in Christ.''
	In Samra's own Kalamazoo, Mich., about 150 adults and children
attended the third annual Easter Monday celebration, an ice cream social
at St. Joseph Catholic church. The celebration began with a procession --
a large wooden cross followed by people carrying candles and paintings
of joyful, risen Christ and then clowns with balloons, jugglers and
musicians. Humorists shared jokes, musicians led sing-alongs and games
were played.
	Members of the Hispanic community decorated empty Easter eggs, filled
them with confetti, and following what Samra called an old Mexican
custom, smashed the eggs on people's heads.
	In Mishawaka, Ind., Quaker humorist Tom Mullen led a forum for clergy
and health professionals on ``Humor Hurts and Heals,'' sponsored by the
Fellowship and four area hospitals.
	In Camillus, N.Y., the Rev. Thomas Cooper designed a special ``All
Fools' Day'' service for St. Luke's Episcopal, filling the walls and
bulletin boards with cartoons and a large painting of a portrait known
as ``The Laughing Christ.''
	Dominating the church was a large banner proclaiming, ``For God's
Sake, Smile.''
	Who knows? In a time of international crisis ane economic recession,
it may be an idea whose time has come.
 _a_d_v_ _f_r_i_ _m_a_r_c_h_ _2_2
41.56CSC32::M_VALENZAVoulez-vous noter avec moi?Fri Mar 22 1991 19:2867
Article          816
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Scholars beginning to look at congregational life
Date: 22 Mar 91 15:02:40 GMT
 
_R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n_ _i_n_ _A_m_e_r_i_c_a
	Religion, everyone acknowledges, plays a profound and important role
in American life.
	It is manifest in Secretary of State James Baker telephoning
Episcopal Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning to pray together as the
deadline for war with Iraq approached, or Methodist minister Donald
Wildmon's campaign against pornography, or evangelist Billy Graham
traveling the world and urging repentance.
	But, according to the Lilly Endowment, ``the basic unit of religious
allegiance -- the congregation -- continues to be largely ignored.''
	Over the last 15 years the foundation has quietly been trying to
rectify that, spending some $15 million in grants for scholars to study
congregational life -- what makes them tick, how they come together, how
they break up, how they resolve tensions, what their internal life is
like.
	``American congregations are more important, more interesting and
more complex than most have realized,'' said Craig Dykstra, vice
president for religion at Lilly.
	``Their impact, far from contained to their own churches, exerts
powerful influences on their communities and on society,'' he said.
	Dykstra said the study of congregations is just at a beginning but a
recent issue of the endowment's magazine, Progressions, summarized some
of the work that has been going on and points to future efforts at
understanding church life.
	The work had its origin in a study by the late James Hopewell of
three rural Georgia congregations. Hopewell studied the congregations as
an anthropolist would an alien culture, looking at values, images,
languages and how a sense of identity is gained and transmitted.
	His provocative report stimulated discussion and debate and led to a
new project -- the study of a single congregation from a variety of
perspectives and academic disciplines, A team of 18 scholars --
psychologists, sociologists, theologians, ethnographer, anthropologists
and organizational developers -- began studying a United Methodist church
in western Massachusetts.
	It was a congregation, founded 140 years ago, that went through a
period of energetic growth in the 1970s under the leadership of a new
minister who tailored church programs and his ministry to the residents
of the church's upper-middle class bedroom community.
	But the minister showed little interest in substantive Biblical or
spiritual concerns and even less in social issues. By the late 1970s,
congregational growth was slowing and murmurs of dissent were rising
over the minister's inattention to spiritual matters, the neglect of
denominational ties and the absence of social conern.
	Each of the scholars brought a different lens to the congregation's
history and self-understanding and it is their hope that together such
studies will aid the church in developing an effective ministry.
	But, according to Marjorie Hyer, who wrote the Progressions summary
of the congregational studies, denominational reactions to the work have
been mixed.
	She quotes Thomas Franks of Candler Theological Seminary, who finds
that denominational officials aren't much interested in congregational
research.
	Carl Dudley of McCormick Theological Seminary takes it a step
further.
	``The denomination sees the congregation as an outpost for
denominational distribution,'' a ``we have the truth ... which we will
pass out to the people at these local outposts.''
	But, he said, ``In congregations, faith is real, sometimes more alive
than in denomination. ... they are also the producers of the faith.''
	And, the scholars argue, there is still much to learn.
 _a_d_v_ _f_r_i_ _m_a_r_c_h_ _2_2
41.57CSC32::M_VALENZAVoulez-vous noter avec moi?Mon Mar 25 1991 13:3440
Article          823
From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.europe,clari.news.lifestyle
Subject: Pope celebrates Palm Sunday mass
Date: 24 Mar 91 13:15:23 GMT
 
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II renewed the Christian message
of hope and redemption as he celebrated Palm Sunday mass before tens of
thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square in brilliant spring
sunshine.
	The pope opened Holy Week celebrations by leading the traditional
Palm Sunday procession up to an altar placed on the broad marble steps
in front of St. Peter's Basilica.
	Participants carried palm and olive branches recalling the branches
cast at Christ's feet when he entered Jerusalem in triumph prior to his
passion.
	The pope said man's life was not one of useless suffering but was
given its ultimate meaning by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
	``After 2,000 years men still proclaim his coming into the world and
his gospel of salvation,'' he told the pilgrims.
	In a special message to mark the sixth annual ``World Day of Youth''
the pope called on young people ``to remind humanity by word and example
that God is the father of all and that we are all brothers.''
	``The message of Christ is difficult but it is the only one that
enables you to fulfill the aspirations to truth and goodness that well
up within you,'' he said.
	The pope said Christ's message was particularly relevant in today's
world which is ``still lacerated by wars and divisions.'' He has ordered
a special collection to be made at mass on Holy Thursday on behalf of
victims of the Gulf War.
	On Good Friday John Paul will carry a wooden cross at a torchlit 
``Way of the Cross'' ceremony in the shadow of the Colosseum, where many
early Christians were martyred for their belief.
	Holy Week observances culminate next Sunday with Easter mass
celebrating Christian belief in Christ's resurrection from the dead and
the pope's ``Urbi et Orbi'' message to the city of Rome and the world.
	At the end of Sunday's ceremony the pontiff, wearing red and white
vestments trimmed with gold, walked down the steps to give a special
blessing to sick and handicapped people attending the mass.
41.58UCC General Synod opposes Clarence Thomas for Supreme CourtJURAN::VALENZAI don't have wings.Tue Jul 02 1991 17:3142
Article: 1574
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.law.supreme,clari.news.gov.officials,clari.news.issues.civil_rights
Subject: Church opposes Thomas nomination
Date: 2 Jul 91 16:21:20 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Delegates to General Synod of the 1.6 million-
member United Church of Christ have voted overwhelmingly to oppose
President Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court,
church officials said Tuesday.
	The synod, the highest decision-making body of the mainline
Protestant denomination, meeting in Norfolk, Va., called the Thomas
nomination ``an affront to the pursuit of equal justice'' and urged Bush
to withdraw it.
	If Bush does not, the delegates said, they will join ``in the
building of a national campaign to block the confirmation of Clarence
Thomas.''
	The statement opposing Thomas's nomination was offered by national
executives of the church late Monday night and was approved by the
delegates' standing ovation.
	The statement called Thomas, who is black, ``a severe opponent of
civil rights and human rights'' and ``a vocal opponent of affirmative
action.''
	It said the nominee, as head of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission under President Reagan, ``exemplified callous and
contemptuous lack of respect for the rights of women, racial and ethnic
persons and the rights of senior citizens.
	``In addition, Thomas consistently opposed the efforts of workers to
redress employment discrimination,'' the statement said.
	The church statement also suggested Thomas has ``known anti-abortion
sentiments'' although there is little on the public record to suggest he
has taken a position on the constitutional merits of Roe vs. Wade. He is
a Roman Catholic -- a denomination that strongly opposes abortion -- and
once studied for the priesthood.
	In its statement, the church said Thomas's nomination ``sends a
chilling message to those who are most vulnerable in our society'' and
it ``casts a shadow over freedom of choice and opportunity ... for
decades to come.''
	The statement approved by the delegates was read to the convention by
the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, executive director of the denomination's
Commission for Racial Justice and a long-time civil rights activist.
41.59chance to seperate liberals who really believe in seperation of church/state and hypocritsCVG::THOMPSONSemper GumbyTue Jul 02 1991 18:357
	RE: .58 It will be interesting to see how liberals react to this
	announcement. When right leaning denominations or religious leaders
	make comments on political things liberals generally yell "Seperation
	of church and state." If they are to be consistant they will attack
	this announcement but I suspect they will praise it.

			Alfred
41.60DECWIN::MESSENGERBob MessengerTue Jul 02 1991 18:5311
Alfred,

Not all liberals believe in the separation of church and state in the sense
that you are talking about.  "Liberation theology", for example, is very much
part of the liberal movement.

Personally I recognize that whether I like it or not, people will be guided by
their religious beliefs in making political decisions.  What I object to is
the government endorsing or "establishing" religion.

				-- Bob
41.61CVG::THOMPSONSemper GumbyTue Jul 02 1991 19:026
	Bob, Yes I know that not all liberals are for seperation of church and
	state but many are. I still remember all the people saying that Pat
	Robertson should not run because he was a clergymen who also said that
	Jesse Jackson should. The hyprocy was astounding.

		Alfre
41.62JURAN::VALENZAI don't have wings.Wed Jul 03 1991 12:5718
    I suspect that the attitudes of many people towards the relationship between
    politics and religion have less to do with whether the are liberal or
    conservative and more to do with their views on religion.  I once got
    into a discussion with a political conservative who believed that
    religion should have nothing to do with politics; I disagreed with him. 
    If one's values influence one's political ideologies (and I believe that
    they do), and if our values are in turn shaped by our religious faith
    (which I also believe to be the case), then I can't help but believe
    that religion can, and often should be, an important aspect of one's
    political actions.

    The idea of the separation of the church and state has to do with
    opposing the official sanctioning of religious belief or practice by
    government policy.  That doesn't preclude specific individuals from
    bringing their religious beliefs to bear upon what they believe to be
    a desirable public policy.

    -- Mike
41.63CVG::THOMPSONSemper GumbyWed Jul 03 1991 13:196
	The view of seperation of Church and State that Mike and Bob have
	expressed is mine as well. It's just that I have heard quite a few
	people who have said that church should not try to influence politics.
	Almost all of those people have been what I would call "liberal".

			Alfred
41.64WMOIS::REINKE_Bbread and rosesMon Jul 08 1991 19:036
    I recall a lot of people objecting to Berregan (?) the Catholic
    priest who held public office (?) Congresscritter (?) from New
    York. He was widely supported by liberals and objected to by
    conservatives.
    
    Bonnie
41.65Robert something?CSC32::J_CHRISTIEEl Gallo de PazMon Jul 08 1991 20:547
    Bonnie,
    
    	You're thinking of another Jesuit priest whose name escapes me.
    He is presently teaching at Georgetown University.
    
    Peace,
    Richard
41.66his last name?WMOIS::REINKE_Bbread and rosesTue Jul 09 1991 11:101
    Drinan?
41.67CVG::THOMPSONSemper GumbyTue Jul 09 1991 13:0318
	Fr. Richard or Robert Drinan was a member of Congress. The Catholic 
	Church made him not run for re-election. I believe the church did not
	feel that it was a proper job for a priest. I suspect that the
	shortage of priests had someting to do with it. Althought the RC
	church is a pretty political organization so I would not rule out
	his liberal politics as a reason. In any case I seem to remember
	liberals and concervatives alike being highly critical of the
	order. Of the concervatives who were critical of his politics I
	don't remember anyone saying that he should not be in office just
	because he was clergy. Nor did any of the liberals who liked him.

	RE: Berrigan. There were two brothers, both priests, by that name who
	were highly active in the so called anti war movement during Viet Nam.
	I do not recall anyone saying that they should stay out of it because 
	they were clergy. One or maybe both of them have since left the
	priesthood. I believe one even married an ex-nun.

				Alfred
41.68CSC32::J_CHRISTIEFull of green M&amp;M'sTue Jul 09 1991 18:3215
Robert Drinan is correct (Of course, this came to me at 5:03 this morning,
waking me out of a sound sleep!).  Drinan has also had several books published.

It is impossible *not* to be political.  For even the absence of a voice is
another vote for the status quo.  As one of the gay activist organizations
says: "Silence equals death."

Daniel Berrigan, to the best of my knowledge, is still a priest.  He recently
taught a class at Colorado College on the book of Revelation.  Berrigan is
also known as a poet and award-winning filmmaker.  Berrigan has devoted
numerous hours to serving and caring for persons with AIDS in a New York
hospital.  Dan's brother's name is Phil.  I don't know as much about him.

Peace,
Richard
41.69DEMING::VALENZAToo thick to staple.Sun Aug 18 1991 01:4784
Article: 1689
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICHAEL DI CICCO)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.features,clari.news.religion,clari.news.interest.history
Subject: Hong Kong Catholics brace for China clampdown
Date: 18 Aug 91 00:05:46 GMT
 
 
	
 _U_P_I_ _N_e_w_s_F_e_a_t_u_r_e
	
	HONG KONG (UPI) -- When Roman Catholic missionaries first sailed into
Hong Kong in the mid-1800s, their aim was to convert millions of people
on the Chinese mainland. The mission is now one of self-preservation.
	Since brutally crushing democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen
Square two years ago, China has cracked down on all religions. Roman
Catholics have been singled out for especially harsh treatment becuase
many have refused to renounce ties with the Vatican, which is
traditionally anti-communist, human rights activists say.
	In a 1989 internal document, Beijing called for a clampdown on
underground Catholic leaders across China, branding them ``subversives''
and ``clandestine agents of the pope.'' At least 141 have been arrested
since December, the human rights group Asia Watch reported.
	Hong Kong Catholics are bracing for the shadow of religious
repression to spread south when the colony returns to Chinese rule in
1997, at the expiration of Britain's 99-year lease.
	``China has promised freedom of religion in Hong Kong after 1997,''
said the Rev. Louis Ha, director of Catholic Social Communications. 
``But more and more people don't believe that will be the case.''
	An estimated 8 million mainland Catholics have refused to join the
Beijing-controlled Catholic Chinese Patriotic Association and taken
their worship underground. If forced, Ha said, many of Hong Kong's 260,
000 Catholics would join them.
	``The patriotic association is not a church,'' he said. ``It is
staffed and controlled by the government. It does not recognize the pope
and is nothing more than a mechanism to control Catholics.''
	Fear of political repression and economic downturn after 1997 has
convinced tens of thousands of Hong Kong people that they should
emigrate to safer abodes before the transition. With China's renewed
assult on the church, Catholics are leaving in droves.
	A survey of ethnic Chinese Chirstians under age 30 in Hong Kong found
that just over half intend to emigrate if given the opportunity. Priests
say an exodus of wealthy Catholics has hit the church hard in the
collection box, with donations dropping sharply in recent years.
	Swelling Asian congregations in countries such as Australia and
Canada are emptying Hong Kong's pulpits as well as its pews. Few young
men are entering the seminary to replace emigrating or retiring priests.
None has entered so far this year.
	With candidates who begin the seven years of training now not
scheduled to be ordained until after 1997, Catholic officials concede
they aren't surprised.
	With an eye toward 1997, the Hong Kong church is working to set up
small worship groups, called cells, that could take the place of
organized parishes.
	``The idea is to make worship independent of the church,'' Ha said. 
``These groups could survive almost any situation and would be almost
impossible to clamp down on.''
	There are between 20 and 30 of the groups so far, and the grassroots
movement is slowly growing, according to Father Luke Choi, who is
coordinating the effort.
	``Our groups are made up of housewives, teachers, office workers,
just general people,'' he said. ``We talk about personal things, private
matters and how they relate to the gospel.''
	Although Choi acknowledged that 1997 was the main impetus behind the
cells, he stressed that the groups had other concerns besides politics.
	``We will concentrate on our own lives and don't need to talk about
politics so soon or to confront the government,'' he said. ``We will
pave the ground for political democracy but that is a long road and we
don't need to challenge the government in the beginning.''
	The Hong Kong church is moving to tone down its traditionally active
political role in the colony, a move some say is an attempt to appease
China.
	Hong Kong's bishop, Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, late last
year ordered Catholic groups to pull out of a mainstream organization
that had been branded subversive by Beijing for its support of democracy
in China.
	Priests also have been instructed not to support candidates in Hong
Kong's first ever democratic legislative elections set for September.
	``Some decisions have been made because the local church wants to
make it clear that the church is a religious community and not a
political community,'' said Ha, who also acts as the bishop's spokesman.
``In sensitive political times it is wise for the church to separate
that a little bit even though we know everything is political in our
life.''
 _a_d_v_ _s_u_n_._ _a_u_g_._ _1_8
41.70DEMING::VALENZAGlasnote.Sat Sep 14 1991 11:0981
Article 1749 of clari.news.religion:
Path: nntpd.lkg.dec.com!decuk.uvo.dec.com!hollie.rdg.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!uunet!lll-winken!looking!clarinews
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Churches mobilize for world's children
Keywords: religion
Message-ID: <Ureligion_2f5@clarinet.com>
Date: 13 Sep 91 00:07:22 GMT
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ACategory: commentary
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Priority: advance
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Codes: ynr.fxk.
Note: adv fri sept 13
 (600)
 (commentary)

 Religion in America
	A year ago, heads of states from most of the world's nations gathered
at the United Nations for the World Summit for Children at which they
set out a series of goals to enhance and protect the lives of children.
	Some 40,000 children die each year, the leaders were told, from
largely preventable causes such as malnutrition and disease.
	The leaders agreed to work for seven major goals, including child
deaths by at least one-third by the year 2000. Other goals included
providing universal access to basic education and reducing severe and
moderate malnutrition among under-5 children by one-half, again by the
year 2000.
	The summit attracted a great deal of attention, including a one-day
vigil on Sept. 23, 1990, in which over 1 million gathered in 75 nations.
In the United States, vigils were held in some 500 communities.
	Now, many of those same people are gathering for a ``Keeping the
Promise'' campaign aimed at reminding political leaders and the public
of the promises made a year ago.
	Central to the campaign -- as it was to the summit and its attendant
vigil -- is the religious community.
	As the anniversary of the summit approaches, churches and other
religious groups throughout the Untied States will be holding ``Keeping
the Promise Sabbaths.''
	Organizers said that Sabbath activities are being planned in 170 U.S.
communities as well as by religious groups in 34 other nations.
	Heading the religious participation are the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh,
former president of the University of Notre Dame, and Rabbi Alexander
Schindler, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
	To aid participants, the ``Keeping the Promise'' campaign, under the
chairmanship of former President Jimmy Carter, has prepared a set of
worship materials for use the weekend of Sept. 27-29 by various
religious faiths.
	``The worship materials provide a powerful tool for the religious
community to get involved in the effort to keep the promises of the
summit,'' said Margery Freeman, director of the child and family justice
office of the National Council of Churches.
	``They are educational, tangible and practical,'' she said. ``They
will help raise awareness among congregants everywhere about the needs
of children and the promises made to them.''
	Campaign officials said the Christian worship material, developed in
cooperation with the Children's Defense Fund, is being widely
disseminated. They noted the national office of the Armenian Church in
America is sending every church a copy of the material. Bread for the
World, the grassroots Christian anti-hunger network is making its
September ``Hunger Sunday'' theme ``Keeping the Promise'' and sending
the worship material to 400 participating churches.
	In addition to background on the 1990 children's summit and resources
and information on the plight of children around the world, the kit
includes sermon and homily suggestions, a sample children's sermon,
prayers and litanies, a section on children and the Bible and pledge of
commitment.
	``Years ago slavery was considered acceptable by many -- now it is
not,'' said Sam Harris, Global Coordinator of the campaign. ``We need a
new ethic for children, one that will no loger tolerate 40,000 child
deaths each day worldwide.
	``This campaign is intended to help build that movement -- to help
create that new ethic,'' he said.
 adv fri sept 13


41.71JURAN::VALENZAGlasnote.Wed Sep 25 1991 13:45104
Article 1765 of clari.news.religion:
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (LANNA HOLLO)
Newsgroups: clari.news.gov.international,clari.news.features,clari.news.religion
Subject: Growth of Christianity a challenges to Hindu Nepal
Keywords: international, non-usa government, government, organized religion,
	religion
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Date: 23 Sep 91 00:01:47 GMT
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Format: feature
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Codes: yigffnp., yirofxx.
Note: (750)
 Adv. Mon. Sept. 23 or thereafter


	
 UPI NewsFeature
	
	KATMANDU, Nepal (UPI) -- A man who believed himself possessed by evil
spirits shook convulsively on the floor of a bare white-walled room as a
group of Nepali Christians chanted prayers in unison in an effort to
exorcise his demons.
	``He would take a sword in hand and follow men saying, 'I will kill
you.' Sometimes he would run around naked and throw stones,'' said
Tirtha Thapa, the general secretry of the Nepal Christian Fellowship. 
``A non-Christian who knows what we do in the church told him to come
here.''
	Such a referral in the world's only officially Hindu nation would
have been almost unthinkable just a few years ago. But Christianity has
spread rapidly in the Himalayan country since 1959, when there were no
more than 50 Christians across Nepal.
	Now an estimated 100,000 Christians live alongside 18 million Hindus.
	``We expect the number of professed Christians to rise to 2 million
by the end of the decade,'' said Thapa, whose organization provides a
non-denominational umbrella for 95 percent of Nepal's 1,500 churches.
	The spread of Christianity in a nation where conversion is still
legally outlawed has not been without hardship and controversy. Nepali
culture and Hinduism are tightly interwoven and many people believe the
spread of Christianity will erode Nepali traditions.
	``My father was very angry when I told him I was becoming a
Christian,'' said Tej Rai, a recent convert from Hinduism. As the only
son in a Hindu household, it was his duty to perform the rites at his
father's cremation ceremony when he died. His father worried there would
be no one to perform the traditional rites.
	``The village leaders came to me and said I could become Christian
after my father died. As an only son, I must perform my father's death
rites,'' Rai said. ``But I might die first (so I converted). My father
told me I was no longer his son.''
	The constitution of Nepal makes it illegal to change one's faith or
to persuade another to change theirs -- offenses punishable by one-year
and six-year jail terms respectively.
	On the eve of the 1990 popular uprising which led to the election of
a democratic government earlier this year, there were 32 Christians in
jail and more than 200 people were involved in outstanding court cases
related to Christianity.
	After the uprising, the 32 prisoners were released by the interim
government and no further action was taken on the court cases. Under the
restrictive old government, treatment of Christians varied from region
to region, official to official.
	``Informally, government officials like the idea of churches in big
cities to show that religious freedom exists in Nepal. But individuals
were prosecuted,'' Thapa said.
	While churches in the Katmandu Valley were left largely undisturbed,
many small village churches were targeted for investigation and
harassment. Government officials would enter and damage the places of
worship, Thapa said.
	To avoid the authorities, many villages began holding religous
services at irregular times and in different locations.
	With the looming threat of arrest, prosetylizing was risky business.
Foreign missionaries limited their activities to social work, leaving
evangelism to Nepalese Christians, who evaded legal strictures with
caution and ingenuity.
	``My friends and I would go to a public place and discuss the Lord,''
Thapa said. ``People would then ask us questions and we would answer
them. If we were taken to court, we could then point out we were only
answering questions.''
	While pressure eased for Christians during the transitional
government that paved the way for democracy in Nepal, their fate again
was uncertain following elections and the creation of a Congress Party
government.
	The Nepali Congress Party espouses democratic principles and an open
society, but during the transitional government it opposed Christian,
Buddhist and Communist appeals to change the country's status from a
Hindu country to a secular state.
	Many Hindus are skeptical about the growth of Christianity in Nepal.
They note that the Hindu religion is the backbone of Nepalese culture
and worry that the spread of Christianity will cause the decline of the
country's distinctiveness.
	For Christians like Thapa, the challenge is to create a country that
accepts religious diversity while maintaining the uniqueness of the
Nepalese culture. He said the Christianity practiced in Nepal strives to
maintain a cultural uniqueness.
	``We should not forget our culture,'' Thapa said.
 adv mon sept 23


41.72JURAN::VALENZAThe four hoarse men of Note-r DameSat Oct 05 1991 11:2358
Article: 1779
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.trends,clari.news.top
Subject: Religious membership growing faster than population
Date: 3 Oct 91 23:02:12 GMT
 
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Nearly 60 percent of the American people -- 147,
607,394 persons -- reported belonging to a church, synagogue or other
religious congregations in 1989, the National Council of Churches
reported Thursday.
	The number, an increase of 1.5 percent over the 1988 total of 145,
383,738, compares with a 0.9 percent growth in the overall U.S
population.
	The figures were contained in the new edition of the Yearbook of
American and Canadian Churches, compiled by the ecumenical church
council and published by Abingdon Press.
	Despite the growth in overall church membership, however, mainline
Protestant churches continued their numbers slide that began back in the
mid-1960s, with a number of the generally liberal denominations
reporting small membership losses again in 1989.
	Conservative churches and the Roman Catholic church recorded gains,
according to the Yearbook's numbers.
	Even as the liberal churches were showing loss of members, however,
they were posting significant increases in giving. The Yearbook showed
that giving increased by an average of 5.4 percent in 1989 in the nine
denominations studied each year, exceeding the 4.8 percent inflation
rate and providing the denominations with increased real -- after
inflation -- income.
	Per capita giving among members of the nine denominations was $364.52
in 1989, up from $344.97 in 1988.
	Among the mainline churches, the 32 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican
member churches of the National Council of Churches reported a combined
membership of 41,803,752 in 1989, down from 41,951,333 in 1988.
	The 87 Canadian religious bodies counted in the Yearbook showed a
combined membership of of 16,832,036, up from 16,821,221 in 1988.
	Churches reporting membership increases in 1989 included the
Presbyterian Church in America, up 4.31 percent to 217,374 members; the
Roman Catholic Church, up 3.83 percent to 57,019,948 members; the Free
Methodist Church of North America, up 3.02 percent to 75,869 members;
Jehovah's Witnesses, up 2.6 percent to 825,570; and the Christian and
Missionary Alliance, up 2.41 percent to 265,863.
	Those reporting membership losses included the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), down 1.9 percent to 1,052,271; the Episcopal
Church, down 0.9 percent to 2,433,413, the Presbyterian Church (USA),
down to 2,866,482, a loss of 1.47 percent. The United Church of Christ
was down 1.14 percent, to 1,625,969, the United Methodist Church dropped
0.84 percent, to 8,979,139; the Reformed Church in America slipped 0.94
percent, to 330,650 and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
showed a loss of 0.24 percent to 5,238,798.
	The nation's 10 largest Christian bodies are, in order: the Roman
Catholic Church (57,019,948); Southern Baptist Convention (14,907,826);
United Methodist Church (8,979,139); National Baptist Convention, USA
(5,500,000); Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (5,238,798); Latter
Day Saints/Mormon (4,175,400); Church of God in Christ (3,709,661);
Presbyterian Church (USA) (2,886,482); National Baptist Convention of
America (2,668,799) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (2,609,025).
 _(_a_d_v_ _6_3_0_ _p_m_ _e_d_t_)
41.73JURAN::VALENZAThe four hoarse men of Note-r DameSat Oct 05 1991 11:2566
Article: 1780
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Methodists complete ministry study
Date: 4 Oct 91 00:01:32 GMT
 
_ _R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n_ _i_n_ _A_m_e_r_i_c_a
	Central to the modern ecumenical movement and the effort to bring
some measure of unity to the fractious Christian faith has been the
question of ministry -- especially those called out and ordained as
priest, pastor, minister, elder, deacon or presbyter.
	Roman Catholic-Anglican rapprochement foundered when the Episcopal
Church in the United States decided in 1976 to ordain women to the
priesthood.
	Last year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America suspended two
congregations from its membership when they ordained to the ministry a
homosexual who refused to sign a pledge promising lifelong celibacy.
	Methodists have studying some aspect of ministry since 1939 and the
issue has been a special emphasis since the Methodists united with the
Evangelical United Brethren churches in 1968.
	In the most recent examination, a special 35-member Commission for
the Study of Ministry, which has been working on the issue since 1984,
has finished its work and will submit it to next year's General
Conference, the once-every-four-years convention of the church.
	Two key changes highlight the report:
	--Clergy, who function primarily in the areas of preaching,
administering the sacraments and ordering the life of the church, will
no longer first be ordained as deacons.
	--A new order of ``consecrated'' deacon, for persons functioning
primarily in service roles, will be created.
	Church officials and the denomination's Council of Bishops, which
previewed the report, have reacted with enthusiasm and they predicted 
``a lot of support'' when the issue goes before General Conferece.
	The council will give a more formal response when it meets in early
November.
	The report, while maintaining some distinctive Methodist
understandings of ministry, also connects the church's understanding of
ministry to what appears to be an emerging ecumenical consensus -- on the
nature of the office of pastor and minister.
	That consensus has been given provisional shape in the World Council
of Churches statement, ``Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry,'' which is
currently being studied by Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic
churches around the world.
	For example, the report stresses that ordained clergy will be the
accepted norm for ministries of ``word, sacrament and order'' but it
also allows for continuing the old Methodist tradition of allowing lay
preachers, in some circumstances, to preach and administer the
sacraments.
	Proposals calling for ``ordaining'' laypersons as deacons have been
turned aside. Instead, deacons -- who generally initiate their own
assignments rather than be assigned by a bishop or district
superintendent -- will be ``consecrated.''
	The church will also continue the office of ordained elder.
	As is usual with any institution, much of the debate over defining
the role of the various offices of ministry has to do with power.
	For example, tThe study recommends that deacons -- who are lay people
but professionally related to the church -- shall not be included in the
count when provisions are made for equalizing the number of lay and
clergy annual conference (regional convention) members, or delegates.
	It also recommends that lay pastors, called local pastors, who are
serving in specific appointments or churches, be given voting priveleges
in the annual conference on all matters except constitutional
amendments, election of delegates to general and jurisdictional
conferences, and all matters of ordination, character and conference
relations of clergy.
 _a_d_v_ _f_r_i_ _o_c_t_ _4
41.74DEMING::VALENZANoteblind.Wed Nov 13 1991 12:5072
Article: 1838
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.news.religion,clari.news.features
Subject: Churches respond to Jesus survey
Date: 8 Nov 91 00:02:47 GMT
 
_ _R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n_ _i_n_ _A_m_e_r_i_c_a
	One of the most famous questions Jesus put to his disciples was the
query, ``Who do you say that I am?''
	It remains a basic question of the faith.
	Recently, Interchurch Features -- a cooperative program of a number
denominational publications -- decided to ask the question of Jesus's
contemporary disciples.
	A 32-question survey was mailed to a random selection of 6,000
readers of seven Protestant publications and one Roman Catholic
magazine. There were 1,200 responses.
	The vast majority of those polled took a rather orthodox view of
Jesus, generally agreeing he is the son of God, that he rose from the
dead and he will come again.
	And that seemed true across the broad theological spectrum, from the
more evangelical readers of the American Baptist to the liberal readers
of United Church News.
	But there were some differences.
	A special analysis of the survey published by the United Church News,
the newspaper of the United Church of Christ, found UCC people more
suspicious of the whole survey process than those in other
denominations.
	Among other things, they were more apt to write notations on the side
of questions or to amplify their remarks.
	``I'm curious to know if this survey can gather up the richness of
the many and varied relationships people have with Jesus ... or if it
can sort out the 'I ought to say this' answers from the profoundly
uncertain ones,'' a UCC clergywoman from Wisconsin said in her reply.
	Marjorie Royle, who helped put the survey together for Interfaith
Features while she was with the UCC's Board for Homeland Ministries,
also ran a special demographic analysis of the results based on UCC
responses.
	Of the three critical faith questions -- is Jesus the son of God? Did
he rise from the dead? Will he come again? -- UCC members said yes at the
rate of 88 percent, 90 percent and 62 percent respectively.
	High? Yes. But the lowest agreement rates of any of the groups,
although many of the UCCers checked ``other'' rather than ``disagree.''
	One reader from California, for example, noted, ``I have always had
great difficulty seeing how the crucifixion of Jesus and his
resurrection should be seen as proof of omnipotent God's love for
humanity. I see it more as man's inhumanity to man.''
	Royle said such notions and the stumbling block on the second coming
-- with only 60 percent of UCC readers assenting -- ``seems to reflect
complex beliefs more than it does unbelief.''
	The UCC analysis also found that clergy see Jesus as more human than
do laity, with ministers consistently seeing a Jesus who sometimes made
mistakes or who liked some people more than others. Overall, however,
UCC members were more likely to see Jesus as more human than members of
other denominations.
	Overall, 97 percent of the respondents said they thought Jesus loved
members of their denomination unconditionally but just 88 percent of the
UCC members felt that.
	When it comes to proclaiming the gospel, just 73 percent of the UCC
members said they think the world ought to hear about Jesus although 88
percent agreed that it is their duty to tell the story.
 In one area, the non-creedal UCC members found themselves in lone
agreement with the highly doctrinal Roman Catholics -- on whether there
are paths to salvation other than Jesus. Only the UCC and Catholics say
``yes'' with any degree of conviction (over 50 percent). Nearly 90
percent of the Baptists said no. _ adv fri nov 8
------
	_E_d_i_t_o_r_s_ _n_o_t_e_:_ _I_n_ _t_h_e_ _R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n_ _i_n_ _A_m_e_r_i_c_a_ _c_o_l_u_m_n_ _f_o_r_ _u_s_e_ _N_o_v_._ _1_,
Seymour Reich, the resigning chairman of the International Jewish
Commission on Interreligious Consultation was mistakenly identified as a
rabbi. The column also cited Reich as boycotting a meeting with Polish
Cardinal Josef Glemp. While Reich supported and promoted the boycott, he
had not been invited to the meeting. 
41.75CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri Feb 28 1992 23:3341
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Subject: The power of prayer
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 92 9:38:28 PST
 
	TULSA, Okla. (UPI) -- Televangelist Robert Tilton is being sued for
$40 million in federal court by a woman who claims his ministry sent a
request for donations to her husband and a promise to ``save'' him --
after the man died.
	Beverly Crowley of Wynona, Okla. said months after the death of her
husband, Thomas Crowley, Tilton was still sending him mail that said, 
``God spoke to me this morning specifically about you, Tom, and He's
going to heal you.''
	Crowley said that on Jan. 1, she wrote Tilton to inform him of her
husband's death and asked him to stop sending requests for donations.
	``You see, Tom passed away Sept. 30, 1991, three months ago,'' the
letter said. ``I guess God forgot to tell you that,'' she wrote on the
back of one of Tilton's ``miracle request'' forms the church sent her
dead husband.
	Crowley filed the suit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tulsa,
accusing Tilton and the Word of Faith World Outreach Center Church at
Farmers Branch, Texas of fraud and deceit.
	The suit is the latest in a series of legal problems for Tilton, who
in January became the object of an investigation by Texas Attorney
General Dan Morales for possible violation of the state's deceptive
trade practices act.
	Crowley said her 38-year-old husband made two contributions to
Tilton's church totaling $75, before he became incapacitated with
diabetes. At the time, Crowley said her husband was drawing $435 per
month in Social Security disability benefits.
	Crowley's lawyer, Gary Richardson of Tulsa, said the man ``became
convinced, or at least persuaded'' that he could be healed through
Tilton's ministry, and that Tilton still claims ``God's talking to him
about Tom Crowley'' five months after his death.
	The lawsuit alleges Tilton's letters caused Mrs. Crowley to suffer 
``anguish, shock, nervousness and anxiety.''
	Tilton's lawyer issued the following statement: ``The church deeply
regrets that this lady feels the church has harmed her.''
41.76CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierThu Mar 05 1992 22:5347
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Subject: Pope calls for negotiated peace in Zaire and Rwanda
Date: 4 Mar 92 14:26:02 GMT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II led prayers for an end to
violence in the central African republics of Zaire and Rwanda Wednesday
and urged their leaders to negotiate peace.
	The pope made his appeal before some 6,000 tourists and pilgrims
attending his regular Wednesday general audience in the Vatican's Paul
VI auditorium.
	The audience marked the start of the 40-day period of Lent during
which Christians are called to penitence and fasting in preparation for
Easter.
	It was the first general audience since John Paul returned from his
visit to the overwhelmingly Muslim West African Republics of Senegal,
Gambia and Guinea and the pope dedicated his main address to a review of
what was his eighth African trip.
	In particular he called for Christian penitence and prayer for the
thousands of victims of the former slave trade, for which the pope
apologized personally during his visit to the former slave-trading
staging post on the island of Goree, off Senegal.
	He made the appeal for peace in Zaire and Rwanda separately, at the
end of the audience.
	``In Zaire a process of democratization has been under way for
months, but has not yet borne the hoped-for fruits,'' the pope said.
	``Let us pray that a loyal dialogue may prevail among all the parties
and that the populations may be spared further tragic acts of violence.''
	He referred in particular to rioting in the Zaire capital of Kinshasa
on Feb. 16 during which many people were killed and deplored the
subsequent expulsion of ``some missionaries''.
	``In Rwanda, a devastating guerrilla war has been raging for too long
now, with an ever growing number of victims,'' John Paul said.
	``Defenseless civilian populations are condemned to leave their land,
with unspeakable suffering and discomfort, above all for the most weak:
women, old people and children.''
	The pontiff expressed his profound sadness for the death of a
Catholic nun and an aspirant priest whom he said were ``killed along
with seven other people'' in Rwanda recently.
	``I want the bishops, priests and the faithful of that beloved nation
to know that the pope is close to those who are mourning their relatives
and shares the sufferings of all,'' John Paul said. ``He invites those
responsible for public affairs to follow the path of an honorable
negotiation that may lead to peace and reconciliation.''
41.77CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue Mar 10 1992 00:4643
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Subject: Miracles reported at Virginia church
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 92 5:28:31 PST
 
	LAKE RIDGE, Va. (UPI) -- An associate pastor at a Catholic church
bears stigmata, the marks of Christ on the cross, and statues in the
sanctuary weep in his presence, the pastor and congregation members told
The Washington Post.
	``It seems to be a physical phenomenon assciated with Father (James)
Bruse,'' said the Rev. Daniel Hamilton, the pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton Church.
	Stigmata, marks on the wrists, feet and side where Christ was nailed
to the cross, have been attributed to Catholic mystics such as St.
Francis of Assisi.
	Bruse, who showed reporters pink marks on his wrists and the back of
his hands after Sunday services, told the Post, ``When it first started,
I thought it was some kind of skin disease.''
	When asked about a possible hoax, Bruse told the paper: ``I would be
just as cynical. I would be questioning this.''
	Hamilton called himself ``the ultimate cynic'' on such matters. He
said on New Year's Eve, when Bruse approached him about weeping statues,
he noticed the marks, and that he later went to Bruse's room in the
rectory.
	``I looked at his statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the statue
was crying blood,'' Hamilton said. ``I backed out of his room.''
	Hamilton said when he returned to his own room, a statue Bruse had
given him was crying as well.
	The Diocesan Chancery in Arlington issued a statement that in all
such instances, ``the church recommends great caution in forming
judgments and advises against any speculation on the causes or possible
significance of the reported events.''
	Bruse said the marks, also on his feet and right side, last bled
about 10 days ago but added the pain still exists. ``I think it's a
phenomenon,'' he told the paper. ``I feel like it's from Christ.''
	One congregation member, Tom Saunders, said he has seen supernatural
events in Bruse's presence on three occasions. Once he was holding a
statue in Bruse's presence and ``it started crying. I was amazed,
incredible. ... When you are holding something in your hand and actually
feel (the water) ... it's hard to say I don't believe it.''
41.78CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri Mar 13 1992 01:5464
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Subject: Study examines how Red Sea parting might have happened
Date: 12 Mar 92 17:04:36 GMT
 
	TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (UPI) -- The parting of the Red Sea described in the
Bible could have been caused by strong winds that pushed water away from
the shoreline, a study released Thursday by Florida State University
says.
	The study was conducted by FSU oceanography professor Doron Nof and
Nathan Paldor, atmospheric sciences professor at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.
	``We developed a computer model that represents the Red Sea in a
physical way,'' Nof said.
	The model recreated a crossing site at the northern edge of the Gulf
of Suez, just north of the Red Sea. Scholars believe this site near the
town of Suez is where the Israelites escaped from Egypt into Canaan in
present-day Israel, Nof said.
	The researchers studied the potential result of 40 mph to 45 mph
winds blowing over the site for 10 to 12 hours -- much like the Biblical
account of the night before the parting.
	``Where the crossing might have occurred is really long, narrow and
shallow,'' Nof said. ``We tested it to see what would happen to the
shoreline. We found out the shoreline could recede about a mile and
together with this, the sea level drops about 10 feet.''
	Such conditions would allow someone to cross the narrow passage on
foot, the study concluded.
	``What we are saying is it's physically possible that a storm could
produce something that could be viewed as a parting,'' Nof said.
	Because the area is geographically very long and extremely shallow, 
``the wind can lift a lot of water. It's like blowing across the top of
a cup of coffee. The coffee blows from one end of the cup to the other,''
Nof said.
	The study also could explain the Biblical account of the sea
swallowing up the Egyptian soldiers in pursuit, Nof said.
	``When the wind relaxes, obviously this water is going to slash back,
'' Nof said. ``Our calculations estimate it would slash back at about 12
feet per second. You could not escape that. The entire area would be
reflooded in a matter of minutes.''
	The researchers also said the Biblical account of Israelites being
surrounded on both sides by water could be explained by the presence of
an underwater ridge exposed during the crossing.
	Although the Bible tells of an east wind, the study is based on a
northwesterly wind, the prominent wind direction in the area surrounded
by mountains. The discrepancy may be explained by locally variable
winds.
	``Because of the region's geography, particularly lower mountains
near the northern edge of the gulf, it is quite possible that in the
relatively small area of the crossing that the wind was from the east,''
Nof said. ``Over the much larger gulf, the wind could have been from the
northwest.''
	The idea for the study, scheduled for publication in the March
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, ``just came out of the
blue,'' Nof said.
	The research has not attracted attention from the religious
community, and Nof said he was unsure what kind of reception it would
get.
	``The study went through the regular scientific review process,'' Nof
said. ``Some people may say 'Well, it's just a natural process.' Others
may say 'Well, maybe it's a miracle.' We're not making a judgment on
whether this event took place.''
41.79Bakkers seek divorceCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri Mar 13 1992 01:5564
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Subject: Jim and Tammy seek divorce
Date: 12 Mar 92 21:46:29 GMT
 
	ORLANDO, Fla. (UPI) -- Jim and Tammy Bakker, once the driving forces
behind a multimillion-dollar television evangelism empire before it
crashed and he went to prison for fleecing his flock, are getting a
divorce, Tammy said Thursday.
	In a letter to partners in the now defunct PTL television ministry,
Tammy said she finally had decided to go through with the divorce they
had discussed for some time. She said attempts to stay together had left
her suffering from stress and nervous strain that had led to high blood
pressure, anemia and other ailments.
	``I cannot pretend any more,'' she said. ``Pretending becomes too
hard on the physical body. I am lonely and I am hurting. For years I
have been pretending that everything was all right, when in fact I hurt
all the time.''
	``Jim and I have had discussions about this many times,'' she said. 
``We even separated at one time in an attempt to work things out. We
have never kept our marriage problems secret from you. As you know the
marriage workshops at PTL were started as a result of our own hurts. I
have spent the last few weeks once again in Christian counseling and
through that counseling have made this decision.''
	She said when they began their ministry, ``We were determined to win
the world for Jesus. But, somewhere along the way, we got our priorities
mixed up.
	``God's order for things is God first, husband and wife second,
children third, then comes ministry or whatever job you do. Over the
years, God was always first in our lives, but somehow ministry came
second.''
	She said she and Bakker ``will always remain friends'' and are in 
``constant communcation.''
	``I have decided to complete the divorce proceedings before he gets
out of prison. I feel that having been apart for over two years anyway,
the hurt will be less this way. Neither one of us can take much more
hurt.''
	Jim Toms, Jim Bakker's attorney in Hendersonville, N.C., said Bakker
``is very sad about the divorce and loves Tammy very, very much. He
wants only the best for her.''
	Jim Bakker originally was sentenced to 45 years in prison after he
was convicted in October 1989 on 24 counts of mail and telephone fraud
and embezzlement of $4.7 million from his ministry. That sentence was
reduced to 18 years last summer, making him eligible for parole in four
years. At the time, Tammy said she was hoping ``that Jim would be able
to come home sooner.'' Bakker said his wife ``stood with me during this.
''
	Their marriage also was strained by Bakker's tryst with former church
secretary Jessica Hahn that led to Hahn being paid $265,000 in PTL funds
as ``hush money.''
	PTL was based in Charlotte, N.C. After PTL's collapse, the Bakkers
moved to Orlando in April 1989 and began the New Covenant Church in a
shopping center.
	``All I have ever wanted to be is a normal, down-to-earth person from
International Falls, Minnesota,'' Tammy Baker said. ``I am the oldest of
eight children and began at 15 years of age working at F.W. Woolworth. I
never wanted to be famous. I'm still not even sure how it all happened.
Life just all of a sudden grew bigger than I could handle.''
	The Bakkers, who were married in 1962, have two children: Tammy Sue,
who is to take over for her mother at the New Covenant Church until her
father returns, and Jamie. They also have two grandchildren.
41.80CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri Mar 13 1992 22:0550
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Subject: L.A. councilman proposes anti-religion legislation
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 92 17:53:38 PST
 
	LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- A city councilman, buoyed by the dismissal of a
religious persecution suit filed by an assistant police chief who is a
fundamentalist Christian, said Thursday he will introduce legislation to
prohibit city employees from promoting their religious beliefs on the
job.
	The series of amendments to the city code is scheduled to be
introduced Friday and would, among other things, prohibit the use of
religious insignia on city uniforms, city property or official city
communications.
	Also prohibited would be religious services or religious study
courses on city property or on city time; religious proselytizing on
city time; expenditure of city funds on religious oriented materials;
and use of city resources to advance any religion in any way.
	``Religion does not have a place in this city government,''
Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said at a news conference. ``Religion is a
private matter that should kept in home, or at least away from the job.''
	Assistant Police Chief Robert Vernon's suit against the city,
alleging he was a victim of a ``witch hunt'' by the police department
because of his fundamentalist beliefs, was dismissed Wednesday by U.S.
District Judge Stephen Wilson.
	At news conference Wednesday, Vernon said he may decide in the next
few weeks whether to retire -- he did not make the list of six finalists
to succeed Chief Daryl Gates -- and added he may appeal the dismissal of
his lawsuit.
	Vernon filed a $10-million suit Nov. 4, claiming a department
investigation -- initiated at Yaroslavsky's request -- was a ``witch hunt''
that interferred with his job and infringed on his right to freedom of
religion.
	Vernon is an elder at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley and his
detractors in the department have charged he has promulgated his
fundamentalist beliefs on the job, often rewarding subordinates of
similar persuasions.
	Yaroslavsky said the series of amendments may include a prohibition
on holiday motifs, such as Christmas trees or menorahs, although he
conceded such provisions may not stand up to legal challenges.
	``The challenge will be to craft it so narrowly, so that we know what
we're talking about,'' Yaroslavsky said, adding he also supports
requiring that invocations before City Council meetings be ``religion-
neutral.''
	In his 42-page order, Wilson granted the city's request for a summary
judgment, ruling Vernon's claims did not meet the Constitutional test of
government infringement on freedom of religion.
41.81CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue Mar 24 1992 23:1548
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Subject: Court upholds punitive damages against church in sex case
Date: 24 Mar 92 17:32:35 GMT
 
	ST. PAUL, Minn. (UPI) -- The Minnesota Court of Appeals, acting in the
case of a Catholic priest accused of sexually molesting a teenage boy,
ruled Tuesday that churches can be forced to pay punitive damages.
	The court, in its 2-1 decision, also affirmed an Anoka County
District Court judge's decision to reduce the punitive damages in the
case of the Rev. Thomas Adamson from the $2.7 million awarded by a jury
to $187,000. The plaintiff in the case, a 26-year-old Columbia Heights
man who was 13 at the time of the abuse began, also was awarded $855,000
in compensatory damages that were not challenged in the appeal.
	The case marked the first time the Roman Catholic Church in the
Unites States had been held liable for punitive damages, said Jeffrey
Anderson, the victim's attorney.
	Anderson said he will ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to review the
reduction of punitive damages by Anoka District Judge Phyllis Jones,
saying the $187,000 ``is really no punishment at all.''
	Archbishop John Roach said that while officials of the Archdiocese of
St. Paul and Minneapolis are pleased that the higher punitive damages
did not stand, the archdiocese will consider asking the Supreme Court to
review whether churches are exempt from punitive damages because the
isue is important to all churches.
	The archdiocese claimed punitive damages against churches violate the
constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and separation of church
and state.
	The Anoka County jury had decided in December 1990 that the
archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona showed ``willful indifference or
deliberate lack of concern'' for the rights and safety of others. The
abuse by Adamson began in 1979, shortly after the priest was assigned to
Immaculate Conception Church in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb,
and continued until 1987.
	Anderson charged that church officials repeatedly transferred Adamson
to other parishes, where he could have contact with more boys, despite
knowing about his sexual abuse. Anderson has filed 12 lawsuits on behalf
of alleged victims of the priest and claims he has identified at least
35 victims. The Anoka County case is the only one to go to trial and six
others have been settled.
	In ruling that churches are not exempt from punitive damages, Judge
Thomas Kalitowski wrote,`` The repeated placement of Adamson in parishes
without restriction arguably condoned acts of licentious behavior and
justified practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state.
''
41.82CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue Mar 24 1992 23:1556
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Subj:	Shamir tells Christian leaders he will ``never'' halt settlements

	JERUSALEM (UPI) -- Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said Monday that
Israel would ``never'' yield to American pressure to halt Jewish
settlements in the occupied territories, saying such a step would
undermine Israel's position in peace talks with its Arab neighbors.
	``This little country is all that we have, and it is ours,'' Shamir
told a group of visiting Christian evangelical leaders from the United
States and 17 other countries.
	Shamir was invited to speak at a prayer breakfast of some 1,000
people, among them Missouri Gov. John Ashcoft, who support Israel's
biblical claim to the occupied territories.
	The group is also backing Israel's faltering request for $10 billion
in U.S. loan guarantees for housing Soviet Jewish immigrants.
	President Bush has termed the settlements ``obstacles'' to Arab-
Israeli peace talks and is demanding that Israel freeze its construction
in order to receive the full amount of guarantees.
	More than 100,000 Jews have settled in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
among 1.7 million Arabs since Israel captured those territories in the
1967 Middle East War. Israel calls the West Bank by its biblical names,
Judea and Samaria, and views the area as the cradle of Jewish
civilization.
	Shamir told the Christian leaders that Israel ``does not understand
why our friends, the U.S. administration, link this great humanitarian
effort to political matters, and thus, in effect, deny us much needed
assistance.
	``There can be only one meaning to this demand. It is an attempt to
determine Israel's borders and the ultimate status of the areas in
question in advance of negotiations. We shall never agree to such a
step.''
	In a related development, a senior member of Shamir's cabinet,
Economics Minister David Magen, blamed the Bush administration for
tensions in the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
	The traditionally close alliance was further frayed last week by
reports that Israel transferred American weapons technologically to
China and other third world countries without receiving prior
authorization. Israeli officials denied the reports, and said they were
part of a ``smear campaign.''
	In remarks to state-run Israel Radio Monday, Magen said the
administration was inherently hostile to Israel. ``The mask must be
removed from the face of the Americans,'' he said.
	Magen, Health Minister Ehud Olmert and Deputy Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu favor turning the U.S.-Israeli crisis into a central issue in
the June 23 elections, the Yediot Ahronot daily newspaper reported.
	The three appear to be basing their strategy on voters favoring the
ruling hard-line Likud Party as the best means to withstand U.S.
pressure.
	But Shamir opposes statements and actions that might fuel further
tensions with Washington, the paper said.
	``The key word in our expressions pertaining to relations g with
Washington is restraint,'' it quoted him as saying.``
41.83CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue Apr 07 1992 00:0939
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Subject: Top church official denies Managua man is ``son of God''
Date: 4 Apr 92 22:19:38 GMT
  
	MANAGUA, Nicaragua (UPI) -- Nicaragua's top Roman Catholic Church
official Saturday dismissed a Managua man's claims that he is the ``son
of God'' and urged the man's enthusiastic followers not to be taken in
by a hoax.
	Jesus Antonio Bonilla has built up a large following by appearing in
Managua's outdoor markets and calling himself the ``Jesus of the poor.''
His growing legion of fans claim that the bearded, 33-year-old man -- who
bears a faint resemblance to artists' depictions of Jesus Christ -- has
curative powers.
	Newspapers have published front-page photos of Bonilla and he has
received extensive coverage on local radio stations. On Saturday,
Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo tried to put an end to the phenomenon by
denouncing Bonilla as a fraud.
	``I believe that a serious Catholic knows that Christ has already
come and died,'' Obando y Bravo said. ``The Catholic who is prepared
must not be confused by (Bonilla).''
	Obando y Bravo said that media outlets controlled by the opposition
Sandinista Front are overplaying the story to discredit Catholicism.
	Both pro-Sandinista newspapers, Barricad and El Nuevo Diario, devoted
most of their front pages on Saturday to photos and stories about
Bonilla. When he arrived at the Managua station Radio Ya to give an
interview on Friday, he was mobbed by poor Nicaraguans seeking his
advice and asking him to cure their sick children.
	``I am the son of God,'' he told Radio Ya. ``I have come to redeem
mankind.''
	Bonilla's fans say he can perform miracles.
	Maria Engracia Garcia said that for many years she suffered from back
pains but that Bonilla had cured her.
	Others, however, said he is a fake.
	``This was all a big joke,'' was one typical comment after Bonilla
spoke on Radio Ya.
41.84CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierThu Apr 09 1992 22:2067
(DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Subject: Bishops call sexism sin, uphold ban on women priests
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 21:19:04 PDT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Trying yet again, a special committee of Roman
Catholic bishops has made public a third draft of a statement on women,
denouncing sexism as a sin but affirming the church's bar to ordaining
women to the priesthood.
	The new draft released Wednesday -- the third rewriting of the
controversial statement in eight years -- will be debated by the full
body of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops during a June 18-20
meeting at the University of Notre Dame.
	Previous drafts have been criticized -- for opposite reasons -- by both
the Vatican and women's groups within the nation's largest religious
body.
	``We denounce sexism as a moral and social evil,'' said the 81-page
draft, prepard by a committee headed by Bishop Joseph Imesch of Joliet,
Ill.
	It called sexism a ``fundamental disorientation'' and said the
bishops' opposition ``to every evidence of sexism ... is based on our
vision of the person as inherently social, as belonging to a community
and as responsible to others in the human family and in the family of
God.''
	But the bishops, citing a 1976 Vatican document, said church teaching
``affirms an unbroken tradition in the Catholic churches ... of calling
only men to the ordained priesthood.''
	``This constant practice constitutes a tradition which witnesses to
the mind of Christ and is therefore normative.''
	At the same time, the bishops said they ``recognize the need for
continuing dialogue and reflection on the meaning of minisitry in the
Church,'' and left open the possibility that such offices as deacon,
lector (a reader during services), acolytes and altar servers during
communion might one day be opened to women. Some Catholic parishes
already permit women and girls to serve as acolytes and lectors.
	The draft also calls on bishops and church members to increase
sensitivity, compassion and pastoral care to Catholics at odds with the
church either because they are practicing birth control, are divorced or
separated or are lesbians.
	Referring to the extensive consultations with women in the drafting
of the proposed statement, the bishops said, ``Lesbian women were
especially outspoken about the ways in which their dignity as persons
has been belittled and demeaned by sexism, abetted by cultural
prejudice.''
	``We condemn such treatment thoroughly,'' the draft said, while
reaffirming ``the expectation rooted in Catholic teaching that
homosexual persons need to to strive to commit themselves to Christ and
to chaste and loving relationships.''
	And the statement reiterated the bishops ``total opposition'' to the
practice and legalization of abortion.
	``Without question we sympathize with the anguish, the loneliness and
the sense of helplessness felt by a woman who is pregnant and abandoned
by her partner and perhaps judged by her parents to be a source of
shame,'' the draft said.
	It urged priests to respond to women who have had abortions ``with
compassion and love and support church-sponsored efforts to help them.''
	In the secular arena, the draft statement said that the church
believes ``the fair treatment of each person is vital to the well-being
of our soceity as a whole.''
	It urges both a ``change of heart'' that would motivate people to 
``defend and support women who are treated unjustly'' while also
endorsing laws that would protect ``the inalienable rights of women.''
	If adopted, the bishops would commit themselves to work for pay
equity and encourage new legislation that ``seeks to remedy conditions
that cause women unnecessary hardship and suffering.''
	At the same time, they also called for ``an examination of practices,
possessions, power structures and lifestyles found within our own house
to see if they prevent the proper advacement of women.''
41.85CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon Apr 13 1992 23:0772
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(PETER S. GREEN)
Subject: Secret Priests have until Palm Sunday to surface
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 92 7:11:14 PDT
 
	PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia (UPI) -- Some of Czechoslovakia's secret
priests and bishops, the plain-clothes cold warriors of the Roman
Catholic Church's struggle against communism, will not comply with the
church's Palm Sunday deadline and give up their underground ministries.
	In a recent letter to the estimated 260 secret priests and 16 secret
bishops in Czechoslovaia, the Czech and Moravian Bishops' Confrence has
told the priests and bishops they must help avert a potential schism -- a
church with ``two kinds of priestly activity... two kinds of masses, two
ways of giving communion, two ways of giving the sacrament and two ways
of spreading the gospel.''
	But many secret priests and bishops -- ordinary men who would not
otherwise have put on the cloth -- were ordained in an effort to keep the
church alive in the face of brutal Communist repression and they refuse
to give up their posts.
	To complicate the situation, the Vatican says 80 of the priests and
four bishops are married. Catholic priests must remain celibate.
	For 10 years Milan Beran, a married father of four, ministered to the
Catholic community of Czechoslovakia, criss-crossing the country under
the cover of his job repairing church roofs.
	Ordained in a stealthy midnight ceremony, Beran was part of the
secret church, and his family life helped him avoid the suspicion of the
secret police at a time when communist authorities often imprisoned
priests.
	Disguised as laborers or hospital workers, secret priests carried out
pastoral work in factories, or slipped to the bedside of dying patients
to administer last rites. They organized summer camps for Catholic youth
and trained aspiring priests shut out of the few remaining state-
supervised seminaries.
	Through the Czech bishops conference, the Vatican has now told these
secret priests that married men must give up acting as priests, and
others must pass a test of their ecclesiastic knowledge to remain
priests.
	``If they keep officiating after Palm Sunday, despite the orders of
the bishops, then the church could soon be in a state of schism,'' says
the Rev. Dominik Duka, a former secret priest now working for the
official church.
	Bristling at what they see as high-handed tactics backed by the very
priests who collaborated with communist rule, many secret priests are
refusing to give up their mission.
	``I will keep on ministering when I have the time and when it is
needed,'' says Beran, who works in a home for street people. Priests are
few around his East Bohemian home and he still travels the region
celebrating mass.
	The Vatican is also worried that in the decades of its covert
operation, the secret church may not have abided by church doctrine, and
the vitally important pastoral chain, that has passed unbroken from the
Catholic Church's founder, Christ's apostle, St. Peter, may have broken.
	``That could put in doubt much of what the secret priests did in the
underground,'' says Vaclav Vasko, a church historian who spent seven
years in communist labor camps for his Christian activism.
	Earlier this month, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's
Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Church's disciplinary
body, came to Prague to investigate the situation and call for firm
action against the secret bishops.
	The Czech bishops, many of whom feel the Vatican has treated its cold
warriors shabbily, have toned down the Vatican's threats. But if the
secret bishops and priests continue to officiate despite Rome's orders,
say church officials, they could create a schism within the church.
	Beran says he does not see why it matters whether he is married or
not, or whose orders he works under.
	``I felt a call and there was a need,'' he said. ``And there still is
a need. There are many people seeking something but the communists kept
them ignorant of God.''
41.86COOKIE::JANORDBYnext year...Thu Apr 16 1992 17:4245
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(FRANCES ANN BURNS)
Subject: Presbyterian group takes on New Jersey's gay rights law
Date: 15 Apr 92 21:57:02 GMT
 
	TRENTON, N.J. (UPI) -- A conservative Presbyterian group sued the
state Wednesday, claiming New Jersey's ban on discrimination against
homosexuals could force religious organizations to hire, ordain and
marry sexual sinners.
	The federal civil rights suit contends that the law violates
constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion and that it is
so broad that groups like the Presbytery of New Jersey of the Orthodox
Presbyterian Church could be legally bound to violate their principles.
Church officials are seeking an injunction to keep the state from
enforcing the law against religious organizations.
	``Under the statute, plaintiffs ... cannot deny communion to an
adulterer, or even to heterosexuals engaging in sex outside of marriage,
fornication or to persons who engage in homosexual or bisexual conduct,''
the complaint said.
	Lawyer Thomas Neuberger described the suit as a preemptive strike. A
homosexual rights group, using a similar San Francisco law,
unsuccessfully sued an Orthodox Presbyterian church that dismissed a gay
organist in 1980.
	``We want to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen here,'' he
said.
	The law is so vague that the church might face sanctions for sermons
or tracts denouncing homosexuality, Neuberger said. He also said that
adding sexual orientation to the notices the church, as an employer, is
legally required to post violates its freedoms.
	State legal authorities could not be reached for comment. But the law
excludes ``any institution, bona fide club or place of accomodation
which is in its nature distinctly private,'' as well as schools operated
by religious groups, and specifically says the only valid marriages are
those recognized by the state.
	The suit claims that even the parts of the law aimed at protecting
religious groups are unconstitutional.
	``For the state or its administrative agencies to judge and determine
what is and what is not a 'tenet' of a church or religious organization
unconstitutionally entangles the state in religious affairs and violates
the Establishment Clause's wall of separation between church and state,''
the complaint said.
41.87COOKIE::JANORDBYnext year...Thu Apr 16 1992 17:4438
    
Subject: Lutheran church leader discloses he has AIDS
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 92 9:27:55 PDT
 
	PLYMOUTH, Minn. (UPI) -- The president of a small conservative
Lutheran denomination has resigned because he has AIDS and has disclosed
he had numerous anonymous homosexual relationships in the past 20 years,
church officials say.
	The Rev. Richard Snipstead, 63, also told leaders of the Association
of Free Lutheran Congregations that his wife, Leone, has AIDS. The
Snipsteads, who have six grown children and many grandchildren, does not
want to comment on their situation, a family friend said Wednesday.
	``This is very tragic,'' said the Rev. Robert Lee, a pastor from
Newark, Ill., who takes over as president until a permanent successor is
elected at the church's annual conference June 17-21 at its retreat
center near Osceola, Wis.
	``We're a very conservative church body. We're hoping that we'll grow
through this.''
	The Plymouth-based denomination has about 24,000 members in about 220
congregations nationwide. The church was organized in the early 1960s in
response to liberal social and theological trends in the Lutheran
church.
	``We're grieving,'' Lee said. ``Today I've received many calls from
pastors, and all were in tears. There's a real sense of grief sweeping
the church body.''
	The denomination takes the stand that homosexual activity is 
``abomination'' and sinful. Church officials said Snipstead has been
removed from the clergy roster due to ``breach in moral conduct.''
	Lee said the Snipsteads have had medical problems since last summer
but did not learn they had AIDS until last week. Church officials were
notified soon afterward. Leone Snipstead has developed cystic pneumonia
and has been hospitalized frequently, Lee said.
	The Snipsteads have a retirement home in western Wisconsin and
worship in Amery, Lee said. The pastor there told the congregation about
the Snipsteads and then asked how many would welcome them into their
church, Lee said.
	``Everyone stood up,'' Lee said. ``It was a real outpouring of love
and acceptance. I hope we'll see things like that in the future.''
41.88CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri Apr 17 1992 22:2761
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Subject: 12 Filipinos crucified on Good Friday
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 92 3:40:37 PDT
    
	SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines (UPI) -- Twelve Filipino penitents were
nailed to crosses and thousands of others beat their backs with glass-
studded whips in bloody Good Friday rituals re-enacting the sufferings
of Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago.
	Filipinos dressed as ancient Roman guards drove sterilized four-inch
spikes through the palms of nine men in San Pedro Cutud village, 50
miles north of Manila, and hoisted them on 15-foot wooden crosses.
	The men stayed on the crosses planted on makeshift mounds in the
middle of a dried-up rice field for three to five minutes before being
hauled down.
	Two other men and a woman were also crucified in other parts of the
Central Luzon region north of Manila.
	Throughout the nation, thousands of penitents walked barefooted on
concrete roads and dusty village streets lugging heavy crosses and
flagellating their bare backs with bamboo whips, some of which were
laced with crushed glass.
	A crowd estimated by police at 5,000 people, including foreign
tourists, witnessed the spectacle in San Pedro Cutud under a hot sun.
	The nine crucifixions were preceded by a procession by actors and
actresses, some riding on horses and garbed in colorful robes, to re-
enact the torture Christ suffered on his way to Calvary to be crucified
as written in the Bible.
	Gary Briones, a 24-year-old jobless man, grimaced in pain as the
aluminum spikes, soaked in alchohol for a year, were hammered into his
hands.
	``I am asking forgiveness for my sins from God and I don't know for
how long I will do this,'' said Briones, who was nailed on the cross for
the third time in three years. Showing his palms to reporters, he said,
``It's painful.''
	Fish vendor Chito Sanggalang, 33, who was crucified for the fifth
straight year, said, ``I'm doing this for my family's health and for
good fortune'' and vowed to be nailed for the next 10 years.
	``This is for the good of my family,'' carpenter Rolando Ocampo
shouted after aides lifted him on the cross. ``I thank God for all his
blessings,'' he said as he wriggled in pain.
	Bus driver Mario Castro, who had been crucified for the past 12
years, was not nailed to a cross this time.
	``This is not right anymore. A lot of people want to be nailed and
it's becoming like a show already,'' he complained.
	A businessman said some of the penitents were paid by local officials
in order to attract tourists to the village fiesta, which also falls on
Good Friday. Sale of souvenir items was brisk and disco music blared
from the homes of residents.
	``This is kind of primitive and brutal,'' said Chilean television
reporter Pablo Vicsantiago. ``Faith can be more on a rational side.''
	Lotta Gayne, a Swedish tourist, said, ``They're crazy. This is too
much.''
	A U.S. school teacher, Elizabeth Ernst, said, ``It's just fascinating
and frightening.''
	Church leaders in Asia's only Christian nation have described the
grisly Easter rituals as ``ridiculous,'' but devotees continue to endure
pain in hopes of atoning for their sins, asking favors from God or
fulfilling religous vows.
41.89CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon Apr 20 1992 20:3547
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(KATHY WHITEHEAD)
Subject: Peace call by South Africa's political leaders at Easter gathering
Date: 19 Apr 92 18:23:44 GMT
 
	MORIA, South Africa (UPI) -- South African President Frederik de
Klerk, African National Congress President Nelson Mandela and Inkatha
Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi appeared together Sunday and
issued calls for peace at an Easter gathering of about 1 million black
Christians.
	The gathering at Moria in northern Transvaal province was the largest
audience any of the three men have ever addressed in South Africa and
their first appearance together since they signed a National Peace
Accord Sept. 14 last year aimed at ending violent conflict between
political groups.
	``Speeches and peace accords alone cannot make peace happen... where
violence rules at the moment,'' said de Klerk, the last of the three
leaders to speak.
	``We will have to work for it, plan for it, live it,'' de Klerk said.
	Mandela echoed de Klerk's appeal for an end to political violence and
assured the gathering of members of the conservative Zion Christian
Church his organization believed in religious freedom.
	``No government has the right to prescribe religious observance to
citizens of this country,'' Mandela said.
	South Africa's three most powerful political leaders were hosted by
Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane, 37, leader of the ZCC whose members make a
pilgrimage every Easter to the church's simple cathedral at Moria, a
dusty clearing in hilly country 218 miles northeast of Johannesburg.
	The ZCC -- estimated to have about 4 million members throughout the
countries of southern Africa -- combines elements of traditional African
religion, Islam and Judaism in a Christian religion with strict codes of
behavior, dress and diet.
	The ZCC eschews politics, urging its members -- mostly blue collar
workers -- to find dignity in poverty.
	The church's conservatism was underscored in 1985 when, at the height
of anti-government riots and protests, Bishop Lekganyane invited the
then South African president, P.W. Botha, to the Easter celebration as
guest speaker.
	Buthelezi, the first speaker Sunday, told the gathering his
organization, the IFP, did not use violence as a political tool.
	``Violence is hideous. It is wrong. It must stop,'' he said.
	Since the start of the Easter holidays Friday at least 20 people have
been killed in politically motivated violence.
41.90CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon Apr 20 1992 20:3556
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Subject: Grenade attack on Easter mass kills 5, wounds 82 in Philippines
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 92 4:07:29 PDT
 
	ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (UPI) -- An unidentified man lobbed a grenade
into a crowded Easter mass in the southern Philippines Sunday, killing
at least five people and wounding more than 80 others, authorities said.
	The attack took place outside the Roman Catholic San Miguel
Cathedral, where an estimated 10,000 people had gathered for a dawn mass
in this city 490 miles south of the capital.
	No one claimed responsibility, but police said they detained two
people, both Muslims, for questioning.
	Worshipers were throwing flowers at a religious procession outside
the cathedral when the attack occurred, said housewife Reynalia Quirot,
who suffered a shrapnel wound in her left leg during the blast.
	``An object wrapped with a handkerchief was thrown into the crowd,''
she said from her hospital bed Sunday afternoon. ``There was a loud
explosion. I ran but my body felt numb. I fell down and starting
crawling. I kept asking 'Why God?'''
	Police captain Edito Suares said several of victims were children and
elderly women who were participating in the procession.
	The explosion triggered panic in the crowd and worshipers trampled
each other in a scramble to run away, he said.
	At least five people were killed in the blast and 82 others were
being treated at nearby hospitals. Many of the wounded lost limbs in the
attack, medical officials said.
	Hospitals exhausted supplies of banked blood and local radio stations
aired urgent appeals for donors, officials said.
	Iligan, a predominantly Christian industrial city, is the gateway to
the Islamic stronghold of Marawi, 510 miles south of Manila.
	Authorities declined to say if they suspected Muslim rebels were
behind the attack.
	``We are following up an angle, but it is premature to disclose it at
this point,'' Suares said.
	Iligan Mayor Camilo Cabili speculated the blast could be in protest
of Philippine participation in U.N. sanctions against Libya, which
heightened tension between Manila and the country's volatile Muslim
minority.
	``I would like to believe that the incident is connected with the
crisis in Libya to gain international media mileage,'' he said.
	The U.N. sanctions were designed to press Libya to turn over suspects
in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and
garner Libyan cooperation in an investigation of another jetliner
bombing in 1989.
	A spokesman from the mainstream Muslim separatist group, Moro
National Liberation Front, declined to comment on the incident.
	The MNLF declared an uneasy truce with President Corazon Aquino in
1986, following a bloody 14-year fight for independence. Attacks from
splinter Muslim factions are common.
	Sunday's grenade attack was the second against a Catholic church in
the area in six years. In 1986, suspected Muslim rebels attacked a
church in nearby Kapatagan, killing 21 people and wounding 70 others.
41.91CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon Apr 20 1992 20:3512
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Subject: Quote of the Day
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 92 21:04:06 PDT
 
	Reynalia Quirot, who was attending Easter mass in the Philippines
when a man threw a grenade into the crowd of worshippers, killing at
least five and wounding more than 80:
	``I kept asking 'Why, God?'''
41.92CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon Apr 20 1992 20:3553
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(GREG HENDERSON)
Subject: Court lets stand ruling against Catholic school teacher
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 92 7:43:35 PDT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Monday let stand a decision that
a teacher at a Catholic school could be denied state unemployment
compensation benefits after being fired because she got married in a
Protestant church.
	The justices, without comment, refused to disturb the split decision
of a Pennsylvania court allowing the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Pittsburgh -- which voluntarily participated in the state unemployment
compensation system -- to deny benefits to teacher Maria Wesley.
	The diocese said Wesley was fired for ``willful misconduct'' of her
duties as a fifth- and sixth-grade science and math teacher at Bishop
Leonard Regional Catholic School.
	The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, in a 4-3 decision, agreed that
Wesley engaged in ``willful misconduct'' when she married a divorced
Protestant.
	Her fiance had previously been married to a Catholic and had not had
the marriage annulled, thus Wesley's marriage was not permitted in a
Catholic church.
	Wesley contends that because the school took part in the state
unemployment compensation program, it violates the constitutional
mandate of separation of church and state to allow it to deny her
benefits on religious grounds.
	Under the program, the school would have been required to pay some of
the unemployment benefits for Wesley.
	Wesley, who notes that being Catholic is not even a requirement to
teach at Bishop Leonard, said her marriage would have had no impact on
her students or her ability to teach.
	But the school argues that part of her duty is living the Catholic
tradition, something it claims she could not do in a marriage the church
does not even recognize as valid.
	After being fired, Wesley filed an application for unemployment
benefits that was denied by a local office.
	On appeal she was granted the benefits, based on the finding that the
school's policy was unreasonable because it forced Wesley to choose
between working or exercising her right to be legally married under the
laws of Pennsylvania.
	The school appealed to the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review,
where Wesley won again.
	The board found Wesley's actions ``do not rise to the level of
willful misconduct.''
	The school then took the case to court, where Wesley lost on the 4-3
vote. The state supreme court denied review in the case.
 ------
91-1365 Maria Wesley vs. Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Board
of Review, et al.
41.93CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri Apr 24 1992 22:3238
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Subject: Presbyterians to vote on abortion stance
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 92 11:45:09 PDT
 
	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- A more restrictive statement on abortion will be
voted on by the Presbyterian Church (USA) when its legislative assembly
meets in Milwaukee in June.
	The proposed statement calls abortion ``an option of the last resort.
'' The church's current stance states that abortion is a woman's choice.
	A ban on abortion or denial of access to it were opposed by the
church's committee that studied the abortion question. The committee,
however, said some regulations are justified even though abortion is
morally acceptable.
	The Rev. Paul Bodine, interim executive presbyter of the churches in
Milwaukee, said the proposed change in the church's abortion position
reflects a change in society attitudes.
	``The church has become a little more conservative than it was in the
past, just like our whole culture,'' Bodine said. ``What we're seeing is
the flip side of what was said 20 years ago.''
	Martin Marty, a University of Chicago theologian, said most of the
mainline Protestant churches will be watching the Presbyterian debate.
Other mainline churches, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America, have similarly modified their positions on abortion recently or
are discussing it.
	A minority report of the committee also will come before the
assembly. It would permit abortion under similar circumstances to those
listed in the majority report, but it calls abortion ``a sin before God.
'' The minority report says life begins at conception while the majority
report does not specify when life begins.
	The majority and minority report will be considered at the assembly
meeting scheduled June 2-10.
	The church, the eighth largest in the country with nearly 2.9 million
members, was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Northern Presbyterian
Church and the Southern Presbyterian Church.
41.94CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue Apr 28 1992 00:2637
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(OSWALDO BONILLA)
Subject: Cardinal denounces threats to pope's visit
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 92 13:02:35 PDT

	MANAGUA, Nicaragua (UPI) -- Threats to blow up Managua Cathedral as a
way of stopping Pope John Paul II from visiting Nicaragua were denounced
Sunday by Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo.
	In his regular Sunday mass Obando y Bravo criticized those who
threatened to launch attacks and plant a bomb in Managua's new cathedral
which the pope is due to inaugurate in October.
	``We have received anonymous threats saying people will do anything
possible to impede the pope's visit, going as far as to say they will
kill people or dynamite the Cathedral,'' Obando y Bravo said in his
service at the Santo Domingo de Las Sierritas, 10 miles outside the
capital.
	The cardinal criticized the state of the country saying that every
day newspapers and radio were full of stories about murder and assault.
	``You see it in the papers, house attacked somewhere. The owner tied
up, the wife tied up, the daughter tied up, the son-in-law tied up.
Another man with a beaten-up face, assaulted the moment he stepped off
the bus, robbed of his money he earned by the sweat of his brow,'' the
cardinal said.
	Obando y Bravo complained ``things in Nicaragua will not change.
Anarchy reigns, people are living in fear and and it appears life is
worth nothing,'' he said.
	A Vatican delegation arrived in Managua last week to arrange the
proposed Oct. 8 visit. The pope is expected to announce details of the
trip at the end of May.
	During his last visit to Nicaragua the pope was booed by Sandinista
supporters angry at his refusal to mention the country's civil war or
denounce U.S. aid to the Contra rebels who were attempting to overthrow
the Sandinista government.
41.95CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 04 1992 22:1840
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Subject: Bishop says Salvador peace in jeopardy
Date: Sun, 3 May 92 12:59:08 PDT
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- The El Salvador Catholic Church's
second ranking official Sunday said the country's three-month-old peace
was in jeopardy as rebels and government officials accused each other of
bad faith.
	The peace process ``is plagued by mutual recrimination and I fear
that the peace process will fail,'' said Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa
Chavez during his Sunday sermon.
	The rebels charge that the government has failed to disband its
infamous security forces as called for under the United Nations-brokered
peace accord signed Jan. 16 by the government of President Alfredo
Cristiani and the rebel Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or
FMLN.
	The government has proposed a law that would retain part of the
Treasury Police and National Guard, arguing that they are needed to
fight rising crime.
	In response, the FMLN has said it would retain 20 percent of its
forces, which were to have been totally demobilized by May 1. 
	The bishop also said a church investigation into the rape and killing
of three women and an 8-year-old girl last week in separate incidents
implicated the military, former rebels and members of right-wing death
squads connected with the military.
	He said autopsy reports showed the minor was raped, tortured and
killed by unknown persons.
	Rosa Chavez said the investigation showed that ``in the other two
rapes, one implicates members of the FMLN and the other members of the
army.''
	He said in the fourth case, in which the body of a woman was found on
a highway south of the capital, ``Tire tracks show that it was the work
of death squads.''
	The bishop called on the National Commission for the Consolidation of
the Peace, created by the Salvadoran Congress, to be more active in
monitoring the peace process.
41.96CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 04 1992 22:1826
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Subject: Pope prays for return of 'civil harmony' to Los Angeles
Date: 2 May 92 17:30:40 GMT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II is ``deeply saddened'' by the
racial violence in Los Angeles and is joining in prayers for the 
``restoration of civil harmony and a renewed spirit of solidarity,'' a
message sent by the Vatican said Saturday.
	The Vatican press office published the text of the message sent by
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano to Los Angeles
Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahoney on behalf of the pope. John Paul is
currently on a four-day visit to a northeastern region of Italy.
	``The Holy Father has been deeply saddened to learn of the violence
that has broken out in Los Angeles and joins you and all the faithful in
asking God, the Father of peace, for the restoration of civil harmony
and a renewed spirit of solidarity among all citizens,'' the message
said.
	``In asking you kindly to express his solidarity with those who have
suffered injuries or losses, and above all in giving assurance of his
prayers for those who have died, His Holiness entrusts all the people of
Los Angeles to the intercession of the Mother of God and the attentive
protection of the Angel Saints,'' it said.
41.97CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 04 1992 22:1828
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(BAHAA ALKOUSSY)
Subject: 13 killed in clash between Moslems and Christians in Egypt
Date: 4 May 1992 17:24:22 GMT
 
	CAIRO (UPI) -- Thirteen people were killed Monday in a southern Egypt
village when vendetta-related fighting between Moslems and Christians
flared up after a dispute over the sale of a house, the Interior
Ministry said.
	Five others were injured in the incident.
	Security sources blamed the fighting on ``extremist elements who have
fanned the flames of the dispute between the two parties and have
actually taken part in those incidents'' in the village of of Manshiyat
Nasser, about 300 miles south of Cairo.
	The statement added that one physician and one teacher were among
those killed, and that the others were farmers.
	According to the ministry, the dispute started in March with a fight
between a Moslem and a Christian family in that village, which claimed
the lives of two Moslems and one Christian.
	The rising tide of militant Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt has been
causing friction with the large Christian minority over the past few
years. Since the problem is widely believed to be a product of economic
difficulties, it is most acutely felt and reflected in impoverished
urban areas and villages.
41.98CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue May 05 1992 19:1233
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Subject: Nun released after five days in jail
Date: Mon, 4 May 92 13:41:24 PDT
 
	PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (UPI) -- A Haitian nun jailed for carrying a
photograph of toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a popular Roman
Catholic priest, was released Monday after five days in custody, local
radio said.
	Sister Clemencia Ascanio was freed after police used tear gas to
break up a peaceful demonstration protesting her arrest and the lack of
religious freedom and civil rights in Haiti since last year's military
coup, Radio Soleil said.
	``We wanted to tell the people that we are with them,'' Father
Antoine Adrien told the radio station. ``A minority wants to take the
majority as hostage. We don't have weapons but we have the words of
Christ to protest against evil and for democracy.''
	Sister Ascanio was arrested by police last week in Croix-des-
Bouquets, 6 miles north of the capital, after a photo of Aristide was
found in her car. Top bishops made personal appeals to Haiti's leaders
to free the nun from the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince.
	Aristide, whose December 1990 election returned Haiti to democracy
after four decades of military rule, was ousted in a military coup Sept.
30. Haitian leaders have failed to endorse an Organization of American
States' plan for his return.
	Haitian military leaders, legislators and members of the provisional
government were to resume talks Monday to find a ``final solution'' to
the island nation's crisis. Opposition leaders say the military has been
threatening legislators participating in the talks and said they cannot
lead to any real solution.
41.99CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierWed May 06 1992 19:2928
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Subject: Church leaders say time to unite for peace after Los Angeles riot
Date: Tue, 5 May 92 12:42:22 PDT
 
	DETROIT (UPI) -- Church leaders Tuesday said it was time to work and
talk together so a recurrence of riots like the one in Los Angeles can
be avoided in the future.
	``The American tradition reflects a commendable history of overcoming
adversity by working together -- talking, understanding, reaching out,''
said Barbara C. Van Dusen, Michael Berry, Daniel J. Kelly, and Jack A.
Robinson, all of the Greater Detroit Interfaith Round Table of the
National Conference of Christians and Jews, Inc.
	``The Rodney King verdict in Los Angeles calls for all Americans to
live up to that tradition,'' they said in a statement. ``Whether one is
black, white, Christian, Jew, Moslem, this is a time to unite, to call
for calm and peace because the violence is as misdirected as the verdict
which prompted it.
	``Yes, the system did not work in the King trial. We need to
understand what happened and take steps to assure it never happens
again.
	``But we can't do that with violence. Violence implies, to a point,
that the King jury was right. We can't let that happen.''
	The Los Angeles riot has left at least 57 people dead, nearly 2,400
injured and some $700 million in property damage.
41.100CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 11 1992 19:0945
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Subject: Bishop resigns amid allegations of child support payments
Date: Fri, 8 May 92 9:45:43 PDT
 
	LONDON (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic church in Ireland was rocked with
scandal Friday following the resignation of a popular bishop amid
newspaper reports he secretly paid child support for 15 years to a woman
who allegedly bore him a child.
	Bishop Eamonn Casey, 65, resigned Wednesday after alleged
negotiations to pay $150,000 to an Irish woman collapsed, the Daily
Telegraph reported.
	Casey, a senior and respected member of the Irish clergy, is alleged
to have paid Anne Murphy up to $175,000 over the last 15 years following
a sexual relationship that began when he was bishop of Kerry in the mid-
1970s, the Irish Times reported Thursday.
	The Catholic Press Office in Dublin said Pope John Paul II had
accepted Casey's resignation, adding he was ``retiring for personal
reasons.''
	In a telephone interview Friday with London's Independent Television
News, Anne Murphy, 44, said she had met Casey in 1973.
	Asked whether she had been in contact for the past 15 years, she
replied, ``I needed to settle some kind of monthly payments -- child
support -- for Peter, our son.''
	``He had belligerently and begrudgingly offered me $100 a month. I
had never intended to let him get away with it,'' said Murphy, who lives
in Connecticut in the United States with her 17-year-old son.
	``It was the most magical thing I've ever encountered in my life,''
she said of her alleged relationship with Casey.
	The Roman Catholic Church had no comment on the alleged child support
payments, Catholic Press Office spokesman Jim Cantwell said, adding that
any comment should come from Casey.
	Casey, currently in New York, said in a resignation statement he
plans ``to devote the remainder of my active life to work in the
missions.''
	Cantwell said Church leaders were ``very surprised'' by the
resignation.
	The Catholic press office announced the resignation late Wednesday as
the Irish Times prepared to publish an account of its investigation into
the allegations.
	Casey, who will keep his title of bishop, personally submitted his
resignation Monday on a visit to the Vatican, the spokesman said.
41.101CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 11 1992 19:1060
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Subject: Mother's Day protest targets Cardinal's abortion opposition
Date: Sun, 10 May 92 14:12:31 PDT
 
	NEW YORK (UPI) -- Feminists in elaborate religious costumes celebrated
Mother's Day on Sunday with a protest outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in
support of abortion rights.
	Chanting ``Mother's Day by choice, not forced!'' about 50 protesters
gathered in front of the Fifth Avenue landmark to denounce Roman
Catholic Cardinal John O'Connor and a state bill that could require
parental notification for young women seeking abortions.
	New York has resisted past efforts to curb access to abortion
services, and just last month massive anti-abortion protests failed to
close women's clinics in heavily Catholic Buffalo, the state's second
largest city.
	But the proposal reaches committees in both state legislatures as the
Supreme Court considers a Pennsylvania case that could end the high
court's support for legal abortions.
	Several men, called Church Ladies for Choice, sang, ``Access my
clinic to me,'' and ``This womb is my womb,'' while a mock exorcism was
conducted by a woman who identified herself as Glory B, a 
``femivangelist.''
	``He has been led astray by an evil spirit and must be saved,'' she
said, describing the cardinal as a lobbyist for the state abortion
restriction.
	``There is no godly person who would do such a thing to teenage
girls, praise God!'' she exclaimed.
	A police contingent that far outnumbered the demonstrators kept them
from Cathedral steps while families scurried inside from the rain to a
Mother's Day service with O'Connor.
	One demonstrator wore red robes imitating O'Connor's religious
vestments and several women dressed as nuns identified themselves the
Disciples of Reason. Joining them were scores of activists from the
Women's Health Action and Mobilization.
	Calling herself Sister Hood, Christine Ryan, 17, said she was part of
a Catholic family in Queens and feared the state bill would endanger her
life and the lives of her friends.
	``In my family, I can't exactly say, 'Ma, I'm going to have an
abortion today. I'll be home in time for dinner. She wouldn't let me out
of the house, and I'd probably end up doing something that would kill
myself,'' Ryan said.
	``Someday, I very well may have a daughter and this is the most
loving thing I can do for her at this crucial point in our nation's
history,'' said Anne Rothkopf, 25, of Manhattan after doffing her red
Cardinal costume.
	A WHAM spokeswoman said O'Connor was lobbying for the parental
notification bill in conflict with his church tax-exempt status.
	``Recently, O'Connor hosted a dinner at his home for undecided and
anti-choice members of the New York State Assembly, urging them to
support this dangerous provision. Once again, O'Connor is attacking the
rights of women under the guise of family values, clearly crossing the
constitutionally mandated line between church and state,'' she said.
	A spokesman for O'Connor said the State Catholic Conference supports
the bill and he added, ``Our tax-exempt status is not in anyway
threatened by anything the cardinal has done.''
	No one was arrested at the protest, which ended peacefully.
41.102CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue May 12 1992 22:5128
(DAVID NICHOLSON)
Subject: Jonathan Demme's ``Cousin Bobby'' screened in Cannes
Date: Tue, 12 May 92 8:43:40 PDT
 
	CANNES, France (UPI) -- ``Silence of the Lambs'' director Jonathan
Demme has changed focus and subject matter for his latest film, ``Cousin
Bobby,'' which was shown in Cannes Tuesday.
	The movie is in fact an hourlong documentary featuring Demme's real-
life cousin, a crusading priest in Harlem who plays himself. The Los
Angeles riots have given it unexpected pertinence.
	Besides preaching a religious message, Bobby uses his social platform
as a means of protesting the neglect with which the American
establishment treats the country's inner cities. Rather than becoming a
missionary in a third-world country, Demme says Bobby chose to work ``in
our own, close-to-home, third-world city.''
	The director and actor had not seen each other for many years, and
the film was a way for them to regain their off-screen friendship. It
also became a portrait of the charismatic social leader Isaiah Rawley,
who greatly influenced Bobby and others of his generation.
	Demme recognizes that the experience of observing his cousin at work
has profoundly affected the way he thinks. ``I found myself at first
saying 'This ia a lonely, fruitless kind of crusade,'' the director
says.
	``But I look at him now with different eyes, and feel that no one
man, or group of people, will be able to turn around the terrible
destructive negative bent that America has been on for the last eight or
10 years. But that doesn't mean it's not a fight worth fighting.''
....
41.103CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierWed May 13 1992 00:1883
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(MORGAN LYLE)
Subject: UPI goes on auction block
Date: Tue, 12 May 92 15:28:58 PDT
 
	RUTLAND, Vt. (UPI) -- Evangelist Pat Robertson, who owns the Christian
Broadcasting Network, Tuesday bid $6 million for United Press
International at a bankruptcy auction of the 84-year-old news agency and
eclipsed the other offers in the opening round of the public sale.
	UPI last month asked U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Francis Conrad to
schedule the auction before May 15. Executives said without new
ownership, UPI would be unable to meet its payroll after that date.
	The auction began at 4:19 p.m. EDT in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Rutland and a temporary recess was called after about 10 minutes.
Conrad, who has been handling UPI's bankruptcy case, sits in both
Rutland and New York City.
	Lawyers for UPI asked the bidders to identify themselves in court, to
give the dollar amount of their bid and to describe what parts of the
service they were interested in buying.
	Norman Cohen, a lawyer for Robertson's U.S. Media Corp., told the
crowded courtroom, ``We are bidding $6 million for all the assets of UPI
except the accounts receivable, which we propose to leave with the
debtor at this time.''
	Robertson conditioned his bid on being granted a 30-day period during
which he can examine UPI's books and then have the right to review or
withdraw his offer.
	He had deposited $900,000 in an escrow account, or 15 percent of the
bid price as required under terms of the auction process.
	Before Robertson entered the courtroom, he said he wanted to buy UPI
because the news agency ``would complement some of the things we're
already doing.''
	Asked by reporters how his religious views would affect the UPI
editorial report, he said, ``I don't interfere with the editorial policy
of our state radio operation at all.''
	Robertson also said he planned to focus on UPI's Asian and Latin
American operations.
	Among the other bidders, Federal News Service, a Washington-based
agency that provides transcripts of government proceedings, bid $33,000
for UPI's Spanish language service and some $12,000 for the Washington
Daybook, which carries listings of upcoming news conferences and events
in the nation's capital.
	Milton Benjamin of Eastnet, which is setting up an Eastern European
news service, bid $30,000 for certain UPI leases in the former Soviet
Union, Eastern Europe and China. Benjamin is a former president of UPI.
	Another bid included $25,000 each for the UPI name, certain archives
from the UPI Radio Network, archives from the wire service, archives
from the photo service and working files in the Paris, Moscow and
Washington bureaus.
	Company officials said discussions with potential buyers had been
taking place since the Washington-based news service filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection Aug. 28 and they hoped an auction would force
anyone interested in buying the news service to make an offer.
	UPI's parent company, Infotechnology Inc., filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in October 1990 and stopped providing financial
support to the news service.
	``As a result of having to go on our own, we had to take substantial
cost-saving measures,'' including closing bureaus, laying off staff and
reducing satellite transmission costs, UPI Executive Editor Steve
Geimann said before the hearing.
	The company has trimmed its losses to between $150,000 a month and
$200,000 a month from about $2 million a month, he said.
	Bankruptcy papers filed in August said UPI owes about $58 million to
its creditors, including American Telephone & Telegraph, GTE Spacenet,
GE Computer, Harris Corp., the Wire Service Guild and others.
	UPI listed assets of $22 million in the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in the Southern District of New York.
	The company's assets, which include its name, contracts with
subscribers, good will and telecommunications network, were to be sold
free and clear of liens or liabilities.
	On March 4, Conrad rejected UPI management's request for a 90-day
extension of the period in which it had the exclusive right to put forth
a reorganization plan and said he would accept plans from the company's
creditors or any other party.
	On April 27, the company asked Conrad to auction its assets.
	United Press was founded on July 15, 1907, by publisher E.W. Scripps
to compete with The Associated Press.
	In 1958, it merged with William Randolph Hearst's International News
Service to form United Press International. UPI has won nine Pulitzer
Prizes for news reporting and photography.
41.104CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri May 15 1992 02:2648
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(BEN LYNFIELD)
Subject: Rabbis blast 'blasphemous' Pepsi ads
Date: Thu, 14 May 92 8:02:45 PDT
 
	JERUSALEM (UPI) -- Irate rabbis turned Pepsi Cola's Middle East market
battle with Coca-Cola into a holy war Thursday, threatening a boycott to
protest an ad campaign that evokes Darwin's theory of evolution.
	A Jerusalem rabbinical court official termed the ads, which depict a
primate evolving into a Pepsi drinker, ``blasphemous and catastrophic.''
	In the coastal town of Netanya, executives at Tempo, the Israeli
bottler of Pepsi, met to decide the fate of the fizzling campaign,
originally intended to introduce Pepsi to 5 million uninitiated
Israelis.
	The rabbis were also furious with an ad slogan setting the age of the
Earth at more than 10 million years, a contradiction of Orthodox
doctrine dating the earth at 5752 in accordance with biblical
chronology.
	The court, which is comprised of ultra-orthodox sages, was
contemplating calling a boycott of Pepsi if it did not remove the ads.
	``Judaism does not view the linking of humanity with monkeys as much
of an honor for mankind,'' said Rabbi Yitzhak Ralbag, a Jerusalem
religious authority who supports the protest.
	``We believe the first man was the creation of the holy one blessed .
... and all of the following generations emerged from this creation,'' he
said. ``We don't accord a place to monkeys or animals in the process.''
	Pepsi has been seeking to break into the Israeli market after years
of adherence to Arab demands to stay away. Coca-Cola has enjoyed a
virtual monopoly in Israel.
	The boycott threat came only months after Pepsi sought and received a
prestigious seal of approval from the rabbinical court, a move
apparently aimed at giving it an edge over Coke.
	The court's seal indicates that a product complies rigorously with
religious dietary laws. Coke cans are adorned with a seal from another
group of rabbis.
	Moshe Burnstein, an owner of Tempo, said he had no intention of
insulting tradition.
	``If the ads are in violation of Jewish law, than I will stop them --
not because of fear of the rabbinical court, but because I am a
religious Jew,'' he said.
	A spokeswoman for Coke's bottling plant in Petah Tiqwa, near Tel
Aviv, declined to comment on the ads. ``In general, we don't relate to
matters that do not directly involve us,'' she said, reading a prepared
statement.
41.105CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 18 1992 21:0746
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Subject: Pope beatifies controversial Opus Dei founder
Date: Sun, 17 May 92 8:42:38 PDT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- In a ceremony that put Monsignor Josemaria
Escriva a step away from sainthood, Pope John Paul II Sunday beatified
the controversial Spanish priest who founded the Opus Dei movement.
	A crowd of pilgrims estimated at 200,000 filled sun-drenched St.
Peter's Square for the ceremony.
	Huge television screens were erected at several points in order to
permit those standing up to 500 yards from the podium to view the
proceedings.
	Many visitors, a majority from heavily Catholic Spain, had arrived in
Rome on tour buses for the weekend to honor the priest who died in 1975
at age 73.
	His candidacy for sainthood in the Roman Catholic church has drawn
criticism for the speed in which it appears to have been proposed.
	Hundreds of armed police, some on horseback, mingled with the crowd.
Many in the crowd wore badges noting their Opus Dei affiliation.
	Also beatified was Josephine Bakhita, a 19th Century African slave
who became a nun years after being kidnapped and sold numerous times.
She found her way to Venice where a holy order took her in and directed
her to a life in the church.
	Beatification is the penultimate step before sainthood in the Roman
Catholic church.
	Escriva's powerful religious order, many of whose members are lay
persons, boasts 75,000 members. Opus Dei followers believe that sanctity
is found in daily life and are strong supporters of traditional,
conservative values.
	Polish Pope John Paul has never hidden his admiration for the
movement. The Vatican this week disclosed that the pope set up a special
commission to study the Escriva beatification before proceeding with the
process.
	Critics of the campaign to make Escriva a saint in what could be
record time charge that the cleric, who died only 17 years ago, was vain
and ill-tempered.
	They said that witnesses against Escriva were not given a fair
hearing by Vatican officials pondering the beatification decision.
	In 14 years as head of the church, John Paul has shown a penchant for
saint-making. The Polish pontiff has canonized 260 of the 700 official
Catholic saints, more than a third of the total since the process began
in the 10th Century.
41.106CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierMon May 18 1992 21:0838
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(GREG HENDERSON)
Subject: Court won't review sidewalk sale of goods by non-profit groups
Date: Mon, 18 May 92 7:38:08 PDT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Monday let stand a ruling that
cities can require non-profit groups hawking T-shirts and other items
with political or religious messages to obtain the same government
permits as other sidewalk vendors.
	The court, without comment, declined to review a ruling of the 9th U.
S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the First Amendment protects non-profit
groups selling even money-making items from much of the same government
regulation imposed on for-profit organizations selling products on city
sidewalks.
	San Francisco claims it has a right to regulate non-profit vendors
who go beyond the mere sale of items such as informational booklets with
no intrinsic value.
	San Francisco was joined by dozens of other California cities in a
friend-of-the-court brief, who claimed that under the 9th Circuit's
ruling ``food and drugs can be distributed without appropriate health
regulation leading to predictable danger to public health.''
	The 9th Circuit reasoned that without extra protection for free
speech, a city with regulations such as San Francisco's could refuse to
grant a peddler's license to any non-profit group whose message it did
not like.
	``In this case, non-profits wishing to sell merchandise that is
inextricably intertwined with otherwise fully protected speech are
required to obtain a peddler's permit,'' wrote the 9th Circuit. ``The
ordinance provides no specific grounds for granting or denying permits:
No explicit limits are placed on the chief of police's discretion.''
	``Because the chief of police is granted complete discretion in
denying or granting such permits, we hold that the city's ordinance is
not saved from constitutional infirmity by its commercial peddler's
permit system.''
41.107;^)DECWIN::MESSENGERBob MessengerMon May 18 1992 21:2210
Re: .105

>	In 14 years as head of the church, John Paul has shown a penchant for
>saint-making. The Polish pontiff has canonized 260 of the 700 official
>Catholic saints, more than a third of the total since the process began
>in the 10th Century.

Inflation!  Being a saint used to mean something...

			-- St. Bob
41.108CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue May 19 1992 20:4690
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Subject: Puritan artifacts uncovered in Bahamas cave
Date: Tue, 19 May 92 11:56:56 PDT
 
	MIAMI (UPI) -- A three-member team has found artifacts from a Puritan
settlement in a cave on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera -- which they
say confirms Bahamian legends about the nearly 350-year-old settlement.
	``This is the Plymouth Rock of the Bahamas,'' said Jane Day of
Lighthouse Point, project director for the team that worked on the two-
week archaelogical dig in Preacher's Cave on the Bahamian out island of
Eleuthera.
	Seventy Puritans led by William Sayles, called the Eleutherian
Adventurers, are thought to have sailed from Bermuda in 1648 on a quest
for religious freedom.
	The larger of their two boats, the William, ran aground on Devil's
Backbone reef off the eastern shore of Eleuthera, which they had named
from the Greek word for freedom.
	The survivors settled in the 50-foot-high cave and later built a
village, but returned to the cave for meetings and religious services.
	The team of Miami archaeologist Robert Carr, Day and historian Sandra
Norman of Deerfield Beach uncovered the skeletons of two children and a
young adult in the cave, as well as pottery shards, clay pipes, a musket
ball, brass straight pins, lead bailing seals, seeds, and thousands of
animal bones from a communal cooking pit.
	``The most fun for us was to take the rumor of the Eleutherans living
in the cave and, through history and archaeology, prove it,'' Norman
said.
	``It's the first British colony in the Bahamas and it marks the
beginning of permanent British occupation,'' she said.
	She said the cave is mentioned continually in Bermuda records for the
next 20 to 25 years after 1648 as meeting place, church and courthouse.
	Carr, director of Miami's Archaeological and Historical Conservancy,
said he was surprised the graves were found undisturbed under three to
four feet of sand although the cave has been visited frequently by
tourists and residents over the years.
	``Nobody dug them up,'' he said. ``It's absolutely amazing.''
	The remains were sent to Gainesville for further analysis.
	Included in the artifacts were five shards of pottery made in Puebla,
Mexico, from 1650 to 1720, which suggests the cave was used as a center
of trade for some time, said Day, president of the research firm
Research Atlantica in Boca Raton.
	Norman, an assistant professor of history at Florida Atlantic
University in Boca Raton, said much more work remains to be done, but
those involved in the project intend to proceed slowly.
	``We don't want to do any more digging in the cave or look outside
the cave until we look at all the artifacts we have, and dig deeper in
the archives in Bermuda and London,'' she said. ``We want to take it
very slowly so we don't miss anything either archaeologically or
historically.''
	Marvin Pinder, the Bahamas minister of local government, said he
wants to declare Preacher's Cave a national historic site.
	``I personally am a direct descendant of the Eleutheran Adventurers,
so it's very exciting to me to make what I see is a direct link with
history,'' he said. ``It confirms verbal history and whatever written
history there is.''
	Norman said Sayles had been governor of Bermuda, but fell out of
favor during the English Civil War, which began in 1642 and ended in
1649.
	``Most of the island remained Royalist and supported Charles I (who
was beheaded in 1649),'' she said.
	She said Sayles sailed to England, received a charter in 1647 for
establishment of the Eleutheran colony, picked up a few followers and
sailed back to Bermuda, where there are two versions of what happened
next.
	``If we take what Sayles and his people say, they left of their own
volition for religious freedom,'' she said. ``If we read Bermuda
records, they talk how they banished and threw out those trouble makers.
Obviously we have a little more research to do to figure out the reality
there.''
	When the group reached Eleuthera, they had a falling out aboard ship.
	``A few people are dropped off, we don't know where yet, and the rest
wreck on the Devil's Backbone and take up occupation in the Preacher's
Cave,'' Norman said.
	She said Sayles and eight others sailed to a small Puritan colony in
Virginia aboard their remaining ship, the six-ton Shallop.
	``They get supplies from them and from there word goes to the
Massachusetts Bay Colony that these Puritans in Eleuthera are in
trouble, so they raise a shipload of goods and ship it off to them as
well.
	``In return for the supplies, the Eleutherans cut down several tons
of braziletto wood, which is very valuable as a dye, and sent that back
to Boston as a gift and asked that the cargo be sold and the money be
donated to Harvard College.
	``It was the largest gift the college had received (up to that time)
since the original Harvard donation, and is known as the Eleutheran
donation in the Harvard records,'' she said.
41.109CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierTue May 19 1992 20:4670
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(MICHAEL DABNEY)
Subject: Quaker organization celebrates 75th anniversary
Date: Tue, 19 May 92 8:52:25 PDT

	PHILADELPHIA (UPI) -- The American Friends Service Committee, which
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947, is celebrating its 75th anniversary
the way it has worked for peaceful change throughout the world --
quietly.
	Although there are only 260,000 Quakers around the world, including
140,000 in the United States, the organization's influence greatly
exceeds its numbers.
	There are Service Committee workers on every continent and in most
countries, said Asia Bennett, who retired as executive director of the
AFSC last month. Bennett took over the post in 1980 and served as
executive director longer than any other director, except one, in the
75-year history of the AFSC. She will be succeeded by Kara Newell, who
will assume her new responsibilities June 8.
	The AFSC, which is rooted in Quaker pacifism, was started in 1917 to
provide support for American conscientious objectors during World War I,
and also gave care and medical service to French civilians during the
war.
	It didn't take long for the Service Committee to run headlong into
controversy.
	There was opposition in 1919, even among American Quakers, to the
AFSC providing food to more than one million children in Germany and
Austria, which lost the war.
	``They said we were providing aid and comfort to the enemy,'' said
Bennett. ``One of the fundamental Quaker principles...is that you
receive God in everyone. In that way, we have no enemies. There are many
Quakers who are now ashamed of the position taken by some Quakers in
1919.''
	But the AFSC and British Friends were acknowledged as a force for
world peace in 1947 when they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. In
1986, an AFSC film, ``Witness to War,'' won an Oscar.
	As Nobel Peace Prize-winner, the Service Committee can annually
submit nominees for the peace prize. It nominated former President Jimmy
Carter two years ago. That also didn't please some Quakers because of
his policies as president and because he is not a pacifist.
	Bennett defended the nomination, saying that since he left the Oval
Office, Carter has worked tirelessly for human rights and justice
throughout the world.
	The Service Committee has nominated several men who have won the
prize, although only Martin Luther King, who won in 1964, won in the
year he was nominated by the Quaker organization.
	The activities of the AFSC do not always please government officials.
	``We are non-partisian but we are not afraid to take on controversy,''
Bennett said. ``The U.S. government is not always cordial with our world
view.''
	The AFSC has supported the civil rights movement, the farm labor
movement and others in the United States, as well as human rights
movements in South Africa, Central America, the Middle East, and in
southeastern Asia.
	``The Service Committee's mission is not so much in what we say than
in what we do to promote Quaker values,'' Bennett said. The committee's
support for human rights in many countries has often put it at odds with
American policy.
	As she stepped down as the head of the AFSC, Bennett said she had no
regrets about her work.
	``What would be discouraging would be if I felt I couldn't do
anything about global militarism,'' Bennett said.
	Bennett will not be far from the AFSC. Her office as the new
executive secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation,
Section of the Americas, is only one floor below her old AFSC office.
	But Bennett said she will not be getting in the way upstairs. Newell
will be left to do her job.
41.110CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace: the Final FrontierFri May 22 1992 20:3863
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(WILLIAM D. MURRAY)
Subject: Group declares Rabbi Schneerson the Jewish Messiah
Date: Thu, 21 May 92 16:26:25 PDT
 
	SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- Guided by the changing geopolitical face of the
world, a group of influential Lubavitch Hasidic rabbis announced
Thursday they are convinced that the controversial leader of their sect
-- Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson -- is the Jewish faith's long awaited
Messiah.
	Rabbi Sholom Kalmanson, talk show host and leader of the Cincinnati
Chabad, said the Gulf War, the fall of the Iron Curtain and a drought in
the agricultural areas of Isreal were the long prophesied preludes to
the age of the Messiah.
	``For the past 2,000 years, the Jews have searched and yearned for a
Messiah,'' he said. ``But the Messiah is not someone who is going to
come down from Cloud 9 or appear one day in your chimney. He is someone
who is already here and who has fulfilled certain criteria ... in my
eyes and in my opinion that person is the Rebbe (Schneerson's religious
title).''
	Kalmanson, who was joined by four other San Francisco area rabbis,
said Schneerson fulfilled the Bibical requirements of a Messiah because
his sphere of influence was global in nature, he has worked for the
betterment of both Jews and gentiles for 32 years and his presence has
made the world a better place.
	When asked if Mother Theresa of Calcutta did not fulfill the same
criteria, Kalmanson said that in his opinion the Messiah must be Jewish.
Unlike the Christian faith, the Jews do not believe Jesus Christ was the
Messiah, instead they believe he was merely a prophet.
	It was not the first time Schneerson's name has come up in
discussions of a Messiah. Many of his 200,000 followers share the belief
that the rabbi, who lives a hermit-like existance in the Crown Heights
neighborhood of Brooklyn, is indeed the Messiah.
	For the past six months, Schneerson's followers have staged a
carnival-like campaign with neon signs, bumper stickers and billboards
posted throughout Isreal telling people to ``prepare for the coming of
the Messianic age.''
	But just as the campaign was reaching a fever pitch, the 90-year-old
Schneerson suffered a serious stroke in March and since then the
movement has become much more low key.
	In fact, Schneerson, himself, asked his followers to refrain from
calling him the Messiah. Although not denying Schneerson was the
Messiah, Rabbi Menachem Brod, spokesman for the Lubavitch movement in
Isreal, recently told members of the sect that ``the message he
(Schneerson) wants us to convey is that the Messiah is coming, not that
he is the Messiah.''
	Other leaders within the Jewish faith also have taken exception to
the stand of the conservative Lubavitch Hasidic sect.
	Rabbi Eliezer Schach, a politically powerful leader within Isreal,
has termed Schneerson ``a false Messiah'' and has harshly criticized the
Lubavitch movement.
	While the movement to elevate Schneerson to Messiah has been
smoldering for awhile, Kalmanson and his rabbinical colleagues are the
first to make such a public pronouncement.
	``We have not been in contact with Brooklyn,'' said Kalmanson when
asked if they had Schneerson's blessing. ``This is our belief, it needs
no approval.''
	Media calls to the sect's headquarters in New York went unanswered
Thursday afternoon.
41.111HEFTY::SEABURYMZen: It's Not What You ThinkSat May 23 1992 01:0415
    Richard:

             There was a feature story about Rabbi Schneerson in 
          the New York Times Sunday Magazine a few months back.
          Really quite interesting reading. 
              However, "hermit like" should probably not be used
          to describe the man. One picture showed him holding
          an audience for what must have been hundreds of people.
          The article also mentioned he regularly meets with with 
          world leaders, entertainment and sports celebrities.
              No, I think "hermit like" is pretty inaccurate if
         the Times story is even partially true.

                                                               Mike 
41.112CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistMon May 25 1992 21:5553
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Subject: Pope again rejects Anglican support for women priests
Date: Mon, 25 May 92 9:53:24 PDT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II told the Archbishop of
Canterbury Monday the trend of the Anglican Communion toward accepting
women priests ``constitues a grave obstacle to the whole process of
Anglican-Roman Catholic reconcilation,'' a Vatican document said.
	The joint statement summed up a meeting in the pope's Vatican
apartment between the pope and Archbishop George Carey, who was
enthroned as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in April 1991.
	It was the first meeting with the pope for Carey, 56, who was
accompanied to the private audience by his wife and by Bishop William
Ind of Grantham, England and the Rev. Canon Stephen Platten, the Church
of England's Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs.
	``The pope and the archbishop spoke of the question of the ordination
of women to the priesthood,'' the joint statement said. ``The archbishop
expressed his conviction that this development is a possible and proper
development of the doctrine of the ordained ministry.
	``The holy father reiterated what has already been said to Archbishop
Carey's predecessors, that this development constitutes a decision which
the (Catholic) church does not see itself entitled to authorize, and
which constitutes a grave obstacle to the whole process of Anglican-
Roman Catholic reconcilation,'' it said.
	In effect, the pope's response reiterated what he told Carey's
predecessor, Archbishop Robert Runcie, at the end of four days of
official talks with John Paul in October, 1989.
	On that occasion the joint declaration issued at the end of the talks
said the ``question and practice'' of ordaining women priests in some
provinces of the Anglican Communion ``prevents reconcilation between us,
even where there is otherwise progress.''
	The U.S. Episcopal Church -- the main American branch of the 70
million-strong Anglican Communion -- started ordaining women priests in
1976 and Anglican churches in Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Uganda and
Kenya, among others, have followed the U.S. lead.
	The Church of England, of which the archbishop of Canterbury is the
primate, is divided on the issue, but is expected to take a final
decision at a synod to be held in November.
	A week ago Archbishop Carey caused a stir in Catholic circles by
criticizing strongly the Roman Catholic total ban on artificial means of
birth control in an interview with the British newspaper Daily
Telegraph.
	``I try to understand the Roman Catholic position on birth control. I
do believe it is a very important issue that they have got to address,''
Carey said in the interview, which referred mainly to the effect of the
world population explosion on the environment.
	However, Chief Vatican Press Spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls told
reporters the themes of birth control and world population growth ``were
not even minimally touched on at today's meeting.''
41.113The Garden of Eden in Colorado?BSS::VANFLEETPerspective. Use it or lose it.Tue May 26 1992 14:4091
41.114RE: .113 - Please DELETE and re-file under 212, "Christianity and humor" :^|HLYCOW::ORZECHAlvin Orzechowski @ACITue May 26 1992 18:350
41.116CVG::THOMPSONDECWORLD 92 Earthquake TeamTue May 26 1992 19:387
>    Oh, but Alvin, I saw the article, too!  While, it did bring a smile to my
>    face, it appeared to me that these people are serious.

	Where? In a real newspaper or in a tabloid novel like the one quoted
	in .113?

			Alfred
41.117CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistTue May 26 1992 19:5564
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(GREG HENDERSON)
Subject: Justices allow restriction on courtroom Bible references
Date: Tue, 26 May 92 8:52:18 PDT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Tuesday allowed Pennsylvania's
highest court to order all prosecutors in the state to refrain from
mentioning the Bible or other religious writing in asking a jury to
impose a death penalty.
	The court, without comment, let stand a decision of the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court that convicted killer Karl Chambers is entitled to a new
sentencing.
	A jury sentenced Chambers to death after the prosecutor told them: 
``Karl Chambers has taken a life. As the Bible says, 'And the murderer
shall be put to death. Thank you.'''
	The state's highest court noted that in past cases it had ``narrowly
tolerated'' certain Biblical or other religious references by
prosecutors.
	``We now admonish all prosecutors that reliance in any manner upon
the Bible or other religious writing in support of the imposition of a
penalty of death is reversible error per se and may subject violators to
disciplinary action,'' the state supreme court wrote last November.
	Pennsylvania asked the justices to rule that such prosecutors'
statements are entitled to a ``case-by-case analysis'' to determine if
they prejudice a jury, not a ``per se'' ban on any religious references.
	The state argues the per se rule violates the free speech rights of
prosecutors, and violates the First Amendment's establishment clause by
barring all religious references.
	It asked the court to announce that it is ``constitutionally
appropriate for prosecutors to appeal to moral principles (like those
found in the Bible) when urging jurors to impose the death penalty.''
	Chambers was convicted of the 1986 murder of Anna Mae Morris after he
followed her from a store where she bought groceries with the proceeds
from a Social Security check, robbed her and beat her to death with an
axe handle.
	The state supreme court did not reverse the murder conviction but
merely ordered a new hearing to decide if Chambers should be given a
prison sentence or the death penalty.
	Pennsylvania said the prosecutor was ``in essence saying to the
jurors that the moral standards of the community demand the imposition
of the death penalty.''
	``By referring to the Bible, the prosecutor essentially said that the
nature of the crime violated the moral principles of the community, so
the jury should punish the defendant with death,'' wrote the state.
	But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the biblical reference was 
``more than allegorical'' and ``advocates to the jury that an
independent source of law exists for the conclusion that the death
penalty is the appropriate punishment.''
	``By arguing that the Bible dogmatically commands that 'the murderer
shall be put to death,' the prosecutor interjected religious law as an
additional factor for the jury's consideration which neither flows from
the evidence or any legitimate inference to be drawn therefrom,'' wrote
the court.
	The state's highest court also called the maneuver a ``deliberate
attempt to destroy the objectivity and impartiality of the jury.''
	``Our courts are not ecclesiastical courts and, therefore, there is
no reason to refer to religious rules or commandments to support the
imposition of a death penalty.''
                              ------
91-1597 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Karl S. Chambers
41.118.115 - Gee, Toto. I have a feeling we're not in Hell anymore!HLYCOW::ORZECHAlvin Orzechowski @ACITue May 26 1992 20:340
41.115CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistWed May 27 1992 00:367
    Oh, but Alvin, I saw the article, too!  While it did bring a smile to my
    face, it appeared to me that these people are serious.
    
    If the information is accurate, I figure Hell should be right about
    where Kansas is now.  I can see it!  ;-}
    
    Richard
41.119RE: .113 - an ASKENET reader says, ... HLYCOW::ORZECHAlvin Orzechowski @ACIFri May 29 1992 19:2629
               <<< 15749::NOTES$:[NOTES$LIBRARY]ASKENET.NOTE;4 >>>
                               Ask The Easynet V4
================================================================================
Note 3520.7               Tabloids as a source of news                   7 of 14
SMURF::SMURF::BINDER "REM RATAM CONTRA MVNDI MORAS AGO" 21 lines  27-MAY-1992 07:35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          -< Source of entertainment >-

    Speaking of Weekly World News...
    
    This week's edition features a cover story ADAM AND EVE'S SKELETONS
    FOUND IN COLORADO, with an "exclusive" photo showing the two skeletons
    lying together on their sides.  The article had a quotation from a
    purported expert who "found" the bones, saying they were 300,000 years
    old.
    
    That photo rang a bell, so I went home and dug out the July 1988 issue
    of National Geographic, which features the same photo, in color no
    less, in an article about the earthquake that leveled the city of
    Kourion, Cyprus, in A.D. 365.
    
    Now then, lest anybody think WWN is a fraud, I should quote from the
    masthead of that charming publication:  "WEEKLY WORLD NEWS is a jornal
    of information, opinions, and entertainment."  Well, I was entertained
    - kept me busy for several minutes laughing at their presumption in
    publishing that photo.  I was even entertained enough that I'm
    considering writing a letter to the Geographic.  :-)
    
    -dick
41.120CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistFri May 29 1992 21:065
    Looks like we been found out, Nance!  I still say bein' in Kansas is pretty
    much like bein' in Hell.
    
    :-)
    Richard
41.121more likely the Garden of Eden then ColaradoCVG::THOMPSONRadical CentralistSat May 30 1992 01:096
    Kansas is a beautiful place. Green and growing. Wonderful people.
    A home to a great many Mennonites, a very peaceful people. 

    		Alfred

    Guess who has a lot of family there? :-)
41.122BSS::VANFLEETPerspective. Use it or lose it.Mon Jun 01 1992 13:345
    Yup!
    
    ;-)
    
    Nanci
41.123SOLVIT::MSMITHSo, what does it all mean?Mon Jun 01 1992 14:213
    I dunno, I spent a week in Lawrence one night.
    
    Mike
41.124CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistThu Jun 04 1992 20:4429
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Subject: Church release opposes abortion, urges non-violence
Date: 3 Jun 1992 20:57:49 GMT
 
	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- The Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese issued a
statement reiterating the church's opposition to abortion and urging
pro-life protestors to protest peacefully.
	The statement, published Wednesday in the Catholic Herald, is a
prelude to the arrival of the Missionaries to the Pre-Born. The pro-life
group has said it will protest outside local abortion clinics beginning
June 15.
	``Because of its stance, the church has looked upon legalized
abortion on demand in the United States since Roe vs. Wade as a terrible
tragedy,'' reads the statement, which also pledges to work toward
reversing the legality of abortion.
	The statement accepts the rights of protestors to commit acts of
civil disobedience, but urges compassion toward the subjects of
protests.
	``For example, the archdiocese rejects harsh treatment and verbal
slurs against women who visit an abortion clinic,'' it says. ``It is
pastorally inappropriate to taunt people at such a stress-filled time in
their lives.''
	The statement says that those involved in protests must be ready to
accept the legal consequences of their actions, and not endanger law
enforcement officials.
41.125CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistFri Jun 05 1992 01:1828
Subject: Home sellers turn to saint for help
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 92 9:59:32 PDT
 
	MUNSTER, Ind. (UPI) -- Homeowners plagued by a sluggish real estate
market are turning to St. Joseph for help in unloading their property.
	One real estate agent estimated that 30 percent of home sellers in
the Munster area are burying small figurines of the saint, a patron of
workers, in their yards and getting good results.
	When Bea Eagan was trying to sell her home, she went three months
without a nibble. Then her mother-in-law told her about St. Joseph.
Eagan buried a figurine in her yard and within a week the house had
sold.
	``I don't know if it was a freak accident or what,'' said Eagan, a
Protestant. ``If you believe in something, you make your own luck.''
	Elizabeth Johnson, a spokesman for the Gary Catholic Diocese, said
the practice is not a part of Catholicism but is based on the Catholic
belief in the intercession of the saints.
	``It's not a Catholic rabbit's foot. It's not officially condoned by
the church because it could be so easily abused,'' Johnson said. ``St.
Joseph is not a Century 21 agent.''
	Dan Ragonese, who owns All Saints Religious Goods in nearby Calumet
City, Ill., has sold more than 1,200 St. Joseph statues in the past five
years.
	The statues, which start at $1.25 for a small plastic model, come
with instructions on burying the figurine and with a prayer to be
recited.
	Usually it takes about a month for the figurine to work, Ragonese
said, but he's heard of action in as little as three hours.
41.126ATSE::FLAHERTYWings of fire: Percie and meFri Jun 05 1992 13:069
    Thanks for the tip, Richard!!  My house has been on the market for
    three years, think I'll try St. Joseph.  ;')
    
    In all seriousness though, whenever I've lost or misplaced something I
    pray to St. Anthony and without fail the item is found, usually within
    minutes.
    
    Ro
    
41.12729067::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistMon Jun 08 1992 22:2141
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Subject: Methodists join effort against proposed casino complex
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 92 15:42:18 PDT
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- The United Methodist Church of Illinois is joining
the effort to keep a proposed $2 billion casino gambling complex out of
Chicago, a published report said Sunday.
	Crain's Chicago Business said the organization consisting of 1,500
Methodist churches across the state has launched a lobbying campaign to
pressure state lawmakers to kill any legislation that would allow land-
based casino gambling.
	The so-called ``Campaign for Accountability'' reportedly will begin
with Methodist pastors calling on their parishioners to urge their local
representatives to oppose any pro-gambling legislation.
	The next step will take place during the final two weeks of the
month, with the church organization targeting individual legislators.
	Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's Gaming Commission is expected to
release its recommendation this week on the casino complex proposed by
three Las Vegas gambling operators -- Caesar's World, Circus Circus and
Hilton Hotels.
	Daley supports the proposal, saying it would bring an estimated 66,
000 jobs and badly needed tourism business to the nation's third-largest
city.
	However, the idea has drawn a cold shoulder from the Chicago Crime
Commission, which recently released a letter signed by a former mobster
backing the commission's stance against the gambling complex.
	William Johoda said the casino-entertainment complex would increase
the mob's client base in Chicago and would lure all sorts of criminal
types to the city.
	Daley dismissed the comments and Jahoda, saying the government
informant should have been in jail years ago.
	An executive with Hilton Hotels also dismissed fears of organized
crime penetrating a casino operation in Chicago.
	Joseph F. Frederick, Hilton senior vice president, last week told a
gambling forum sponsored by the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago
the city needs something like the proposed gambling complex to draw
tourists to Chicago.
41.128CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistTue Jun 09 1992 20:0856
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Subject: Quayle praises 'Norman Rockwell' values
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 92 9:46:50 PDT
    
	INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) -- Vice President Dan Quayle told the Southern
Baptist national convention Tuesday that ``small town values'' are alive
and well in the United States.
	Quayle gave the keynote address to 14,000 Southern Baptists meeting
at the Indiana Convention Center.
	``In some ways we're a nation of strangers, we cannot -- as the
sophisticated folks are always reminding us -- 'turn back the clock' to
the America of Norman Rockwell and the small town values he celebrated.
And yet those values are still there. They live in our thousands of
Southern Baptist churches and in other places of worship across America,
'' he said.
	Quayle said that the ``elite culture,'' with the ``media elite'' at
the forefront, had evolved after decades of change.
	``Some of these changes have seemed to have undermined the values we
cherish,'' Quayle said. ``In fact, these changes have created a cultural
divide in our country. It is so great a divide, it sometimes seems we
have two cultures: the cultural elite and the rest of us.''
	Quayle said his criticism of the media has earned him the ``scorn of
the media elite,'' which he said he now wears ``as a badge of honor.''
	``Talk about right and wrong and they'll try to mock us in newsrooms,
sitcom studios and faculty lounges across America,'' Quayle said.
	``But in the heart of America, in the homes and workplaces and
churches, the message is heard. A sense of moral decency runs deep in
the American people.''
	The vice president has been the focal point of a national debate on
morals since he suggested last month that TV character Murphy Brown had
glorified single motherhood and downplayed the role of fathers.
	During a speech in San Franciso, Quayle accused the character of 
``mocking the importance of fathers.''
	Quayle said, ``As I discovered recently, to appeal to our country's
enduring basic moral values is to invite the scorn and laughter of the
elite culture.''
	White House sources characterized Tuesday's speech not as ``Murphy
Brown II,'' but rather an evaluation of the reaction to ``Murphy Brown
I.''
	On Monday, the Baptists' executive committee unanimously passed a 
``resolution of appreciation'' applauding Quayle for his remarks on
family values.
	The resolution scorned ``the glamorization of Murphy's out-of-wedlock
motherhood'' and criticized those who have ``ridiculed (Quayle) and the
principle he stated.''
	The Southern Baptist Convention has grown increasingly conservative
since 1979 when fundamentalists took over the leadership. It is the
nation's largest Protestant denomination, with more than 15 million
members in the United States, including nearly 100,000 members in
Indiana.
	The convention is scheduled to continue through Thursday at
Indianapolis.
41.129CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistTue Jun 09 1992 20:0936
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Subject: Church adjusts position on abortion
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 92 8:23:37 PDT
    
	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has decided to
maintain its position that abortion should be legal but has taken a more
conservative stance by calling it an option of last resort.
	The stance was outlined in a majority report adopted by commissioners
434-121 Monday at the 204th General Assembly, which meets through
Wednesday. The position taken by the 2.9 million-member denomination
reflects the diversity of views within the church on abortion.
	``It more or less recognizes the integrity of everybody's position,''
said the Rev. Paul Bodine, interim director of the Milwaukee Presbytery.
	Opponents of the new policy said it is no different from a 1983
statement that supported a women's right to choose with no restrictions.
	The new position affirms the ability of women, guided by Scripture
and the Holy Spirit, to make good moral choices concerning problem
pregnancies.
	At the same time, it said the large number of abortions in the United
States is a ``grave concern'' to the church and the church must make a
commitment to reduce the number.
	The statement asks the church to offer alternatives to abortion, such
as adoptive services and more financial and emotional help to pregnant
women.
	Abortion ``would seem to be a morally acceptable decision'' in
pregnancies caused by rape or incest, when the mother's life is in
danger or when the fetus is severely deformed, the policy said.
	It is ``morally unacceptable'' when used as a repeated method of
birth control, for gender selection or to obtain fetal parts for
transplantation.
	The report notes, however, ``there is no biblical evidence to support
the idea that abortion is an unpardonable sin.''
41.130CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistWed Jun 10 1992 19:2047
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Subject: Presbyterians reject proposal to oust Boy Scouts
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 92 1:59:01 PDT
 
	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- Commissioners of the 204th General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church voted 365-162 late Tuesday night to reject the
resolution that would have banned the Boy Scouts of America from church
facilities because the youth organization bars homosexuals.
	The resolution was brought by two members of the Long Island, N.Y.,
Presbytery.
	Each delegate vote represented about 6,000 Presbyterians.
	In Indiana, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention were also
confronted with the issue of homosexuality and they voted overwhelmingly
to ban from future national meetings churches that approve of gay
behavior.
	Before the vote, the convention heard Vice President Dan Quayle
praise ``small town values'' and attack the ``media elite.''
	To become effective, the Baptist resolution must be endorsed a second
time at the chuch's convention in Houston next year.
	In Milwaukee, the resolution rejected by the Presbyterian General
Assembly had been recommended for approval by a committee of
commissioners. The committee earlier rejected another proposal submitted
by the Presbytery of Western North Carolina that stated the church
upholds the right of the Boy Scouts to set its own criteria for
membership.
	Opponents said the proposal would create a firestorm of controversy
in the church, and a lengthy debate was expected. But commissioners,
weary from a full day of activity, brought the issue to a vote about
midnight after only 40 minutes of discussion.
	The resolution was prompted by the Scouts' exclusion of homosexuals
from membership in the organization. The church's General Assembly
declared in 1978 that the church must not tolerate discrimination of
people based on sexual orientation.
	The resolution, proposed by Ernest Jung and Glorya Johnson of the
Long Island Presbytery, would have allowed individual churches to meet
with Boy Scout troops that use their facilities and urge them to cease
their exclusion of homosexuals. If the troop leadership continues
banning homosexuals, the church could ban them from their facilities.
	Hundreds of Scout troops meet in Presbyterian churches across the
United States.
	There was little comment in support of the resolution. Commissioners
opposing it, including some former Boy Scouts, said it was inappropriate
for the church to interfere with the policy of the Scouts.
41.131CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistWed Jun 10 1992 19:2130
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Subject: Southern Baptists endorse anti-gay resolution
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 92 15:50:56 PDT
 
	INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) -- Delegates overwhelmingly endorsed an anti-
homosexual resolution Tuesday at the Southern Baptist Convention to ban
from future national meetings churches that approve of gay behavior.
	To become effective, the resolution must be endorsed a second time at
the chuch's convention in Houston next year.
	Earlier this year, the church's executive committee condemned Pullen
Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., for conducting a same-sex
commitment ceremony and Olin Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in Chapel
Hill, N.C., for licensing a gay divinity student to preach.
	Neither congregation sent delegates to the national convention.
	``We would like the world to know that this is how it should be,''
said resolutions committee member Joe H. Reynolds of Texas.
	Another resolutions committee member, Larry Otis of Mississippi, said
he could not support the proposal because it requires changing the
constitution.
	``I think we should be careful about opening the constitution,'' said
Otis. He also said he opposes homosexuality.
	James Guenther, the committee's attorney, said the resolution, if
finally approved, will be a ``historic occasion.''
	``The Southern Baptist Convention has never refused to accept
messengers (delegates) based on a church's faith and teachings,'' he
said.
41.132CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistThu Jun 11 1992 22:1161
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Subject: Preachers challenging anti-noise ordinance
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 92 15:40:08 PDT
 
	BEAUFORT, S.C. (UPI) -- Churches and American Civil Liberty Union
lawyers are battling to overturn a prohibition against ``loud and
unseemly noise'' passed in response to the dozens of street preachers
who have flocked to this coastal community.
	The city of 9,576 residents, known as the site for the filming of the
movies ``The Prince of Tides,'' ``The Big Chill'' and ``The Great
Santini,'' has seen two preachers convicted this week on charges they
violated the ordinance. Some 30 others face trial on similar charges.
	John Asquith, a street preacher from Gethsemane Baptist Church in
Lexington, S.C., was convicted Monday by a Municipal Court jury. Stephen
Williamson, from the same church, was convicted Tuesday.
	Eight other local preachers also have been convicted. Six paid fines
but two, Karl Baker and Phil Fregin of Calvary Baptist Church in
Beaufort, convicted of repeatedly violating the ordinance, refused to
pay and were sentenced to jail by Municipal Judge Ralph ``Ned'' Tupper.
	Baker was sentenced to five months in jail and Fregin to four months.
	Some 32 other jury trials are scheduled for street preachers arrested
for violating the ordinance, passed last October by the Beaufort City
Council. The law forbids ``loud and unseemly noise.'' Violators face 30
days in jail or a $234 fine.
	``It's a noise issue, not a religious issue,'' said city attorney
Bill Harvey.
	But churches are challenging the ordinance's constitutionality and
Circuit Judge Jackson Gregory is expected to rule on the matter soon.
	The churches also are seeking an injunction against enforcement of
the ordinance in U.S. District Court in Columbia.
	Patrick Flynn, a Columbia, S.C., lawyer representing Calvary Baptist
Church on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of South
Carolina, said a lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in
Columbia seeking to block enforcement.
	A hearing on the request is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday before
Judge Matthew Perry.
	``We're trying to ask the court to enjoin future enforcement of the
ordinance until the court can rule on the constitutionality,'' he said.
``We're trying to prevent people from getting arrested for going
downtown and preaching.''
	Another suit was filed May 25 in federal court on behalf of members
of the Gethsemane church, and Flynn said members of that church have
asked to intervene in that suit.
	Flynn said if the issue is noise, the city can legitimately seek to
enforce peace and quiet.
	``But this is not an ordinance that does that constitutionally,'' he
said. ``The ordinance unfortunately allows them to decide what noises
they're going to suppress and what noises they're going to allow and it
doesn't provide any guidelines for how or when that's going to be done.
	``They've determined that if merchants complain, that's a violation,''
Flynn said. ``I don't think that satisfies the Constitution.''
	He said if the issue is noise, the city should be able to tell the
preachers what level of noise is going to be acceptable without
violating the ordinance.
	``No one can tell them that,'' he said. ``What's happening is the
ordinance is acting as a prohibition on their freedom of speech to
preach downtown.''
41.133CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistThu Jun 11 1992 22:1286
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(HENRY DAVID ROSSO)
Subject: Angry exchange over family values between Jackson and Robertson
Date: 11 Jun 92 15:16:28 GMT
 
	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A discussion on Vice President Dan Quayle's
speeches on family values erupted in an angry exchange of accusations
between Jesse Jackson and evangelist Pat Robertson on national
television Thursday.
	Jackson and Robertson appeared on ABC's ``Good Morning America''
program to discuss Quayle's comments, specifically his speech Tuesday
before the Southern Baptist convention in Indianapolis when he said:
	``Moral values are what the American people care most about, and
that's why I say this about the scorn of the media elite: I wear their
scorn as a badge of honor.''
	Robertson, speaking from the studios of his Christian Broadcasting
Network in Virginia Beach, Va., said, ``I do think that there's deep in
the heart of a number of people a desire to see more in, say, prime-time
television move toward family values and moral values, and I think that
from all the surveys I've seen, the people feel that the media, you
know, some parts, especially the print press, has been skewed against
their values.''
	Jackson, speaking from Washington, where he is the District of
Columbia's shadow senator, said, ``The issue here is not only should we
espouse family values as individuals, but our government must put a
value on the family.''
	Jackson turned to the Bible and related the story of Mary and Joseph.
	``You know, when Mary said she was pregnant and Joseph was not the
daddy, there was a debate then about family values, but Mary and Joseph
had to pay taxes and they had to make the census count, and even though
they did all of that, Rome provided for them no house. So ... Jesus was
born to a homeless couple.''
	Robertson countered that ``the major cause of poverty is the birth of
children to unwed mothers. And in the inner-city community, it's in the
62 percent to 66 percent range.''
	He said the government ``cannot assume but so much of personal
responsibility and I think the conservative message has always been
individual initiative and faith in God and biblical values.''
	Jackson said that when Quayle speaks of family values, ``he does not
speak with an appreciation of the agony of the fact that half of our
nation's children are born living in houses with women without husbands.
''
	``He (Quayle) was born wealthy and healthy, a life of lifts and
gifts, a tailwind behind his back,'' Jackson said. ``He seems neither to
have the compassion nor the understanding of the predicament of many
people who've said, 'We are poor.'''
	Jackson lashed out at Quayle, saying, ``I resent Dan Quayle, some
rich young ruler, some pot-smoking, exam-cheating, draft-dodging, vice
president talking down to the American people.''
	Then the fireworks began.
	``Jesse, I lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant (a neighborhood in Brooklyn)
with my family, one of the worst black slums in America, and I know the
plight of the poor and I've committed my life to help them, but you're
not going to help black people unless the black men stop siring children
out of wedlock,'' Robertson said.
	``That's a racist statement! That's a racist statement!'' Jackson
retorted, adding that ``the poor in this country are mostly white,
female, and young, and to inject race as your example is a racist
reaction.''
	Robertson and Jackson spoke over each other with Robertson saying
that 62 percent ``of the live births in the black community are to unwed
women.''
	Following a commercial break, Jackson attacked what he said was
Quayle's ``arrogrance and insensitivity with which he talks about women
having babies,'' and added, ``Dan Quayle has lived above the stress and
strain of everyday working people's lives, and he's using this as a
political lever to make gain and dividing, and he's not healing.''
	Robertson said, ``This just happens to be the largest portion of
poverty, and it's one of the things in the south central (Los Angeles)
riots we've just seen. I mean, young people who ... had this sense of
rage, and most of them have that because of lack of parental influence.
And these women, of course they're in trouble and suffering, but I
question whether or not certain of the television programs and certain
of the advertising that we have in our society doesn't create an amoral
situation where people are encouraged to have sex out of wedlock and to
bring forth children without the proper family environment.''
	He said Quayle ``was addressing the fact that people will smirk at
somebody who says there is such a thing as right and wrong and that we
should have moral standards.''
	Jackson said, ``Unemployment, lack of day care, lack of health care,
lack of education or scholarships, all of which Dan Quayle has, is a
real strain on families.''
41.134CVG::THOMPSONRadical CentralistFri Jun 12 1992 14:034
	Rev. Jackson is clueless isn't he? Or does he just hate black people?
	I'm no Pat Roberson fan but he does seem to care more.

			Alfred
41.135CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistSat Jun 13 1992 01:0234
Subject: Russian Orthodox authorities defrock Ukrainian church leader
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 92 10:13:18 PDT
 
	MOSCOW (UPI) -- The Russian Orthodox Church defrocked the top leader
of the church in Ukraine Friday because of his efforts to gain autonomy
for the Ukrainian branch.
	The dispute between Metropolitan Filaret of Kiev and the Moscow
leadership of the church under Patriarch Alexy appears to be leading to
a split in the Russian Orthodox Church between those favoring an
independent church in Ukraine and those still loyal to Moscow.
	Filaret was officially replaced as head of the Russian Orthodox
Church in Ukraine by the hierarchy in Moscow last month, but he still
maintains much of the support of the Ukrainian faithful.
	After Ukraine became independent, Filaret moved to gain autonomy for
the Ukrainian branch of the church. When Filaret refused to back down,
the patriarch responded by sacking the Ukrainian church leader and
replacing him with Metropolitan Vladimir who pledged his loyalty to
Moscow.
	On Friday, a bishop's council of the Russian Orthodox Church voted to
``strip Metropolitan Filaret of all degrees of holy orders and of all
rights connected with his being a clergyman,'' a church statement said.
	The bishop's council said the move was necessary because of the 
``despicable behavior'' of Filaret, who the Moscow hierarch says broke a
promise to call a council of Ukrainian bishops and submit his
resignation rather than be fired.
	Even before the split, Russian Orthodoxy was already struggling with
problems in Ukraine because of the resurgence of the Ukrainian Catholic
Church, which is loyal to Rome and has moved to take back churches given
to the Orthodox during Communist persecution of the Catholics.
	The Moscow bishop's council issued an appeal to Ukrainian Orthodox
believers to promote church unity.
	A small group of Ukrainians protested outside the Moscow monastery
where the bishops met Friday, demanding that Filaret be reinstated and
the Ukrainian church be granted independence.
41.136CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistMon Jun 15 1992 20:2348
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Subject: About half of Catholics polled approve of abortion
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 92 10:40:37 PDT
 
	NEW YORK (UPI) -- Nearly half of Americans Catholics surveyed reported
that they approve of abortion-on-demand during the first trimester, with
the percentage increasing in cases where the mother or child would be
endangered.
	Forty-seven percent of respondents nationwide believe that abortion
for any reason is acceptable, with 45 percent of Roman Catholics
reporting the same view in a TIME/CNN poll released Sunday.
	The TIME/CNN poll, conducted by Yankelovich Clancy Shulman on June 3-
4, shows little difference between Catholics and the general population
on attitudes towards abortion.
	Of those surveyed, 84 percent of Americans favor abortion when the
mother's life is at stake, as do 81 percent of Catholics. When asked if
abortion was acceptable if the baby would be born seriously deformed, 68
percent of Catholics said ``yes,'' as did 70 percent of the general
population, it said.
	The poll has a sampling error of 5.6 percent for questions asked of
304 members of the Catholic faith, 2.8 percent for those asked of all 1,
250 respondents.
	The survey also showed that 61 percent of Catholics favor allowing
priests to be married, 63 percent favor allowing women to be priests and
77 percent feel divorced Catholics should be able to remarry in the
church.
	The view that Catholics do not agree on the church's policy toward
abortion was pointed up dramatically over the past few days in New York,
climaxing with a counter-rally Saturday outside a Manhattan women's
clinic where Roman Catholic Cardinal John O'Connor was holding a prayer
vigil against abortion.
	Religious and lay leaders, including Frances Kissling, president of
Catholics For a Free Choice, an educational group in Washington, D.C.,
were among several who called for the church to steer clear of opinions
on abortion rights.
	Kessling said polls taken over the past 20 years from several sources
show that Catholics do not agree with the pope's dictum on abortion, nor
with the cardinal's strong stand.
	O'Connor was joined by more than 1,500 people outside of the Eastern
Women's clinic in Manhattan Saturday morning for a prayer vigil. About
700 pro-choice activists jeered and chanted for abortion rights, some of
them Catholics.
	It was the first time the Roman Catholic leader, who has often spoken
out against abortion, participated in an anti-abortion protest.
41.137CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistMon Jun 15 1992 20:2339
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Subject: Poll: 7 in 10 Catholics approve of married priests
Date: Sat, 13 Jun 92 22:45:04 PDT
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- A new poll shows 70 percent of Roman Catholics in the
United States approve of marriages for priests.
	The poll on priests and celibacy was conducted by the Gallup
Organization and asked the question: ``Would you favor allowing Roman
Catholic priests to marry and continue to function as priests?''
	Seventy percent of the respondents said yes, 26 percent no and 4
percent had no opinion. Eighty-two percent of women supported the idea
of married priests, compared to 68 percent of men. The poll had a margin
of error of 4 percent.
	The results are part of a larger survey commissioned by several
liberal Catholic groups that will be made public next week at the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops at the University of Notre Dame.
	``We agree the church is not run by a poll,'' said Leonard Sikora, a
spokesman for CORPUS, a national organization of men who left the
priesthood to marry.
	But ``we don't know of any other way of determining...where the Holy
Spirit has led the faithful,'' Sikora said Saturday.
	Pope John Paul II has reaffairmed the 850-year-old church tradition
of celibacy for priests ordered at the beginning of the fourth century
in some dioceses.
	Universal celibacy was adopted by the Lateran Council in 1139, but
the Eastern rite of Roman Catholism still ordains married men as
priests.
	Members of CORPUS who want to return to the ministry say permitting
priests to marry would ease the growing shortage of priests and keep
parishes open.
	About half of the 40,000 men under the age of 60 who had been
ordained Catholic priests are now married, said CORPUS President Anthony
Padovano.
	The results of the poll will be sent to all 300 U.S. Catholic
bishops.
41.138CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistSat Jun 20 1992 00:4550
I would add to this that there is an interesting and enlightening article
in the issue of TIME magazine dated June 22, 1992, entitled "Cut From The
Wrong Cloth," which examines the issues concerning women in the Catholic
church.

Peace,
Richard
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Subject: Poll says Catholics support female priest
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 92 6:07:21 PDT
 
	SOUTH BEND, Ind. (UPI) -- Two-thirds of the nation's Roman Catholics
believe the church should allow women to be priests and three-fourths
support a married priesthood, a Gallup poll shows.
	The survey was released Thursday by a coalition of Catholic reform
groups meeting at the University of Notre Dame simultaneously with the
spring meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
	According to Sister Maureen Fiedler, co-director of Catholics Speak
Out, the survey suggests the gap between church hierarchy and laity is
growing.
	More than 800 Catholics, a cross-section of ages and races, were
polled by the Gallup organization in May. The margin of error was plus-
or-minus 4 percentage points.
	The survey revealed changes in the outlook of the nation's Catholics
toward women's roles in the church. The poll stated that 67 percent of
Catholics believe women should be allowed as priests, up 20 percentage
points from seven years ago. Fifty-eight percent support female bishops,
and 80 percent favor female deacons.
	Other findings include:
	--72 percent said bishops should be elected by the priests and the
people of the diocese.
	--83 percent want bishops in the United States to approve condom use
to prevent the spread of AIDS.
	--87 percent said couples should make their own decisions about birth
control.
	Some bishops, when told of the results, reportedly called the data-
gathering unscientific.
	``They don't like the results,'' Fiedler surmised. ``We are not
saying what they want to hear.''
	The survey ``confirms that (any anti-feminist) backlash is a very
small minority,'' said Ruth Fitzpatrick, coordinator of the Women's
Ordination Conference.
	Those calling for reform ``are not the freaks and flakes and marginal
ones,'' she said.

41.139CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistMon Jun 22 1992 22:2827
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Subject: Pope beatifies Italian priest
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 92 8:13:27 PDT
 
	CARAVAGGIO, Italy (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II, on a three-day visit to
the north Italian region of Lombardy, Sunday beatified Francesco
Spinelli, an Italian priest who worked in the area in the 19th century
and founded a religious order of nuns.
	The pope praised Spinelli, who died in 1913, as a ``servant of the
poorest'' and as ``always attentive to his brethren who were in
difficulty and to the handicapped.''
	The pope declared Spinelli ``blessed'' during a mass for 40,000
people at Lombardy's largest shrine to Our Lady.
	Beatification is the penultimate stage on the road to official
sainthood in the Catholic Church.
	On Saturday, the pope visited the town of Lodi, about 20 miles south
of Milan, where a local Socialist Party official committed suicide
Wednesday after being questioned by magistrates involved in a massive
investigation of corruption in northern Italy.
	He urged local government officials to ``preserve the patrimony of
moral values of the city.''
	``No form of democracy can survive if its base in an appeal to a
common morality fails,'' he warned them.
41.140CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistThu Jun 25 1992 22:4222
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VIETNAM SENDS FIRST OFFICIALS TO VATICAN
 
    HANOI, June 23, Reuter - Vietnam's communist government sent its first
official delegation to the Vatican this month, a sign of Hanoi's improving
relations with its Roman Catholic minority, Western diplomats said on Tuesday.
    The diplomats expected the two sides to discuss setting up diplomatic ties
but this was not likely to happen soon.
    The Vietnamese government had no immediate comment on the visit.
    It received the first Vatican delegation in November 1990 and a second in
January 1992. Western diplomats said those visits indicated the beginning of a
dialogue on possible diplomatic ties with the Holy See.
    Hanoi put many priests in re-education camps after the Vietnam War ended in
1975. The communists mistrust the country's six million Catholics, whom they
associate with the former U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government and French
colonial rule.
    But the state has eased controls on the church in recent years, allowing
more priests to train and seminaries to open.
    Young people bored with Marxist rhetoric are turning increasingly to
Christianty or Vietnam's main religion, Buddhism.
 
41.141CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace ReservistMon Jun 29 1992 21:0048
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Subject: Liberation theologist leaves Franciscan Order
Date: Sun, 28 Jun 92 16:45:32 PDT
 
	RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (UPI) -- Prominent liberation theologian
Leonardo Boff has decided to resign from the Franciscan Order because of
pressure from the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, a newspaper said
Sunday.
	Boff, one of the most important figures in the liberation theology
movement that held that the church was obligated to become a force for
social change, has formally cut his ties with the Franciscan order and
plans during the next few weeks to ask the Vatican for permission to
become a lay member of the church, the Sao Paulo newspaper Folha said.
	Boff had planned to make public his decision in July, but the
newspaper obtained a copy of a letter explaining his reasons for leaving
the priesthood. ``Everyone has his limit and my limit has been reached,''
Folha quoted the letter as saying.
	Boff was punished in 1985 by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the
Faith with one year of silence for writing his book, ``Church, Charisma
and Power,'' now being republished in Brazil.
	During the past year the Franciscan publisher Vozes stopped
publishing Boff's works and the Vatican ordered him to submit all his
writing for censorship.
	In the letter adressed to ``friends and friends of my long journey
and of hope,'' Boff said he would continue a ``theology mainly Catholic
and ecumenical to the poor, against poverty and in favor of liberation.''
 
	He said he was leaving the clergy to ``have the power to continue the
work from which I have been blocked from doing.''
	Boff's letter said liberation theology took hold at the begining of
the 1970s because of its ability to evangelize ``with social justice and
cry out against the opressors with the God of life.''
	Brazil in the 1970s, like much of Latin America, was ruled by the
military. Torture and execution by death squads were common in Brazil
during the era. Boff and others who attempted to improve social
conditions were accused of being communists.
	The letter said, ``We must rescue the liberating potential of the
Christian faith...and break the ring of steel that keeps Christianity a
captive of powerful interests.''
	Boff wrote that as a layman he would be able to pursue his
theological work ``begining the construction of an Indo-Afro-American
Christianity expressed culturally in the bodies, the skins, in the
dances, in the suffering, in the happiness and in the languages of our
peoples as an answer to the evangelism of God.''
41.147CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceTue Jul 07 1992 21:0665
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Subject: School prayer: between substance and symbol
Date: Fri, 3 Jul 92 1:08:04 EDT
 (Commentary)
 
	When the Supreme Court agreed to hear its latest religion-in-the-
schools case last year, it revealed a deep fissure between cultural and
religious conservatives.
	The case, Lee vs. Weisman, involved a rabbi's prayer at a high school
graduation ceremony in Rhode Island and follows a long string of cases
dating back to 1947 in which the Supreme Court has sought to draw the
line on state-sponsored religious exercises in the school.
	In Lee vs. Weisman, decided June 24, the court, in a rebuff to the
cultural conservatives -- headed by the Bush administration -- ruled that
the use of such prayers at graduation ceremonies is unconstitutional.
	For the most part, organized religion -- especially mainline
Protestants as well as Jewish groups -- have cheered the court on, seeing
in the effort to devise state-sponsored religious ceremonies that would
be inoffensive to the bulk of people as a trivialization of religion.
	Among conservatives, the situation has been more complex.
	Theological conservatives, such as the Baptist Joint Committee on
Public Affairs, who trace their heritage back to the religious liberty
struggles of Roger Williams, have tended to be fierce in their
insistence on a wall of separation between church and state.
	On the other hand, cultural conservatives -- such as Vice President
Dan Quayle, former White House aide Gary Bauer and others who came to
power during the Reagan administration -- want to see a nation that more
publicly expresses ``values'' and some kind of genralized, even if
innocuous, commitment to God.
	For them, the decision in Lee vs. Weisman was another sign that the
nation is turning godless.
	Terry Eastland, who served in the Reagan administration and now works
out of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a culture conservative 
``think tank,'' called the decision ``monstrous'' and ``preposterous''
and another sign that the public schools are becoming ``value-free.''
	But James Dunn, director of the Baptist Joint Committee, had another
response. ``I sympathize with those who see in this decision the awesome
specter of all religion being banned from public life,'' Dunn said.
	``However, I cannot imagine why anyone would defend rituals that
divide, trivialize and Balkanize,'' he said. ``I don't hanker to protect
and perpetuate 'non-religious prayers.'
	``What an oxymoron. Watered-down, lowest-common denominator, state-
sponsored religion is worse than worthless.''
	But the cultural conservatives don't believe that. They think if
civic ceremonies are given the veneer of religion, even if it is
religion without substance, the country is a better place.
	They seem to think that other institutions -- the family or the
church, synagogue or mosque, for example -- cannot instill ``proper''
values among their adherents.
	Of course they would be the first to be offended if any substance --
values that differed from their own -- were invoked.
	What, one wonders, would be the response if a feminist theologian
invoked ``God, our Mother and Creator,'' or if a liberation theologian
called on ``Jesus, the redeeming liberator of the oppressed'' to guide
the graduating students into the way of struggle for the poor?
	For believers, religion is a substantive matter. The models of God,
or the universe or the meaning of life, are shaped in their homes, their
places of worship, their reading of their sacred scriptures.
	To insist that some form of trivialized religion is an American value
and must be a part of civic ceremonies ultimately does more to undermine
the real values the nation seeks to promote.
41.148CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceMon Jul 13 1992 19:2942
Subject: Pope plans to visit Baltic States next year
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 92 13:32:48 EDT
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II Saturday accepted an
invitation to visit the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
and said he hoped to make the trip in September, 1993.
	The pope made the announcement during a ceremony in which new
Lithuanian Ambassador to the Holy See Kazys Lozoraitis, 63, presented
his letters of accreditation. The Vatican re-established full diplomatic
relations with the Baltic states in September last year.
	In his address to the ambassador, John Paul said he was ``happy to
accept'' the invitation of Church and civil authorities to make a
pastoral visit to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. He said he hoped to
make the visits in September, 1993.
	The trip will be the first by the pope to countries which formerly
were part of the Soviet Union.
	``This invitation realizes a desire I have had for some time,'' John
Paul told the ambassador. He recalled he had expressed a wish to go to
Lithuania in 1984 to attend ceremonies marking the 5th Centenary of St.
Casimir, patron saint of Lithuania, and in 1987 for the 6th Centenary of
Lithuania's ``baptism'' into the Christian faith.
	In his address, the pope recalled the ``trials and sufferings'' of
the Lithuanian people in trying to safeguard their national identity
under Nazi and Communist rule and the persecution suffered by Lithuanian
Jews.
	``The memory is particularly painful of recent decades, in the course
of which Lithuania suffered the destructive assault of two ideologies
which sought to impose by force on Europe and the world conceptions of
life radically contrary to the vocation of Man and to religious and
civil freedom,'' John Paul said.
	He spoke of the ``extreme sufferings of numerous bishops, of
thousands of priests and believers, intellectuals and politicians,
workers and peasants, of entire families condemned to deportation, most
often without return.
	``History also cannot forget the same tragic fate suffered by the
Jewish community, of Vilnius and Kaunas above all, because of an
atrocious racism which wanted to make them disappear from the face of
the earth,'' the pope said.
	He said Lithuania must ``construct wiuth patience its national life
and its democratic institutions, knowing that all the consequences of
independence can be attained only in the course of a progressive process
that will be more or less long.''
41.149CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceMon Jul 13 1992 19:2977
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(DION NISSENBAUM)
Subject: Church keeps music, message of John Coltrane alive
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 92 9:15:16 PDT
 
	SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) -- He is the saint with the sax, the angel of
jazz, the musician with a message. But jazz great John Coltrane would be
stunned to know his tonal portraits have fostered a religious awakening.
	A quarter century after his death, the sweet sound of his mellow
saxophone can be heard every Sunday echoing through St. John's African
Orthodox Church in San Francisco. To the faithful who gather there,
Coltrane's melodies have become a swing gospel.
	The small storefront church that holds no more than 60 people was
established in 1971 as the ``One Mind Temple Evolutionary Transitional
Body of Christ'' by Franzo King, now the St. John's bishop.
	King said he was led to establish the congregation after seeing
Coltrane in 1965, where he experienced what he called a ``sound baptism.
''
	``There was an effective transference of energy,'' King said of the
concert. ``At that point, I realized that the music was more than just
an art form that was given to the world or some African classical trip;
this music was full of the Holy Ghost and it awakened something in me.''
	King was mesmerized by the sounds produced by one of music's great
jazz innovators. During his career, Coltrane explored the boundaries of
tone, form and content by testing the limits of both his instrument and
the ears of his listeners.
	``Trane,'' as he was known among his peers, began his career with the
Miles Davis Quintet in 1955. But he soon ventured out on his own, and
quickly gained a reputation as a revolutionary jazz figure by blazing a
path with his improvisational style.
	The Hamlet, N.C., native consistently intertwined religion in his
music, and it was Coltrane's 1964 album, ``A Love Supreme,'' that
provided the cornerstone for St. John's.
	``This album is a humble offering to Him,'' Coltrane wrote in the
record's liner notes, ``an attempt to say 'thank you God' through our
work even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues.''
	For years the congregation existed as an autonomous body, but an
intrigued Archbishop with the African Orthodox Church approached King in
1982 and asked him to join the Great Body of the church. After a period
of examination and training, the congregation was formally welcomed as
St. John's and King recognized as a bishop in 1984.
	King said Coltrane's ``sainthood'' had been established by several
healings attributed to his music, but emphasized that sainthood did not
immediately imply an ability to perform mystical or supernatural acts.
	``Coltrane is a saint in the sense that he is a person that has been
chosen to be set aside by the Supreme to be used to draw others into
devotion to God,'' King said.
	Sunday church services run an average of four hours, with a multi-
racial congregation gathering to listen to hours of free form jazz from
the parish band. The church band has not been confined to the altar,
however, with the musicians often playing in local bars or joining other
jazz players when they come to town. King's son, Franzo King Jr., who
plays soprano sax with the church band, has even joined Wynton Marsalis
on stage for a set.
	For some in the congregation, Coltrane has provided more than musical
and religious inspiration. In the late 1950s, Coltrane turned away from
a life of drugs and drinking, both of which took the life of more than
one jazz musician, including Charlie ``Bird'' Parker.
	``John Coltrane was the perfect example for all of us to stop being
like Charlie Parker,'' said Rev. R. James Haven, who plays soprano and
alto saxophone with the church band. ``If it wasn't for (Coltrane) I
would probably still be a drug addict and just hopeless, following Bird.
	``The challenge of John Coltrane is never to stop trying to be your
better self.''
	King said he views Coltrane as ``the patron saint for people that had
problems with drugs'' and says the musician's example is something that
is just as relevant to today's society as it was three decades ago. He
and the church are organizing a year of events to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of Coltrane's death. He died July 17, 1967, from cancer of
the liver.
	``Why not take this as an opportunity to reconsider John's music and
his life as something that is needed as we go into this new century to
help guide our thinking?'' King said.
41.150CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceMon Jul 13 1992 19:2953
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Subject: Assembly approves freedom of religion, foreign investment
References: <cuba-churchU2lA405pe@clarinet.com>
 
	MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- Cuba's National Assembly has approved
constitutional changes allowing freedom of religion and foreign
investment for the first time since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Cuba's
official news agency said.
	The 463 legislators Friday approved an amendment in which ``the state
recognizes, respects and guarantees the freedom of religion,'' Prensa
Latina said in a dispatch monitored in Mexico City.
	Also approved was an amendment allowing foreign investment in state-
run companies and privatization of state-property in special cases, the
news agency said.
	The assembly, meeting for its annual two-day session, also is
considering constitutional changes allowing direct elections using
secret ballots, although opposition parties remain illegal, the news
agency said.
	The changes allow private investment in state-owned enterprises 
``without excluding social ownership of the fundamental means of
production'' in the only Communist country in the Western Hemisphere and
one of the last bastions of Marxism in the world, Prensa Latina said.
	The assembly members, meeting in Havana with President Fidel Castro,
are considering amendments to 34 of the 141 articles in the 1976 Cuban
Constitution and ``actualizing'' another 42, the news agency said.
	Cuba has been searching for ways to bolster is foundering economy,
damaged by a continuing 30-year economic embargo by the United States,
since political changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union left it
without its chief source of economic aid.
	Limited foreign investment in tourism has been permitted for several
years, and the government has been encouraging private companies to help
develop petroleum resources.
	Castro also has been under pressure from other Latin American leaders
to allow more freedom and make more democratic the system that for the
most part remains tightly under his personal control.
	Even so, Prensa Latina said, the government ``has declared that the
proposals are not dictated by external pressure, but to the contrary by
the search for the perfection of our own democracy and the need to adapt
to a world different from 1976.''
	Prensa Latina also said assembly members would consider eliminating
references to the Soviet Union and the socialist international in the
preamble to the constitution because Cuba is switching is focus from
socialism to Latin American integration.
	Also under consideration is including an article allowing the
government to call a state of emergency, which in other Latin American
constitutions allows the head of state to suspend civil liberties.
	The changes were first proposed at the Fourth Party Congress in
October and are aimed at bringing the government closer to the people,
Prensa Latina said.
41.151CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceMon Jul 13 1992 19:3354
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Subject: Pope in hospital for tests
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 92 5:27:09 PDT
 
	ROME (UPI) -- A team of 15 doctors and nurses carried out tests on
Pope John Paul II Monday to determine the cause of abdominal pains that
prompted him to enter a hospital for treatment and a possible surgical
operation, hospital sources said.
	The hospital did not plan to issue any formal bulletin before
Tuesday, or possibly Wednesday. But the sources said the 72-year-old
pope ``rested peacefully and woke up in good condition'' after entering
the Catholic Gemelli Polyclinic in a residential district of Rome at
7:25 p.m. Sunday.
	The tests included a general computerized checkup, analysis of blood
and urine samples and possibly a colon scan, the sources said.
	They said the tests would determine whether the pope would require a
surgical operation.
	The hospital was the same in which John Paul spent a total of 76 days
in two separate sessions after he was shot and wounded in St. Peter's
Square by Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca May 13, 1981.
	One of the two bullets which hit the pope tore his intestines,
requiring a four-hour operation to repair the damage.
	Professor Francesco Crucitti, the surgeon who performed the 1981
operation, was also heading the team of 15 doctors and nurses attending
the pope this time.
	The official Vatican statement issued Sunday said the pope was
entering the hospital for diagnostic treatment for an ``intestinal
disfunction'' and the Vatican spokesman did not rule out a possible
operation.
	The pope himself, in an unprecedented action, made the first
announcement of his planned admission to the hospital to crowds
attending his regular Sunday noon recital of the Angelus prayer in St.
Peter's square.
	``I ask for your prayers that the Lord may be at my side with his aid
and support,'' John Paul said.
	Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls said in a radio
interview Sunday that John Paul had been suffering stomach pains and x-
rays and other tests made in the Vatican were not enough to determine
the cause.
	Navarro said the intestinal pains ``could be linked'' to the wounds
the pope suffered in 1981.
	Navarro told reporters in the Vatican Monday he did not expect to
hold another briefing until the results of the hospital tests were
known.
	The pope had planned to start a 10-day vacation in the Italian Alps
Wednesday and Navarro said he hoped the holiday would be delayed ``by
days, rather than weeks.''
	In recent years John Paul has made a regular habit of taking a brief
vacation in the Alps, which remind him of the Tatra mountains in his
native Poland.
41.152CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceTue Jul 14 1992 21:4661
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(CHARLES RIDLEY)
Subject: Pope to undergo operation to remove apparently benign tumor
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 92 9:36:16 EDT
 
	ROME (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II is suffering from an apparently benign
tumor in the lower colon and will undergo an operation to remove it,
probably on Wednesday, unofficial reports said Tuesday.
	The Italian news agency ANSA cited ``qualified sources'' at the
Gemelli Polyclinic for the explanation of the ``intestinal disfunction''
for which the 72-year-old pope entered the hospital Sunday.
	In the absence of any official word from the team of doctors treating
the pope, the report could not be confirmed. But it matched informed
speculation in the Italian media, including the state-run television and
radio networks.
	Most of these reports also did not rule out the possibility of a
partial occlusion of the intestines as the cause of the abdominal pains
John Paul started suffering about a week ago.
	The ANSA agency's sources said the team headed by surgeon Professor
Francesco Crucitti planned to perform the operation Wednesday morning,
after which the first official medical bulletin would be issued.
	They said an exhaustive series of medical tests the pope underwent
Monday ``revealed the presence of a disfunction caused by a benign tumor
located in the lower part of the intestinal apparatus in the region of
the sigmoid flexure.''
	The sources said the same diagnosis was made by hospital specialists
in the Vatican, before the doctors decided to take the pope into the
hospital to confirm the diagnosis and decide on the therapy.
	They said these preliminary tests showed no trace of ``wandering''
tumoral cells or other indications that the growth was more than benign.
But the sources stressed the exact nature of the tumor could be
determined only by investigation following the operation.
	The sources said the operation would be ``technically simple'' and
would not give rise to particular concern because of the pope's good
general condition.
	``The pope is feeling well,'' Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro
Valls told reporters Tuesday after visiting John Paul. ``He rested well
during the night and at this moment is celebrating mass in his apartment
at the Gemelli clinic.''
	Professor Crucitti, head of the team of five specialists treating the
pope, is the same surgeon who operated successfully on John Paul after
he was shot and wounded in St. Peter's Square May 13, 1981.
	That operation repaired severe damage to the pope's intestines caused
by a pistol bullet that hit him in the abdomen.
	Crucitti said John Paul's present problem was not related to his
earlier injuries. The pope has never been known to suffer after-effects
of his 1981 operation, despite his gruelling schedule of pastoral trips
and Vatican ceremonies.
	In churches all over Italy and much of the world, Catholics were
praying for the pope's successful recovery in response to his plea for
prayers, made when he announced his imminent hospitalization before
crowds in St. Peter's Square Sunday.
	Vatican officials said thousands of get-well messages were pouring
into the Gemelli hospital and the Vatican. Outside the clinic small
crowds gathered daily, some of them praying on their knees under the
window of the pope's four-room suite on the 11th floor of the modern
clinic.
41.153Also see 101.37-101.41CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceTue Jul 14 1992 21:4741
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Subject: Former priest faces more child molestation charges
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 92 9:41:00 PDT
 
	ST. PAUL, Minn. (UPI) -- Allegations of child molesting against a
former Roman Catholic priest from Massachusetts have widened to
Minnesota, where several men say they were sexually abused by him more
than 20 years ago, a lawyer said Tuesday.
	Attorney Jeffrey Anderson said at least 11 people from the Bemidji
area say they were molested while serving as altar boys at a Bemidji
church where James R. Porter was assigned after stays at a New Mexico
treatment center and at a halfway house in Nevis, Minn.
	``He was here from 1969 to 1970 and just continued to do what he was
doing in Massachusetts -- molesting boys,'' said Margaret Dow, another
lawyer.
	Porter, 59, who is retired and living in Oakdale, Minn., was
suspected of molesting up to 100 children in southeastern Massachusetts
in the 1960s. He has not been charged in those cases.
	Porter was treated at a church-run center for priests in New Mexico.
The center pronounced him cured and he was assigned to the Bemidji
church in 1969. He was removed a year later amid more reports of child
molestation.
	``It was alleged in 1970 that Porter was abusing children,'' said
Monsignor Michael J. Patnode, chancellor of the Crookston archdiocese. 
``He was told to leave the parish.''
	Anderson said seven of the men will accuse the Catholic Church in
lawsuits of ``covering up and concealing sexual misconduct by one of its
priests, stretching over a 30-year period.''
	Porter served churches in North Attleboro, Fall River and New
Bedford, Mass.Earlier this year a person identified as Porter admitted
in an audio interview played in Massachusetts that he molested 50 to 100
children in the 1960s. At least 60 people in Massachusetts claim to have
been abused by Porter.
	Porter left the priesthood in 1970 and married six years later. He
now lives with his wife and four children in Oakdale. Three people in
the Oakdale area have accused Porter of sexually abusing them in the
mid-1970s.
41.154CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeaceWed Jul 15 1992 19:1177
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(CHARLES RIDLEY)
Subject: Pope surgery said to be successful
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 92 8:06:33 PDT
 
	ROME (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II underwent a surgical operation of
nearly four hours Wednesday to remove an evidently benign tumor in his
lower colon, and had his gallbladder removed as a precautionary measure
during the procedure, hospital officials said.
	``The operation was radical and curative because the lesion (tumor)
was of a benign nature,'' said a bulletin issued by Rome's Gemelli
Polyclinic, which the 72-year-old pope entered Sunday evening.
	``The intervention was completed with a single operation, meaning
another stay in the hospital will not be neccessary.''
	``The gallbaldder was removed as a precaution, even though it was not
planned to do this beforehand,'' the bulletin said, adding that
gallstones were detected during tests preceding the operation.
	``The operation could not have gone better than this,'' said Dr.
Attilio Maseri, one of the team of five doctors headed by chief surgeon
Francesco Crucitti.
	The operation removed a section of the pope's lower colon which
doctors said was 5 to 7 inches long. The bulletin said the operation
began at 6:25 a.m. and ended at 10:15 a.m., a total of 3 hours, 50
minutes.
	The bulletin said the piece of intestine removed was ``a rather
voluminous mass, like a large orange.''
	Afterwards, the pontiff was returned to his four-room suite on the
11th floor of the modern hospital and Vatican spokesmen said he would
remain in the clinic for about another 10 days.
	It was not immediately known if, after leaving the hospital, the pope
would go ahead with a 10-day alpine vacation planned to begin Wednesday.
	The medical bulletin said John Paul ``underwent colonic resection''
surgery for a voluminous adenoma (tumor) of the sigmoid flexure with
modest and localized cytological (cell structure) alterations related to
a dysplasia (polyp) of moderate size.
	``The holy father tolerated well the operation...his regaining of
consciousness took place fairly rapidly. His cardiocirculatory,
respiratory, hematological and metabolic functions remain constantly
within the norms.''
	Pre-operative tests showed no trace of ``wandering'' tumoral cells or
other indications that the growth was more than benign. But sources
stressed the exact nature of the tumor could be determined only by
analysis following the operation.
	Dr. Crucitti operated successfully in 1981 to repair damage to the
pope's intestines after he was shot and wounded in St. Peter's Square
May 13, 1981.
	Crucitti said after the tests on the pope Monday that his new ailment
was not connected with the effects of the 1981 operation.
	A small crowd gathered outside the main entrance of the modern
Gemelli clinic, run by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and
patients watching from the windows of nearby wards saw the lights go on
in the pope's 11th floor suite around 5 a.m., giving the first
indication that the predicted operation was about to be performed.
	A strong turnout of police and Vatican security guards, patrolling
the hospital corridors and staircases, kept reporters and television
crews at a distance.
	Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope's vicar for Rome and president of
the Italian Bishops' Conference, told reporters late Tuesday after
visiting the pope: ``I found him very well, very serene and very
confident, just as we are all confident.''
	Ruini has since Sunday been calling for special prayers for the pope
in all Rome churches.
	The bulletin was hailed with joy and relief by Catholics and admirers
of the 72-year-old pope who had feared the tumor might be of cancerous
origin.
	Messages of congratulation started pouring into the Vatican and to
the pontiffin the hospital. Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato was
among the first to send a message to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal
Angelo Sodano expressing his and the nation's ``joy at the news.''
	Especially jubilant were more than 4,000 pilgrims from the pope's
native Poland who attended a special Mass in St. Peter's Basilica early
Wednesday, celebrated by 83 Polish priests, to pray for John Paul's
recovery.
41.155CommentaryCSC32::J_CHRISTIEClimb aboard the Peace Train!Thu Jul 23 1992 00:3872
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(DAVID E. ANDERSON, UPI Religion Writer)
Subject: An encouraging court term for church-state separation
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 92 18:09:20 EDT
    
Commentary
    	The Rev. Dean Kelley of the National Council of Churches and James
Dunn, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, are two of the
nation's leading experts on church-state relations.
	And both seem to be at least mildly encouraged by the results of the
just ended term of the Supreme Court in the deeply emotional and hotly
contested area of church and state.
	Before the term began there was plenty to worry about.
	The nine justices appeared on the verge of weakening -- if not simply
tossing out -- its 20-year-old standard used to measure whether
government actions violate the Constitution's Establishment Clause
barring government from ``establishing'' or favoring one religion over
another.
	The so-called Lemon test -- derived from the 1971 case, Lemon v.
Kurtzman -- says that a state action that seems to favor religion must
have a secular purpose; have a primary effect that neither advances nor
hinders religion; and must not foster excessive entanglement between
government and religion.
	In past cases, members of the court have criticized the test. Justice
Anthony Kennedy, for example, has suggested the Establishment Clause is
not violated unless people were coerced into a religious practice by the
state.
	And Justice David Souter, whose views on the Establishment Clause
were generally unknown, had suggested at his confirmation hearing that
the Lemon test should not be abandoned unless something better could be
put in its place.
	``But that's a wide range for what he might think would be better,''
Kelley said.
	In the key case before the court that had drawn concern from Kelley
and Dunn, Lee v. Weismann, the court -- with Kennedy writing the majority
opinion and Souter joining the majority and writing a concurring opinion
as well -- held that a state-sponsored prayer at a commencement ceremony
was unconstitutional.
	``The most significant thing about the decision was not its holding
against state-sponsored prayer, but the fact that the court did not
weaken the Lemon test,'' Kelley said.
	Dunn said he sympathized with those who see the 30-year string of
rulings handed down by the court as possibly banning religion from
public life.
	But he said religious leaders can complain about the decision or be
constructive.
	``I hope pastors, priests and rabbis will see the ruling as a
positive development, an opportunity for public witness,'' he said.
	``We can advance ecumenical cooperation, promote voluntary
baccalaureate services, celebrate shared values and demonstrate the
faith we profess,'' he said.
	Oliver Thomas, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee, said
the decision left unsettled what standard the court will apply in
establishment clause cases that do not involve public school settings.
	Kennedy, in his opinion, concluded that the graduation prayers failed
to pass constitutional muster under both the Lemon test and his test of
``coercion'' so that a choice did not need to be made between them at
this time.
	Kelley noted, however, that the court declined to hear five other
church-state cases that could shift the standard.
	``The upshot of this term's church-state decisions is that the court
has not departed from its earlier precedents in the Establishment Clause
area, and declined five opportunities to wrestle with the clause's
application to other fact-situations,'' he said.
	But, he added: ``There is a good chance that the shift may occur,
however, in the not-too-distant future when the court confronts an
establishment claim that involves non-preferential, 'secular' assistance
to religion and does not involve coercion.''
41.156CSC32::J_CHRISTIEClimb aboard the Peace Train!Thu Jul 23 1992 00:3990
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(CHARLES RIDLEY)
Subject: Some cells in pope's tumor were turning malignant, doctors say
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 6:46:31 PDT
 
	ROME (UPI) -- A microscopic examination of the tumor removed from
colon of Pope John Paul II showed that some cells were turning
malignant, but they had not spread to surrounding tissue, a medical
bulletin said Monday.
	The medical report issued by the team of doctors who operated on the
pope Wednesday gave the results of a biopsy carried out on the tumor and
the foot-long section of the 72-year-old pope's intestine the doctors
removed.
	``In the central part of the adenoma (benign tumor) there was found a
single, small center of severe dysplasia in absence of stromatic
infiltrations,'' the medical bulletin said.
	Chief Vatican Spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls said the reference to
severe dysplasia meant that ``in a single, small center there were
proliferating cells which were losing their benign characteristics to
take on those of a malignant degeneration, without, however, showing
invasive behavior.''
	Apart from these pre-cancerous cells, the examination ``confirmed the
diagnosis'' of a benign form of tumor made by the doctors before and
during the operation, the bulletin said.
	``On the basis of the above-mentioned histological (micropscopic
examination of the cells) findings, the operation must be considered
radical and curative,'' the medical bulletin said.
	``We got there in time,'' Professor Luidi Candia, medical
superintendent of the Gemelli clinic where the operation took place told
reporters. ``The malignant group of cells was located at the center of
the tumor that was removed from the pope and had not yet infiltrated
into the intestinal tissue.''
	``For now it is too early to talk about eventual post-operative
therapies,'' Candia said. ``The question till be tackled later, when the
pope has returned to the Vatican.''
	He said the pope's post-operative progress was proceeding ``along the
most optimistic predictions.''
	``This makes us think it will be possible to confirm the date that
was initially foreseen for the pope's discharge from the hospital,''
Candia said. ``On Thursday, without question, the stitches will be
removed.''
	Professor Leonardo Santi, director of the Tumor Institute of Genoa,
said, ``This type of 'carcinoma in situ' is certainly not a malignant
tumor, but the first alteration of a tissue toward become malignant. If
the tumor is removed, as has happened in this case, there are no further
consequences.''
	Vatican Spokesman Navarro Valls said doctors excluded the possibility
that the pope would undergo another operation.
	``It is significant that this fourth medical bulletin made no mention
of a fifth bulletin being issued,'' he said.
	Navarro said that when he visited John Paul in the hospital Monday
morning, ``I found him very well. His weakness is understandable because
since the time he entered the hospital he has not swallowed food through
his mouth.''
	The pope has been being fed intravenously, but the medical bulletin
said John Paul's ``intestinal functions are normal and today he will
start a liquid diet.''
	Immediately after the operation the doctors said they expected John
Paul to remain in the hospital for another 10 days, meaning he may leave
the hospital Saturday for a period of convalescence at the papal summer
residence in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
	Sunday, the pontiff led prayers from his hospital room which were
relayed live to pilgrims waiting in St. Peter's Square.
	Speaking slowly in a clear but fatigued voice, John Paul thanked the
doctors who have been caring for him since Wednesday's operation.
	``In these days I have been comforted by the expressions of
solidarity which have reached me from all parts of the world,'' the pope
said Sunday.
	He thanked those who had been praying for his recovery and said their
prayers were ``the most welcome gift and the most effective way to live
with faith and serenity through the difficult and painful moments of
existence.''
	His message, delivered at the beginning of the midday angelus
prayers, was broadcast live on Vatican Radio and on Italian state
television.
	About 1,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, where the pope
normally recites the angelus from a window in his Vatican apartment, to
listen to his words.
	The pope also sent a message to the people of Domegge, a mountain
village in northeast Italy, where he had been due to celebrate mass
Sunday at the start of his summer holiday.
	Vatican sources said the pope was making a steady recovery from the
operation during which a tumor, described by one doctor as being ``as
large as an orange,'' was removed from the lower part of his intestine.
	Surgeons also removed about a foot of the pope's intestine and his
gall bladder, which contained three gallstones.
41.157CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaThu Jul 23 1992 21:3750
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Subject: Pope reported anxious to leave hospital  By CHARLES RIDLEY
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 6:28:02 PDT
 
	ROME (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II's doctors are trying to persuade him
to stay in the hospital until Monday or Tuesday, but the pope is
impatient and feels well enough to leave earlier, one of the doctors
said Wednesday.
	``We are trying to convince him to stay a while longer but the Holy
Father is impatient. He feels well and is in a hurry to resume his
commitments,'' said Professor Corrado Manni, the anesthetist on the team
that operated to remove a benign tumor from the pope's colon on July 15.
	Manni said the doctors have started removing the external stitches
from the long cut made by surgeon Professor Francesco Crucitti and
expected to complete the job Thursday.
	He said that when the doctors visited the pope Wednesday morning, 
``We tried to explain to him that even though his post-operative
progress is excellent, it is always better not to be in a hurry to leave
the hospital.
	``If he listens to us and stays in the hospital at least until Monday
or Tuesday, we shall certainly be happy,'' Manni said. ``A good initial
treatment shortens the time of convalescence.
	``In this case also, the pope has shown that he has an excellent
physique and disposition,'' the anesthetist said. ``But still he is a
man of 72, who has been subjected for years to an extremely stressful
rhythm of life.''
	In the immediate aftermath of the four-hour operation, doctors said
they expected the pope to remain in the hospital for another 10 days,
leading to speculation that he might leave Saturday.
	Manni said the pope was seeing very few visitors, because he needed
complete rest.
	``But since yesterday he has been getting out of bed more, walking in
the corridor and sitting in his armchair for longer spells,'' the doctor
said.
	He said John Paul was not yet able to celebrate mass himself, because
to do so would require standing for a long time. But twice a day, seated
in his armchair, the pope concelebrates mass with Monsignor Stanislaw
Dziwisz, his Polish private secretary.
	Meanwhile in the Vatican, Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano
celebrated a thanksgiving mass in St. Peter's Basilica before several
thousand people, most of them employees of the Vatican's administrative
offices.
	About 40 cardinals and 100 priests and nuns were among those
attending the mass, which Sodano said was organized by the Roman Curia
to thank the Lord ``in view of the progressive improvment in the pope's
health.''
41.158Pope may include Mexico when he visits Denver next yearCSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaWed Jul 29 1992 21:3324
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Subject: Pope cancels visit to Mexico
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 20:55:08 PDT
 
	MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II has cancelled a proposed one-
day visit to Mexico in order to convalesce from his recent intestinal
surgery, Mexico's official news agency Notimex said Tuesday.
	A Vatican representative sent a letter by fax, officially saying the
visit was off, to the Most Rev. Manuel Castro Ruiz, archbishop of the
southeastern peninsula of Yucatan, where the pope was due to hold mass
on Oct. 15, Notimex reported.
	``It pains me to have to communicate that the proposed pastoral visit
of the pope to Merida will not now take place, even though he will
travel to the Dominican Republic for the opening of the Latin American
episcopal conference,'' Notimex quoted the document from Vatican
representative Roberto Tucci as saying.
	Merida is the capital of the state of Yucatan.
	Ruiz asked for prayers for the pope and said he would come some other
time, possibly when he visits the United States in August of 1993,
Notimex said. 
41.159CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaFri Jul 31 1992 23:3832
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Subject: Falwell returning to airwaves
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 10:44:31 PDT
 
	LYNCHBURG, Va. (UPI) -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who has been
struggling to keep his debt-laden ministry afloat, will be returning to
the airwaves in August with his weekly ``Old Time Gospel Hour.''
	Falwell, who once ran the largest religious broadcasting operation in
the country, scrapped his nationwide broadcasts in September, 1990 as a
cost-cutting move.
	His ministry and the college he founded, Liberty University, were
stung when the Virginia Supreme Court would not allow him to use state
industrial revenue bonds to finance campus improvements on church-and-
state grounds, and he's been struggling to refinance his debts ever
since.
	Going off the air in 1990 ``was the hardest decision I ever made,''
Falwell told Friday's Roanoke Times & World News. ``I've always known
that this ministry is television driven. When you have 50 states and 52
countries represented in your student body at Liberty, that obviously is
not local. Television brings students, television gathers the
supporters.''
	Falwell, who once had a mailing list of five million homes, calls his
TV ministry his ``lifeline.'' Broadcasts will resume Aug. 9 and stations
in some of the nation's largest markets -- including Atlanta, Washington
and Philadelphia -- will be carrying the show.
	Falwell is perhaps most known as the founder of the Moral Majority,
but he disbanded the group a few years ago when he said he wanted to
concentrate on religion and not politics.
41.160CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaFri Jul 31 1992 23:3841
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Subject: Illinois priest faces molestation charges
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 9:55:04 PDT
 
	PLYMOUTH, Ind. (UPI) -- An Illinois priest Thursday pleaded innocent
to child molestation charges filed after a Culver resident purchased a
videotape labeled as showing a small town parade that instead depicted
sex acts.
	The Rev. Myles White entered his plea in Marshall County Superior
Court to two counts of child molesting.
	White, assigned to the Roman Catholic Joliet Diocese in Illinois, was
arrested at a vacation home the diocese owns at Culver.
	White was charged following an investigation by the Marshall County
Sheriff's Department that began last week when a Culver resident turned
in a home video tape of a man and a boy engaged in sexual acts.
	Susan Sauer, a spokesman for the Marshall County prosecutor's office
said the tape bought at a local flea market showed last year's Culver
Lake Fest Parade -- but near the end it depicted the sexual encounter.
	She said the boy is a parishioner of White's.
	Marshall County Sheriff's detective Sgt. Jon Van Vactor, the
arresting officer, said additional charges might be filed in Illinois.
	``We have been in contact with the Illinois authorities and made them
aware of this investigation,'' Van Vactor said. He said he had evidence
of sexual encounters between White and juveniles in Illinois.
	The youth pictured in the video was 15 when the molestation occurred
in 1990, investigators said. The boy and White were at the church's
vacation home in Culver when the tape was made.
	Kankakee, Ill., Police Chief Timothy Nugent said his office and
Indiana investigators searched White's residence last week and
discovered several photographs dating back several years.
	``Currently we have been working with the Indiana authorities and
confiscated some pornographic material,'' Nugent said. ``We are waiting
to see if any victims come forward here. Based on the evidence they
obtained in Indiana, we think there are more than just the one juvenile
involved.''
	Nugent said White has been a parish priest at Kankakee for two years.
Before that he was at a church in Monee, south of Chicago.
41.161CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaMon Aug 03 1992 20:1729
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Subject: Pope of Egypt speaks out against anti-Christian persecution
 
	CAIRO, Egypt (UPI) -- In a rare instance of speaking out against
persecution of Christians in Egcover edented step of barring the
pope from leaving his monastery, accusing him of contributing to the
sectarian tensions.
	The pope contended that problems between Muslims and Christians did
not exist in Egypt before its independence from British occupation in
1952. He said the goal of liberation united both them.
	But after independence, he said, people began to rally around the
banners of religion. He said Copts were ready to discuss any proposals
to achieve better relations. He urged Muslims to show goodwill, to
encourage Christian compatriots to enter public life and to teach
religious tolerance to their children at early ages.
	He complained that innumerable books on the market were anti-
Christian. He cited an Arabic translation of a book by a non-Egyptian
Muslim thinker, Ahmed Deidat, entitled ``Fifty Thousand Mistakes in the
Bible.''
	Sectarian strife between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt
erupted recently in a series of killings and acts of violence
perpetrated by Muslim militants in southern Egypt.
	More than 30 people, mostly Copts, were killed in those attacks since
March, prompting the government and Parliament to introduce new measures
against religious extremism.
41.162CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaMon Aug 03 1992 20:1840
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Subject: Nicaraguan cardinal denies receiving CIA money
 
	MANAGUA, Nicaragua (UPI) -- Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo Sunday
denied receiving CIA payments, following reports the agency funneled
money to Nicaraguan church officials to destabilize the former
Sandinista government.
	Citing unnamed sources, The New York Times and The Washington Post
reported Saturday that the CIA made several payments to Catholic church
officials during 1985 and 1986.
	``Responding for myself, I have absolutely not received (CIA) money,''
said Obando. He was the principal opposition figure to the Sandinistas,
who ruled from 1979 to 1990.
	Asked by reporters if other church officials had received payments,
Obando said, ``I don't think so but you can interview the other memebers
of the church hierarchy.''
	The newspaper reports followed testimony by former CIA agent Alan D.
Fiers at the trial of his former boss, Clair George, in Washington.
	George is accused of lying to Congress about CIA participation in the
Iran-Contra scandal, in which profits from secret arms sales to Iran
were diverted to the Contra rebels.
	Fiers said Friday that former CIA Director William J. Casey had
approved a plan to divert money to ``a specific entity within Nicaragua.
''
	The Post and the Times reported Saturday that the ``entity'' was the
Catholic Church. It was unclear how much money was involved.
	During the 1980s, the Reagan administration spent millions of dollars
on the Contras, who fought the Sandinistas in an eight-year war that
killed 30,000 people.
	The CIA worked closely with the Contras and carried out its own
operations. Among other missions, CIA agents mined Nicaraguan ports and
produced a covert warfare manual that encouraged the Contras to
assassinate Sandinista officials.
	The Catholic Church was a fierce opposition force to the Sandinista
government, which lost national elections in 1990 to current President
Violeta Chamorro.
	Sandinista leaders, in turn, were enraged at Obando's refusal to
condemn violence carried out by the Contras and they often accused
church leaders of being on the CIA payroll.
41.163CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaMon Aug 03 1992 20:1919
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Subject: Operation Rescue leader vows to continue abortion fight
 
	MILWAUKEE (UPI) - The national director of Operation Rescue, an anti-
abortion rights organization, said activists will continue to go
wherever babies are being killed.
	The Reverend Keith Tucci addressed a Milwaukee crowd Friday night. He
praised the efforts of the Missionaries to the Preborn, a Milwaukee
organization fighting to stop abortion.
	The Missionaries have held six weeks of protests in Milwaukee. Tucci
said the Missionaries have been effective in keeping the abortion issue
in the forefront in Milwaukee.
	Tucci chided Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton for
supporting abortion rights. He vowed to go the Republican National
Convention to oppose Republicans for abortion rights. 
41.164CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaMon Aug 03 1992 20:2045
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Subject: Church group named in default suits
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- An organization that oversees black Seventh-day
Adventist churches in Michigan and four other Midwestern states has been
sued by two banks for defaulting on loans.
	One lawsuit, filed by the Cole Taylor Bank of Chicago, was resolved
June 16 with the Cook County Circuit Court entering a $2.26 million
judgment against the Lake Region Conference Association of Seventh-day
Adventists, according to The Indianapolis Star.
	A second lawsuit, filed by Lloyds Bank of England, is still pending
against the Chicago-based church organization.
	Lloyds claims that the church organization still owes more than $3.5
million, plus $34,931 in interest, on a $6.25 million irrevocable letter
of credit issued in December 1985.
	The Lake Region association governs black Seventh-day Adventist
churches in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. In the
Midwest, the Seventh-day Adventists blacks and whites worship primarily
in separate churches. The Lake Region association does not represent
predominantly white churches.
	According to the Star, Lake Region officials were unavailable for
comment on the lawsuits, but detractors of the association contend the
loans were used to buy property and develop a less-than-successful
shopping center on Chicago's south side.
	The center, reportedly, has rented only half of its stores and is
deeply in debt.
	James E. Bolin, past board member of the Indiana Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists, was critical of the project, saying it was
planned and orchestrated without the consent of the conference
membership.
	An audit of conference finances shows that Lake Region has 22 cents
of assets for every dollar of liability, said Josiah L. Person, a member
of the Brunswick Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church in Gary.
	Person is a founding member of Shiloh Vanguard, a group within the
conference that is critical of the association's involvement in the
failed venture.
	``What they have done cannot be excused,'' Person said. ``They have
completely ignored the wishes of the conference membership.''
	Person said Vanguard members question the propriety of church
involvement in a commercial venture that sells alcohol, tobacco, adult
publications and videos -- all things that are against church doctrine.
41.165CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaTue Aug 04 1992 00:3234
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Subject: SCLC convention to open Sunday in Dayton
 
	DAYTON, Ohio (UPI) -- The Southern Christian Leadership Conference's
35th annual convention is to open Sunday, featuring appearances by Jesse
Jackson, Housing and Urban Development Director Jack Kemp and U.S.
Attorney General William Barr.
	About 3,000 people are expected to attend the four-day convention,
which kicks off Sunday morning with 35 members of the SCLC family
preaching at churches in the Dayton area.
	SCLC President Joseph Lowery opens the convention Sunday night with
his annual presidential address at the Convention Center.
	The theme of this year's meeting is ``Redeeming: America's Soul;
Reclaiming: Our Community; Achieving: Equity Through Unity.''
	Among the focal points of the meeting will be the SCLC's nationwide 
``Stop the Killing'' campaign, which was launched earlier this year in
Atlanta. A smaller version of the Atlanta seminar will be held during
the convention along with a youth summit.
	Barr is to address the meeting Monday, speaking on the Justice
Department's anti-drug ``weed and seed'' program. SCLC national board
chairman Walter Fauntroy is scheduled to be the Monday luncheon speaker.
	Kemp will participate in a discussion on the crisis in the nation's
cities and Frank Martinez, president of the Chemical Union, will give
labor's viewpoint on the economy.
	Jackson, along with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, civil rights
activist Dick Gregory, Benjamin Hooks, head of the NAACP, and Corretta
Scott King, also will take part in the acivities at the convention.
	Both President George Bush and Democratic presidential candidate Bill
Clinton have been invited to address the convention. Clinton spoke at
last year's meeting in Birmingham, Ala.
41.166CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaWed Aug 05 1992 00:3050
    
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Subject: Virgin sightings burden township
 
	MARLBORO, N.J. (UPI) -- A local man's purported sightings of the
Virgin Mary have created an unholy mess for the police and local budget
officials.
	Township Business Administrator Robert Albertson said Tuesday that
the throngs of worshipers who flocked to Joseph Januszkiewicz's backyard
last weekend cost the township between $15,000 and $20,000 in extra
police patrols.
	``That's a little more than the cost of police cruiser,'' Albertson
said. ``It's the cost of medium-size snowstorm.''
	Thirty-seven police officers, joined by an equal number of officers
from two neighboring towns and the Monmouth County Sheriff's Department,
worked overtime on Sunday to keep a crowd of about 7,000 orderly.
	Mobilizing volunteer emergency crews, renting portable traffic lights
for the rural intersections near Januszkiewicz's home and bringing in
maintenance also added to the township's tab, Albertson said.
	Januszkiewicz, a 54-year-old draftsman, claims the Virgin Mary
appears to him in the evening hours of the first Sunday of every month.
	Although he did not invite the faithful to his home, word of the
sightings quickly spread. Worshipers began trickling in early this
summer, with recent newspaper and TV reports drawing successively larger
crowds.
	So far, the township has had to ease traffic congestion and keep
devotees from overrunning neighboring properties. But officials may soon
have to worry about public health, and provide toilets.
	``If we set up Port-A-Pots, we might as well sell rosary beads,''
police Capt. Ray LaSalle said.
	Albertson has contacted the state Department of Community Affairs
about applying for an emergency grant, or for permission to pay for
expenses out of surplus funds beyond the township's $14 million budget.
	The township is also seeking legal advice from the state Attorney
General's Office about how much support can be provided without crossing
the line between church and state. Unlike a commercial promoter,
Januszkiewicz can't be charged for police protection, nor is shutting
down the site currently under consideration.
	``We look at it that some people are having a holy experience,''
Albertson said. ``There's no indication of a laying on of hands or
selling something or any profit motive on the part of the person seeing
the apparition.''
	The township's budget is not getting any help from divine
intervention, either.
	Januszkiewicz said he asked the Virgin on Sunday about moving the
visitation to another site, but she told him, ``No.''
41.167CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaThu Aug 06 1992 00:0367
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(FREDERICK M. WINSHIP, UPI Senior Editor)
Subject: Bush asks Catholics to help him revitalize America
 
	NEW YORK (UPI) -- President Bush asked a flag-waving Roman Catholic
audience Wednesday to support him in his bid for re-election so he can
help the nation return to Judeo-Christian moral principles.
	``Now that our moral values have triumphed around the world, we must
not let these values become passe at home,'' Bush told some 2,000
delegates to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council convention, which
has ``500 Years of Faith'' as its Columbian Year motto.
	``The election will be all about change. Now that we've changed the
world, it's time to change America....I believe I have earned your trust
by fighting for ideas that will repair this nation's moral fiber,'' Bush
said, in kicking off a two-day campaign swing around the country.
	``If you're looking to restore Americans' moral fiber, why buy
synthetic when you can buy real cotton?''
	After his address, Bush left immediately for appearances in Reno,
Nev., and Colorado Springs, Colo.
	Some of the ``ideas'' for which Bush said he would continue to seek
legislation were more responsibility on the part of welfare recipients,
financial benefits for children who wish to attend private schools ``so
you don't have to pay twice,'' and restoration of voluntary prayer to
public school classrooms.
	He emphasized his devotion to the right-to-life principle.
	``Abortion -- there's got to be a better way,'' he said. ``I'm going
to do what I think is right. I'm going to stand on my conscience and let
my conscience be my guide.''
	``I think most Americans think it's crazy that a 13-year-old girl has
to have parental consent to get her ears pierced but doesn't need their
consent to have an abotion.''
	Earlier, Bush met privately with Cardinal John O'Connor, a leader in
the anti-abortion battle. O'Connor sat on the dais as the president
spoke about O'Connor's concern over the ``invasion'' of American moral
values.
	Outside, about 25 pro-choice demonstrators including members of ACTUP
-- bitter opponents of O'Connor -- were kept by police behind barriers a
block from the hotel where they picketed quietly and handed out
leaflets.
	Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant introduced Bush to the nearly all-white
audience as a man who demonstrated the courage of his convictions by
vetoing seven ``anti-life'' bills passed by Congress.
	``He has an unwavering commitment to the unborn and to family values,
'' Dechant said.
	Bush seemed relaxed and in a jocular mood. He said he ``really
identifies'' with Columbus because he had had to face numerous
vicissitudes ``including the threat of mutiny...yet he persevered and
won.'' He said the explorer also had to worry about lack of wind.
	``But I don't have to do that with Congress,'' Bush cracked.
	The president started his campaign swing exuding confidence that his
polls would pick up and he will win a second term. He said in an
interview Tuesday with USA Today that ``filthy sleaze'' and ``private
lives'' should be out of bounds in the presidential campaign.
	Bush made the statement during a week marked by a biting attack on
Clinton by Bush campaign strategist Mary Matalin who repeated a comment
by a Clinton aide of their problem with ``bimbo eruptions.''
	The president said he had ``full confidence'' in Matalin, who had 
``made a mistake'' and had apologized ``and somebody told me that
Clinton accepted the apology. If that's true, let's leave that to rest
because the sleaze business, personalized business, has no business in
this at all.''
	Bush also flatly rejected calls from some conservative activists that
he pull out of the race or dump Vice President Dan Quayle.
41.168CSC32::J_CHRISTIEOnly Nixon can go to ChinaThu Aug 06 1992 22:0954
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Subject: Vatican favors intervention in Bosnia-Hercegovina
 
	CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II favors intervention
in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Hercegovina ``to disarm those
who want to kill,'' Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano
said Thursday.
	Sodano outlined the Vatican's views on what he called ``the most
serious scandal facing humanity'' to reporters after a meeting with the
pope in the summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, where John Paul is
convalescing from his July 15 operation to remove a benign tumor from
his colon.
	``With the pope we spoke of the serious concern for Bosnia-
Hercegovina and we spoke of the right of humanitarian intervention,''
the cardinal said. ``I would say that the European states and the United
Nations have the duty and the right of humanitarian intervention, to
disarm those who want to kill,'' he said. ``This is not favoring war,
but to prevent war.''
	Sodano said the United Nations favors intervention in the embattled
former Yugoslav province, in particular to deliver humanitarian aid.
	``We will support this fully,'' Sodano said. ``We need to convince
public opinion that it is truly a duty to stop the hand of the aggressor
and I believe that if we do not do this we are to a certain extent
accomplices.''
	Commenting on an article in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore
Romano which compared reports of concentration camps in Bosnia to the
Nazi era, Sodano said:
	``Certainly, if the reports of these concentration camps are true, it
is a matter of great concern. Never did we think we could return to this
in Europe.''
	He said Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, Archbishop of Zagreb, had sent
reports on this to the Vatican which were ``more than sure''.
	``We know nothing of the fate of some parish priests and some nuns
who are reported to be in these concentration camps,'' the Vatican
Secretary of State said.
	He said the pope and the Vatican believed the situation in the Gulf 
``could be settled'' and did not present a danger ``for the moment.''
	``At present the most serious scandal facing humanity is what is
happening in Bosnia,'' Sodano said. ``Europe, which should be a teacher
of civilization and humanity, is giving a bad example.
	``Never again did we think that warplanes would bomb a city in the
heart of Europe,'' he said. ``These are memories of 50 years ago.''
	Because of this, Sodano said there was every right to intervene ``and
we shall try to bring it about. It is a right in favor of humanity.''
	Sodano said the Vatican would support moves for a meeting in Geneva
of the U.N. Human Rights Commission ``to decide this problem, which
involves the dignity of mankind.
	``And this we will do for everybody, Christians and Muslims alike,''
the cardinal said. ``Everybody has seen this interest of the pope for
mankind, of every creed and conviction.''
41.169SDSVAX::SWEENEYWill I make it to my 18th Anniversary?Thu Aug 06 1992 22:305
    I also heard on the radio that Iran is calling for a "jihad" to support
    the predominantly Muslim Bosnians and calling for a coordinated
    Islamic response.
    
    Pat Sweeney
41.170CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Aug 12 1992 23:0555
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Subject: Disabled youth who lived in PTL's ``Kevin House'' dies
 
	WYOMING, Mich. (UPI) -- The young disabled man who had lived in 
``Kevin's House'' at Jim Bakker's PTL ministry has died, his brother
said Tuesday night. Kevin Whittum would have been 24 on Friday.
	The house that television evangelist Bakker raised $3 million to
build was to have provided shelter for disabled children and adults, but
the only people with disabilities who lived in the 18-bedroom home was
Whittum and his sister, Carolyn, who was a double leg amputee. It
eventually was learned that Whittum was Bakker's cousin.
	Whittum lived in the home from September, 1986 to August, 1989 and
was forced to move out when the PTL Ministry, under imminent financial
collapse, was taken over by Jerry Falwell, said his brother, David
Whittum.
	Whittum's brother told UPI in an interview that cause of death of
Kevin Monday night was undetermined because ``no autopsy was done.''
	``The only thing we can think of is that he was having a hard time
breathing on oxygen,'' Whittum said of his brother, whom he said had
suffered multiple fractures from his brittle bone disease.
	He said there had been no earlier indication his brother, who was
adopted by David and Ione Whittum, was ill. Because of his birth defect,
Kevin Whittum was about 29 inches tall and weighed about 40 pounds.
	``But, you know, he had been needing oxygen more and more,'' the
brother said. ``There wasn't a little bit of time he had to be off of
oxygen. He had to be on it constantly. But he could get in his chair and
go places as far as that goes.
	Kevin Whittum, who graduated from Heritage High School in the
Charlotte, N.C. area, had started his own business, Whittum Enterprises,
his brother said. The company sold computers and related materials.
	During the fund-raising drive for the home, Kevin Whittum often
appeared on Jim and Tammy Bakker's PTL television show. Of the estimated
$3 million that was raised for the home, about $1 million was spent on
construction.
	However, the builder failed to put in fire walls and South Carolina
law required such walls in any facility for someone with a disability.
	Jim Bakker, who was born in Muskegon, Mich., was convicted of 24
counts of fraud and perjury and sentenced to 45 years imprisonment in
October, 1989, stemming from misuse of PTL money. His sentence was
reduced to 18 years and he is serving the sentence at the Federal
Medical Center in Rochester, Minn.
	Bakker's attorney, Jim Toms of Hendersonville, N.C., described Kevin
as ``a person with a good mind and personality and courage.''
	Tammy Bakker, of International Falls, Minn., divorced Bakker earlier
this year.
	After the scandal over the misuse of donations from the public for
the PTL Ministry, Bakker was defrocked as a minister of the Assembly of
God denomination.
	Whittum's brother said Kevin Whittum's funeral was to be held
Saturday at 11 a.m. at the First Assembly of God church in Wyoming.
41.171CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Thu Aug 13 1992 23:3831
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Subject: McDonald's, Salisbury Cathedral make pact
 
	LONDON (UPI) -- A new deal between England's 13th-century Salisbury
Cathedral and McDonald's, the American hamburger chain, will help
finance upkeep of the tallest spire in Britain, the London-based
newspaper, the Guardian, reported Wednesday.
	Under an agreement between the popular tourist attraction 80 miles
southwest of London, McDonald's will provide wraps for souvenir scrolls
detailing the history of the cathedral.
	The scrolls will be given free to visitors as they pass through the
portals and are invited to give a $2.90 (1.50 pound) voluntary
contribution toward the upkeep of the cathedral.
	The scroll wrappers will bear the distinctive McDonald's golden
arches and an invitation to visit the nearby restaurant for a free
burger with any one bought.
	Describing the scrolls as made of ``parchment-type material,''
Salisbury's chapter clerk Christopher Owen said the sponsorship deal
will help with the $441,600 it costs each year to maintain the
cathedral.
	Owen said the scroll design was in the best possible taste. He
dismissed suggestions that the church could find its image damaged by
the partnership.
	``I don't think that snobbery is part of the Christian ethic, and if
you mean that McDonald's caters for ordinary people I suspect that those
people are amongst those who our ministry and cathedral must try to
reach,'' Oqen said.
41.172CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Aug 18 1992 19:5350
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Subject: Church moves to end mystery vault controversy
 
	WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Officials at Bruton Parish Church, dogged for
years by claims from cult groups that a secret vault containing the
outline for Utopia is buried in their churchyard, are authorizing a
full-fledged archaeological dig.
	The church has been the scene of unauthorized digs, one of which led
to criminal charges. The stated purpose of the dig staring Monday is to
explore the original foundation of the church built in 1683.
	But officials also hope to end the vault controversy once and for
all.
	``Rather than let this continue, we will explore that area fully and
get solid proof that there is not a vault,'' said Paul Parsons,
administrative assistant to the church rector.
	To the mystics, the vault contains original manuscripts of plays
attributed to William Shakespeare, works of Francis Bacon describing how
to obtain peace on Earth, the first version of the King James Bible,
crown jewels of Elizabeth I and an early version of the Declaration of
Independence.
	The church attracted the attention of Marie Bauer Hall of Los Angeles
54 years ago. She based her vault claims on ``deciphering'' tombstones
and the writings of Bacon and Shakespeare, and when she dug at the site
in 1938 she found the church's original foundation.
	An organization headed by Hall, the Veritat Foundation, sponsored
surface tests of the area from 1985 to 1987 that it claims show
something large buried 20 feet below the original foundation.
	Parish officials have been periodically vexed by the controversy and
by clandestine diggers.
	Last September, Marsha Middleton of Santa Fe, N.M., led a group of
Hall disciples in an eight-hour dig in the churchyard one night. They
found nothing, but the church filed trespassing charges and Middleton
and her followers fled Virginia.
	It is not known if authorities had charged Hall for her 1938 dig.
	While former Williamsburg Mayor John Hodges calls the idea ``kind of
kooky,'' archaelogist Andrew Edwards said: ``I keep an open mind. I'd be
surprised to find anything, but that's why I like this job.''
	Edwards works for the archaeological research department for the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which will conduct the dig. The
excavations, expected to last three weeks, will be videotaped and other
professional archaeologists will be invited to observe.
	Hall, reached in Los Angeles by the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, said she
was thrilled with the development. ``It's rejuvenating, it's healing. We
need it desperately.''
	Hall said the vault ``is greater than you think. This is not just for
America. It's for the nations of the Earth.''
41.173CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Aug 18 1992 19:5440
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Subject: Pope calls for prayers for Bosnia, Somalia
 
	CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II Saturday pleaded
with pilgrims to pray for the population of war-torn Bosnia-Hercegovina
and for famine-stricken Somalia.
	The Polish pope spoke to a crowd of several thousand gathered in the
courtyard of the papal summer residence on Italy's Ferragosto holiday.
	John Paul asked for prayers ``in particular for the martyred
population of Bosnia.''
	He added, ``Prayer should be incessant for our brothers in Somalia,
tired and tested from war and famine.''
	The pope is resting at his retreat in the hills south of Rome
following abdominal surgery last month, when doctors removed a benign
tumor from his colon and also removed his gall bladder containing three
large gallstones.
	Italy's ANSA news agency meanwhile confirmed Saturday the Polish pope
will begin a delayed summer holiday on Monday.
	John Paul is to spend two weeks at Lorenzago di Cadore in the
Dolomite Alps north of Venice, a trip he had planned to start July 15,
the day he underwent emergency surgery at Rome's Catholic Gemelli
Polyclinic.
	Since his operation and release from hospital on July 28, the pope
has been recuperating at the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo south of
Rome. But doctors believe the alpine air might be better for the pontiff
than the heat and humidity of Rome.
	John Paul has taken similar brief Alpine vactions in the Alps for the
past six years, takinglong walks along Alpine paths, working on papal
documents and presiding over a few religious ceremonies. This time, his
activities are expected to be more subdued as he continues to gain
strength.
	The Vatican has already confirmed the pope will go ahead with a visit
to the Dominican Republic Oct. 9-14 for the inauguration of the 4th
General Assembly of the Latin American Episcopate and will attend church
ceremonies marking the 5th centenary of the arrival of the Gospel in the
Americas with Christopher Columbus.
41.174CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Aug 19 1992 23:4738
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Subject: Pastor says he tried to stop white power rally
 
	JANESVILLE, Wis. (UPI) -- A local pastor said he offered Ku Klux Klan
organizer Kenneth Petersen money to leave town during a planned rally
last weekend, a move the pastor now says he regrets.
	The financial offer came up last Thursday when Pastor Jeffrey T. Wild
of St. John Lutheran Church met with Petersen. Wild said Petersen told
him he was having financial troubles and was considering getting out of
the Klan.
	Petersen talked of getting out of Janesville for the weekend,
although he had scheduled a KKK rally for Aug. 16. Wild said he would
give Petersen $500 to get out of town for the weekend.
	Petersen later announced he was postponing the rally. He said when he
returned home, he found $200 in cash Wild had left for him.
	``I got home and found the money, and there was no indication of what
it was for,'' he said.
	Wild said he dropped off the money after Petersen expressed interest
in leaving town for the weekend and after he told him he was calling off
the rally.
	The KKK rally did not take place on Aug. 16, but a white power
meeting was held at Petersen's home. A protest group attended the
meeting, and televison talk show host Geraldo Rivera was charged with
battery for allegedly fighting with a white supremacist.
	Petersen also said Wild asked him how much money it would take to get
him to leave town. Petersen suggested $100,000 and said Wild indicated
that he could raise that amount of money.
	Wild said Petersen misunderstood his meaning. He said he is not
collecting money for Petersen to leave town. He did not take Petersen's
$100,000 comment seriously.
	``I said to Ken during the conversation, when he talked about leaving
town, the people of Janesville would be very happy to give money so he
would leave town. I think that's the sentiment. But that was in no way
an offer to spearhead that effort,'' Wild said.
41.175CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Aug 19 1992 23:4724
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Subject: 500 visiting gypsies to converge on Vatican
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- A group of more than 500 gypsies from France
will descend on the Vatican Friday for a weekend pilgrimmage.
	The travelers from the Manouches tribe are due to arrive in around
about 100 caravans which will be parked at a campsite south of Rome,
officials said.
	The pilgrims will be accompanied by four chaplains and several nuns
who share their lifestyle.
	Since being planned months ago, the visit has run into a major
logistical problem -- the pope will be out of town until further notice.
	John Paul II is recuperating from July 15 abdominal surgery and is
spending the rest of the month at a northern Italian mountain resort to
regain his strength.
	The gypsies are due to visit several Rome area churches and the Roman
catacombs. They will attend a mass in St. Peter's as well as another one
to be celebrated by the Vatican head of services for migrants. The
visitors are expected to leave a letter for John Paul to read upon his
return.
41.176Related notes 101.37 thru 101.4129067::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Fri Aug 21 1992 22:3848
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Subject: Counseling extended to alleged victims of priest
 
	FALL RIVER, Mass. (UPI) -- The new leader of the Roman Catholic
Diocese of Fall River has offered to pay for the psychological
counseling of dozens of men who say they were abused by former priest
James Porter when they were boys.
	Bishop Sean O'Malley said Thursday a fund will be established to
cover the cost of the counseling. The pledge was a departure from an
earlier statement by Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, advising the
victims to see their local priests for counseling.
	In a prepared statement, O'Malley said he met earlier this week with
18 people who said Porter molested them. The bishop said he offered the
complainants sympathy and support.
	``I listened to their stories and their pain. We cried together, we
laughed together, we prayed together,'' he said.
	Roderick MacLeish, a lawyer representing about 70 victims, said the
overture by O'Malley is a ``positive first step'' and would ``go a long
way to getting people access to therapy, which they need.''
	O'Malley assumed his position as diocesan leader last week. In
addition to the counseling fund, he pledged to say masses in each of the
southeastern Massachusetts churches where Porter served from 1960 to
1967.
	He also said he will establish a policy on sex abuse and education
programs for priests in his diocese. A committee dedicated toward those
goals has already been established, O'Malley said.
	``The victims told me their No. 1 concern is to protect children,''
the bishop said. ``I told them that I am their ally in this goal.''
	Porter, 58, a native of Revere, was a priest at St. Mary's parish in
North Attleboro in 1960 and was transferred to Sacred Heart parish in
Fall River after parents at St. Mary's complained about him.
	He was transferred to St. James parish in New Bedford in 1965, to New
Mexico in 1967 and then to Minnesota. Sexual abuse allegations have
arisen against Porter in the West and Midwest.
	Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh is investigating whether
he can prosecute Porter despite the time that has elapsed since his
service in Massachusetts. Porter, no longer a priest, is married with
four children and living in Minnesota.
	In a related development, WBZ-TV in Boston reported that the Rev.
Armando Annunziato, who was Porter's superior in Massachusetts, has told
his bishop he will not help investigators.
	Several victims have said Annunziato saw Porter abusing them but took
no action. Annunziato has denied witnessing any abuse or having any
knowledge of complaints against Porter, the station said.
41.177CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Aug 25 1992 01:1428
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Subject: Pope calls for social justice for gypsies
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II Saturday gave a message of
hope to more than 500 gypsies from France on a weekend pilgrimage to the
Vatican.
	In a written text sent from Lorenzago di Cadore where he is on
holiday, the Polish pope said that Europe should ``cancel the injustices
which have too frequently scarred the secular history of the nomads.''
	The gypsies visiting the Vatican are travelers from the Manouches
tribe in the north of the France. The visitors heard the pope's word of
encouragement during a mass celebrated for them in St. Peter's basilica.
	Later, the travelers brought out violins and guitars and played some
of their traditional music in St. Peter's square.
	``At this moment in history, the countries of Europe are searching
for new forms of cooperation,'' the pope's message said. ``(We must)
take the opportunity ... to respect the gypsies, according to the noble
tradition of Europe.''
	John Paul praised the travelers as ``a living part of the church''
and called for ``civil society to welcome them.''
	Gypsies have gained a poor reputation in Rome and other European
cities, with bands of children organized into purse-snatching gangs and
gypsy mothers often accused of ``renting'' out their unwanted infants to
be used as props for street beggars.
41.178CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Aug 25 1992 01:1544
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Subject: Pope pleads for end to ethnic fighting in Bosnia-Hercegovina
 
	LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II Sunday made a
fervent appeal for an end to the bloody ethnic fighting in Bosnia-
Hercegovina, three days before the start of an international peace
conference on the former Yugoslavia.
	The Polish used his weekly Angelus blessing to emphasize once again
his concern about the situation in the region, where Serbians and Muslim
Serbs continue to battle.
	``I cannot but give a thought to the tragic situation in which for
too much time the martyred people (have found themselves),'' the pope
said to an audience of several hundred, including 63 refugees from
Bosnia-Hercegovina.
	``I appeal to those in authority to do everything possible to bring
to that dear region (Bosnia-Hercegovina) the fundamental benefit of
peace.''
	In a reference to the peace conference beginning Wednesday in London,
John Paul added: ``I hope that the important international initiatives
now in course are inspired by wiseness and will quickly reach the
desired results.''
	The pope, entering the second week of a hiking holiday in the
northern Italian Alps, expressed solidarity for victims of the bloody
ethnic fighting.
	``The drama of your people is always present in our hearts,'' the
Polish pontiff told his enthusiastic audience. The refugrees are
currently housed at a military barracks at nearby Pieve di Cadore after
being evacuated to Italy last month.
	Last Thursday, the Vatican and the new republic of Bosnia-
Hercegovina, formerly a part of Yugoslavia, announced that they would
establish formal diplomatic relations.
	``All of us present and those of us who are not hope that with your
prayers we can return as soon as possible to our loved ones and to our
land,'' read the text of a message from the refugees to the pope.
	On Saturday, the cardinal of Zagreb presented to the pope a copy of
diary kept by a 59-year-old priest held for more than two months in a
concentration camp.
	``The food is not sufficient...new prisoners are arriving,'' read one
entry. ``They are all being beaten and have scars. For three days we
haven't eaten a thing and many people still have untreated open wounds.''
41.179CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Aug 25 1992 01:1749
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(ARLEY MUNOZ)
Subject: Church worried about continuing violence
 
	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- The Catholic Church said Sunday it
was concerned that an agreement to accelerate compliance with El
Salvador's peace process was endangered by the growing number of bodies
appearing on roadsides.
	``It was made known a few hours ago that the government and the FMLN
(Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) reached an agreement on the
continuation of the (peace) process. This plants the seed of hope,''
said Auxillary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez.
	The FMLN and government agreed last week to a United Nations-brokered
plan to speed the peace process, but the agreement faltered before both
sides decided Sunday to continue with the proposal.
	Rosa Chavez called the renewal of the agreement ``positive and
encouraging,'' but said that ``the positive impact was minimized by acts
of blood.''
	The 12-year war, which took an estimated 75,000 lives, appears to be
over but Salvadorans are increasingly worried about the continued
appearence of murder victims on roadsides with no apparent explanation.
	Among the victims were business leaders, members of the armed forces,
farmers, community leaders, workers, merchants and teachers, Rosa Chavez
said.
	``It is imperative that so serious a situation be examined in an
urgent and objective manner, avoiding falling into the trap of
improvised and superficial explanations,'' the bishop said.
	Violent crime has increased since the war ended, fed by a growing
number of jobless ex-combatants and a lack of police protection.
	The United Nations observer mission in El Salvador, ONUSAL, reported
that the two sides agreed to accelerate compliance with a complicated
peace agreement signed Jan. 16 and initiated Feb. 1 with a U.N.-
monitored cease-fire.
	In last week's agreement, the government agreed to speed up formation
of a new National Civil Police, a force created by the peace accord to
replace existing public security corps which were militarized during the
war.
	The cease-fire has held without major incident but political and
structural reforms mandated by the agreement have fallen behind
schedule, prompting the FMLN to delay the gradual demobilization of its
guerrilla army.
	To date, only 20 percent of the 8,000-strong rebel army has been
demobilized and Rosa Chavez expressed doubts that the guerrilla force
will be dismantled by the Oct. 31 deadline stipulated in the peace
agreement.
41.180CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Thu Aug 27 1992 02:4021
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Subject: Minister to return to Dallas on attempted murder charges
 
	LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- A Dallas minister agreed Wednesday to return to
Texas to face attempted murder charges in the 1987 near-fatal choking of
his wife.
	Municipal Court Judge Elva Soper ordered Walker Railey, 45, to return
to Dallas by Sept. 10 to face trial in one of the most celebrated cases
in recent Dallas history.
	Railey was arrested Tuesday in his offices at Immanuel Presbyterian
Church in Los Angeles, and led out in handcuffs as church members looked
on.
	The once-prominent Texas minister was indicted Tuesday by a Dallas
grand jury on charges of attempted murder.
	In April 1987, Margaret ``Peggy'' Railey was attacked and nearly
choked to death in the garage of the couple's North Dallas home. The
couple's two children also lived in the home.
41.181CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Fri Aug 28 1992 21:5844
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Subject: Lebanese Christians strike to protest elections
 
	BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- Thousands of Christians began a three-day
general strike Friday to protest Lebanon's first general election since
1972 which they say will deny them a voice in the future of the country.
	Christians believe the presence of some 35,000 Syrian troops in
Lebanon following the 15-year civil war will influence the outcome of
the election in favor of the country's Muslims.
	The civil disobedience call was being observed by Christians across
Lebanon, reports said.
	Christian candidates who have already pulled out of the race were
joined Friday by Labor Union leader Elias Habr and Maronite Deputy
Shafik Badr who said the elections were being held prematurely.
	In the Beirut Christian neighborhoods of Kesrouwan, Jbeil and Metn,
businesses, schools and shops shut down.
	The strike was partially observed in the northern village of Bsharre,
hometown of hard-line Lebanese Forces militia leader Samir Geagea.
	The mainly Christian opposition announced Sunday a ``day of mourning
to mark the death of democracy in the country'' and called on citizens
to remain indoors throughout the civil disobedience campaign.
	The campaign was launched to coincide with the second phase of the
elections scheduled for Sunday in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
	The opposition, led by the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Seir, said it
would participate in the elections only after Syrian troops pull out of
Beirut as provided for in the Taif peace accord that ended the 1975-90
Lebanese civil war.
	On Monday, House Speaker Hussein Husseini resigned, charging that
fraud and massive vote-rigging had taken place at Sunday's elections
where four pro-Iranian Hezbollah candidates and four of their Christian
and Muslim Sunni running mates were victorious.
	Farouk Abillama, leading Gen. Aoun's followers, insisted Friday that
the first phase of the election had been rigged and that the results
were ``based on falsifications.''
	``The majority of Lebanese, Christians and Muslims, do not want these
elections because of the vote-rigging,'' Abillama said.
	``We will continue our opposition,'' he said, adding that ``neither
freedom nor democracy are respected in Lebanon.''
	Abillama appealed on the United States ``which preaches democracy,
freedom and liberty to help Lebanon.''
41.182CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Aug 31 1992 22:1342
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Subject: Pope gives 100,000 U.S. dollars toward aid for Somalia
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II has given $100,000 to the
Caritas Italiana charity organization for humanitarian aid for people of
the war-shattered East African Republic of Somalia, the Vatican
announced Saturday.
	The Vatican statement said the pope is ``profoundly saddened by the
tremendous suffering of the beloved people of Somalia'' and the gift was
intended as ``a follow-up to his repeated appeals'' on behalf of the
stricken nation.
	It said the pope meant the gift as ``his encouragement to those who
are working for the pacification of the conflicting factions, and those
whose activities are aimed at restoring hope to the Somali population,
with particular regard to the weakest sectors: the children, the sick
and the old people.''
	The Vatican said the money was subscribed by church institutions and
individual Catholics and would be passed on by Caritas to an Ecumenical
Consortium, coordinated by the Lutheran World Federation, which is
sending aid to Somalia.
	Vatican sources said that since May the Consortium, of which Caritas
Italiana is a member, has delivered 2,500 tons of foodstuffs and medical
supplies in daily flights to Somalia.
	The pope is convalescing at Lorenzago Cadore, near the ski resort of
Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Italian Alps, from his July 15 operation for
removal of a benign tumor in his colon. He is expected to return to the
papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, next
Wednesday.
	As is his custom during annual Alpine holidays, John Paul is taking
long daily walks through the mountain forests. Chief Vatican spokesman
Joaquin Navarro Valls said Saturday that when the pope's party was
caught in a thunderstorm Friday, John Paul spent an hour in a tent to
shelter from the storm.
	``It is more than 15 years since I had heard the sound of rain on the
roof of a tent,'' Navarro quoted the pope as saying.
	On Sunday the pope will visit the Alpine town of Domegge Cadore to
celebrate the noon Angelus prayer before thousands of people in what
will be his first public visit since his operation.
41.183CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Aug 31 1992 22:1429
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Subject: Philippine bishop killed in explosion
 
	MANILA, Philippines (UPI) -- A bomb exploded in a jeep in the northern
 Philippines, killing a bishop of the homegrown Philippine Independent
Church and injuring three other people, police and church officials said
Monday.
	A police report identified the victim as Bishop Juanito Ferrer, 52,
who was killed in the incident Saturday in Talugtog, Nueva Ecija
province, 60 miles north of the capital.
	Bishop Admirador Federis, secretary-general of the Philippine
Independent Church, said two priests and a deacon were injured in the
explosion.
	He said the bishop and seven other people had come from a meeting and
were aboard a jeep en route to the provincial capital when the
explosive, which was believed placed inside one of the bags a deacon was
carrying, blew up.
	He said Ferrer had received several death threats, but declined to
say from whom.
	The church, claiming 3 million members nationwide, was founded in
1902 by a Filipino priest who broke away from the Roman Catholic church
in Asia's only Christian nation.
	Its members are active in human rights issues and have expressed
opposition to U.S. military bases in the country and the operation of a
nuclear power plant.
41.184CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Sep 01 1992 21:0530
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Subject: Thousands gather for appearance by Virgin Mary
 
	COLD SPRING, Ky. (UPI) -- Thousands of people gathered at a Roman
Catholic church for a predicted appearance by the Virgin Mary and a few
said they saw her.
	Some of the 1,000 parishioners who were allowed inside St. Joseph's
Roman Catholic Church for a midnight prayer service Monday said they saw
only flashing lights, although a few claimed to have seen Mary.
	``I heard the thunder and saw the light and all of a sudden she
appeared,'' an unidentified Cold Spring woman said.
	About 8,000 people were kept outside during the service at the church
about 10 miles south of Cincinnati. Some said they saw the series of
lights in the church at midnight.
	``At exactly midnight we saw the beautiful lights that just kept
happening,'' said a woman who waited in the church parking lot.
	Some said the Virgin Mary appeared in a tree while a statue of her
appeared to weep. However, others said they saw nothing.
	The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington declined immediate comment
but said it would have a statement later Tuesday.
	The church's pastor, the Rev. Leroy Smith, led the prayer service and
paused at midnight. When he continued speaking he did not say whether he
had seen the Virgin Mary.
	The appearance of the Virgin Mary was predicted last week by an
unidentified woman. Worshippers arrived throughout the day Monday and
said the rosary.
41.185CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Sep 02 1992 22:3142
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Subject: Bishop says no miracle at Kentucky church
 
	COLD SPRING, Ky. (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of
Covington, Ky., said Tuesday he was convinced that ``nothing of a
miraculous nature occurred'' Monday night in St. Joseph Roman Catholic
Church in Cold Spring.
	Thousands of people gathered at the church for a predicted appearance
by the Virgin Mary. Her appearance was predicted last week by an
unidentified woman and worshippers arrived throughout the day Monday.
	Some of the 1,000 parishioners who were allowed inside the church for
a midnight prayer service said they saw only flashing lights, although a
few claimed to have seen the Virgin.
	``After visiting with (church pastor) Father (Leroy) Smith, I am
convinced that nothing of a miraculous nature occurred in St. Joseph
Church last night,'' Bishop William Hughes said in a prepared statement.
``Therefore, no commission will be established at this time to
investigate the event.''
	``A large group of people gathered to pray and their demeanor was
reverent and respectful as usually characterizes Catholic devotion,''
Hughes said.
	``They prayed the rosary in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary to seek
her intercession with God. This has been a favorite form of prayer used
by Catholic people for hundreds of years.''
	``It is well to note,'' Hughes said, ``that Catholics do not adore or
worship Mary. They believe that as the Mother of Jesus, she is able to
intercede for them in asking God's help.
	``I am grateful to our neighbors in Cold Spring who may have been
inconvenienced by the large gathering,'' said Hughes. ``I trust today
will allow you to return to the characteristic friendliness that has
always marked the citizens of Cold Spring.''
	About 8,000 people were kept outside during the service at the church
about 10 miles south of Cincinnati. Some said they saw the series of
lights in the church at midnight.
	``At exactly midnight we saw the beautiful lights that just kept
happening,'' said a woman who waited in the church parking lot.
	Some said the Virgin Mary appeared in a tree while a statue of her
appeared to weep. However, others said they saw nothing.
41.186CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Sep 02 1992 22:3253
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Subject: Colonial Williamsburg vault search turns up more 18th century graves
 
	WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (UPI) -- Archaeologists uncovered remnants of three
more 18th-century graves Tuesday in a continuing search for an alleged
17th-century vault some cultists claim contains clues to world peace.
	``Just one revealed brass tacks and the outline of an actual coffin,''
said Paul Parsons, administrative assistant at Bruton Parish Church,
which is in Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area.
	``They also discovered two others with no known remains intact, but
they (the graves) are immediately on either side of the hole that is
subject to the vault theory,'' Parsons said.
	The brass tacks would indicate that it was a burial for a
distinguished person, he said.
	Bruton Parish Church authorized the excavation to end speculation
among New Age cultists that a vault containing the writings of
philosopher Sir Francis Bacon was buried in the churchyard centuries
ago.
	Some theorists believe Bacon authored the plays of William
Shakespeare and left cryptic messages that would lead 20th-century
believers to uncover the secrets of a new world order.
	Last year, a group of cultists from New Mexico engineered two
unauthorized churchyard excavations in search of the vault and the
writings.
	Since the authorized digging began two weeks ago, archaeologists have
uncovered a total of five graves in the 20-foot square area. They will
not disturb the graves, Parsons said.
	By the end of the week, archaeologists from Colonial Williamsburg
expect to have scraped away all the soil that ever has been disturbed in
the area, including that portion of a 1938 excavation undertaken by
California mystic Marie Bauer Hall, who has circulated the vault theory
for years.
	Chief archaeologist Marley Brown III said it is highly unlikely that
a large vault could have been buried under undisturbed soil in the 17th
century.
	Parsons said the Bruton Parish rector, the Rev. Richard May, will
meet Wednesday with a College of William and Mary geologist who has
agreed to undertake geo-technical tests of the area that he believes
will determine once and for all whether a vault exists.
	Geology Professor Gerald Johnson said he will place 15-foot probes at
the bottom of the deepest hole left by the archaeologists, at levels
lower than any graves.
	He said the probes, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 15 feet long,
also will provide useful information about ground water and layers of
sediment deep underground.
	``I question that there's a vault,'' he said. ``But there's always a
possibility that you will discover different things than you expect.''
	The rector would likely decide next week whether to grant permission
for such tests, Parsons said.
41.187CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Sep 02 1992 22:3330
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Subject: Retired bishop dies at 75
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- Retired Roman Catholic Bishop Cletus F. O'Donnell, a
former auxiliary bishop of the Chicago archdiocese, is dead at age 75.
	O'Donnell had been a bishop for 31 years. He died Monday in Madison,
Wis., two days after suffering a heart attack.
	O'Donnell was ordained a priest in 1941 and earned a doctorate in
canon law in 1945 from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.
C.
	He was named vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1945
and was appointed auxiliary bishop in 1960. A year later, Cardinal
Albert Meyer appointed him archdiocesan vicar general.
	O'Donnell was named bishop of Madison in 1967, a position he held for
25 years. He suffered a stroke in September 1991 and retired in April.
	``Many people in Chicago remember Bishop O'Donnell warmly from his
days as pastor of Holy Name Cathedral and his valuable service as an
auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago,''
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago said.
	During his time in Madison, O'Donnell became one of the first bishops
to create a diocesan office for the disabled, and in 1970, he named a
Dominican nun to lead the diocese's board of education, believed to be a
first.
	O'Donnell was one of the few remaining American bishops to have
attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, held from
1962-65.
41.188CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Fri Sep 04 1992 21:3754
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Subject: Christians, protesting elections, observe general strike
 
	BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- Christian areas started a three-day general
strike Friday to protest the government's going ahead with the third
phase of the general elections scheduled in southern Lebanon for Sept.
6.
	Businesses, schools and shops shut down in the Christian districts of
Beirut, Kesrouwan and Jbeil. Only pharmacies and bakeries remained open.
	The strike was called by Christian opposition groups, including the
hard-line Lebanese Forces militia and followers of exiled Gen. Michel
Aoun, who decided to boycott the elections on the ground the results of
the polls would be forged in favor of pro-Syrian candidates.
	The Christians wanted to postpone the polls until Syria had withdrawn
its troops from Beirut and relocated them in the Bekaa Valley in eastern
Lebanon as agreed in the Lebanese peace accord that ended 16 years of
civil war.
	Despite the Christian boycott, preparations to hold the third phase
of the elections continued as thousands of Lebanese Army troops and
policemen were dispatched to southern Lebanon to secure order and
freedom for all voters on Sunday.
	Early Friday, a tank-led Lebanese Army force arrived in the port city
of Sidon, 24 miles south of Beirut, to reinforce Army positions and
protect balloting stations erected near Israel's self-declared 
``security zone.''
	Some 350 Lebanese policemen and troops of the United Nations Interim
Force in southern Lebanon staged joint patrols in the village of Tibnin,
west of the border zone.
	UNIFIL has agreed to provide protection for the zone residents and
escort voters to the balloting stations and back to the passageways on
Sunday.
	Lebanese policemen erected tents to be used as balloting stations
near the passageway of Beit Yahoun to receive voters from the border
zone.
	The Beirut Government decided to place the ballot boxes outside the
border zone to allow the border residents to vote away from any pressure
exerted by the Israelis and their proxy South Lebanon Army militia.
	But SLA commander Gen. Antoine Lahd warned those taking part in
Sunday'selections that residents who crossed the border enclave to cast
their vote would never return to the security zone.
	Two lists and a number of independent candidates are competing for 23
seats in southern Lebanon. One list is headed by former House Speaker
Kamel Al Assad and the other by Nabih Berri, chief of the pro-Syrian
Amal movement.
	Two pro-Iranian Hezbollah candidates and one Muslim Sunni
fundamentalist are also running in the southern region.
	Six Hezbollah candidates and four Sunni fundamentalists have so far
won seats in the first and second phases of the elections that took
place in eastern and northern Lebanon Aug. 23 and Beirut and Mount
Lebanon Aug. 30.
41.189CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Sep 07 1992 23:4133
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Subject: Pope urges greater efforts to end war in Bosnia-Hercegovina
 
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II urged all those capable of
intervening ``to intensify their efforts quickly'' to end what he called
the ``absurd conflict'' in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia
Hercegovina.
	``The church is following with great apprehension the development of
the war events and the multiplying of the massacres and devastation
caused by this absurd war,'' he said.
	He called for prayers that ``all those who can intervene to help to
put an end to this tragedy may intensify their efforts quickly.''
	The pope made the latest of his repeated appeals for an end to the
conflict in the former Yugoslavia during a recital of the Rosary prayers
which is broadcast by Vatican radio on the first Saturday of each month.
	His message was recorded in the papal summer residence in Castel
Gandolfo, where John Paul is continuing his convalescence from a July 15
operation to remove a benign tumor from his colon. The pope returned to
Castel Gandolfo Wednesday from a 16-day vacation in the Italian Alps.
	John Paul said the conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina was ``a tragic hour
for Europe.'' Serbian forces in the republic are fighting against Muslim
Slavs, Croatians and moderate Serbs to join much of the republic to the
neighboring republic of Serbia.
	``Faithful to the mission entrusted to it by Christ, the church
intends to make its own moral and spiritual contribution toward
overcoming the hostilities and to achieving a stable and secure peace,''
the pope said.
	``Authentic peace springs from the overcoming of hate and an intimate
renewal of the spirit,'' he said.
41.190CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Sep 07 1992 23:4246
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(ALISON MUTLER)
Subject: Romanian rebel bishop continues hunger strike
 
	BUCHAREST, Romania (UPI) -- Laszlo Toekes, the cleric whose protest
sparked the 1989 revolution, Friday spent his third day on hunger strike
to protest an alleged government cover-up and official discrimination,
Romanian radio reported.
	The former pastor refused to speak to President Ion Iliescu about his
protest.
	``I thank him (Iliescu) for his offer but it has no credibility'',
Toekes, now bishop of the Reform Hungarian Church, told the radio
station.
	Toekes is Bishop of Oradea, in west Romania, but is staging his
protest in the southwest city of Timisoara -- the cradle of the December
1989 revolution which ultimately overthrew former dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu.
	It was his protest there about his transfer to a rural town that led
to rioting in the city and eventually to the execution of Ceausescu and
wife Elena, who had ruled the country for 25 years.
	Toekes has said he will continue the hunger strike until those guilty
for what he called the genocide during the revolution are prosecuted. He
accused Iliescu of harboring ex-communists and discriminating against
the country's 8 percent Hungarian minority.
	More than 1,000 Romanians died during the revolution. Official
investigations have accused only ``foreign forces'' of being responsible
for inciting the violence. Many believe there is an official cover-up.
	In a five-page open letter to Toekes on Thursday, Iliescu called for
a dialogue ``to be conducted in an open and responsible spirit''.
	Toekes is an outspoken champion of Hungarian rights and has made
repeated appeals for autonomy for ethnic Hungarians in the north region
of Transylvania where Hungarians are concentrated.
	Iliescu, a former communist minister, came to power during the 1989
revolution and won a landslide victory five months later. His popularity
has waned since, partly because of economic problems and suspicions
about his ties to the country's communist past.
	Politicians have expressed concern about the hunger strike's possible
effect at the Sept. 27 general elections. Opinion polls give Iliescu
around 39 percent in the elections, but he may face a tough challenge
from the opposition parties.
	Church officials have organized a service of solidarity in Timisoara
Monday, and thousands of people are expected to attend.
41.191CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Sep 07 1992 23:4247
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Subject: President of Jimmy Swaggart's bible college resigns
 
	BATON ROUGE, La. (UPI) -- The president of Jimmy Swaggart's World
Evangelism Bible College and Seminary has turned in his resignation to
the disgraced television evangelist.
	The departure of Bernard Rossier was disclosed as reports surfaced
Saturday that the institution's enrollment dwindled so drastically that
its students were reassigned to a classroom building occupied by the
ministry's high school program.
	Rossier was a leading figure in the formerly prosperous ministry that
has fallen on hard times since two sex scandals involving Swaggart and
prostitutes became public knowledge.
	Rossier had no comment on his resignation, although he added, ``There
are already too many people who left and said things they shouldn't
have.''
	Former Swaggart administrator J.R. Heisch, now employed by a
Christian school in San Antonio, Texas, said he was advised by his
contacts at the ministry that only 100 students enrolled in the bible
college for the fall semester, just a fraction of the peak enrollment of
1,451 in 1987.
	Heisch said bible college classes had become so small that they would
be relocated into nearby facilities of Family Christian Academy, a high
school operated by the ministry.
	The bible college also has abandoned attempts to become accredited by
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, jeopardizing abilities
of students to qualify for federally funded student loans and making it
difficult for them to transfer to other accredited colleges.
	Swaggart's television ministry, which received as much as $142
million in donations annually during the mid-1980s, has suffered due to
lack of money since two highly publicized incidents in which Swaggart
was involved with prostitutes.
	In 1987, it was revealed that Swaggart had paid a Metairie prostitute
to pose nude for him. In October 1991, police in Indio, Calif., who
stopped his car for a traffic violation discovered an admitted
prostitute with him.
	Loss of income after the two scandals forced the ministry to lay off
hundreds of employees, drop its college basketball program, and to place
assets such as land, houses, broadcasting equipment and pianos up for
sale.
	Swaggart warned followers in a February appeal for donations that his
ministry remained under attack by Satan and that it may be forced off
the airwaves entirely unless financial contributions increased.
41.192CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Sep 07 1992 23:43122
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(JOE CHRYSDALE)
Subject: Prayers of hope for hurricane victims
 
	HOMESTEAD, Fla. (UPI) -- Prayers of hope replaced talk of damage and
destruction as the Revs. Billy Graham and Jesse Jackson joined local
religious leaders Saturday in leading a service for victims of Hurricane
Andrew.
	``We've heard you (God) through the mighty winds,'' said Jackson. 
``Make us better but never bitter. You took away our things but you
spared our lives.''
	Graham said as he was flying into South Florida he noticed someone
had painted a sign on the roof of their home that said: ``God, you got
our attention, now what?''
	``'Now what' will be a spiritual awakening that starts here and could
reach across the country,'' Graham told the 200 people gathered in a
field near a Red Cross relief distribution center.
	The ceremony was flanked by military vehicles on one side and a
battered residential subdivision on the other. In the 20 mph winds the
flapping of plastic roof coverings could be heard. Nearby, helicopters
carrying tons of relief supplies continued to land and unload.
	Graham said the hurricane downed thousands of trees and shrubs but
out of the destruction some good came.
	``I've heard that trees are down and people are seeing their
neighbors for the first time,'' he said.
	Graham, known for his world-wide evangelism travels, said the
volunteer effort in South Florida was impressive.
	``I have never seen such volunteer effort anywhere I've been in the
world,'' he said. ``You're going to have a beautiful community when this
is over.''
	He likened South Florida to a cake. He said while the finished
product is delicious, eating just the individual ingredients -- flour and
raw eggs -- would taste horrible.
	Roman Catholic Archbishop Edward McCarthy of Miami read a message
from Pope John Paul II.
	``Deeply saddened by reports of the devastation to South Florida
caused by Hurricane Andrew,'' the letter said. ``His Holiness, Pope John
Paul II, asks you to convey to all the victims his heartfelt sympathy
and closeness in prayer.''
	Rabbi Brett Goldstein of Miami said the service's closing prayer.
	``In some countries in the Mideast the word for crisis is the same
word for opportunity,'' Goldstein said.
	Gov. Lawton Chiles, who has been in South Florida since the hurricane
hit, also had words of encouragement.
	``After the storm we were warned of the danger of an epidemic,''
Chiles said. ``Well there is an epidemic -- of love. It's infectious and
its traveling from South Florida through the country.''
	Before the service Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., presented Homestead Mayor
Alex Muxo with a federal disaster relief check of $690,000 and said it
was the ``first trickle of federal funds for South Florida.''
	Tom Sanchez, 32, an airline registration agent from Leisure City, was
not moved by the words of hope and encouragement. Married with three
children,Sanchez said his house was destroyed by the hurricane.
	``We're leaving. This will be a ghost town,'' Sanchez said. ``You
can't live in a neighborhood like this. It's a ghetto. I'm confused. I
don't know what's going to happen to my life. I just go day by day. I
didn't think it would be like this, I'm so depressed.''
	In the Florida Keys, full electric power was restored Saturday and
residents and businesses had air conditioning for the first time since
Aug. 24, when the hurricane ripped up 13 miles of 138,000-volt wires
along Card Sound Road in North Key Largo. The Keys had been supplied
some power from city generators in Key West, but were restricted from
using air conditioners.
	``We're doing fine,'' Charles Russell, general manager of the Florida
Keys Electric Cooperative, said Saturday. ``We had some bugs early
Friday, but they've been worked out and the power has been consistent.''
	Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bill Reynolds said Saturday military troops
would construct polling places for the Dade County primary election
Sept. 8. The rest of Florida held its primary Sept. 1 but in Dade County
the primary was delayed because most polling places were damaged or
destroyed.
	``I believe we just got authorization to assist in providing tents,
generators fuel, light sets and water for 66 different election sites,''
Reynolds said. The work was scheduled to begin Sunday.
	Reynolds said by law the military cannot have any soliders or
personnel on the polling site premises on election day so the county
will have to providing staffing to conduct the voting.
	Reynolds said the first of an additional 11,600 troops began arriving
in South Florida, and by the end of next week the federal military
presence will be about 27,000. There are also 6,350 National Guard
providing security and medical aid.
	The immediate needs of victims for food, water, shelter and medical
care appeared to be being met.
	Dr. Armando Sante Lices, with AMI Palmetto Hospital in Hialeah, said
his group of doctors and nurses have been seeing 150 people per day in
the Leisure City area. The group is working in a small house donated by
a local family.
	He said they have treated a number of dog bites and injuries
resulting from the cleanup effort.
	``We don't need food, clothes or diapers,'' Sante Lices said. ``We
wish people would send either money or a truck full of carpenters and
supplies to adopt a house. If each city in the United States adopted one
house this area would be back in a year.''
	As the Labor Day weekend began, officials expected hundreds of
volunteers to come to South Dade County to help with cleanup efforts --
while crossing their fingers that the influx would not further snarl
traffic. Army spokesman Maj. Gary Collins asked volunteers to bring
their own food, water and tools.
	Florida Power & Light Co. said Saturday 128,000 residents remained
without electricity in south Dade County where damage was most severe.
More than 4,000 utility crew members were involved in the restoration.
About 1.4 million customers were without power right after the storm.
	The Red Cross surveyed 97,000 homes in South Florida and found more
than half severely damaged or destroyed. County officials have estimated
63,000 homes were destroyed, leaving about 250,000 people homeless.
	Tent cities set up by the military became more popular over the
weekend. About 500 people were housed in Homestead tents on Saturday.
	Andrew struck South Florida Aug. 24 with winds of up to 164 mph,
causing damage that insurance industry officials say will total $7.3
billion in claims. It caused another $500 million of insured damage in
Louisiana.
	Andrew's overall death toll reached 52, including 26 killed as a
direct result of the storm.
	The Dade County Medical Examiner's Office said 14 people were killed
outright by the storm Aug. 24. The storm also killed nine in Louisiana
and three in the Bahamas. Another 26 died in Florida as an indirect
result of the storm, 24 of them in Dade County, the medical examiner's
office said Friday.
41.193CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Sep 08 1992 19:0768
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Subject: Bishop Tutu prays near massacre site
 
	JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (UPI) -- Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Archbishop Desmond Tutu led a prayer meeting Tuesday at the border of
Ciskei, where police killed at least 23 people and wounded another 196
as they marched to demand the resignation of the black homeland's
military leader.
	African National Congress President Nelson Mandela was reported en
route to visit people injured Monday when soldiers fired into a crowd of
ANC supporters.
	ANC Secretary-General Cyril Ramaphosa and a number of senior members
of the organization were already in the area, and have predicted more
conflict between Ciskei residents and the homeland's security forces.
	``I can't see (Ciskei leader Brigadier Oupa Gqozo) being able to
contain the anger,'' Chris Hani, ANC member and Secretary-General of the
South African Communist Party, told the South African Press Association
(SAPA) at the border between South Africa and the Ciskei.
	``People will kill members of the Ciskei Police and Defense Force.
People will get revenge,'' Hani said.
	A crowd of 2,000 people camped throughout Monday night less than 300
feet from the border where hours earlier Ciskei soldiers had unleashed a
long burst of automatic gunfire at 20,000 protesters.
	SAPA reported the mood among the protesters as militant and said
there was talk of staging a another march to the capital of Ciskei to
demand the resignation of Gqozo.
	A church delegation, including Tutu, led a prayer meeting at the
border Tuesday morning. A spokesman for the archbishop said the church
leaders planned to meet Gqozo.
	Across the border, hundreds of heavily-armed Ciskeisoldiers faced the
protesters. A company of South African troops have been deployed in the
small homeland, but the South African government says they are only
there to protect industrial property and prevent looting.
	The Ciskei military officers claim their troops opened fire in self-
defense after ANC supporters attacked them with guns and hand grenades
as the marchers crossed over the border of the homeland.
	The Ciskei has referred to the death of a soldier as proof that the
ANC supporters were armed and fired first.
	The ANC and its allies have rejected the charge, saying Ciskei
soldiers fired first without provocation or warning.
	The protest march signaled the start of the latest phase of the ANC-
led campaign of mass action launched June 16 with the aim of eventually
forcing the South African government to relinquish power.
	The ANC has said the killings would mark a crucial turning point in
the current phase of its struggle, and has said the government of
President Frederik de Klerk shared ``an equal responsibility'' with the
Ciskei authorities because the administration ``did everything
calculated to encourage Gqozo in his intransigence.''
	The South African government established Ciskei and nine other black
homelands as part of a policy of geographic segregation beginning in
1959. Ciskei was declared independent by South Africa in 1981, but the
homeland's separate status is not recognized by most nations.
	The ANC believes Gqozo, who seized power in a March 1990 military
coup, should resign because he is unelected and disliked by the
homeland's citizens. The ANC also criticizes the white command structure
of Gqozo's military, and oppose his support for the white-minority South
African government.
	The ANC leadership views Gqozo as the weakest link in the chain of
black political figures who are potential allies of the ruling National
Party in a democratic election.
	In London, British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said his government
condemns ``the killing and wounding of ANC supporters in Ciskei.''
	``We are deeply disturbed that violence and intolerance have again
claimed innoent lives.'' Hurd said.
41.194COMET::HAYESJDuck and cover!Wed Sep 09 1992 06:2257
The following article, which was published in the Miami Herald of
Monday, August 31, 1992, has been reproduced without permission.

COPYRIGHT 1992, The Miami Herald
by Elinor J. Brecher
Herald Staff Writer


"Witnesses care for their own - and others"


	No one in Homestead is slamming doors on the Jehovah's
Witnesses this week - even if they still have doors to slam.
	About 3,000 Witness volunteers from across the country have
converged on the disaster area, first to help their own, then to help
others.
	They're the heart of a worldwide Witness master plan that
kicks in as soon as there's a calamity, be it in Malawi, Eastern
Europe or South Florida. The plan is directed from the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society in New York.
	Any military organization might envy the Witnesses' precision,
discipline and efficiency.
	There's no bureaucracy. There are no battling egos. Instead,
workers seem impossibly cheerful and cooperative no matter how
exhausted.
	"This comes from a relationship with God that motivates us to
demonstrate our love for others," explained Presiding Overseer Tony
Ejk of Goulds, who operated Eltone Farms and Eltone Manufacturing
until both were wiped out in the storm.
	About 150 tons of food and supplies have funneled through a
command post at the Assembly Hall in western Broward County to two
Kingdom Halls in the Homestead area.
	From the halls, crews fan out each morning to repair the
battered homes of Witness brethren. It was Ejk's responsibility to
account for every family in his congregation. He bicycled through
Naranja and Leisure City, making sure all were safe, arranging
shelter for those who needed it.
	Sunday, a crew from Pennsylvania swarmed over the shell on SW
302nd Terrace that was to have been Alphonso Tardy's new home. An
apartment-complex maintenance worker who became a Witness 17 years
ago, Tardy, 60, closed on the house three weeks ago.
	"I was trying to get a place to live for my old age," Tardy
said, shaking his head at the mess.
	Despite damage, the hall has been turned into a self-contained
relief city. Volunteers - many of whom plan to stay for a couple of
weeks - have set up a laundry, a shower facility, a radio room and
work-assignment and communication tents.
	A field kitchen churns out meals for up to 1,500 persons,
three times a day. And it's not just hot dogs and doughnuts.
Volunteers are treated to home-baked bread, lasagna from scratch,
tossed salads, stew, flapjacks and French toast - all from donated
ingredients.
	"This is great!" said Thomas Nelson, a 17-year-old Witness and
Hurricane Hugo survivor from Charleston, S.C. Washing tomatoes for a
tuna salad, he said, "Everyone is so happy. There's no place like it."

<end of article>
41.195CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Thu Sep 10 1992 00:1528
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Subject: Mother Teresa brings charity to Britain
 
	LONDON (UPI) -- Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, who arrived Wednesday in
Birmingham seeking a site for a new branch of her mission, The
Missionaries of Charity, told a church conference more charity was
needed for AIDS sufferers.
	Although the 82-year-old nun tried to avoid publicity on her visit to
Britain, about 100 well-wishers were waiting for her at the city center
cathedral.
	At the National Conference of Priests at Newman College in
Birmingham, about 200 miles north of London, Mother Teresa spoke of her
work and of the plight of AIDS victims.
	``We have homes all over the place for the dying, the crippled, the
mentally ill, the lepers, the unwanted and now especially with the new
disease AIDS we have them all over the place also,'' she said.
	``The sad part is they are doomed to die very soon. Most of them have
very little hope, but there is something very beautiful to see these
young men dying with dignity and love and care.''
	``We have a number of houses open for AIDS in the U.S,'' the nun
said.
	Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Basil Hume, who was at the
conference, said of Mother Teresa, ``she's a saint. She's a wonderful
woman. If we could all be like her the world would be very different.''
41.196CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Fri Sep 11 1992 20:1324
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Subject: Citing homeland's turmoil, Tutu quits Harvard board
 
	CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (UPI) -- South Africa's Anglican archbishop, Desmond
Tutu, resigned Thursday as a member of Harvard University's governing
board of overseers, saying the violence sweeping his country will keep
him and other black leaders at home.
	Tutu, 60, who was named to the board in 1989, told Harvard President
Neil Rudenstein in a letter that his decision was effective immediately.
His term was due to run through 1995.
	``The situation in my home country is volatile in the extreme and
very fluid, requiring that many of us should be more available to help
in the delicate but exhilarating business of being midwives for the
birth of the much-awaited new South Africa,'' Tutu wrote.
	Rudenstein said he said accepted Tutu's decision with ``the greatest
regret,'' but added, ``we fully understand and respect his decision.''
	Harvard's board of overseers, a 30-member panel elected by university
graduates, sharges the job of governing the nation's oldest university
with the Harvard Corporation. The two bodies must approve all major
teaching and administrative appointments.
41.197CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Sep 22 1992 21:1852
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Subject: Ex priest indicted for molestating 32 children
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 92 5:44:25 PDT

   	NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (UPI) -- Former Roman Catholic priest James Porter
faced an extradition hearing Tuesday in Minnesota to return him to
Massachusetts to stand trial in one of the largest sexual-abuses cases
of its kind in the nation.
	Porter, 58, was arrested ``without incident'' Monday in Oakdale,
Minn., after he was indicted by a Bristol County, Mass., grand jury on
42 counts of sexually abusing 32 children while serving several parishes
in the 1960s.
	Porter, who left the priesthood in the early 1970s and is now married
and living with his wife and four children in Minnesota, has admitted
molesting about 100 children in Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Mexico.
	Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr. scheduled a Tuesday
afternoon news conference to discuss the charges against Porter, who
left Massachusetts in the late 1960s. Leaving stopped the clock on the
state's statute of limitations in sex abuse cases, allowing Porter to be
prosecuted upon his return.
	Some of his victims hailed the indictments, saying Porter ruined
their lives and that they are looking forward to attending and
testifying at his trial.
	``We are absolutely elated,'' said Roderick MacLeish Jr., who
represents 69 of Porter's victims in Massachusetts.
	``It's been everyone's priority to have this monster brought back to
face his victims. This is a testament to what victims of sexual abuse
can do to bring a man to justice through hard work and organization; it
restores your trust in the justice system.''
	One man, Dennis Gaboury, 40, of Baltimore, said he was an altar boy
when raped by Porter in St. Mary's Church in North Attleboro.
	``When I can finally walk into a courtroom that will tell the 10-
year-old in me that it wasn't my fault, the healing will be complete,''
Gaboury said.
	Porter was to be at an extradition hearing Tuesday in Stillwater,
Minn., where he spent the night in the Washington County jail.
	Porter is accused of sexually abusing more than 90 people in
Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico and New Hampshire. He has confessed
to some of the charges.
	``I was a very sick man while I was a Roman Catholic priest in the
1960s,'' Porter said in a July 14 statement. ``As a result of my
illness, I sexually abused a number of children.''
	Porter also faces civil suits in New Mexico and Minnesota. In one
case in New Mexico, Porter was accused of sodomizing a child who was in
a full body cast.
	Porter's lawyer in Massachusetts, Peter G. DeGelleke, said in a
statement Monday night he did not believe Porter could get a fair trial
because of the publicity surrounding the case.
41.198CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Wed Sep 23 1992 22:4384
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (KEN ROSS)
Subject: Ex-priest pleads innocent to sex abuse of children
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 92 7:25:38 PDT

	NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (UPI) -- Former Roman Catholic priest James Porter
pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges he sexually abused more than 30
boys and girls while serving parishes in southeastern Massachusetts more
than two decades ago.
	Porter, 58, was arraigned in Bristol County Superior Court amid heavy
security as a number of his alleged victims, many moved to tears, looked
on from the crowded courtroom.
	Porter pleaded innocent to a 46-count indictment that resulted from a
nearly five-month investigation during which prosecutors interviewed 70
of more than 200 people who claimed to have been sexually abused by
Porter during the 1960s.
	The indictment alleged he sexually abused 32 children. The charges
include indecent assault and battery, unnatural acts on a child and
sodomy.
	The prosecution said Porter made ``generalized admissions'' to having
molested the children when he was a priest in Massachusetts.
	Porter, handcuffed and dressed in an open blue dress shirt and gray
tweed jacket, pleaded ``not guilty'' as each individual charge was read
off.
	Associate Superior Court Judge John M. Xifaras set bail at $20,000
cash or $200,000 surety. Assistant District Attorney Renee Dupuis had
asked for $50,000 cash bail, $500,000 surety.
	The judge also ordered Porter to have no contact with any alleged
victims in the case, and no contact with any minors other than his own
children.
	Defense attorney Peter G. DeGelleke asked the judge to impose a gag
order on witnesses and prosecutors. Xifaras took the request under
advisement.
	About 100 people, including many alleged victims, crowded into the
courtroom. Some appeared emotionally moved with tears in their eyes.
	Porter was returned to Massachusetts late Tuesday after waiving
rendition from Minnesota, where he lives with his wife and four
children.
	The ex-priest is accused of victimizing children in Fall River, New
Bedford and North Attleboro parishes between 1961 and 1967. He is also
named in civil suits of sexually abusing more boys and girls in New
Mexico and Minnesota.
	Porter, who admitted in a broadcast interview earlier this year to
raping or molesting as many as 100 children, released a statement in
late July apologizing for his actions, but insisting he stopped when he
left the priesthood in 1974.
	``My heart goes out to the victims who've been on an emotional roller
coaster, not just for the past four months, but probably since these
incidents happened,'' Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr.
said Tuesday.
	``We as prosecutors try to be dispassionate about the cases we bring.
But no human being could not be moved...reading about the unspeakable
crimes that were committed against victims who were in the second,
third, fourth and fifth grade,'' he said.
	Walsh also spoke in defense of the Roman Catholic Church, which has
been criticized harshly for failing to respond properly to reports that
Porter was molesting children.
	``This is not an indictment of the Catholic Church,'' he said. ``This
is a 46-count indictment against one named individual. The behavior of
one person is not the behavior of others, and it would not be fair or
fitting to take the rest of the clergy of all faiths with these cases.
These individuals who do such fine work in our communities should not be
painted with the same brush as James Porter.''
	The ex-priest was arrested Monday in Oakdale, Minn., where he lives
with his family. He can still be prosecuted for crimes that allegedly
occurred decades ago because he left the state before the six-year
statute of limitations on the crimes expired, Walsh said.
	However, Porter's defense said it will challenge the law that stops
the clock because a person leaves the state, saying it constitutes an
unconstitutional double-standard.
	His attorney, DeGelleke, expressed concerns that his client may not
get a fair trial.
	``The extensive pre-trial publicy which these allegations have
generated will make it impossible to select an impartial jury, or
conduct a fair trial,'' the lawyer said in a stratement.
	Walsh began his investigation of Porter in May after nine alleged
victims came forward to speak with him. Walsh said more than 200 people
brought sexual abuse complaints against Porter, and that his office
interviewed about 70 of them. The indictments are based on the 32
strongest cases, he said.
41.19929067::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Sun Sep 27 1992 02:5034
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Subject: Nuns to leave brains to Alzheimer's research
Date: 26 Sep 92 15:33:32 GMT

	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- A group of more than 200 aging nuns in the
Wisconsin School Sisters of Notre Dame have agreed to will their brains
to science for a University of Kentucky study of Alzheimer's disease.
	The study seeks to find the causes of the disease and also is trying
to determine whether there is any connection between trace amounts of
mercury in dental fillings and Alzheimer's disease. The nuns' teeth also
will be examined.
	Study director David Snowdon said about 500 nuns in the nationwide
School Sisters of Notre Dame have volunteered to donate their brains.
	Sister Gabriel Mary Spaeth said the nuns are willing to participate
in the study because it may help others.
	``They are hoping to benefit the quality of life, particularly for
elderly women,'' said Spaeth, who has been actively recruiting and
evaluating nuns for the study.
	Snowdon said the large-scale brain donation was the largest on record
from a single group. Fifteen brains have been donated so far; five have
shown signs of Alzheimer's.
	Nuns don't smoke or drink, and generally have led similar lifestyles,
Snowdon said, which is an advantage to the researchers. They will have
fewer variables to sort through to find possible causes of the disease.
	Medical College of Wisconsin Associate Professor Piero Antuono
removes the brains of the nuns after they die. He is the medical
director of the study in Wisconsin. He makes clinical assessments of the
conditions of the brains.


41.200CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Sep 28 1992 22:1549
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Pope tells Irish bishops there is no justification for abortion
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 10:49:00 PDT

	CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II told Irish bishops
Friday there can be no justification for abortion or for disseminating
information ``to facilitate the killing of the unborn.''
	The pope reaffirmed the Roman Catholic's total ban on abortion at a
special audience for Irish bishops at the papal summer residence, where
John Paul is recovering from his July 15 operation. The bishops were on
routine visits to the Vatican and will attend the beatification of Irish
martyrs in St. Peter's Square on Sunday.
	The pope's emphatic denunciation of abortion appeared aimed at
influencing a referendum to be held in the Irish Republic in November on
whether women should have the right to travel abroad for abortions and
to receive information about them.
	The referendum was called in response to a national controversy in
the republic in March over whether a 14-year-old rape victim should be
allowed to travel to England to undergo an abortion, which is outlawed
in the Irelandrepublic.
	Eventually the Irish Supreme Court allowed the girl to go to England
for the abortion on grounds that her life was at stake.
	``The defense of life from the moment of conception until natural
death is the defense of the human person in the dignity that is his or
hers from the sole fact of existence, independently of whether that
existence is planned or welcomed by the persons who give rise to it,''
John Paul said.
	``Every reflection on this serious matter must begin from the clear
premise that procured abortion is the taking of life of an already
existing human being,'' he said.
	``To uphold this principle and to enshrine it democratically in the
constitution and laws of the state does not imply insensitivity to the
rights of others, including mothers in complex and difficult situations,
'' the pope said.
	``The life of the mother and the life of her unborn child are equally
precious and equally to be defended,'' he said. ``There can be no
'right' to kill an already existing, though yet unborn, human being.''
	``Likewise there can be no justification from the moral point of view
for disseminating information, the purpose of which is to facilitate the
killing of the unborn,'' the pope said.
	He said the right to life ``does not depend on a particular religious
conviction.''
	``It is a primary, natural, inalienable right that springs from the
very dignity of every human being,'' the pope said.
41.201CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Mon Sep 28 1992 22:1785
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (LAURA PITTER)
Subject: Pilgrims brave Bosnia war hoping for vision of Virgin Mary
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 19:08:13 PDT
 
UPI NewsFeature
 
	MEDJUGORJE, Bosnia-Hercegovina (UPI) -- Within earshot of the gunfire
and artillery bombardments of the Yugoslav war, international pilgrims
continue to seek miracles and enlightenment in this village made famous
by the reported sightings of the Virgin Mary.
	While the war has deterred about 90 percent of the tourist flow that
once brought up to 5,000 visitors a day, enough still come to pack the
300-capacity community Catholic church wall-to-wall. At a recent mass,
about 200 people spilled outside and heard the service on loudspeakers.
	``It's the safest place in the world,'' said Sister Frances Schug, a
nun from Wisconsin in the United States. ``Bombs fell here and they did
not explode.''
	According to a well-spread rumor, Croatian police who control the
area have found unexploded artillery shells in the village. The
perpetuators of the tale credit the Virgin Mary with protecting the
town.
	``I am convinced there is something special here,'' said Blago
Krlsic, 39, a Croatian Army soldier with a rosary around his neck. 
``Look at all the people here. If it weren't special, they wouldn't come
from all over.''
	Krlsic is one of many soldiers who come to Medjugorje for confession
and prayer. Visiting the town, he said, makes him ``feel less afraid
when the Serbs are attacking.''
	A mass is said in English each day to accommodate the international
crowd that has flocked to this sacred town for the past 11 years.
	The pilgrims are drawn to Medjugorje by the story of six children who
saw a vision of the Virgin Mary on a small hill near the village. The
children resisted attempts by villagers and authorities to force them to
recant their story.
	Despite official attempts to crush the belief something of great
religious significance was occurring, the children said they continued
to see the apparition and receive messages from it.
	As the story spread around the world, pilgrims swarmed to the town in
increasing numbers. The government relaxed its opposition after seeing
the profit generated by the ballooning tourist traffic.
	The children have grown. Two of them, Mirjana Dragicevic and Ivanka
Ivankovic, stopped seeing the visions years ago, after claiming to have
received 10 ``secrets'' promised them by the Virgin. They have since
married and have their own children.
	The other four claim to have received nine of the secrets and are
still seeing the visions and talking with the Virgin.
	Ivan Dragecivic, at 27 is the oldest of the visionaries. He lives on
a nearby farm and returns to Medjugorje daily to speak with Mary in the
upper loft of the community church.
	Each day, visiting pilgrims line up outside waiting for Dragecivic to
go to the loft in hopes of being allowed to watch him during his moment
of ecstacy. The loft is too small to accommodate everyone.
	On a recent visit, an American woman from Wisconsin pleaded with the
pilgrims to let her send her son through. The 9-year-old boy wore a
baseball cap to cover his bald head.
	``Please,'' she begged, ``let him in. He has brain cancer.''
	He was allowed through, although somewhat reluctantly, by the others
waiting in line and joined about 50 people in the loft.
	Onlookers held their rosaries and watched silently as Dragecivic
kneeled before a giant oil painting of Mary and gazed up with open eyes,
moving his lips as if in a silent conversation with her.
	``The most important thing the Virgin Mary said tonight when she
appeared in my prayer...was that she blessed all the people present,''
he said after his five-minute vision was over.
	``Mary asked for peace tonight as she does all the time. Tonight
there were no special messages for the world,'' he said. ``The holy Mary
said she was happy and then she talked to me and I talked to her and a
lot of what we said was private.''
	The small village, where early pilgrims once were invited into
private homes, has taken on the look of a package tour destination over
the years. Big hotels and restaturants stand where once there were small
farms and markets.
	Across the street from the church, the main strip is lined with cafes
and shops that sell Jesus dolls and rosaries in all colors from pearly
white to neon green.
	``We can see in the Western world that people don't know how to live
with money,'' said Slavko Barbaric, a priest who arrived in Medjugorje a
few months after the first apparitions were reported. ``We can just hope
and pray that it doesn't taint things here because it can become very
dangerous.''
41.202GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerTue Sep 29 1992 13:0910
Re: .201

>	``It's the safest place in the world,'' said Sister Frances Schug, a
>nun from Wisconsin in the United States. ``Bombs fell here and they did
>not explode.''

It would be a real tragedy if a bomb did explode and kill a large number of
people who thought they were "safe".

				-- Bob
41.203CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Thu Oct 01 1992 17:4284
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (KIM A. LAWTON)
Subject: Conservatives blast media, entertainment 'bias'
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 10:42:12 PDT

	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Two conservative organizations said Wednesday they
have launched campaigns to mobilize public sentiment against what they
perceive to be a liberal bias by a ``cultural elite'' in the media and
Hollywood.
	Accuracy in Media, a Washington media watchdog group, is buying a
series of full-page newspaper ads urging people to protest television
news coverage. At the same time, the American Family Association of
Tupelo, Miss., is taking out ads lambasting the entertainment industry.
	The campaigns drew sharp criticism from People for the American Way,
a Washington lobby group formed to keep a watch on conservative and
religious right activities. The liberal organization said the campaigns
were a continuation of right wing forces to attack the media and
Hollywood.
	The newspaper ad sponsored by the American Family Association
proclaims, ``Shame on movies, records and TV! We are outraged! And we're
not going to put up with it any longer!''
	The ad, published in at least 13 selected markets, goes on to assail
the ``sex, violence, filth and profanity'' that the group claims is
pervading much of today's movies, television programs, music videos and
records. Included with the ad is a petition, which the association is
urging people to sign and send to the board members of every major
television network, film, music and record company.
	Donald Wildmon, president of the group, said in a telephone interview
he has been ``dumbfounded'' by the level of response he has received to
the 2-week-old campaign.
	Wildmon said any money generated by the ads will be funneled into
additional advertising. Based on response so far, he said, his group is
planning a national effort in hundreds of newspapers and magazines.
	The Accuracy in Media project is concentrating its protest against
television news coverage. The conservative media watchdog group is
urging people to sign a petition, letting the networks know they are 
``fed up with negative, one-sided, distorted TV news.'' The ad has run
in 15 newspapers so far.
	Chairman Reed Irvine said the public is ``pretty upset'' about the
quality of television news reporting on all the networks.
	``We are trying to mobilize the voices of those people to help us so
that we can impress the television executives that they had better
change their procedures and see if they can't strive for some accuracy
and balance in reporting on the important issues that confront our
country,'' Irvine said.
	Both groups deny any attempt to influence the outcome of this year's
presidential election. Reed said a major motivation for his project was
the networks' coverage of the videotaped beating of Los Angeles motorist
Rodney King.
	``We believe it helped incite the riots,'' he said.
	Art Kropp, president of the People for the American Way, said
Hollywood and the news media ``have always been the objects of scorn''
for the right wing.
	Kropp acknowledged that many Americans are fed up with Hollywood and
the news media.
	``I think Don Wildmon has hit a nerve with a segment of the American
public, as have Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, and Jerry Falwell,'' he
said. ``They've all very effectively tapped into a segment of our
society that is very angry, very intolerant, and willing to put $10 and
$15 checks in the mail to feed their political crusades.''
	However, Kropp added that while he does not underestimate Wildmon's
appeal, he is confident this latest appeal ``will not amount to much.''
	``The reality is that there is a lot of diversity in our media and
entertainment industry. There is going to be something that people
aren't going to like, but there is also going to be something that they
do like.''
	Wildmon, a United Methodist minister known for his work against
pornography, conceded his project was helped by the emphasis on ``family
values'' during this presidential season.
	``It obviously has hit a chord with the grassroots,'' he said. 
``There are many people out there who are absolutely fed up with the
entertainment media. They want to be involved. They want to do something
about it, and the ads are giving them the opportunity to do exactly
that.''
	The two ads are very similar. Both urge readers to sign petitions and
both pledge to use all money raised by the campaign to purchase more
advertising. Both have similar designs.
	But both organizations deny any joint effort. Reed said he is aware
of Wildmon's campaign, and supports it, but is not a part of it in any
way.
41.204CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Thu Oct 01 1992 21:3572
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (TERRI VERMEULEN)
Subject: Cardinal urges filmmakers to follow 'human values' guidelines
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 16:43:01 PDT

	LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- The leader of the nation's largest Catholic
archdiocese asked filmmakers and television leaders Wednesday to
eliminate scenes depicting gratuitous sex and violence.
	Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los Angeles archdiocese made the request
in a 40-page pastoral letter released at a news conference. The letter
was the first to be directed to the entertainment industry, which he
said has ``awesome power'' in influencing the world's citizens.
	Mahony has shied away from attempts to place codes on the industry,
saying that would be censorship.
	He said the letter does not demand entertainment leaders cut out all
scenes showing sex and violence, but offers a ``human values'' guide to
producing motion pictures and television shows.
	``I do not see this as policing the industry,'' Mahony said.
	Mahony said he has met with leaders of the Writers Guild of America
West and the Directors Guild of America, who seem willing to discuss the
guidelines.
	The cardinal's guidelines urge filmmakers to ask themselves if their
shows depict sexual activity as ``simply a physical release, a source of
pleasure, devoid of lifelong commitment.''
	Mahony also offers guidelines on excessive violence, treatment of
women, family, religion and authority.
	Mahony admitted he does not see many movies, but cited the Oscar-
winning ``Rain Man'' and ``My Left Foot,'' both stories of disabled
people rising above their apparent limitations with the help of
supportive families, as among his favorites. He said ``Cape Fear,'' a
recent release featuring rape and graphic violence that he saw
unwittingly, was a film ``that served no purpose.''
	``Because I reject censorship, I do not propose a code to govern what
filmmakers may create, nor do I wish to dictate what intelligent viewers
may see,'' he said.
	But Mahony said his guide represents values that most Americans want
to see reflected in their popular entertainment and want to communicate
to their children.
	``The Golden Rule applies here,'' Mahony said. ``Responsible
filmmakers will not do to their audiences what they would not want done
to themselves -- or to their own teenage sons and daughters.''
	The Los Angeles Archdiocese, which contains 3.4 million Catholics,
will commit its schools and newspapers to the effort, as well as aiding
the entertainment industry, Mahony said.
	Mahony said he believed that all religions should work together ``to
foster this kind of entertainment.''
	Mahony said he plans to mail the pastoral letter to a number of
industry leaders and hopes to meet with them.
	``If anyone reads it or discusses it, I would be delighted,'' he
said.
	Leaders of the Writers Guild of America West had been concerned about
any moves to impose a new movie code, censor or force writers to censor
their own work, guild president Del Reisman said.
	``It is important for what it says and what it doesn't say,'' Reisman
said. ``It doesn't call for any form of censorship and it doesn't call
for a return to a code of any kind.''
	Mahony's letter will remind the guild's 7,000 members that there are
basic human values to be found in all storylines, even those that are
violent, Reisman said.
	``I don't know that this will be a dramatic change, but I think it
will invade the minds of many people -- actors, writers, directors,
programming people -- who will think on these lines,'' Reisman said. ``He
isn't calling for all movies to be ''Lassie Come Home.``
	A spokesman for the Directors Guild of America said he believed
Mahony's letter would spark interest from people inside and outside of
the entertainment industry.
	``It called for a meeting of the minds,'' situation comedy director
Jack Shea said.
41.205CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Thu Oct 01 1992 21:3544
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Man killed in shooting through window
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 4:09:35 PDT

	BELFAST, Northern Ireland (UPI) -- Police searched Thursday for two
men in connection with the shooting death of a 27-year-old man as he
watched a football match in a friend's home, the Royal Ulster
Constabulary said.
	In a separate attack, two Catholic men were shot and wounded as they
drove through the city in a car early Thursday morning.
	Harry Black, a Protestant who is married to a Catholic, died in the
hospital in Belfast Wednesday night after being shot at about 9:45 p.m.
as he watched a European Cup football match in a friend's home in the
Loyalist area of south Belfast.
	Police said gunmen tried without success to break into the apartment
before firing more than 20 shots through a window, hitting Black in the
head and chest.
	Police said they believed Black was not the intended target of the
attack.
	A leading member of a paramilitary group living nearby was reported
to have left his home today, and police sources said he was believed to
have been the intended target of the attack.
	A car stolen in south Belfast at gunpoint from a cab driver shortly
before the incident was thought to have been used in the attack.
	``Two gunmen were seen getting into a red Ford Sierra and driving off
from the scene,'' the spokesman said.
	No group claimed responsibility for the shooting, and no one else was
injured in the attack.
	In the second attack, which took place less than 12 hours later, two
Catholic men were shot and wounded as they drove to work in the Ligoniel
District in the north of the city early Thursday morning.
	A gunman opened fire on the car before escaping in a car that was
waiting for a him a short distance away.
	Police said they believed the attack was sectarian.
	At about the same time Wednesday evening, shots were fired into a
house in a Catholic area of North Belfast. The occupants, a 35-year-old
man and his 6-year-old son and another infant, were not injured.
	The incidents were not thought to be connected, the RUC spokesman
said.
41.206CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Oct 06 1992 22:2641
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Sinead O'Connor rips up photo of Pope on tv
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 5:20:12 PDT

	NEW YORK (UPI) -- Roman Catholic leaders expressed puzzlement and
dismay at Irish singer Sinead O'Connor for tearing up a photo of Pope
John Paul II and shouting ``fight the real enemy'' on NBC television's 
``Saturday Night Live.''
	NBC said it got more than 500 calls from viewers after the nearly
bald singer shocked the audience of SNL Saturday night.
	NBC spokesman Curt Block said all but seven telephone calls from
viewers were complaints.
	``A lot of people were as offended as we were,'' said Block.
	O'Connor tore up an 8-inch by 10-inch color photo of the pope at the
conclusion of ``War,'' a song about racism, war and child abuse.
	Afterward, O'Conor blew out candles on the stage and walked off as
the audience sat in stunned silence.
	Block said that during a dress rehearsal earlier Saturday night,
O'Connor sang the same song but ripped up a picture of an unidentified
baby.
	``What she did was completely unexpected,'' Block said.
	``She needs some professional help and spiritual help wouldn't hurt
either,'' said a spokesman for Bishop Thomas Daily, head of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Brookyn and Queens.
	Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the New York Archdiocese, said, ``To
me, what she did was an act of hatred and promoted intolerance. Pope
John Paul is a tireless advocate for peace. Her action would promote
violence.''
	O'Connor has been critical of the Roman Catholic Church's stand on
abortion and led a pro-choice march through her native Dublin earlier
this year.
	O'Connor brought on a storm of controversy in 1990 when she refused
to allow the National Anthem to be played before her performance at the
Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey and she called off an apparance
on Saturday Night Live after learning that foul-mouthed comedian Andrew
Dice Clay would be host of the program.
41.207CSC32::J_CHRISTIEKeep on loving boldly!Tue Oct 06 1992 22:2742
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (GREG HENDERSON)
Subject: High court to rule on after-hours religion in schools
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 10:36:18 PDT

	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Monday agreed to decide if a
public school that allows civic groups to use its facilities in non-
school hours must also allow church groups to use the facilities for
religious activities.
	The court will decide if a school system that allowed groups to use
its facilities after hours for ``civic, social and recreational''
purposes violated the First Amendment when it refused religious groups
similar use.
	The establishment clause of the First Amendment, as interpreted in
the past by the high court, allows a state to neither advance nor
inhibit a religion.
	This is one of two cases granted Monday by the high court that could
let it re-examine the establishment clause and its role in church-state
cases and in society in general.
	In 1988, a religious group called Lamb's Chapel applied to the Center
Moriches Union Free School District in Suffolk, N.Y., asking for use of
a school building for five weeknights to show a religious film series
called ``Turning Your Heart Toward Home.''
	The school district rejected the application, noting both state
regulations and its own policy of not giving access to its buildings to
``any group for religious purposes.''
	The school district said Lamb's Chapel would be allowed to use the
facilities for activities not religious in nature.
	A federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of the
school district, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that
action, ruling that the school facilities are a ``limited public forum''
allowing it to remain ``non-public except as to specified uses.''
	Under New York state law public schools are opened to certain groups,
but a state appeals court also has said that those groups cannot be
conducting religious activities.
 ------
	 91-2024 Lamb's Chapel and John Steigerwald vs. Center Moriches Union
Free School District, et al.
41.208CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunThu Oct 08 1992 17:4031
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Atheist leader succeeds in getting cross removed
Date: 7 Oct 92 16:13:22 GMT

	WAUWATOSA, Wis. (UPI) -- A complaint by an Illinois atheist has forced
the city to remove the Latin cross on the city seal because it
unconstitutional, officials said Wednesday.
	After discussing the issue with City Attorney Harold D. Gehrke,
Maricollette Walsh, mayor of the suburban Milwaukee city, said the seal
will be changed. But she said she resented the fact that an ``outsider''
was the person to prompt the change.
	``I believe such matters are best decided locally by the citizens of
a community,'' she said.
	Robert Sherman, spokesman for American Atheists Inc., last month
asked the city to remove the seal, which is displayed on police cars,
uniforms, stationary and new city street signs.
	Sherman already has been successful in getting Rolling Meadows and
Zion, two Illinois cities, to remove similar logos. His organization
sued the two cities, and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the
religious imagery on those cities' seals violated the Constitution and
ordered them removed.
	American Atheists has been trying to get the cross removed from the
Wauwatosa city seal for more than two years. The organization said it
would be willing to allow Wauwatosa to get rid of the cross in a way
that would be not be prohibitive because of expense, such as replacing
the seal on police cars when new ones are purchased.
41.209CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunThu Oct 08 1992 17:4145
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (SANTIAGO ESTRELLA VELOZ)
Subject: Dominican Republic gears up for pope's visit
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 10:51:11 PDT

	SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (UPI) -- The Dominican government
prepared Wednesday for the arrival of Pope John Paul II amid continuing
unrest over the celebration of the 500-year anniversary of Christopher
Columbus' arrival in the Americas.
	Police said several small bombs exploded in different parts of the
country as Catholic officials made final preparations for the pope's
six-day visit scheduled to begin on Friday.
	Most of the Dominican Republic's political opposition has agreed to
suspend activities during the pope's visit. However, one small but
active group unhappy with the focus of the official 500-year anniversary
celebrations and the public funds being spent on them said they would
continue their protests.
	Most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, but at least two
protesters have been killed in clashes with the police during the past
two weeks. On Tuesday several homemade bombs were detonated in the
provinces and in Santo Domingo.
	Police reported that 9-year-old Alberto Ramirez was injured by an
explosion in the city of Barahona, 120 miles southwest of the capital.
	Authorities said the police and military had been placed on full
alert in advance of the pope's visit and that the Autonomous University
of Santo Domingo had voluntarily closed until after his departure, on
Oct. 14, to avoid student disturbances.
	Pope John Paul II, 72, is scheduled to hold two open-air masses
during his visit, including one on Sunday at Santo Domingo's
controversial new monument to Colombus in which he will preside over the
canonization of 19th century Ecuadoran bishop Ezechiel Moreno y Diaz.
	The monument, a huge cross-shaped lighthouse that the government
claims cost $13 million, has been broadly criticized in this Caribbean
island nation, which is one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest
countries.
	During this trip the pope originally planned brief visits to
Nicaragua, an Indian settlement in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and
Jamaica, but the schedule was trimmed due to his recent illness.
	The pope underwent an operation in Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic July 15
for removal of a benign tumor in his colon. Since then he has made a
steady recovery, Vatican officials say.
41.210CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunThu Oct 08 1992 17:4232
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Oral Roberts hospitalized
Date: 7 Oct 92 23:06:51 GMT

	NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (UPI) -- Televangelist Oral Roberts was in
critical but stable condition Wednesday in Southern California following
surgery to unclog his arteries.
	A spokeswoman at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach said Roberts, 74, was
admitted to the hospital early Wednesday morning to undergo a coronary
angioplasty.
	Roberts' son, Richard, said his father began experiencing chest pains
shortly after he appeared as a guest on a Trinity Broadcast Network
show.
	Roberts is best-known for his emotional crusades, which attracted
thousands who prayed to be healed.
	Roberts has been widely criticized for invoking several pleas to
supporters to fund programs at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla.
	In 1987, Roberts claimed that God would to call him home --
insinuating he would die -- unless $8 million was raised by the end of
March to fund scholarships for students enrolled in Oral Roberts
University's medical school.
	Roberts made a similar plea to supporters in 1980, saying he saw a
900-foot image of Jesus standing over his three-building hospital
complex at the university. Roberts received millions of dollars in
donations to finish the construction of the complex in October 1991.
	He later said he meant he had seen the image in his mind's eye, not
with his physical eyes.
41.211may be quite commonLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (381-0899 ZKO3-2/T63)Thu Oct 08 1992 18:119
re Note 41.208 by CSC32::J_CHRISTIE:

> the city to remove the Latin cross on the city seal because it
> unconstitutional, officials said Wednesday.
  
        My town, Groton, Mass., has a picture of a book and the words
        "Holy Bible" on its seal.

        Bob
41.212What will be next?SALEM::RUSSOFri Oct 09 1992 15:217
    
    RE: .208  
    
    I wonder if they'll tackle the "IN GOD WE TRUST" on money.
    
    
     Robin
41.213CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunSat Oct 10 1992 20:4632
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Woman sues priest over alleged sex
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 92 7:30:03 PDT

	TIFFIN, Ohio (UPI) -- A Fostoria woman and her husband have sued a
counselor-priest claiming he had sex with the woman while she was his
patient.
	The suit filed by Shelley LeBay in Seneca County Common Pleas Court
claims The Rev. Douglas Hodges had sexual intercourse with her Oct. 6,
1991, at his church in Fostoria as part of her therapy.
	LeBay said she received counseling from him from Jan. 2, 1991, to
Oct. 21, 1991.
	Hodges was a priest with the Ohio Episcopal Diocese and executive
director of the Seneca County Council on Aging. He could not be reached
for comment at the center on aging in Tiffin.
	LeBay is seeking $600,000 and unspecified punitive damages and her
husband, Danial, is asking for $100,000. The suit also names as
defendants the owner of the counseling center in Fostoria, Larry
Troutner, and the Episcopalian bishop James Moodey.
	The suit filed Tuesday claims LeBay was under the medical and
psychological care of Hodges when he allegedly forced her to have sex
with him.
	She claims that as a result of Hodges' ``unorthodox practice'' she
has suffered severe mental and emotional problems. Her husband is
seeking compensation for a lack of his wife's companionship.
	No court date has been set.
	Hodges also is a board member of the Seneca County Crime Task Force.
41.214CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunMon Oct 12 1992 20:4231
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Atheist leader succeeds in getting cross removed
Date: 7 Oct 92 16:13:22 GMT

	WAUWATOSA, Wis. (UPI) -- A complaint by an Illinois atheist has forced
the city to remove the Latin cross on the city seal because it
unconstitutional, officials said Wednesday.
	After discussing the issue with City Attorney Harold D. Gehrke,
Maricollette Walsh, mayor of the suburban Milwaukee city, said the seal
will be changed. But she said she resented the fact that an ``outsider''
was the person to prompt the change.
	``I believe such matters are best decided locally by the citizens of
a community,'' she said.
	Robert Sherman, spokesman for American Atheists Inc., last month
asked the city to remove the seal, which is displayed on police cars,
uniforms, stationary and new city street signs.
	Sherman already has been successful in getting Rolling Meadows and
Zion, two Illinois cities, to remove similar logos. His organization
sued the two cities, and the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the
religious imagery on those cities' seals violated the Constitution and
ordered them removed.
	American Atheists has been trying to get the cross removed from the
Wauwatosa city seal for more than two years. The organization said it
would be willing to allow Wauwatosa to get rid of the cross in a way
that would be not be prohibitive because of expense, such as replacing
the seal on police cars when new ones are purchased.
41.215CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunMon Oct 12 1992 20:4541
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Archbishop demands Chicago Tribune's apology
Date: 10 Oct 92 02:37:24 GMT

	CHICAGO (UPI) -- Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Friday demanded
a formal apology from the Chicago Tribune for an editorial cartoon he
charged insulted the city's priests.
	The cartoon, by Tribune editorial cartoonist Jeff MacNelly, touches
on sensitive allegations of priests' sexual misconduct with members of
their parishes.
	There have been several incidents in the past in which priests were
charged with sexual misconduct with boys and girls in their parishes.
	The panel depicts four priests grouped around a television set,
watching singer Sinead O'Connor tear to pieces a picture of the pope.
	``Poor pathetic little bald girl,'' one of the priests is depicted as
saying. ``Probably abused as a small child by some trusted authority
figure,'' a second replies, while a third priest wonders ``what she's
doing Friday night.''
	In a letter faxed to Tribune Editorial Page Editor N. Don Wycliffe,
Bernardin said he was ``saddened and offended'' by the editorial he said
``by innuendo, insults every good priest serving in the Archdiocese of
Chicago.''
	``Admittedly, a few priests have engaged in behavior which has caused
anguish for victims, their families and their communities, as well as
for the priesthood itself. I share that anguish, and have taken well-
publicized action to ensure that no child is at risk,'' he said.
	New policies Bernardin unveiled last month order strict guidelines
for penalizing priests charged with sexual misconduct. Victims and their
families would be assured of immediate support and care under the rules,
he said.
	``The overwhelming majority of priests do not engage in such
behavior; they are now stained by the black ink of your newspaper,'' he
said. ``Mr. MacNelly's cartoon implies that priests are either abusers
or totally insensitive to this moral evil.''
	The Chicago Tribune said it would print Bernardin's letter and
respond to his charges in Saturday's issue.
41.216CSC32::J_CHRISTIESet phazers on stunMon Oct 12 1992 20:4563
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Newspaper defends right to publish satirical cartoon
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 92 13:23:31 PDT

	CHICAGO (UPI) -- The Chicago Tribune refused Saturday to apologize for
an editorial cartoon that Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Bernardin
said was insulting to Catholic priests.
	``We regret if any of the good priests of the Archdiocese of Chicago
felt unfairly treated,'' the Tribune said in an editoral published for
its Sunday editions.
	The paper said the cartoon panel by Pulitzer Prize editorial
cartoonist Jeff MacNelly ``did not indict all the priests in the cartoon
itself, let alone insult every good priest in the archdiocese.''
	The cartoon shows four priests watching singer Sinead O'Connor tear
to pieces a picture of Pope John Paul II on the Oct.3 ``Saturday Night
Live'' television program.
	``Shame! tearing up a photo of the holy father,'' says one priest in
the cartoon; ``Poor pathetic little bald girl,'' another priest says; 
``Probably abused as a small child by some trusted authority figure,''
the third says.
	The offensive line was spoken by a fourth priest, who wondered ``what
she's doing Friday night.''
	O'Connor, an Irish Catholic who has made child abuse a social cause
and is frequently critical of the church, did not explain why she tore
up the picture.
	The cartoon hit a raw nerve in the church because it touches on the
sensitive issue of priests' sexual misconduct with parishoners. There
have been several recent incidents in which priests were charged with
homosexual conduct with young boys.
	Bernardin demanded an apology in a letter to Editorial Page Editor N.
Don Wycliffe, saying he was ``saddened and offended'' by a cartoon that
he said ``by innuendo insults every good priest serving in the
Archdiocese of Chicago.''
	``Admittedly, a few priests have engaged in behavior that has caused
anguish for victims, their families and their communities, as well as
for the priesthood itself. I share that anguish and have taken well-
publicized action to ensure that no child is at risk,'' he said.
	Bernardin unveiled last month strict guidelines for penalizing
priests charged with sexual misconduct. Victims and their families would
be assured of immediate support and care under the rules, he said.
	``The overwhelming majority of priests do not engage in such
behavior; they are now stained by the black ink of your newspaper,''
Bernardin wrote. ``Mr. MacNelly's cartoon implies that priests are
either abusers or totally insensitive to this moral evil.''
	``Catholics, Catholic clergy and Catholic values have become the
whipping post for every bigot in America,'' said Thomas O'Connell, of
the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, who also demanded an
apology from the newspaper.
	The Tribune called sexual abuse by priests ``the worst kind of
betrayal of trust'' and said it agreed with most of Bernardin's letter.
	``The church has been and is an institution of enormous spiritual and
social value to Chicago and the Chicago area,'' the newspaper said. 
``Its priests have been essential to the church's valuable work and to
the well-being of our community.
	``Nevertheless, the issue remains, here and elsewhere, a subject of
enormous public concern and legitmate journalistic comment, whether it
be through the personal reflections of columnists, barbed political
satire by cartoonists, or comment by the newspaper in its editorials.''
41.217CSC32::J_CHRISTIEUndeclared candidateSat Oct 17 1992 17:2229
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Weakland issues warning about consent law
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 11:02:34 PDT

	MILWAUKEE (UPI) -- Archbishop Rembert Weakland of the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee says excommunication may be warranted if church priests and
lay employees cooperate with a provision of the state's parental consent
abortion law.
	The law requires juveniles seeking abortions to have parental
consent. The provision in question allows a juvenile unwilling to get
parental consent to petition a judge. The law allows relatives or clergy
members to appear in court with the girl.
	Weakland distributed a letter to all priests, deacons, lay pastoral
staff and employees of church agencies. In the letter he said church
employees could be excommunicated if they appear before a judge with a
juvenile seeking consent for an abortion.
	``Any assistance with such petitions filed with this intent would
constitute an act of positive cooperation in the procurement of an
abortion, an act clearly prohibited by the church,'' Weakland wrote.
	``Such cooperation may lead to excommunication...and would render a
person unable to further exercise their orders.''
	Weakland said anyone asked to participate in the petition process
should provide advice that is ``pastoral, sensitive and compassionate to
the woman involved.''
41.218Terry says voting for Clinton is a sinCSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareMon Oct 19 1992 18:2050
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Abortion foe: voting for Clinton a sin
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 92 12:26:35 PDT

	NEW YORK (UPI) -- Randall Terry, founder of anti-abortion group
Operation Rescue, Friday announced a nationwide campaign to convince
fundamentalist Christians that a vote for Bill Clinton ``is a sin
against God.''
	Terry announced the drive on his radio show, ``Randall Terry Live,''
and was joined by two rabbis, a Catholic priest, an Episcopalian priest
and a Protestant minister.
	Terry said the campaign will cite Clinton's support of legal abortion
and homosexual rights, as well as his alleged infidelity.
	``While Clinton has a deceptive veneer of Christianity, he has
twisted and perverted scripture, he has mocked biblical morality and
shamelessly embraced wickedness,'' Terry said in a letter to clergy
around the country. ``To vote for Clinton is a sin against God.''
	``The clergy could be a wild card in this election,'' Terry said in
an interview.
	``We are speaking to our people. I want to make that very clear,'' he
said. ``I, as an evangelical minister, am speaking to the evangelical
community...those people who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and
the Ten Commandments.''
	``Most Christians are planning to vote for Clinton on the economy,''
Terry said. ``If we are putting the economy ahead of the Ten
Commandments, we are dead....There is a God in Heaven and he judges men
and nations. Do we really think God is going to bless our economy if we
have a rebel in the White House?''
	A spokeswoman for Clinton said said Terry is ``entitled to his
opinion.''
	``The governor is very religious, but that is separate fom his life
as a public servant,'' said spokeswoman Max Parker.
	``The governor has made it clear that being pro-choice does not mean
he embraces abortion,'' Parker said.
	On homosexual rights, Parker said, ``Certain groups of people should
not be discriminated in housing and employment, becuase we need every
ounce of talent.''
	Bob Jewitt, Operation Rescue's national media coordinator, said 27,
000 copies of Terry's letter were mailed this week, urging them to
preach the message. Another 63,000 were scheduled to be mailed next
Wednesday, including 32,000 to pastors of Clinton's own faith, the
Southern Baptists, he said.
	Jewitt said 15 to 20 clergy were planning ``to get in their pulpits
Sunday and preach the message that a vote for Clinton is a vote against
God.''
41.219Religion good for healthCSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareMon Oct 19 1992 18:2525
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Sender: news@news.media.mit.edu (USENET News System)
Article 187 in usa-today.health (moderated):
From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 92 04:38:13 EDT
 
10-19 0000
DECISIONLINE: Health
USA TODAY Update
Oct. 19, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
 
RELIGION IS GOOD FOR THE BODY:
   Religion is said to be good for the soul. It seems to be good
for the body, too. A study led by medical sociologist Kenneth F.
Ferraro of Purdue University shows people who regularly worship
say they feel healthier than those who don't.
 
WORSHIPPING HELPS HEALTH:
   Researchers compiled data from interviews with 1,473 people and
found: Of those who said they don't worship regularly, 9% reported
poor health and 26% claimed excellent health. Among the regular
worshipers, just 4% said they were in poor health, while 36%
reported excellent health.
41.220Victims of clergy abuse meetCSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareMon Oct 19 1992 18:2640
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Victims of clergy abuse meet
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 92 7:17:53 PDT

	ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (UPI) -- Several hundred victims gathered for
a weekend conference on the problem of sexual abuse by clergy in what is
believed to be the first such gathering in the nation.
	A woman identified as ``Mary'' told of being abused by a priest.
	``The first kiss of a young woman shouldn't come from a middle-aged
priest,'' Mary said.
	Rick Springer, 55, of Chicago told of being abused by a priest 40
years ago when he was a seminarian.
	``I knew that what he was doing was wrong,'' Springer said. ``But I
couldn't tell my family, which was alcoholic dysfunctional. I told
leaders of my church, who said the archbishop of Chicago would be
informed.''
	Springer said he was told he was not a good candidate for priesthood
and for 31 years was unable ``to love or experience the love of others.''
	Frank Fitzpatrick, a former Catholic altar boy, says he is now an
atheist. Fitzpatrick, of Cranston, R.I., is among dozens of adults who
have filed criminal and civil suits against John Porter, a former
priest, charging he sexually abused them as children.
	The conference was the first held by VOCAL, Victims of Clergy Abuse
Linkup. Most of those attending were Roman Catholic.
	The Rev. Andrew Greeley, an author and frequent critic of the church,
was the only priest from the Chicago archdiocese, to appear.
	``The sexually maladjusted priest has been able to abuse the children
of the laity and thus far be reasonably secure from punishment,''
Greeley said.
	Cardinal Joseph Bernardin had agreed to address the conference, but
later withdrew. Sunday, he conducted a ``healing mass'' at St. Odilo
parish in Berwyn, where a pastor was indicted earlier this year for
alleged sexual abuse of a teenage girl.
	The Chicago archdiocese last month adopted a policy to include lay
people in investigations of sex abuse allegations against priests.
41.221Steamroller crushes Sinead O'Connor recordingsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareThu Oct 22 1992 22:2350
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (WILLIAM M. REILLY)
Subject: Steamroller crushes Sinead O'Connor recordings
Date: 21 Oct 92 19:16:12 GMT

	NEW YORK (UPI) -- A steamroller Wednesday crunched dozens of Sinead
O'Connor CD's and tapes piled in front of her recording company's
Rockefeller Center offices in protest of the Irish singer's ripping up a
photo of Pope John Paul II.
	The 30-ton red and yellow Dynapac rolled over cassettes, compact
discs and even a few records.
	At the end of her appearance on the Oct. 3 ``Saturday Night Live,''
O'Connor tore up the pope's photograph and walked off the stage.
	The action outraged many Catholics and when she appeared at Madison
Square Garden Friday at a 39th anniversary celebration in honor of Bob
Dylan she was booed by the audience until she left the stage in tears.
	Wednesday's smashed recordings were collected by the National Ethnic
Coalition of Organizations, which promised to donate $10 to charity for
every O'Connor tape or CD sent in. The organization said it received 
``more than 200.''
	A feeble cheer went up from a few of the approximately 100 people who
had gathered, in addition to members of the media, to watch the protest,
across the street from the offices of Chrysalis Records, 1290 Sixth Ave.
	The protesters planned to deliver mashed recordings to O'Connor.
	Standing atop the roller were limousine magnate William Fugazy, NECO
chairman of the board, and Arnold Burns, NECO president.
	The two men wore white hard hats adorned with a caricature of the
bald singer, with the red international ``prohibited'' stroke across it.
	``Under our system of government Sinead O'Connor has every right to
do what she did, but we also have the right to express ourselves,''
Burns said.
	``O'Connor should be held to the same standards as everyone else,''
he said. ``This celebrity has got to act decently.''
	Said Fugazy, who founded the coalition that awards ``Golden Pit''
awards every year for the worst cases of ethnic slurs, cheap shots and
sterotyping, ``I think she should apologize to all the ethnic
communities around the world...especially all the Catholics.''
	A spokeswoman for O'Connor, Elaine Shock, when told of the protest,
asked. ``How are they going to get it to her? I don't even know where
she is. It's not like Santa Claus where you can address him in care of
the North Pole. It can't be 'Sinead O'Connor, Europe.'''
	She called the demonstration ``silly,'' because O'Connor knows
nothing about it, and said it was ``like burning books. It doesn't hurt
the author.''
	Shock said O'Connor had no regrets over her actions. ``She has a lot
of ill-will toward the teachings of the Catholic Church.''
41.222CSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareThu Oct 22 1992 22:307
    .221
    
    Anybody besides me and Bubba old enough to remember when Beatle
    John Lennon caused similar demonstrations of righteous indignation??
    
    {:-0 Yeah-yeah-yeah!
    Richard
41.223Bishops disagree on penance for Indian sufferingCSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareThu Oct 22 1992 22:3038
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Latin American bishops disagree on penance for Indian suffering
Date: 21 Oct 92 21:50:52 GMT

	SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (UPI) -- A proposal by 33 Latin
American bishops to declare Friday a day of penance for the suffering of
native peoples has split Roman Catholic leaders at a conference in the
Dominican Republic.
	Local media reported Wednesday that the proposal to seek forgiveness
for wrongs committed during the colonization of the Americas had sparked
an intense debate behind closed doors at the fourth Latin American
Bishops Conference.
	The proposal was made over the weekend by a group of 33 bishops
headed by Benenido Ulhoa of Brazil, who said the group included 12
archbishops. Their nationalities were not available.
	The archbishop of Santo Domingo and president of the conference,
Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, said the proposal could serve
``false indigenous groups and religious sects'' that are seeking to
manipulate the meeting.
	A day of penance was unnecessary, he said, because the church had
already asked forgiveness for the abuses of the conquest, which began
500 years ago, and ``has always denounced such abuses.''
	The fourth bishops conference was inaugurated by Pope John Paul II on
Oct. 12 during his six-day trip to the Caribbean island. The conference,
which ends Oct. 28, is being attended by 34 cardinals, 226 archbishops
and bishops and 26 priests, as well as lay workers and five observers
from non-Catholic religions.
	Liberal delegates fear the conference will set the Latin American
church on a more conservative course, focusing on spiritual matters over
social issues, such as the grinding poverty of the region.
	Although most bishops attending the conference are conservative, like
the pope, several countries have more liberal representatives,
particularly Brazil.
41.224Ex-priest seeks dismissal of molestation chargesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEHassel with CareThu Oct 22 1992 22:3126
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Ex-priest accused of molesting baby sitter seeks dismissal of charges
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 9:21:17 PDT

	STILLWATER, Minn. (UPI) -- A judge was asked Wednesday to dismiss
charges against a former Catholic priest accused of molesting a 15-year-
old girl who was a baby sitter for his children five years ago.
	The defense attorney for James Porter said the six counts should be
thrown out for lack of evidence. Porter, who remains free on $1,000
bail, did not enter a plea.
	Prosecutors oppose the defense motion, contending they would not have
brought the charges against the 57-year-old Oakdale man unless they
believed there was enough evidence for a conviction.
	If the case does go forward, Porter's attorney asked Washington
County District Judge Kenneth Maas to consider a change of venue because
of the extensive coverage the case has received in the area.
	Porter is to be back in court Friday when the judge will consider a
motion to keep part of the proceedings private.
	Porter also faces multiple criminal charges in Massachusetts and is
named in several civil suits accusing him of sexually abusing boys.
Porter left the priesthood in the 1970s.
41.225JUPITR::HILDEBRANTI'm the NRAFri Oct 23 1992 10:555
    Re: .222
    
    I sure do remember! And, Lennon was right, too.
    
    Marc H.
41.226UHUH::REINKEFormerly FlahertyFri Oct 23 1992 12:188
Yup, Richard, since I'm the same age as you and Bubba, I remember!! 
;')

The press misinterpreted what Lennon meant by being more popular than 
Jesus, wasn't it?

Ro

41.227VIDSYS::PARENTit's only a shell, mislabledFri Oct 23 1992 13:005
   I remember a lot of voices from that era, many are now silent.

   Peace,
   Allison
41.228Conservative Christians favor ClintonCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Mon Oct 26 1992 22:2447
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Poll: Conservative Christians favor Clinton
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 92 16:40:07 EDT

	NEW YORK (UPI) -- A survey of traditionally conservative Christians
around the country show Bill Clinton has an 11 percent lead over
President Bush, it was reported Tuesday.
	The telephone survey of 718 registered voters, commissioned by the
Vision Interfaith Satellite Network and conducted by Blum & Weprin,
found 42 percent in favor of Clinton, 31 percent for Bush, and 6 percent
for Ross Perot.
	In contrast, 41 percent of White Protestants questioned said they
preferred Bush, while 31 percent gave the nod to Clinton.
	The poll, conducted Oct. 8 and 9, covered family values, the economy,
abortion, school prayer and a candidate's' belief in God.
	Voters who said they believe the Bible word for word were almost
evenly divided between Clinton, 37 percent, and Bush, 36 percent.
	Those who attended church five or more times last month supported
Clinton, 46 percent, over Bush, 34 percent.
	Asked which candidate would do the most to support family values, 38
percent said Clinton, 35 percent said Bush and 6 percent said Perot.
	Seventy-four percent of all those surveyed said it is more important
to agree with a candidate's economic plan than his views on religious
issues.
	Asked which poses a greater threat to the American family, the
current economic recession or today's sifferent lifestyles and family
structures, 49 percent said the recession and 42 percent different
lifestyles and family structures, the survey reported.
	Sixty-three percent of intended Bush voters said different lifestyles
were more a threat, compared with 65 percent of Clinton voters who
picked the sagging economy.
	Seventeen percent said they could not vote for Bush because of his
stand on abortion, while 12 percent said they could not vote for Clinton
for the same reason.
	Fifty-one percent said they wanted candidates to support prayer in
schools, 10 percent said they wanted candidates to oppose it, and 37
percent said it was not an important issue.
	Sixty-nine percent said they could not vote for a candidate who does
not believe in God. Of those, 38 percent said they favored Bush and 36
said they favored Clinton.
	Those who said they do not require belief in God in a presidential
candidate favored Clinton 57 percent to 18 percent.
41.229Graham draws Russian crowdsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Mon Oct 26 1992 22:2470
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (GREGORY GRANSDEN)
Subject: Graham draws Russian crowds for sermons -- and shopping
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 92 7:11:31 PDT

	MOSCOW (UPI) -- American evangelist Billy Graham filled Moscow's 35,
000-seat Olympic Arena to overflowing with crowds of the faithful and
the curious at the first of three weekend revival meetings in the
Russian capital.
	Stragglers arriving late at the stadium Friday night received
decidedly un-Christian treatment at the hands of Russian security staff
and police, who told them brusquely that the stadium was full and would
not let them inside despite freezing winds and cries of ``This is a
disgrace!''
	The first revival meeting -- more than two hours of Graham's
preaching, prayers and music led by a 5,000-member choir -- followed a
massive advertising campaign to attract people to the event.
	The campaign, which organizers claimed was the largest non-government
advertising drive ever undertaken in Moscow, involved distributing 3.2
million fliers to homes and putting up thousands of posters and placards
on city buses, subway trains and above major streets.
	The ubiquitous posters showed Graham silhouetted against a dark
background and the word ``Why?'' in bold Russian letters.
	Local organizers chartered a dozen trains and 200 buses to bring in
people from other republics and outlying regions, offering subsidized
return fares to Moscow for believers and non-believers alike.
	But God was not the only thing on people's minds. The prospect of a
cheap weekend holiday in the Russian capital, plus free accomodation --
the chartered trains doubled as dormitories -- clearly added to the
attraction of the outing for those less solid in their faith.
	Minutes after the arrival from the Latvian capital Riga on Friday
afternoon, one of the chartered trains was virtually deserted as people
rushed out to do some shopping in the capital's relatively well-stocked
stores.
	``It's not often you get the chance to visit a big city like this.
After all, it is our former capital,'' said 28-year-old Grigori Fintina,
who lives in a village outside Riga and was seeing Moscow for the first
time.
	``We always heard on the radio and TV that there's no food in Moscow.
It's just not true. Today I saw meat on sale at reasonable prices, and
bread is easy to get. And the quality of the bread, too; it's white
white. Ours for the same price is kind of brownish,'' he said.
	The appearance of Graham, an American Protestant, in the heart of
Russian Orthodoxy was not without some religious tension.
	The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexei II, asked
Graham during a private meeting Wednesday not to encourage Russians to
convert to Protestantism and to respect the hardships they had endured
for the right to practice Russian Orthodoxy.
	But denomination did not appear to preoccupy the curious who streamed
out of the Olympic Stadium late Friday evening.
	``He's probably a Catholic, right?'' said 18-year-old Andrei
Kuznetsov.
	``I'm not a believer, but now I'm going to go to church. He's
enriched me sprititually. It's a feeling of lightness,'' said 52-year-
old Valentina Muratova.
	Others remarked on how striking it was that such an event could have
taken place in a country where until recent years religion was anathema
to the state.
	``In the past, you could have been arrested on the spot for showing
religious belief. For 70 years they killed believers, put them in jail,
ridiculed them,'' said Fintina. ``Now, thankfully, there's more freedom.
''
	The trip to Moscow was Graham's sixth, including visits during the
Brezhnev era when he was accused of allowing himself to be used for
public relations by the Communist regime, but Friday was the first time
he had been allowed to hold one of his large stadium revivals.
41.230Priest banned after saying Christ should have marriedCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Mon Oct 26 1992 22:2521
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Priest banned after saying Christ should have married
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 92 10:21:42 PDT

	VALLETTA, Malta (UPI) -- A Dominican priest who said Christ should
have experienced the state of marriage for himself has been banned by
his Roman Catholic superiors.
	Maltese church officials on this staunchly Roman Catholic island said
Saturday that priest Mark Montebello, 29, has been barred from speaking
on radio or writing about his beliefs after saying during a broadcast
that Christ should have married if he was so in favor of the practice.
	Montebello drew the sanction for what officials said was
misrepresenting the church, distorting Biblical facts and scandalizing
his audience.
	The priest also said if homosexual couples loved each other in the
same way as heterosexuals, they should also be allowed to marry.
41.231Alleged victims not surprised at Porter letterCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Mon Oct 26 1992 22:2745
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Alleged victims not surprised at Porter letter
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 92 17:32:35 PST
	
 BOSTON (UPI) -- Several alleged victims of former Roman Catholic
priest James Porter say they are not surprised at reports Porter
admitted in a letter to the Vatican in 1973 to sexually assaulting
children at eight churches.
	The Boston Globe, quoting sources, said Porter admitted abusing
children in Massachusetts and four other states in a letter asking for
permission to formally leave the priesthood.
	The Globe contacted several of Porter's alleged victims after
printing the story in its Saturday editions.
	``I'm surprised that the story came out. I'm not surprised that it
happened,'' said Frank Fitzpatrick, a private investigator from Rhode
Island who said he was molested by Porter when he was a student at St.
Mary's School in North Attleboro.
	``This is going to shock a lot of people, but as cynical as I am
about the church right now, I'm not surprised,'' he said.
	Meanwhile, three of Porter's four children denied over the weekend
that there had ever been any similar problems between them and their
father, according to police in Oakdale, Minn.
	Police officials said they interviewed three of the children, aged
15, 12 and 11 with the consent of their parents. The fourth child is one
year old.
	Porter is charged with 46 counts of sexual assault in Massachusetts
stemming from the time he served as a priest in southeastern
Massachusetts in the 1960s. He also faces another six counts of criminal
sexual misconduct involving a babysitter in Minnesota.
	The Globe said sources who had examined Porter's letter said he told
Vatican authorities he was able to avoid being discovered because he was
a priest.
	The letter was written in 1973, more than two years after Porter was
suspended from his priestly duties, the Globe said. Porter's request was
approved by Vatican officials and formally allowed by Pope Paul VI on
Jan. 4, 1974, the Globe said.
	``Why would anybody be surprised that the Vatican didn't do anything,
'' said another of the alleged victims, Steve Johnson of Rhode Island. 
``The bishops knew and they are responsible to the pope and they took no
action. I'm not surprised at all.''
41.232Pope approves findingsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Wed Oct 28 1992 20:2940
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Pope to approve Latin bishops' conference findings
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 15:21:08 PST

	SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (UPI) -- The findings of the fourth
Latin American Bishops Conference will focus on poverty, democracy and
facing up to the challenge of rival religions in the region, according
to a first draft of the document.
	The findings, which will not be made public until approved by Pope
John Paul II, have already been outlined in an initial draft obtained by
United Press International.
	The conference, inaugurated by the pope Oct. 12 during his six-day
visit to the island, ends Wednesday.
	The first outline of the conference's conclusions are expected to
focus on the widening gap between rich and poor in the region, the
reduction in incomes, the lack of basic services for many, increasing
unemployment and the informal economy -- referring to businesses such as
street vendors and the black market.
	The rise of non-Catholic sects in the region is noted and the
document warns of the need to improve communications to get the church's
message across to the estimated 400 million Catholics in the region.
	``The presence of the Catholic Church is still insufficient and is in
need of sufficient agents with the preparation needed to face up to the
challenge,'' the document says.
	It reportedly warns against the rising pornography and violence on
television which is ``penetrating the bosom of the family.'' The first
point of the document also reportedly criticizes government corruption
and political leaders' remoteness from those they serve.
	The conference will send its conclusions to the Vatican for approval
in an apparent triumph over a group of liberal Brazilian prelates who
argued that the bishops did not need papal approval of the document.
	The 286 bishops, archibishops, cardinals and other delegates to the
conference did vote, however, to issue a message ``to the people of
Latin America'' at the close of the ceremony, although the exact content
has still to be decided.
41.233Controversy over priests wearing collars at abortion trialsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Wed Oct 28 1992 20:3025
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com ( ddh )
Subject: Massachusetts Second News in Brief [Oct 28]
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 92 2:55:07 PST
   
	(BOSTON) - Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger today
finds himself embroiled in a controversy over priests wearing their
collars at an abortion trial. Harshbarger is trying to prevent two
priests from wearing their collars... or being referred to as `
``father''... at their upcoming trial for blocking abortion clinics in
Massachusetts. Harshbarger's office says his motion to prevent the
priests from wearing their collars at the trial is an attempt to make
sure the jury makes its decision solely on facts presented at trial. The
two priests... the Reverend R. Thomas Carleton of Arlington and the
Reverend Francis Hagerty of Dorchester... are awaiting trial for
violating the state ban on blocking abortion clinics in Hyannis and
Boston. Harshbarger's motion has come under sharp criticism from
Catholic sources. The Boston Catholic Archidiocese says it is alarmed ..
 while Operation Rescue calls it religious persecution. The Washington,
D-C-based Christian Defense Coalition says that Massachusetts... in
effect... has declared war on the Catholic Church and their beliefs.
41.234Pope condemns anti-SemitismCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Wed Oct 28 1992 20:3151
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (CHARLES RIDLEY)
Subject: Pope condemns anti-Semitism and all other forms of racism
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 92 6:30:50 PST
	
	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II strongly condemned the
resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe Wednesday and said ``every form of
racism is a sin against God and against Man.''
	He particularly deplored anti-Semitic ``attacks and profanation''
which ``offend the memory of the victims of the Shoa (Holocaust) in
those same places which were witness to the sufferings of millions of
innocent people.''
	Most of the recent anti-Semitic violence has occurred in Germany.
	John Paul included ``recurrent episodes of xenophobia, racial
tensions and extreme and fanatical nationalisms'' in his strong
condemnation.
	The pope was addressing some 7,000 pilgrims and tourists attending
his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI auditorium.
	His attack on anti-Semitism came only five days after he discussed
the problem with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres Oct. 23 at a
private audience in the Vatican during which Peres invited the pope to
visit Israel.
	John Paul linked his statements to the 27th anniversary of the
promulgation of a formal declaration by the Second Vatican Council on
Oct. 28, 1965 which went a long way toward repairing centuries of
hostility between Roman Catholics and Jews.
	Known as ``Nostra Aetate,'' the declaration absolved Jews from
collective guilt in the death of Christ and also stated that the church
``deplores the hatred, persecutions and displays of anti-Semitism
directed against the Jews at any time and from any source.''
	The pope quoted this passage during his Wednesday condemnation, which
he started by saying, ``I now want to address a thought of fraternal
solidarity to the Jewish people.''
	``I recall this anniversary having in mind very vividly the
bitterness over the news of attacks and profanations which, for some
time, offend the memory of the victims of the Shoa in those same places
which were witness to the sufferings of millions of people,'' John Paul
said.
	``As the Vatican Council teaches us, and as I repeated in the
Sinagogue of Rome (during a visit in 1986), the church 'deplores the
hatred, persecutions and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the
Jews at any time and from any source,''' he said.
	``More in general, in face of the recurrent episodes of xenophobia,
racial tensions and extreme and fanatical nationalisms, I feel the duty
to repeat that every form of racism is a sin against God and against
man, since every human person bears in himself the divine image,'' the
pope said.
41.235Ex-priest accused of molesting sister-in-lawCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Thu Oct 29 1992 22:2130
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Ex-priest accused of molesting sister-in-law
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 92 10:35:06 PST
   
	STILLWATER, Minn. (UPI) -- Former Catholic priest James Porter, who is
accused of sexually abusing dozens of boys and girls over a period of
decades, also allegedly molested his sister-in-law, court documents
show.
	The sister-in-law alleges the molestation occurred frequently while
she lived with the Porter family for a period in the mid-1980s.
According to statements made to police by the sister-in-law and her
fiance, the 57-year-old Oakdale man would wake her up in the morning by
fondling her breasts and vagina.
	The sister-in-law, who is 32 now, came forward with her story after
reports surfaced that Porter allegedly had sexually abused boys and
girls over a period of decades both while a priest and after he left the
Catholic clergy in the mid-1970s. She said she didn't reveal the alleged
abuse earlier because she feared for her safety and didn't want to upset
her sister's life.
	Porter faces criminal charges in Minnesota and Massachusetts. He also
is the target of numerous civil suits filed by his alleged victims.
	He is expected to enter a plea to six counts in Washington County
District Court in Stillwater Wednesday. In that case, he allegedly
molested a 15-year-old girl who was a baby sitter for his children in
1987.
41.236Doomsday believers vainly pray for ascensionCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Thu Oct 29 1992 22:2150
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Doomsday believers vainly pray for ascension to heaven
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 92 10:28:02 PST

	SEOUL, South Korea (UPI) -- Followers of doomsday preachings in South
Korea prayed eagerly for the end of the world Wednesday so they could be
lifted up to heaven, but their prayers went unanswered as the doomsday
deadline passed and life went on as usual.
	The doomsday deadline -- midnight Wednesday (10 a.m. EDT) -- passed
with no unusual happenings except large and small gatherings of
believers. Police said most of the more than 8,000 members of some 155
congregations had prayer meetings during the night.
	The largest crowd was gathered at the Tami Missionary Society
headquarters in Seoul, where about 1,300 people began their prayer
session at 9 p.m. Only those with admission tickets distributed in
advance could enter the church building.
	A big television set with a 33-inch screen installed outside the
building showed believers fanatically praying for their ascension to
heaven. About 500 police along with ambulances, fire engines and
emergency power generators guarded the building to ensure there would be
no mass suicides or violence.
	About an hour into the prayer session a high school student believed
to be a family member of believers smashed the television set in a fit
of anger. He was taken away by police. Attendants seen through windows
were still singing, dancing and praying well after the doomsday
deadline.
	The gathering ended and people began coming out shortly bofore 12:30
a.m. Some spectoators jeered at the believers.
	``They are crazy people,'' a man said.
	Many of those who attended appeared dejected.
	``I am disappointed very much,'' said a middle-aged man. ``I am not
going to come to this church any more.''
	There were others who still held on to a doomsday belief.
	``I am sorry that we caused much controversy this time,'' said one
woman. ``This time it did not occur but I am sure it will some day.''
	When the prayer gathering began there was a large crowd outside the
church building, including spectators and people waiting for their
family members to come out. Police later dispersed them to prevent
possible clashes with the believers.
	Police said there were smaller gatherings in several other places in
Seoul and at a number of provincial points. Nationwide 15,000 police
were standing by to handle emergencies, a police source said.
	The doomsday prayer sessions were held while pastor Lee Chang-rim,
44, founder of Tami Mission Society, was in jail awaiting trial on
charges of defrauding followers of more than $4 million.
41.237Motion to bar priestly garb withdrawnCSC32::J_CHRISTIEAre we Ducks or what??Thu Oct 29 1992 22:2248
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Massachusetts withdraws motion to bar priestly garb
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 92 10:35:06 PST

	BOSTON (UPI) -- A state motion to prevent two priests from wearing
religious garb at their abortion protest trial was withdrawn Wednesday
to prevent the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue from deflecting
attention from the real issues in the case, the state attorney general
said.
	Attorney General Scott Harshbarger's office said the ``neutral
clothing requirement motion'' scheduled for an afternoon court hearing
was withdrawn after Catholic groups and Operation Rescue expressed
outrage.
	The motion would have prevented the priests from wearing their
religious attire or being addressed as ``father'' at their trial.
	``The commonwealth will not allow an Operation Rescue sideshow in any
way to obscure or deflect attention from the real issue in this case,
which is the serious criminal violation of a permanent court injunction
issued to protect a woman's constitutional right to choice, and ensuring
that the integrity of the court order is protected,'' the attorney
general's office said in a statement.
	Members of the Catholic clergy and Operation Rescue had planned a
news conference outside the Cambridge courthouse just before the hearing
was scheduled to begin.
	Mary L. Schumacher, spokeswoman for the Boston chapter of Operation
Rescue, had said the motion represented ``religious persecution from the
attorney general's office.''
	The case involves the Rev. R. Thomas Carleton, 46, of Arlington, and
the Rev. Francis O. Hagerty, 76, of Boston, both members of Operation
Rescue.
	They were indicted with six others for violating a state ban on
blocking abortion clinics earlier this year in Hyannis and Boston.
	Harshbarger's statement said, ``Operation Rescue is now attempting to
deflect attention away from the prosecution and the alleged criminal
acts.''
	His statement said the state will continue to prosecute the
defendants, but a date for their trial has not yet been set.
	Harshbarger office said the ``neutral clothing requirement'' motion
was filed to ``ensure that the jury will decide the case solely on the
evidence introduced in trial.''
	The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston said it viewed the motion 
``with real alarm,'' and said it ``may be part of an ominous trend to
strip away the religious identity of an individual by the state.''
41.238Ex-priest pleads not guilty to molestation chargesCSC32::J_CHRISTIESat Oct 31 1992 21:2525
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Ex-priest pleads not guilty to molestation charges
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 92 15:24:59 PST

	STILLWATER, Minn. (UPI) -- Former Catholic priest James Porter pleaded
not guilty Thursday to charges that he molested a teenage girl who was a
baby sitter for his children five years ago.
	Washington County District Judge Kenneth Maas then set a pretrial
hearing for Nov. 13.
	The judge also ruled in favor of a defense motion that the trial be
moved to another county because of pretrial publicity the case has
received. Maas said his first preference would be to hold it in Hennepin
County, where Minneapolis is located, but that if a courtroom is not
available his next choices would be Ramsey County, where St. Paul is
located, or Anoka County, which also is in the metropolitan area.
	Porter, 57, is charged with six counts of molesting a 15-year-old
girl at his Oakdale home in 1987. He also faces crimianl charges in
Massachusetts and civil suits in both states for allegedly abusing
dozens of boys and girls dating back almost 30 years. Porter left the
priesthood in 1974.
41.239Two nuns missing, others trapped in clashes in LiberiaCSC32::J_CHRISTIESat Oct 31 1992 21:2630
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Two nuns missing, others trapped in rebel clashes in Liberia
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 92 14:56:16 PST

	MONROVIA, Liberia (UPI) -- Two Catholic nuns are feared missing
Thursday and three others trapped in fierce clashes between the main
Liberian rebels and the seven-nation West African peacekeeping force in
Gardnersville, about 5 miles northeast of the capital of Monrovia.
	Church spokeswoman Barbara Bullant said the two missing nuns, Joelle
Kolmer and Barbara Muttra, both U.S. citizens, have not been seen since
they left their convent in Gardnersville, Oct. 20 to evacuate a sick
person to a hospital.
	Bullant urged the main Liberian rebels, the National Patriotic Front
of Liberia to escort them to the nearest safety zone, if they have been
abducted, or are being held.
	The three other nuns, Shirley Kolmer, Agnes Muller, and Katherine
McGuire also U.S. citizens, were presumed safe at the convent. However,
they had no radio contact with the nuns, Bullant said. They have been
held for the past nine days, she said.
	Meanwhile, attempts by the UNICEF Thursday to evacuate more than 300
children from the Fatima cottage orphanage in Gardnersville where there
has been increased fighting between the two sides failed for the second
time. West African peacekeeping troops at the Stockton Creek Bridge, at
about three miles northeast of the city, turned back the UNICEF convoy
heading for the area.
41.240SDSVAX::SWEENEYAnnoy the media. Vote for BushSat Oct 31 1992 21:341
    They are dead.
41.241Kidnapped missionary appeals for helpCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 22:5336
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Kidnapped American missionary appeals for help
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 92 8:14:32 PST

	ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (UPI) -- An American missionary kidnapped by
armed men in the southern Philippines has written letters to a priest
friend appealing for help so he can be freed as soon as possible, police
said Friday.
	Police Superintendent Gumaranao Dimalapang said the abductors of the
Catholic missionary, Augustine Fraszczack, have him in custody and have
demanded $120,000 for his release.
	Fraszczack, 45, of Pulaski, Wis., was seized Oct. 21 in Tuburan,
Basilan, 560 miles south of Manila, by suspected Muslim bandits escaping
from a massive military operation by goverm ent forces in the area.
	``Brother Fraszczack, though still in the hands of kidnappers, is
very much alive and unharmed,'' Dimalapang said.
	He said a Filipino Catholic priest, Gabriel Bertos, was walking with
Fraszczack in a village in Basilan when five armed men, including two
acquaintances, snatched the Polish-born American but let the priest go.
	Fraszczack, a paramedic, wrote Bertos three letters this week asking
that efforts be made so he can be released as soon as possible,
Dimalapang said.
	The ransom demand has been rejected by the missionary's superiors,
saying that giving money to the kidnappers would only result in more
abductions.
	Officials of the Franciscan Order, to which Fraszczack belongs, have
also turned down police offers to rescue the missionary and are
preparing instead to negotiate with the kidnappers for his safe return.
	Earlier reports said Fraszczack was safe in the hands of the Moro
National Liberation Front, the strongest of three factions fighting for
Muslim independence in the southern island of Mindanao.
41.242Convicted religious broadcaster wants to keep licensesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 22:5442
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Convicted owner of radio stations wants to keep licenses
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 92 13:42:42 PST

	NORFOLK, Va. (UPI) -- A religious broadcaster convicted of a federal
money laundering charge is mounting an effort to keep his radio licenses
and has enlisted the help of a judge and two state lawmakers.
	Attorneys for Bishop L.E. Willis have filed a 25-page brief and
letters from the three public officials in an attempt to convince the
Federal Communications Commission he is still fit to own radio stations.
	The religious and black political leader, who owns more radio
stations than anyone else in the country, is still qualfied to hold
broadcast licenses because of his ``otherwise unimpeachable character,''
his lack of criminal intent and his public service, his lawyers say.
	Willis, 63, was fined $10,000 last week and sentenced to four months
of home detention for breaking a federal law designed to impede money
laundering.
	Willis, a bishop in the Church of God in Christ, pleaded guilty in
June to restructuring a loan repayment to evade regulations requiring
the reporting of all cash transactions of more than $10,000.
	The felony conviction was not broadcast-related, his lawyers said in
their brief.
	But Willis told Radio & Records magazine the loan was used to buy a
radio station, and that the repayment involved accounts belonging to his
broadcast company. Norfolk-based Willis Broadcasting Corp. owns 27 radio
stations.
	The FCC will decide within a few weeks whether to recommend
revocation of his licenses under the commission's character policy.
	A recommendation to revoke would go to an administrative law judge
for final action. Willis could appeal an adverse ruling to the FCC and
then to federal courts.
	Attorneys for Willis argue there was no criminal intent when he
repaid an $88,500 loan by writing and cashing 10 checks, all for less
than $10,000 in 1989.
	The public officials who wrote letters on his behalf were Portsmouth
Circuit Court Judge Johnny Morrison, and state Sen. Yvonne Miller and
Del. William Robinson, both Norfolk Democrats.
41.243Cardinal urges defeat of euthenasia propositionCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 22:5530
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Cardinal Mahony urges defeat of euthenasia proposition
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 92 19:09:50 PST

	LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Cardinal Roger Mahony urged his 3.4 million-
member flock Friday to pray for the defeat of a ballot initiative that
would make California the only place in the world to allow physician-
assisted suicide.
	In an All Saints Day letter to be read at all masses celebrated
Saturday and Sunday in the nation's largest archdiocese, Mahony calls on
Catholics to pray and do penance for the defeat of Proposition 161.
	``This initiative is a profound and disturbing assault on the dignity
and integrity of human life,'' the cardinal wrote. ``If passed,
Proposition 161 would allow physicians to put people to death, a
practice that is illegal throughout the world.''
	Mahony said the initiative, which would allow doctors to give a
lethal injection to mentally competent persons who have been diagnosed
as having six months or less to live, is unnecessary and dangerous.
	``We do not need to fear excessive pain as we face our final days and
hours,'' Mahony wrote. ``The medical profession is well-equipped to
provide proper medications to keep us comfortable, and allow us to
complete our earthly journey in grace-filled peace.''
	The latest poll shows Proposition 161 was supported 50 to 37 percent
among likely voters who were read a summary of the measure. Thirteen
percent were undecided.
41.244Galileo finally off the hookCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 22:5563
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (CHARLES RIDLEY)
Subject: Galileo gets Catholic Church reprieve -- 376 years later
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 92 10:11:44 PST

	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Pope John Paul II Saturday lifted the Vatican's
condemnation of 17th century Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei for
saying the Earth was not the center of the universe.
	He said the 376-year-old Galileo case had caused a ``painful
misunderstanding'' and a ``tragic reciprocal incomprehension'' between
the Catholic Church and science which must not be repeated in future.
	The pope spoke at a formal ceremony in the Vatican at which the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences heard a final report from a special
commission set up by John Paul in 1979 to examine the full circumstances
of the church's action against Galileo.
	The church's Holy Office, better known as the Inquisition, first took
action against Galileo in 1616, and condemned him in 1633, for saying
the Earth orbited around the sun and revolved on its own axis -- at a
time when religious teaching maintained the Earth was the center of the
universe.
	Galileo was merely repeating the theories expressed by Polish
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus about a century earlier, but church
inquisitors forced him to retract his statements or face punishment for
heresy.
	In presenting the special commission report, which the pope approved,
commission chairman Paul Poupard said the Inquisition acted against
Galileo in the 17th century because it feared his theories could
undermine the Catholic Church tradition.
	``This error of judgment, so clear in our day, led it to a
disciplinary action from which Galileo suffered greatly,'' Poupard said.
``It is a question of loyally recognizing this wrong.''
	As far back as 1820, the Catholic Church in effect vindicated Galileo
when the Inquisition accepted the publication of a book by a religious
author that repeated the Copernican theories. But no formal move had
been made until now to admit the church error and in effect cancel the
condemnation of the Italian astronomer.
	In addition to appointing the commission in 1979 to examine the case,
Pope John Paul II has frequently praised Galileo and expressed regret
for the wrongs done to him in recent years.
	In his speech at Saturday's ceremony, which was attended by 20
cardinals, the pope said the Galileo case had become ``the symbol of a
supposed refutal on the part of the church of scientific progress, or
dogmatic obscurantism opposed to a free search for the truth.''
	The pope said this led ``many men of science to believe in good faith
that there was an incompatibility between the spirit of science and its
search ethic on the one hand, and the Christian faith on the other.
	``A tragic reciprocal incomprehension has been interpreted as the
reflex of a constituent opposition between science and faith,'' he said.
	John Paul said in order to avoid a repetition of this error, both the
church and science must show great reponsibility.
	``It is a duty of the theologians to keep themselves regularly
informed on scientific acquisitions in order to examine, where
necessary, whether or not they should take account of them in their
reflections, or revise their teaching,'' the pope said.
	``It is a question of knowing how to take into consideration a new
scientific finding when it seems to contradict the truth of the faith,''
he said. ``The pastor must show himself ready for authentic boldness,
avoiding the double pitfall of an uncertain attitude and a hasty
judgment.''
41.245Five American nuns killed in LiberiaCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 23:00121
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Five American nuns killed in Liberia
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 92 16:05:49 PST

	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- Five American missionary nuns from an order
based in Illinois have been killed in war-torn Liberia, the Vatican and
U.S. officials said Saturday.
	The five nuns of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ Catholic
Missionary Order in Ruma in southwestern Illinois had been kidnapped in
recent days, said the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.
	``The United States is shocked and appalled...and condemns this
cowardly act,'' the State Department said in a statement issued in
Washington.
	``The fact that these innocent women had no role in Liberia's civil
war and were in the country to work with orphaned children makes the
killings all the more repugnant,'' the State Department said.
	Four novices of Liberian nationality also were killed, according to
the Vatican newspaper's dispatch from the Liberian capital of Monrovia,
quoting the archbishop of Monrovia, Monsignor Michael Francis.
	Two other nuns escaped the massacre, the report said.
	The missionaries were caught up in the fighting at Gardnersville, a
northern suburb of Monrovia controlled by the National Patriotic Front
of Liberia, which is headed by Charles Taylor, the Vatican paper and U.
S. officials said.
	``According to Catholic Archbishop Francis in Monrovia, three of the
nuns were found at their compound in Gardnersville, and two were found a
few miles farther north near Barnersville,'' said State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher.
	A British Broadcasting Corp. report out of Monrovia said the nuns
were shot dead, and quoted Francis as calling the killings ``a brutal
murder.''
	The Vatican newspaper said two of the nuns, identified by the order
as Barbara Ann Muttra, 69, and Mary Joel Kolmer, 58, were kidnapped on
Oct. 20. Since that day there had been no news of the other three,
identified as Kathleen McGuire, 54, Agnes Mueller, 62, and Shirley
Kolmer, 61, -- a cousin of Mary Kolmer.
	Boucher said U.S. officials had been trying to locate the nuns for
the past week. It was not known whether the nuns had been released after
the kidnapping and returned to their residence, or whether they were
being held at their home in Gardnersville.
	Boucher said few details were available, ``but it appears the nuns
were killed several days ago in an area that has been under control of
NPFL forces loyal to Charles Taylor. The United States holds the NPFL
responsible for the safety of foreign nationals in territory under its
control.''
	In a message to Sister Mildred Gross, ASC, provincial of the Ruma
Province of the order, U.S. Embassador to Liberia William Twaddell said
all five of the sisters reportedly remained around their convent house
to care for the wounded in the nearby fighting.
	Repeated attempts to reach the house by international relief workers,
U.S. embassy officers and soldiers of the West African peacekeeping
force, ECOMOG, were all unsuccessful, he said.
	``The response of the sisters to this tragic news has been one of
shock,'' said Sister Mildred. ``We are consoled by the knowledge that
these women wanted to be in Liberia and to share the suffering of the
people.''
	The five were the first of the order to die due to their ministerial
presence in the 122-year history of the Ruma province, which has
ministered in Liberia since 1971.
	The sisters had been instructed to take any action needed to assure
their safety, Sister Mildred said.
	Among the slain was one of the first Adorers in Liberia, Sister
Muttra. The Springfield, Ill., native had ministered as a nurse since
1943, and from 1968 to 1971 served as a volunteer in refugee camps in
Saigon. Muttra went to Liberia in 1971.
	Sister Kolmer, a native of Waterloo, Ill., had been an elementary and
high school teacher for 12 years before she began teaching mathematics
at St. Louis University in 1964. She went to Liberia in 1977 as a
Fulbright Scholar at the University of Monrovia.
	Her cousin, Sister Mary Joel Kolmer, had been an elementary school
teacher for 25 years in Iowa and Illinois schools. A Waterloo native,
she went to Liberia in 1982 and served in parish ministry as a religion
teacher.
	Sister Mueller of Bartelso, Ill., had ministered as a nurse at
Taylorville, Ill., and Red Bud, Ill., before she began a 12-year
ministry in religious education. She had been working in Liberia in
education and pastoral ministry since 1987.
	Sister McGuire of Ridgway, Ill., was a teacher who had served in
campus ministry at Lincoln University of Jefferson City, Mo. She went to
Liberia in 1991 where she helped develop programs to encourage war
victims to deal with the daily trauma.
	``The sisters were acting in the most noble tradition of their order
and their faith. The safety and welfare of the wounded and the
defenseless motivated them and were their only concerns in the midst of
war,'' Twaddell said.
	D. Musuleng Cooper, a Liberian rebel official, said in a telephone
interview with Cable News Network, ``We don't have any direct
information about the nuns.''
	Cooper said it was a ``difficult area'' and added, ``Last night an
elite team was organized to go in to rescue the orphans and other
children in that area.''
	Cooper said there would be an investigation about the nuns ``as soon
as the place becomes a little bit more secure.''
	The death of the nuns was the worst incident involving foreign
missionaries in the Liberian civil war, which has raged for three years
and killed at least 20,000 Liberians. Liberia was founded in 1847 by
freed American slaves.
	Since the declaration of a cease-fire in 1990, tension has been
growing between a West African peacekeeping force and Taylor's NPFL.
Taylor alleges the peacekeepers are controlled by Nigeria and biased.
	Taylor launched an attack on Monrovia Oct. 15 and now controls the
Gardnersville area.
	``These dear sisters of yours were a source of inspiration,
dedication and commitment in whatever way they serve the master,'' said
Archbishop Michael Francis, head of the Catholic Archdiocese of
Monrovia. ``We have no doubt that now they are taking their well
deserved rest in the Kingdom of the Lord in the company of all the
angels and saints.''
	A mass was scheduled Monday in memory of the slain nuns during the
traditional commemoration of All Souls Day, he said.
	Officials of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ hoped to have the
missionaries' bodies returned to southern Illinois when fighting in the
area subsides.
	Since 1990, U.S. citizens have been warned to avoid travel to
Liberia. The State Department on Oct. 20 strongly advised all Americans
in Liberia to depart immediately.
41.246Bishop calls slaying of nuns 'inhumane'CSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 23:0188
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Bishop calls slaying of nuns 'inhumane'
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 23:16:46 PST

	MONROVIA, Liberia (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic archbishop of Monrovia
Sunday said the slaying of five American missionary nuns amid fighting
in Liberia's civil war was ``inhumane,'' and left it to God to forgive
the murderers.
	``The people came to serve humanity, and it is inhumane to treat them
like that after they have sacrificed their lives to serve God and man,''
Monsignor Michael Francis said in a brief sermon during a Sunday service
at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Monrovia.
	``It is better to obtain power through the ballot box and not through
the barrel of the gun or the throwing of missiles,'' Francis said in
apparent reference to rebels of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia.
	He added God should forgive the killers of the five nuns of the
Adorers of the Blood of Christ Catholic Missionary Order in southwestern
Illinois.
	Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II prayed Sunday for the slain nuns.
	``The prayerful thoughts of all of us go to the five nuns of the
Congregation of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, who were barbarously
killed in Monrovia,'' the pope said at midday Angelus prayers in St.
Peter's Square.
	He said the nuns had devoted their lives to preaching the Gospel and
serving humanity.
	``Despite the grave danger, the nuns had remained until the end
beside the population menaced by the violent clashes that are taking
place in that city,'' the pope said.
	The five Americans were slain after being caught in the fighting at
Gardnersville, a northern suburb of Monrovia controlled by the NPFL
rebels who are battling West African peacekeeping forces.
	Church officials confirmed the deaths of the five Americans Saturday,
but the NPFL -- which is headed by Charles Taylor -- has said it had no
information about what had happened to the women and denied involvement.
	Francis, a strong critic of the NPFL, also said two Liberian novices
from the same convent were killed and two others were missing and feared
dead.
	The American nuns have been identified as Barbara Ann Muttra, 69,
Mary Joel Kolmer, 58, her cousin Shirley Kolmer, 61, Kathleen McGuire,
54, and Agnes Mueller, 62.
	The Adorers of the Blood of Christ has ministered to Liberia since
1971. The five nuns were the first members of the religious order to die
because of their mission in the 122-year history of the order.
	Officials of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ hoped to have the
bodies returned to southern Illinois when fighting in the area subsides.
	Francis said all five were killed between Oct. 18-24. He said McGuire
and Mueller disappeared after being asked by a NPFL rebel to drive him
to see relatives in an area on the outskirts of the capital under the
control of the NPFL militia.
	He indicated the three others, the Kolmers and Muttra, were killed
outside the fence of the St. Anthony Convent in Gardnersville, about 5
miles northeast of the main city.
	The archbishop said the five bodies were found lying in the open in
the area.
	The British Broadcasting Corp. said Saturday the women had been shot.
	The U.S. Embassy in Liberia Sunday condemned the killings and said it
holds the NPFL ``responsible for the safety of foreign nationals in
areas it controls.''
	``The U.S. has been extremely concerned about the welfare of the nuns
and the Embassy and the State Department have been in contact with the
West African peacekeeping force and the NPFL officials repeatedly over
the past week in an effort to locate the nuns,'' the embassy statement
said.
	The embassy said it remained deeply concerned about threats to
American nationals and other expatriates in the NPFL-occupied areas.
	``This tragedy points out the urgent necessity for an immediate
cease-fire and the resumption of serious negotiations to end the civil
war in Liberia,'' the statement added.
	The NPFL militia has so far denied killing the five nuns, but blamed
what it called anti-Christian Muslim elements of the Nigerian contingent
serving in the West African peacekeeping force.
	The death of the nuns was the worst incident involving foreign
missionaries in the Liberian civil war, which has raged for three years
and killed at least 20,000 Liberians. Liberia was founded in 1847 by
freed American slaves.
	Since the declaration of a cease-fire in 1990, tension has been
growing between the West African peacekeeping force and Taylor's NPFL.
Taylor alleges the peacekeepers are controlled by Nigeria and biased.
	Taylor launched an attack on Monrovia Oct. 15 and now controls the
Gardnersville area.
	Since 1990, U.S. citizens have been warned to avoid travel to
Liberia. The State Department on Oct. 20 strongly advised all Americans
in Liberia to depart immediately.
41.247Doomsday church to apologize for inconvenienceCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMon Nov 02 1992 23:0228
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Doomsday church to apologize for inconvenience
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 7:58:03 PST

	SEOUL, South Korea (UPI) -- The Tami Mission Society, the group that
predicted the end of the world last Wednesday night, is to disband after
the anticipated Armageddon failed to occur, officials said Monday.
	The group is also to place advertisements in Korean daily newspapers
apologizing for the unrest it caused.
	An official said church leaders met Sunday and decided to discontinue
preaching doomsday. They decided to advise congregation members to go
back to their original churches, the official said.
	The church had predicted that the end of the world would come at
midnight Oct. 28, and that only faithful believers would be lifted up to
heaven. About 1,300 followers gathered at the church Wednesday night and
prayed for ascension. But nothing happened.
	Meanwhile, pastor Lee Chang-rim, 44, who opened the church in May,
1988, remained in jail awaiting trial on charges of defrauding his
followers of more than $4 million in the form of contributions to his
church.
	Lee has told investigators that he wants to return the money to the
contributors now that his prediction of doomsday has failed, a church
official said.
41.248GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerTue Nov 03 1992 13:465
I'm impressed that they actually admitted that they were wrong when their
prediction didn't come to pass.  Most of the time groups like this just
come up with a new date.

				-- Bob
41.249Mexicans celebrate "Day of the Dead"CSC32::J_CHRISTIETue Nov 03 1992 21:3627
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Mexicans celebrate ``Day of the Dead''
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 16:23:51 PST

	MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- Thousands of Mexicans flocked to cemetries Monday
to clean tombs and offer gifts to deceased relatives as part of the
country's traditional ``Day of the Dead'' celebrations.
	Some 1 million people used the national holiday to visit the
capital's more than 100 graveyards, police said, where they cleaned and
watered tombs and offered flowers and sometimes food to the dead.
	In many houses altars were erected to commemorate the festival in
which the dead are said to return to life for 24 hours. Traditionally,
dead children come back to life on Nov. 1, while adults make the trip
from the nether world on Nov. 2.
	The small altars are laden with the deceased's favorite food and
other decorations of skeletons and skulls.
	The influence of Halloween was also more visible in Mexico as young
children roamed the streets asking for money for their lanterns. At the
weekend, parents across the capital were seen transporting their witch-
and ghost-clad offspring to parties.
	Most businesses were closed Monday and streets were quiet as people
celebrated the holiday.
41.250Kidnapped U.S. Catholic missionary appeals to RomeCSC32::J_CHRISTIETue Nov 03 1992 21:3664
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Kidnapped U.S. Catholic missionary appeals to Rome
Date: Tue, 3 Nov 92 5:46:23 PST

	ISABELA, Philippines (UPI) -- A kidnapped Roman Catholic missionary
from the United States has appealed to church officials in Rome to raise
$197,000 demanded by his abductors, who warned ``they will kill me
slowly'' if the ransom is not paid, according letters obtained Tuesday
by United Press International.
	Augustine Fraszczack, 45, of Pulaski, Wis., wrote three letters, all
dated Nov. 1, addressed to Rome, a local bishop and another priest in
Manila, saying his kidnappers, believed to be Muslim bandits, have
threatened to kill him.
	The letters, hand-written by Fraszczack on clean bond paper, were
brought by an unidentified courier to Mayor Al-Rasheed Ahmad Sakalahul
of Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan province, 550 miles south of Manila.
	A UPI reporter obtained copies of the letters from the mayor during
an interview in Basilan's capital of Isabela.
	``To Rome. Dear Father, I am writing you to help me,'' the Polish-
born Fraszczack wrote. ``I was kidnapped and they want five million
pesos for me to get free. If you don't get me money, they say they will
kill me slowly. Thank you in advance.''
	It was signed ``Brother Augustine.''
	Sakalahul said the missionary, who was abducted Oct. 21 in nearby
Tuburan town, apparently was referring to Vatican officials.
	The mayor added he would coordinate with Philippine Catholic church
officials to mail the letter to Rome.
	In a second letter to Basilan Bishop Romulo de la Cruz, Fraszczack
asked his superior to ``please persuade the military to get out of
negotiations.'' He warned that if the military launched a rescue
operation, ``I'm in great danger.''
	Fraszczack also said that a group of civilian negotiators were trying
to make contacts with the abductors.
	The missionary's third letter was addressed to a ``Father Jimmy'' in
the Manila suburb of Quezon City.
	``Please find a way to get what they want...or I will have a slow
death,'' he wrote.
	In a postscript to the third letter, the captors demanded that ``any
negotiations should be done through the provincial government,'' headed
by a Gov. Gerry Salapuddin, a respected Muslim leader.
	Officials said Fraszczack's handwriting in the three letters was
similar to four previous notes he had sent to a priest friend, the Rev.
Gabriel Bertos, also appealing for his freedom. Bertos was with
Fraszczack when the missionary was snatched by five armed men.
	The kidnappers had earlier demanded $123,000 for his release.
	Officials of the Franciscan Order, to which Fraszczack belongs, have
rejected the ransom demand, saying that giving money would only result
in more abductions.
	They also turned down police offers to rescue the missionary, forming
instead a team to negotiate for his safe release.
	Brig. Gen. Antonio Villamor, commander of the Basilan-based Third
Marine Brigade, said Tuesday the military has suspended a massive
assault on the kidnappers' mountain hideout.
	He added he had information Fraszczack was ``safe and alive'' and
that he expected ``good news'' from the civilian negotiators.
	Kidnapping has become a lucrative industry in the southern
Philippines, where dozens of armed groups continue to defy government
efforts against criminality. Communist guerrillas and Muslim
secessionist rebels also operate in the area.
41.251. CHRISTIAN ACTION COUNCIL ANTICIPATED, AND PREPARED FOR, PRO-LIFE SETBACKS.LGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (381-0899 ZKO3-2/T63)Wed Nov 04 1992 16:3766
                PNS Delivered by OSAG Advanced Development:
        DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY AS PER INFORMATION PROVIDER LICENSE:

 Three-Pronged Approach to Affirm Life Under Clinton Administration

  FALLS CHURCH, Va., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Christian Action Council has 
anticipated and prepared for yesterday's setbacks to the pro-life movement," 
said Thomas A. Glessner, president of the Christian Action Council, the 
nation's largest Protestant pro-life organization. "We will be responding to 
the political losses with a three-pronged approach that we believe can move 
the pro-life movement and the cause of life forward, not backward."

  The "three-pronged approach" includes a new and unparalleled educational 
effort in thousands of churches across the United States in a new endeavor 
called the "Ezra Project"; the Sheltering Church movement, which will mobilize 
and assist churches in providing alternatives to abortion within their 
communities; and increased training to equip Christians to counsel women 
suffering from post- abortion trauma.

  Gary Thomas, vice president for church and field operations at the Christian 
Action Council (CAC), is heading up the Sheltering Church movement and the 
Ezra Project educational effort.  "If you're a Republican looking for work, 
the opportunities will be scarce," he said.  "But if you're a Christian 
looking to minister, opportunities will be more plentiful than ever before."

  Glessner and Thomas both expect increased abortion rates under a Clinton 
administration, and a dismantling of the laws passed in the Reagan and Bush 
administrations that protected the unborn.

  "More children will be lost," said Glessner, "and more women will be scarred 
by the violence of abortion, but the CAC will not stand idly by while all this 
happens.  Through education, alternatives, and counseling, we believe that in 
the long run, the pro-life movement can move forward in the next four years -- 
and we will."

  According to the CAC, for too long, the pro-life movement has been 
approaching the political process through smoke and mirrors -- relying on 
presidential vetoes, or arguing against the "extremity" of certain bills, but 
this approach fails to address the heart of the solution -- the need to create 
a "critical mass," a public consensus that abortion should not be viewed as a 
remedy to the problem of unplanned pregnancies.  Through the CAC's increased 
educational and ministry efforts, abortion can become both unnecessary and 
unwarranted in today's society.

  The group said it is time to put away the smoke and mirrors.  It is time to 
educate God's people, one by one if need be, so that they understand that 
abortion is not this country's solution; indeed, abortion is one of this 
country's greatest problems, the CAC said.

  /CONTACT:  Thomas A. Glessner or Gary L. Thomas of the Christian Action 
Council, 703-237-2100/

12:13 EST
% ====== Internet DOWvision Codes
storyCounter: 3940
Storydate: 11/04/1992
Headline: . CHRISTIAN ACTION COUNCIL ANTICIPATED, AND PREPARED FOR, PRO-LIFE
SETBACKS.
transmissionTime: 1227
Time: 1228
categoryGovernment: G/EXE
categorySubject: N/GEN N/NWS N/PLT N/RLG
categoryGeographic: R/NME R/US R/VA



41.252Supreme Court considers animal sacrifice issueCSC32::J_CHRISTIEWed Nov 04 1992 23:2580
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (GREG HENDERSON)
Subject: Supreme Court mulls issue of animal sacrifice
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 11:07:10 PST

	WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Wednesday debated the
constitutionality of a ban on the ritual sacrifice of animals, adopted
by a Florida city when adherents to an ancient African religion sought
to open a church.
	A lawyer for the Miami suburb of Hialeah told the justices during
oral arguments that other laws regarding animal cruelty, disposal of
carcasses and even methods of slaughter were ``ineffective'' in dealing
with members of the Santeria religion.
	But the attorney, Richard Garrett, conceded that Hialeah had never
attempted to enforce state laws governing animal slaughter in dealing
with religious sacrifices.
	The case could lead the court to redefine aspects of church-state
relations for all religions.
	In 1990 the Supreme Court made it easier for governments to enforce
laws that might incidentally hamper religious freedom.
	That 5-4 decision allowed Oregon to ban the ritual use of peyote by
American Indians under its generally applicable anti-drug laws.
	In this case, however, there is no general law in Florida or Hialeah
against killing animals.
	Hialeah's four 1987 ordinances specifically ban killing of animals
only for ritual purposes: They allow animals to be killed at slaughter;
for pest control; through hunting, trapping or fishing; for medical
science; and even -- in the case of animal shelters -- for population
control.
	``This is a case about open discrimination against a minority
religion,'' said attorney Douglas Laycock, representing the Church of
the Lukumi Babalu Aye, the practitioners of Santeria.
	Laycock said Hialeah city leaders believe animal sacrifice is
unneccesary to Santeria's religion.
	``The only way to prove this sacrifice is unneccesary is to prove
that Santeria is a false religion,'' argued Laycock.
	Santeria originated in West Africa and came to the Carribean with the
slave trade in the 1500s.
	Some 60,000 practitioners of the religion, most from Cuba, live in
South Florida today.
	Garrett claims those living in Hialeah perform rituals in their homes
and then discard carcasses in public places, creating health hazards.
	A central part of the religion involves the sacrifice of chickens,
pigeons, doves, ducks, guinea fowl, goats, sheep and turtles. Sacrifice
is part of rites marking marriages, births, deaths and initiation of new
priests. The animals are sometimes eaten after sacrifice, but not
always.
	Laycock said a total ban on the killing of animals in Hialeah would
be legal, but targeting only animal sacrifice violates the First
Amendment's guarantee of freedom of religion.
	Justice Antonin Scalia told Laycock the city may not be sanctioning
an ``unappropriate religion,'' but rather an ``unappropriate act.''
	Garrett pointed out that the ban on animal sacrifices would apply to
non-religious groups as well, such as fraternities.
	But Laycock said under that rationale a city could prohibit communion
-- a common aspect of Christian services -- if such a ban applied to
fraternities as well as churches.
	Laycock also argued that the city has not attempted to show a 
``compelling interest'' that would require such a measure.
	``We have carcasses lying on the road when pets are killed by cars,
but we don't ban pets and we don't ban cars,'' he told the justices
during hour-long arguments.
	Chief Justice William Rehnquist said there is a difference between
accidental and ritual killing, but Laycock noted the city's concern here
-- for the proper disposal of dead animals -- could apply to either issue.
	Garrett claimed the ordinances, which were upheld by two lower
courts, were enacted in the face of ``tens of thousands'' of animals
being sacrificed in southern Florida.
	Justice Sandra Day O'Connor asked if the city could have fashioned a
less restrictive law, spelling out allowable ways for animals to be
killed and strict requirements for disposal of remains.
	Garrett said such a law would not work, because much of what the
practitoners of Santeria do is behind closed doors of private homes.
	Justice David Souter then wondered how the current laws could reach
such private activities any better.
	A ruling in the case is expected by summer.
41.253Archdiocese to check sexual misconduct history of employeesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceSat Nov 07 1992 20:1338
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Archdiocese to check sexual misconduct history of employees
Date: 5 Nov 92 21:29:14 GMT

	ST. PAUL, Minn. (UPI) -- The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul-
Minneapolis will conduct sexual misconduct background checks on more
than 4,000 of its lay employees to help restore trust in the church
following a string of sexual abuse cases involving clergy.
	A spokesman for the archdiocese said the new policy will not go into
effect until September 1993 to give employees time to become aware of it
and get used to it. The screening will include checks with the Minnesota
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Employees will be required to sign a
statement that they have never committed a sexual crime or abuse.
	``We don't really anticipate any problems,'' said Jerry Klein. ``We
obviously need to take some steps to restore the trust that has been
lost.''
	The background checks of lay employees are not unique for the
Catholic Church -- the St. Cloud Diocese instituted such screenings about
a year ago -- but Klein said the archdiocese's program breaks new ground
``in the sense of the very comprehensive way we're addressing the whole
variety of issues of sexual abuse in the ministry.'' Clergy have been
screened for a number of years, he said.
	The archdiocese has created a new document, ``Understanding Sexual
Issues in Ministry,'' an accompanying video and an information-education
plan that is to be widely distributed to parishes and beyond. The video
includes actors portraying some types of improper conduct and experts
explaining how to recognize and handle them.
	The document contains sections addressing education and prevention,
services to people harmed by clergy, responses to clergy accused of
misconduct, misconduct by other church employees, and response to
parishes where clergy abuse has occurred. There also are model parish
policies, information about employee background checks and relevant
state statutes.
41.254Doomsday preacher goes to trialCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceSat Nov 07 1992 20:1434
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Doomsday preacher goes on trial
Date: 6 Nov 92 12:07:42 GMT

	SEOUL, Korea (UPI) -- Pastor Lee Chang-rim, founder of a church in
Seoul that played a major role in preaching the end of the world last
week, was put on trial Friday on charges of defrauding followers of
millions of dollars.
	Lee, 44, at the start of the first day of a hearing at the Seoul
District Criminal Court, apologized for the controversy he caused with
his preachings which failed to come true.
	``I am sorry for the social uproar which resulted from my doomsday
theory,'' Lee said. ``I still believe that the end of the world will
come some day though I now cannot tell exactly when.''
	Lee, who founded the Tami Mission Society in May 1988, was arrested
on Sept. 25 for receiving $4.35 million from followers and illegally
keeping $26,711 at home.
	He had predicted that doomsday would occur at midnight Octr. 28, when
only faithful believers would be lifted up to heaven. Some 1,300 members
of his congregation vainly prayed at the church that night waiting for
the end of the world.
	Lee admitted before the court that he received contributions from
followers but said he never put any part of the money to personal use.
He said he would return what he received to donators but most was used
for church activity and not much was left.
	His church disbanded after his doomsday preachings failed.
	Some 20 former congregation members were on hand to observe the
hearing,including several women who shed tears as Lee entered the
courtroom.
41.255Bishop appeals for freedom of kidnapped missionaryCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceSat Nov 07 1992 20:1546
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Bishop appeals for freedom of kidnapped U.S. missionary
Date: 6 Nov 92 14:07:13 GMT

	ZAMBOANGA, philippines (UPI) -- A Catholic bishop appealed Friday to
the Muslim kidnappers of a U.S. missionary to ``soften their hearts''
and release their captive, saying the church will not pay their $200,000
ransom demand.
	``We are not giving any ransom,'' said the Most Rev. Romulo de la
Cruz, bishop of Basilan province, 550 miles south of Manila.
	``I appeal to the kidnappers to soften their hearts and return him to
us because he is innocent and a good man,'' De la Cruz said by telephone
from Zamboanga City, a regional center 30 miles north of the largely
Muslim province.
	Augustine Fraszczack, of Pulaski, Wis., was seized by armed men
believed to be Muslim bandits Oct. 21 in Tuburan, Basilan.
	The kidnappers have threatened to kill the missionary if their ransom
demand was not met.
	De la Cruz said Fraszczack's ``humanitarian work'' among the poor in
Basilan has been suspended because of his capture.
	``He has not been around to offer his services,'' the bishop said.
	He said Fraszczack spent much of his time treating the poor, being a
trained paramedic and acupuncture expert who studied the ancient art of
curing diseases in China. His work gained him popularity among the
residents, the bishop added.
	A Basilan provincial official said Thursday he would seek the help of
Nur Misuari, the exiled leader of a Muslim secessionist group in the
southern Philippines, to try to secure Fraszczack's freedom.
	The kidnappers have demanded that the military be kept out of
negotiations, which they said should be supervised by the provincial
government.
	Fraszczack has written four letters while in captivity, two of them
appealing to the Vatican and the United States to help raise the ransom
money. He said his captors warned they would kill him ``slowly'' if the
amount was not produced.
	Kidnapping has become a multi-million industry in the southern island
of Mindanao, where dozens of armed gangs and private armies of political
warlords have defied a government drive to disarm them.
	Communist guerrillas battling Manila for the past 23 years and Muslim
guerrillas demanding a separate state also operate on Mindanao, the
nation's second largest island.
41.256Falwell considering reviving the Moral MajorityCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceMon Nov 09 1992 20:5527
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Falwell may bring back Moral Majority
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 8:44:28 PST

	LYNCHBURG, Va. (UPI) -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell says he may resurrect
his once potent political action organization The Moral Majority if
president-elect Bill Clinton turns out to be ``the reincarnation of
Jimmy Carter.''
	Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979, but scrapped it 10 years
later to focus on shoring up his financially strapped ministry. His
church and his college, Liberty University, are $70 million in debt and
Falwell has been working to reorganize the debts without resorting to
bankruptcy.
	Falwell told the Roanoke Times & World News ``no decision has been
made'' on reviving The Moral Majority, although he said he might be 
``forced'' to do so if Clinton follows through on some of his campaign
promises.
	The campaign promises from Clinton that raised Falwell's ire include
abortion rights and allowing homosexuals to serve in the military.
	During its heyday, The Moral Majority registered millions of voters
and raised millions of dollars to help Ronald Reagan defeat Carter in
1980.
41.257Brits to vote on the ordination of womenCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceMon Nov 09 1992 20:5548
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JOANNE MERRIWEATHER)
Subject: Britain to vote on the ordination of women
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 92 9:32:00 PST

	LONDON (UPI) -- A survey publicized Sunday said two-thirds of all
Anglican churchgoers questioned favor the ordination of women priests,
an issue to be tackled by the Church of England's central governing body
this week.
	All three houses of the church's General Synod -- the bishops, the
clergy and lay members -- vote Wednesday on the issue considered one of
the most crucial in the Church's recent history. A two thirds majority
is required for the change to be approved.
	A survey conducted by the British Broadcasting Corp. questioned 1,500
Anglican churchgoers and found 67 percent in favor of ordaining women.
	The least enthusiastic about the ordination of women were Anglo-
Catholics, a group favoring closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church.
Only 52 percent of that group was in favor. Evangelicals were 73 percent
in favor, and of those not linked to any particular church, 75 percent
were in favor.
	The survey was conducted throughout England between Oct. 25 and Nov.
1 and quoted extensively in the British media Sunday.
	At present only men may be ordained to full priesthood. But when the
General Synod first voted to consider legislation to enable women to
become priests in 1987, the ordination of women has rent divisions in
the Church.
	At the summer meeting of the General Synod, those in favor of
ordaining women stood only 13 votes short of a two thirds majority
required to pass the measure.
	A promised strong lead from the leader of the Church, the Archbishop
of Canterbury George Carey and the Archbishop of York, has boosted the
hopes of the pro-women lobby.
	Members of a pro-women ordination lobby held a vigil Sunday outside
the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth
Palace. They said they would celebrate holy communion there each day
until Wednesday to symbolize what was missing from the women's ministry.
	Women have been able to baptize, marry and bury parishioners since
they were first allowed to become deacons in 1986, but they are barred
from complete the full holy communion ceremony.
	The church's General Synod has both spiritual authority and
legislative and administrative powers.
	Britain's Queen is the head of the Church of England and as many as
half of Britain's population of 58 million claim membership, although
many do not practice.
41.258Conservatives miss turn at Episcopal assemblyCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Nov 10 1992 12:1764
By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff (Boston Globe, Nov 8, 1992, p.30)

A conservative Episcopalian faction was stymied yesterday in its bid to
force a debate on abortion, homosexuality, and the ordination of women
as priests when time ran out on the annual convention of the Episcopal
Diocese of Massachusetts.

With the diocesan agenda far from finished after two days, Bishop David
E. Johnson recessed the convention until next month, at which time the
conservative faction will presumably have its say.  But several members
of the faction complained that no time limits were imposed upon speakers,
and suggested that church leaders were not eager to grapple with their
slate of 31 resolutions.

At the bishop's request, the convention of 500 clergy and lay delegates
also began preparations for his succession.  They agreed to elect a bishop
coadjutor in March of 1994, who will serve alongside Bishop Johnson, 58,
and succeed him when he retires.

The convention yesterday was a spirited and largely harmonious affair,
though the conservative faction's resolutions probably would have provoked
sharp debate if they had been discussed.

For example, one of the resolutions asked the delegates, many of them
women, to agree that the ordination of women as clergy is "contrary to
Holy Scripture, tradition, and the constitution of the Episcopal Church."

The Episcopal Church has ordained women as clergy since 1976.  One of those
presiding at yesterday's convention was Bishop Barbara Harris, who became
the first female bishop of the Episcopal Church in 1989.  She said she
"would rather not discuss" the resolution denouncing the ordination of
women.

Tom Lloyd of All Saints' Church, a supporter of the resolution, contended
that the Bible specifies that only men may serve as priests.

But others disputed Lloyd's interpretation of the Bible, and Rev. Peter
Chase of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Newton said the ordination of
women "has done wonders for the diocese.  It has been a positive factor."

Other resolutions on the agenda but not discussed publicly yesterday
declared that abortion is a form of child abuse, that homosexuality is
a "sin," that the ordination of gays and lesbians to the clergy is contrary
to Scripture, and that it is "sacrilegious" for the Church to bless
homosexual relationships.

John Covert, a member of the conservative faction who belongs to the Church
of the Advent on Beacon Hill, said that the 31 resolutions represent an
effort to "restore traditional faith and order to the Church."

Some delegates were baffled by several of the resolutions, including one
that would forbid the ordination of transvestites and pedophiles.  Lloyd
acknowledged that he knew of no instances in which the chuch knowingly
ordained transvestites or pedophiles, but said the conservative faction
wanted to challenge the progressive factions to define the limits to their
tolerance.

Jonathan Maury, a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in
Cambridge, said he believes the faction is unsettled by recent changes in
the Episcopal Church, adding that the resolutions put forward yesterday
amounted to an "orthodoxy check."

The resolutions "have little to do with the life of the church," Maury
said.  "What we're trying to do is maintain a communion of faith."
41.259questionVIDSYS::PARENTcracklyn nuts, sweetsTue Nov 10 1992 14:5815
< Some delegates were baffled by several of the resolutions, including one
< that would forbid the ordination of transvestites and pedophiles.  Lloyd
< acknowledged that he knew of no instances in which the chuch knowingly
< ordained transvestites or pedophiles, but said the conservative faction
< wanted to challenge the progressive factions to define the limits to their
< tolerance.

   John,

   I can certainly see why there would be a problem with prdophiles as
   that's a deplorable crime against children and and a criminal act.
   What is the problem with transvestites?

   Allison

41.260Priests solemly swear faith in the Holy ScripturesCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Nov 10 1992 15:3428
>   What is the problem with transvestites?

It is clearly forbidden by Holy Scripture, which is the basic component
of the Sacred Deposit of Faith.

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither
shall a man put on a woman's garment:  for all that do so are
abomination unto the Lord thy God.  Deuteronomy 22:5.  Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?  Be not
deceived:  neither fornicators nor idolators, nor adulterous, nor 
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves nor
drunkards nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom
of God.  I Corinthians 6:9.
 
God created two complementary and distinct genders, male and
female, in carrying out his plan for creation and made it so that
only in union could they procreate. A person who fraudulently
dresses up in a way that seeks to cause confusion about that
person's gender identity is mocking God and the order He ordained. 
Such gender and role confusion can have no place among the priestly
servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ours is a time when worldly
contagions are insidiously spreading to the Christian community. 
It is our sacred duty to protect our Diocesan community now by
going on record against this abomination.
 
Submitted by the Massachusetts Convocation of the Episcopal Synod
of America 
Contact: Richard Mercer
41.267CSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 11 1992 21:4731
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Louisville archbishop calling on Clinton to rethink vouchers
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 9:44:54 PST

	LOUISVILLE, Ky. (UPI) -- Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly on Monday urged
President-elect Bill Clinton to re-evaluate his position on school
choice and the use of vouchers for non-public schools.
	``Allowing parents to choose the best possible school for their
children will not weaken public education. It will establish an
appropriate, competitive environment in which all of us -- public,
private and Catholic schools -- will be challenged to work harder and to
make sure that we truly serve the overall educational needs of our
nation's greatest resource, our children,'' Kelly said in statement
prepared for delivery at an annual recognition dinner Monday.
	``Without some form of significant public assistance for families who
choose non-public schools, American society will witness an inevitable
weakening of the educational opportunities which we offer to minorities
and to students who do not come from affluent families.''
	Kelly is chairman of the National Catholic Educational Association,
which was founded in 1904 and represents 200,000 educators serving 7.6
million students in Catholic education from pre-school to college and
seminary levels.
	The Catholic education system is the single largest non-public
educational system in the nation. The Archdiocese of Louisville has more
than 22,000 students in 70 elementary and secondary schools and is the
third-largest school system in Kentucky.
41.268Source charges Liberian rebels murdered nunsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 11 1992 21:4974
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Source charges Liberian rebels murdered nuns
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 16:41:29 PST

	RUMA, Ill. (UPI) -- A purported eyewitness account of the slaying of
five American nuns in war-torn Liberia charged the rebel National
Patriotic Front of Liberia with the murders, the nuns' southwestern
Illinois order said Monday.
	The account of the murders was smuggled out of Liberia to a
neighboring West African country and shared with the State Department,
said Sister Mildred Gross, provincial superior of the Adorers of the
Blood of Christ Catholic Missionary Order.
	``Through networking with other mission personnel and our friends in
West Africa, we were able to obtain this message. I believe the source
is reliable, although this source cannot be identified at this time to
protect the individuals,'' she said.
	The American nuns have been identified as Barbara Ann Muttra, 69,
Mary Joel Kolmer, 58, her cousin Shirley Kolmer, 61, Kathleen McGuire,
54, and Agnes Mueller, 62.
	The five Americans were slain after being caught in the fighting at
Gardnersville, a northern suburb of Monrovia controlled by rebels who
are battling West African peacekeeping forces.
	According to the source, on Oct. 20 the nuns were in their
Gardnersville home with four Liberian aspirants to the order.
	One of the security men who was staying with the nuns for their
protection wanted to visit a sick relative and Sisters Mary Kolmer and
Muttra offered to take him there, Gross said.
	Along the way, they were reportedly ambushed by soldiers of the
National Patriotic Front of Liberia, she said. All were killed by the
soldiers who then took their vehicle.
	On Oct. 23, NPFL soldiers came to the sisters' house led by a
commander the source identified as ``C.O. Devil,'' Gross said.
	Sister McGuire and a Lebanese security man at the convent reportedly
came to the gate where the soldiers demanded the keys to the convent
car. After taking the keys, ``C.O. Devil'' shot McGuire in the arm and
the same bullet hit and killed the security guard.
	The leader then shot McGuire in the neck, the source reported.
	The women in the house were ordered to come out, and C.O. Devil
reportedly shot Sisters Shirley Kolmer and Mueller on the road outside
the convent fence. The other women were taken by the alleged NPFL
members, the source said.
	``On November 6, I met personally with State Department officials to
discuss the recovery of the sisters' remains and we have their dental
records on hand here at Ruma to help with identifying their bodies,''
Gross said.
	``We also discussed possible options for an investigation into the
sisters' deaths,'' she said. ``Each day brings us closer to the truth as
we continue to pray for the people of Liberia.''
	The NPFL, headed by Charles Taylor, has said it had no information
about what had happened to the women and blamed their deaths on anti-
Christian Muslim elements of the Nigerian contingent serving in the West
African peacekeeping force.
	The Adorers of the Blood of Christ has ministered to Liberia since
1971. The five nuns were the first members of the religious order to die
because of their mission in the 122-year history of the order.
	Officials hoped to have the bodies returned to southern Illinois when
fighting in the area subsides.
	The death of the nuns was the worst incident involving foreign
missionaries in the Liberian civil war, which has raged for three years
and killed at least 20,000 Liberians. Liberia was founded in 1847 by
freed American slaves.
	Since the declaration of a cease-fire in 1990, tension has been
growing between the West African peacekeeping force and Taylor's NPFL.
Taylor alleges the peacekeepers are controlled by Nigeria and biased.
	Taylor launched an attack on Monrovia Oct. 15 and now controls the
Gardnersville area.
	Since 1990, U.S. citizens have been warned to avoid travel to
Liberia. The State Department on Oct. 20 strongly advised all Americans
in Liberia to depart immediately.
41.269Bible to stay on school library shelvesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 11 1992 21:53115
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Bible to stay on school library shelves
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 8:03:15 PST

	BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (UPI) -- The Bible will stay on the shelves of
public school libraries in the Brooklyn Center school district.
	The school board of the suburban Minneapolis district voted
unanimously Monday night to reject a Brooklyn Center man's request that
the Bible be removed because he considers passages to be obscene and
violent.
	The announcement of the board's decision was greeted with cheers from
a crowd of about 600 people, many of whom waved their Bibles in the air
in appreciation.
	But Gene Kasmar was unrecalcitrant about his stand, saying the board
``caved in to community pressure and religious prejudice.''
	``I am looking at the book as a whole, from the anti-gentile
suggestions of the Old Testament to the anti-Semitic sympathies of the
New Testament,'' he said.
	``This challenge is not about religion. This challenge is about a
book.
	``I think a lot of people would agree there is a real role that
censorship plays, in matters of national security...and young people.''
	Kasmar's efforts to have the Bible banned from Brooklyn Center
schools fired up fundamental Christians who brought in the Rev. Pat
Robertson's top legal adviser, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for
Law and Justice in Virginia Beach, Va.
	``We think that there's an attempt to duplicate this process
elsewhere,'' Sekulow said. ``If we can send a message here in Brooklyn
Center, it can reverberate throughout the nation. I think this was a
test.''
================================================================================
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    employees.

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (PETER SHADBOLT)
Subject: Church of England voting on women priests
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 4:55:02 PST

	LONDON (UPI) -- The Church of England General Synod prepared to vote
Wednesday on whether to ordain women as priests, with both sides
predicting a close race.
	``There is some pretty intense arm-twisting going on,'' Elizabeth
Mills, a leading opponent of women priests, told the London Telegraph. 
``I even spotted one uncommitted voter being lobbied simultaneously by
supporters of both views -- one on either side of him.''
	Observers expected nearly 200 of the Synod's 550 members to speak
during debate Wednesday, with voting results not expected until early
evening. The measure needed a two-thirds majority in each of the Synod's
three houses to pass.
	Whatever the outcome, the vote threatened to split the Church of
England, with priests and congregations on both sides of the issue
warning they would leave the organization if their side lost.
	David Silk, the archdeacon of Leicester, warned that up to 1,000
priests would quit the church if the Synod voted to ordain women, the
London Times reported.
	The Rev. Martin Flatman, vicar in Oxford, also predicted several
priests would take their congregations into the Roman Catholic church if
the measure passed.
	Conversely, the Rev. June Osborne, a London deacon, told the London
Times that if the measure fails, ``a large number of people will find it
impossible to stay in the Church of England.''
	The Rev. Joy Carroll, another London deacon, added, ``It would be
very sad if 1,000 priests go, but there are 1,000 good women waiting to
step into their shoes.''
================================================================================
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    employees.

Subject: Tilton sues ABC-TV, Prime Time Live
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 8:51:01 PST

	TULSA, Okla. (UPI) -- Televangelist Robert Tilton has filed a
defamation lawsuit against ABC News and its Prime Time Live program over
a report aired last year that the preacher claims was inaccurate,
libelous and slanderous.
	The 21-page suit filed in federal court in Tulsa, Okla. accused ABC
of ``creating/fabricating a 'story' out of rumors, gossip, half-truths
and lies under the guise of a 'report of an investigation.'''
	The suit also named reporter Diane Sawyer and two producers of the
segment, as well as the network's parent company, Capital Cities-ABC
Inc.
	Tulsa lawyer J.C. Joyce, who has represented Tilton in the
evangelist's recent legal troubles, confirmed that he filed the suit
late Tuesday afternoon. He would not elaborate on the suit.
	Prime Time Live spokesperson Rena Terracuso Wednesday has no comment
because the network had not been served with the lawsuit.
	The suit said Tilton, leader of the Dallas-area Word of Faith World
Outreach Center Church, is seeking an amount in excess of $50,000 to be
set at the trial.
	Tilton claimed in the lawsuit that he was a ``very desirable target''
for ABC because of his increasing popularity. The lawsuit is directed at
the initial broadcast Nov. 21, 1991, and a July 9 re-broadcast, which
included an update.
	Sawyer reported in the first airing that prayer requests from Tilton
followers were thrown in the trash after employees of a Tulsa bank
removed donations to the church. The story accused Tilton of fraud and
deceptive practices.
	A subsecuent deceptive trade practices probe by Texas Attorney
General Dan Morales was eventually quashed by a federal judge, who said
Morales did not have jurisdiction in the case because it involved a
church.
	At least nine multimillion dollar lawsuits have been filed against
Tilton by former followers who claim they were defrauded. Many of the
suits have been dismissed but others are pending in Dallas and Oklahoma.
    
41.270Church of England voting on women priestsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 11 1992 21:5478
                        * For Internal Use Only *

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    employees.

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (PETER SHADBOLT)
Subject: Church of England voting on women priests
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 4:55:02 PST

	LONDON (UPI) -- The Church of England General Synod prepared to vote
Wednesday on whether to ordain women as priests, with both sides
predicting a close race.
	``There is some pretty intense arm-twisting going on,'' Elizabeth
Mills, a leading opponent of women priests, told the London Telegraph. 
``I even spotted one uncommitted voter being lobbied simultaneously by
supporters of both views -- one on either side of him.''
	Observers expected nearly 200 of the Synod's 550 members to speak
during debate Wednesday, with voting results not expected until early
evening. The measure needed a two-thirds majority in each of the Synod's
three houses to pass.
	Whatever the outcome, the vote threatened to split the Church of
England, with priests and congregations on both sides of the issue
warning they would leave the organization if their side lost.
	David Silk, the archdeacon of Leicester, warned that up to 1,000
priests would quit the church if the Synod voted to ordain women, the
London Times reported.
	The Rev. Martin Flatman, vicar in Oxford, also predicted several
priests would take their congregations into the Roman Catholic church if
the measure passed.
	Conversely, the Rev. June Osborne, a London deacon, told the London
Times that if the measure fails, ``a large number of people will find it
impossible to stay in the Church of England.''
	The Rev. Joy Carroll, another London deacon, added, ``It would be
very sad if 1,000 priests go, but there are 1,000 good women waiting to
step into their shoes.''
================================================================================
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    employees.

Subject: Tilton sues ABC-TV, Prime Time Live
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 8:51:01 PST

	TULSA, Okla. (UPI) -- Televangelist Robert Tilton has filed a
defamation lawsuit against ABC News and its Prime Time Live program over
a report aired last year that the preacher claims was inaccurate,
libelous and slanderous.
	The 21-page suit filed in federal court in Tulsa, Okla. accused ABC
of ``creating/fabricating a 'story' out of rumors, gossip, half-truths
and lies under the guise of a 'report of an investigation.'''
	The suit also named reporter Diane Sawyer and two producers of the
segment, as well as the network's parent company, Capital Cities-ABC
Inc.
	Tulsa lawyer J.C. Joyce, who has represented Tilton in the
evangelist's recent legal troubles, confirmed that he filed the suit
late Tuesday afternoon. He would not elaborate on the suit.
	Prime Time Live spokesperson Rena Terracuso Wednesday has no comment
because the network had not been served with the lawsuit.
	The suit said Tilton, leader of the Dallas-area Word of Faith World
Outreach Center Church, is seeking an amount in excess of $50,000 to be
set at the trial.
	Tilton claimed in the lawsuit that he was a ``very desirable target''
for ABC because of his increasing popularity. The lawsuit is directed at
the initial broadcast Nov. 21, 1991, and a July 9 re-broadcast, which
included an update.
	Sawyer reported in the first airing that prayer requests from Tilton
followers were thrown in the trash after employees of a Tulsa bank
removed donations to the church. The story accused Tilton of fraud and
deceptive practices.
	A subsecuent deceptive trade practices probe by Texas Attorney
General Dan Morales was eventually quashed by a federal judge, who said
Morales did not have jurisdiction in the case because it involved a
church.
	At least nine multimillion dollar lawsuits have been filed against
Tilton by former followers who claim they were defrauded. Many of the
suits have been dismissed but others are pending in Dallas and Oklahoma.
    
41.271Tilton sues ABC-TV, "Prime Time Live"CSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 11 1992 21:5542
                        * For Internal Use Only *

    Stories from CLARInet may not be redistributed to non-Digital
    employees.

Subject: Tilton sues ABC-TV, Prime Time Live
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 8:51:01 PST

	TULSA, Okla. (UPI) -- Televangelist Robert Tilton has filed a
defamation lawsuit against ABC News and its Prime Time Live program over
a report aired last year that the preacher claims was inaccurate,
libelous and slanderous.
	The 21-page suit filed in federal court in Tulsa, Okla. accused ABC
of ``creating/fabricating a 'story' out of rumors, gossip, half-truths
and lies under the guise of a 'report of an investigation.'''
	The suit also named reporter Diane Sawyer and two producers of the
segment, as well as the network's parent company, Capital Cities-ABC
Inc.
	Tulsa lawyer J.C. Joyce, who has represented Tilton in the
evangelist's recent legal troubles, confirmed that he filed the suit
late Tuesday afternoon. He would not elaborate on the suit.
	Prime Time Live spokesperson Rena Terracuso Wednesday has no comment
because the network had not been served with the lawsuit.
	The suit said Tilton, leader of the Dallas-area Word of Faith World
Outreach Center Church, is seeking an amount in excess of $50,000 to be
set at the trial.
	Tilton claimed in the lawsuit that he was a ``very desirable target''
for ABC because of his increasing popularity. The lawsuit is directed at
the initial broadcast Nov. 21, 1991, and a July 9 re-broadcast, which
included an update.
	Sawyer reported in the first airing that prayer requests from Tilton
followers were thrown in the trash after employees of a Tulsa bank
removed donations to the church. The story accused Tilton of fraud and
deceptive practices.
	A subsecuent deceptive trade practices probe by Texas Attorney
General Dan Morales was eventually quashed by a federal judge, who said
Morales did not have jurisdiction in the case because it involved a
church.
	At least nine multimillion dollar lawsuits have been filed against
Tilton by former followers who claim they were defrauded. Many of the
suits have been dismissed but others are pending in Dallas and Oklahoma.
    
41.272CARTUN::BERGGRENdrumming is good medicineWed Nov 11 1992 22:4311
    re: .270
    
    On the news this evening the results of the Church of England's
    voting were reported.  The vote passed - women can be ordained 
    as priests.  The vote will have to be approved by another group
    in England, but I do not recall which one.  
    
    The Vatican was reported as protesting the vote and warned that if 
    it stands, it will cause a split between itself and the Church of 
    England.  
            
41.273SDSVAX::SWEENEYPatrick Sweeney in New YorkWed Nov 11 1992 22:512
    The Church of England is already split from the Roman Catholic Church.
    This only makes ecumenical union that much more difficult.
41.274The path to union with Rome started in 1966 is now derailedCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Nov 12 1992 02:125
The other group that has to approve it is the English Parliament.

Then the Queen has to give Royal Assent.

/john
41.275JUPITR::HILDEBRANTI'm the NRAThu Nov 12 1992 11:035
    RE: .274
    
    What is your position on the ordainment of women as priests?
    
    Marc H.
41.276student Bible confiscated by teacherLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (381-0899 ZKO3-2/T63)Thu Nov 12 1992 12:0936
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 05:12:59 -0500
Subject: PNS DOW Story - .LEISURE & ARTS --
Bookshelf:.  Mr. Hentoff on Free Speech.  ----.  By Amy Gamerman and Raymond Sokolov

                PNS Delivered by OSAG Advanced Development:
        DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY AS PER INFORMATION PROVIDER LICENSE:
...
  -- Ten-year-old James Gierke had his Bible confiscated by his teacher at 
Spring Lake Elementary School in Omaha, Neb.:

  "The teacher solemnly informed him that the principal, Darline Blotzer, had 
let it be known that no Bibles were allowed in the school. Not even the 
child's locker could be a sanctuary anymore for the infectious book. James was 
ordered to take his Bible home, and leave it there.

  "On the same day, James's father, Robert Gierke, called the principal and 
asked why on earth his boy not only couldn't read his Bible in class but also 
had to remove it entirely from the premises. The principal said that either a 
federal law or a state law, she wasn't sure which, commanded her to act as she 
had.

  "The father was puzzled. He had been informed that there was a Bible, in 
plain view, in the school library. He asked what would have been wrong with 
James's checking out that Bible and reading it in class during his free time.

  "The teacher was not stumped. She told Mr. Gierke that the Bible in the 
library was only for reference, and it could be checked out only by the adults 
in that elementary school."
...

% ====== Internet DOWvision Codes
storyCounter: 1715
Storydate: 11/09/1992
Headline: .LEISURE & ARTS -- Bookshelf:.  Mr. Hentoff on Free Speech.  ----.  By Amy Gamerman and Raymond Sokolov
transmissionTime: 0505
Time: 2114
41.277GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerThu Nov 12 1992 13:2010
Interesting stories about the Bible in school.  My opinion is that there
should be no problen with having Bibles in the library or with children
bringing their own Bibles to school.

The attempt to ban the Bible from the school library on the grounds that
it is obscene and violent might just be a symbolic retaliation for the
censorship that the religious right is trying to impose.  I still think
it's a mistake, though, to attempt to impose censorship in reverse.

				-- Bob
41.278Vatican deplores Church of England decision to ordain womenCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Nov 12 1992 14:2755
	(Clarinet articles may not be distributed outside of Digital)

	VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- The Vatican said Wednesday the decision of the
Church of England to ordain women as priests ``constitutes a new and
serious obstacle to the entire process of reconcilation with the
Catholic Church.''
	Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls expressed the Vatican's
dismay over the move only a few hours after the General Synod of the
Anglican church voted to allow ordination of women as priests at its
meeting in Church House in London.
	The vote, which followed a day of impassioned discussion, ended a
tortured debate on the issue within the Church of England that has raged
since 1975.
	In recent years branches of the 70 million-strong Anglican church in
the United States, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and several other countries
have ordained women priests without waiting for a decision by the
General Synod.
	These ordinations have always been deplored by the Roman Catholic
Church, which teaches that women must be excluded from the priesthood
because Christ, when instituting Holy Orders, chose only men as his
apostles.
	Vatican Spokesman Navarro Valls recalled in his statement that in
various letters exchanged and meetings with successive archbishops of
Canterbury, the late Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II said the problem
of admission of women to the priesthood ``touched on the very nature of
the sacrament of priestly ordination.''
	``The Catholic Church, for well-founded theological reasons, does not
hold that it has the right to authorize such ordinations,'' Navarro
said. ``This decision by the Anglican communion constitutes a new and
serious obstacle to the entire process of reconciliation with the
Catholic Church.''
	During meetings in the Vatican with current Archbishop of Canterbury
George Carey last May and with his predecessor Archbishop Robert Runcie
in October 1989, the pope stressed that the ordination of women priests
would be ``a grave obstacle to the whole process of Anglican-Roman
Catholic reconciliation.''
	The Anglicans and the Roman Catholic Church have been separated since
1534, when King Henry VIII broke with Rome because of the pope's refusal
to approve of his divorce from his Spanish Catholic Queen Catherine of
Aragon.
	In recent years an Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission
has been striving to reconcile the differences between the two churches,
but its latest report was rejected by the Vatican in December 1991.
	Apart from the ordination of women, the Vatican said the commission
reached no substantial agreement on the questions of papal primacy,
authority and infallibility.
	The Anglican side had agreed on the need for some type of ``universal
primacy'' in a reunified church. But it did not accept that the pope, by
virtue of his office as bishop of Rome, was divinely assisted when he
made pronouncements on church teaching, which Catholics consider
infallible.
	The legislation approved by the Anglican General Synod Wednesday must
be approved by the British Parliament and countersigned by Queen
Elizabeth II before it becomes effective, because the Church of England
is a state church and has the queen as its head.
41.279Unity is more important than anything elseCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Nov 12 1992 14:2837
>    What is your position on the ordainment of women as priests?
>    
>    Marc H.

We have several thousand years of tradition around God's priesthood in both
the Old Covenant and New Covenant Church.

This is why the unilateral decision of various parts of the Anglican Communion
to ordain women in violation of tradition and without obtaining worldwide
agreement (at least in principle) from the Roman Catholics and Orthodox 
is so troubling.

My primary objection to the ordination of women has always been that it is
damaging to prospects for unity in the Church.  Not only is it a major setback
in the progress made over the last 26 years toward Anglican-Roman Catholic
unity, it appears that it will cause a major schism within the Church of
England itself.

We can hope that cooler heads will prevail, and that England will establish
an organization similar to the Episcopal Synod of America and allow it to
operate as a Church within the Church, with non-geographic dioceses serving
parishes which would otherwise leave the unity of the church.

We can also hope that the women who feel called to the priesthood in England
will be edifying, and will not be radicals such as Carter Heywood here in
Cambridge, whose views on human sexuality are an abomination.

I am, as a member of ESA, committed to take no action that would imply
acceptance of a change in the priesthood of the One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic Church until the WHOLE Church agrees to the change.

We know (if we believe the Bible to be Truth) that it is Our Lord's will
that we should all be one, even as he is one with the Father.  This means
that either the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches have to accept
the ordination of women, or the Anglican Communion has to abandon it.

/john
41.280seriouslyTFH::KIRKa simple songThu Nov 12 1992 14:4612
re: Note 41.279 by /john "John R. Covert" 

>                -< Unity is more important than anything else >-

Really!?!  More important even than God?

To me, this sounds like a statement a fanatic would make.  
A statement by one who has lost sight of their goal.

Peace,

Jim
41.281SDSVAX::SWEENEYPatrick Sweeney in New YorkThu Nov 12 1992 14:506
    re:.280
    
    The winner of the "quoted out of context" award...
    
    that is if I am wrong and the issues that the Anglicans were voting on
    did not include the denial of God.
41.282I don't get it!UHUH::REINKEFormerly FlahertyThu Nov 12 1992 14:5714
>                -< Unity is more important than anything else >-

Even though this so-called 'unity' excludes women.  We are all "One" 
you say - except this divisiveness leaves women out of the Oneness - 
how absurd.  I don't see the logic.

My admiration for the Episcopal church was that we didn't have the 
biases against women that the Catholic church displays, so why should 
I want to see us joined back with the RC church anyway if it means 
I'll not longer be treated equally.

Ro

41.283COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Nov 12 1992 15:0318
Women are not excluded from the Church.

They are not excluded from leadership roles in the day-to-day life of parishes.

They are not excluded from teaching roles in universities and seminaries.

There are more Roman Catholic women holding advanced theological degrees than
anywhere else.

But until the whole Church agrees that Jesus meant for women to consecrate
bread and wine into his Body and Blood and to confer Holy Orders upon future
members of the priesthood and episcopate, women would do well to listen to
our Lord, and not demand the seat of honor, but take the low place, and wait
to be called forward.

The Church is not the World.

/john
41.284NITTY::DIERCKSWe will have Peace! We must!!!!Thu Nov 12 1992 16:5014
    
    
>>But until the whole Church agrees that Jesus meant for women to consecrate
>>bread and wine into his Body and Blood and to confer Holy Orders upon future
>>members of the priesthood and episcopate, women would do well to listen to
>>our Lord, and not demand the seat of honor, but take the low place, and wait
>>to be called forward.
    
    
    So, what does that mean in the context of the Evangelical Lutheran
    Church of America (ELCA) that have been ordaining women for (at least?)
    10 years.  Aren't they a part of the "whole" church?
    
        GJD
41.285A change which divides us, thus I shun it.COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Nov 12 1992 17:011
The problem is parts, not the whole.
41.286Church of England to ordain women as priestsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceThu Nov 12 1992 22:5993
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JOANNE MERRIWEATHER)
Subject: Church of England votes to allow ordination of women as priests
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 16:29:20 PST

	LONDON (UPI) -- The Church of England narrowly voted Wednesday to
allow the ordination of women as priests, breaking the church's
tradition of a male-only clergy despite the opposition of the Roman
Catholic Church and the threat of 1,000 clerics to resign the
priesthood.
	The General Synod, the main council of the church, voted to allow the
ordination of women. All three houses of the church body approved the
measure by the necessary two-thirds majority vote, with bishops
endorsing it 39-13, clergy 176-74 and laity 169-82.
	The decision was the result of more than 17 years of campaigning and
was expected to alienate many within the church. About 1,000 priests
from the Church of England have threatened to leave the church if it
approved the ordination of women.
	The Vatican criticized the move as ``a new and grave'' setback to any
hopes of reconciliation between the two churches, which split more than
400 years ago when the pope refused to grant King Henry VIII a divorce
from Catherine of Aragon, his Spanish wife. The two churches had been
trying to work toward reunification.
	The legislation approved by the Anglican General Synod Wednesday must
be approved by the British Parliament and receive the royal assent from
Queen Elizabeth II. The Church of England is an established religion in
Britain and the queen is its head.
	It is unlikely England will ordain it first woman priest before the
summer of 1994 and even then bishops will be free not to ordain women
priests in their own dioceses.
	The religious head of the church, Archbishop of Canterbury George
Carey, urged the synod to vote in favor of ordaining women, saying the
church would lose its credibility in modern society if it did not take
the step. Then he offered a prayer.
	Carey urged the council to observe a traditional silence as the vote
was read out, but women religious leaders in the synod barely suppressed
joy. Outside the synod building both men and women clergy and their
congregations celebrated the result.
	The crucial house of laity vote was as close as it could be -- a
majority of just 2 votes over the two-thirds majority needed.
	After the vote Carey warned against ``hasty or ill-considered action''
and called for a period of quiet reflection and deep prayer in which
emotions could be calmed and not further inflamed.
	He said the vote would not alter the creeds, the scriptures or the
faith of the church.
	``We are fearful too that this decision will irretrievably fracture
the tradition and character of the ordained priesthood as we have
inherited it, but I believe that these fears which in various ways we'll
share are not well rounded. God calls us to take the risk of faith. I
believe God is also calling his church to ordain women to the
priesthood,'' he said.
	Carey added that the delay of at least a year before the decision
could become law would give ``time to work out how consciences could be
safeguarded.''
	If approved by Parliament and the queen, it will be 18 months before
women can give the communion, blessing and absolution in the Church of
England. The highest position a women can attain at present is that of
deacon. There are currently an estimated 1,400 women waiting to take up
the duties of a priest.
	Carey now must attempt to hold the church together following the
controversial move. Although Anglican churches in other countries have
gone ahead with the ordination of women with the approval of the synod,
many in the British church oppose the move.
	One government minister said Wednesday night she was leaving the
church after 27 years in protest.
	``This is an extremely sad and serious day for all of those who
regard the Anglican church as a catholic and apostolic church,'' said
Patrick Cormack, a Conservative member of Parliament and the vice
president of the English Clergy Association.
	``The decision of the synod places it now as an unequivocal
Protestant church,'' he said. ``To many of us there is a great deal of
difference between a minister and priest, and I fear that like many of
those who think as I do, I shall have to reflect on my position as a
member of the Anglican Church.''
	The bishop of Sheffield threatened to resign, ``I do not see space
within this legislation for those who are its opponents. It is no wonder
that these words about generosity and caring and charity grate so much
on us.''
	But despite the position of the Vatican, which remains opposed to the
ordination of women, Roman Catholic Cardinal Basil Hume, the archbishop
of Westminster, said the two religious bodies would continue to try to
make progress toward reconciliation.
	``The decision of the Church of England does not signal a breakdown
in ecumenical relations,'' Hume said. ``We shall continue to pray and
work together despite the new and additional obstacle created by the
Church of England.''
	As an indication of the depth of division over the decision, the
Synod went on to vote Wednesday on a package of benefits and grants for
those resigning from the church because of the decision.
41.287RCC seeks Mexican status as religious organizationCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceThu Nov 12 1992 23:0126
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Roman Catholic Church seeks Mexican status as religious organization
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 92 16:43:04 PST

	MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- The Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday became the
first religious organization to seek official status in Mexico since a
new religious associations law was passed this summer.
	Church sources said the interior ministry was handed a 300-page
request for official status from legal representatives of the archbishop
of Mexico, Cardinal Ernesto Corripio Aumada.
	The church became the first religious organization to seek
recognition since a law was passed in July abolishing anti-clerical
legislation.
	A statement from the archdiocese said once it is registered, other
religious organizations linked to it will be free to seek similar
status.
	Two months ago, Mexico announced it was to reopen diplomatic
relations with the Vatican for the first time since it unilaterally
broke relations in the 19th century following when the revolutionary
forces of Benito Juarez ousted the French-supported empire of Emperor
Maximillian.
41.288Sexual abuse charges rock rural churchCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceThu Nov 12 1992 23:0363
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Sex-abuse charges rock rural church
Date: 12 Nov 92 11:37:14 GMT
   
	CHELSEA, Mich. (UPI) -- Three men from a rural Baptist church,
including an associate pastor and a deacon, are suspected of sexually
abusing as many as 22 children of both sexes in their care, police said.
	Police charged the children, some as young as 3, were abused at the
North Sharon Baptist Church, on property near church buildings, in a
nearby cemetery, on a church bus and in a house.
	After the assaults, some of the victims were warned they would be
hurt if they told their parents, investigators said Wednesday.
	Some of the children were lured into attending Sunday school through
a practice common in many evangelical churches. Adults offered them
small gifts and prizes such as candy, cookies or baseball cards to keep
attending and to bring friends.
	Warrants have been issued charging the Rev. Timothy Lee Leonard, an
associate pastor at the church, and Mark Foeller, a church deacon and
volunteer bus driver, with assaulting three girls and five boys ranging
in age from 3 to 10.
	Charges are expected against a third man who is a member of the
congregation, Jackson County Sheriff Hank Zavislak said.
	``It's especially bad when allegations of molestation involve people
in such special positions,'' Zavislak said. ``These individuals will
face a far greater judge in the end -- and from that judge there will be
no appeals.''
	The three men are suspecting of having committed a variety of sexual
crimes, ranging from fondling to raping children. Police are
investigating incidents involving a total of 22 victims and say they
expect more accusations could follow.
	``Once the news is out, parents begin to talk to their children and
ultimately, more and more information comes to light,'' Zavislak said.
	Foeller, 38, was expected to be arraigned Thursday in 12th District
Court in Jackson on one first-degree and four second-degree criminal
sexual assault charges involving five children. He was jailed in lieu of
$75,000 bond.
	Leonard was in Pennsylvania for his father's funeral, his attorney
said. He is expected to be arraigned next Tuesday on four first-degree
counts and three second-degree counts of criminal sexual conduct.
	The investigation began in August when a doctor examined one of the
children, discovered a disease that probably resulted from abuse and
urged parents to contact police, Zavislak said.
	Church officials were told about the allegations that month and
Leonard was relieved of duties involving children, said State Police
Sgt. Norm Maxwell. His new assignments include doing bus maintenance.
	In addition to Leonard's duties as associate pastor, he worked as an
instructor and gym teacher in the North Sharon Christian School, which
enrolls about 65 students in its K-12 program.
	Pat Thornton, the church's attorney, issued a statement that said
that no other top church officials were charged and ``the North Sharon
Christian School is not involved in any manner. The church has been part
of the community for a very long time and has an excellent reputation in
the community.''
	The charges were not mentioned Wednesday night at the church's
regular services, attended by more than 225 people.
	The Rev. Bill Wininger, senior pastor, was greeted with shouts and
cheers when he declared, ``What a wonderful thing it is to be part of a
church where adversity happens.''
41.289Archdiocese to set up panel to hear sexual abuse casesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceThu Nov 12 1992 23:0518
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com ( ddh )
Subject: Massachusetts Second News in Brief [Nov 12]
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 3:16:35 PST

	(BOSTON) - The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston plans to set up a
special panel to hear cases of sexual abuse involving priests. Cardinal
Bernard Law says the review panel will be made up of parents, medical
and legal experts. The cardinal said today (in the Boston Globe) that
the archdiocese is working on its tenth draft of a policy to deal with
sexual misconduct cases involving priests. Law said the policy is to be
made public before the end of the year. Law expressed deep sorrow at the
tragedy of sexual abuse by clergymen... and at the pain suffered by
their victims.
41.290NCC says no to MCC, not even observer statusCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertFri Nov 13 1992 15:5326
	CLEVELAND (UPI) -- The National Council of Churches has rejected the
application of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches, a denomination manly consisting of homosexuals, for observer
status within the council.
	``It's easier to get into heaven than into the NCC,'' said the Rev.
Nancy Wilson of Los Angeles, ecumenical officer for the community
churches.
	By a vote of 90-81, the NCC's general board voted Thursday to take no
action on the application. The vote came after a decade of discussion
between the NCC and the 30,000-member gay church body.
	Previously rejected for full membership, the community churches
sought only observer status in the council. That would have left them
without a vote, but the right to take part in council activities. It was
the application for observer status that was rejected.
	After the vote, Wilson went to the dias to speak to the council's
general board, which is holding its annual meeting in Cleveland.
	Angrily she said, ``We have come to the point after 11 years of
relationship with you. And now we have had to endure this experience of
hearing you have a conversation about us, but not with us.''
	She and other members of the gay religious caucus, echoing arguments
from some board members during the more than two hours the issue was
debated, charged the council had attempted to maintain its unity by
treating the gay church members unjustly, the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
reported.
	She said the council rejected the gay church members because it was
afraid of a negative reaction from the public.
41.291Church deacon charged in sex-abuse caseCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceSat Nov 14 1992 20:4053
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Church deacon charged in child sex-abuse case
Date: 13 Nov 92 14:18:31 GMT

	CHELSEA, Mich. (UPI) -- Courtroom security was tight as a church
deacon and volunteer bus driver was arraigned on charges of sexually
assaulting five children in his care.
	More warrants are expected as the investigation continues at North
Sharon Baptist Church in southern Michigan, police said. An associate
pastor faces arraignment next week and charges are pending against a
third church member.
	Police received dozens of calls from worried parents after news of
the arrests broke.
	At least three girls and five boys, ranging in age from 3 to 10, were
assaulted and more warrants charging additional assaults are expected,
police said.
	Mark Foeller, 36, of Grass Lake Township, was arraigned Thursday on
one first-degree and four second-degree criminal sexual assault charges
involving five children. Bond was set at $75,000.
	The Rev. Timothy Leonard, 33, an associate pastor at the church, has
been named in warrants on similar charges involving three children. His
arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
	Investigators said the offenses allgedly occurred at the rural church
and near it, on the church bus, in a nearby cemetery and at Foeller's
home.
	The church is known for its aggressive attempts to evangelize
children in neighboring Washtenaw and Jackson counties.
	During the arraignment, the mother of one child left the courtroom in
tears. Foeller's wife, Shelly, refused comment and quickly left the
courtroom, shielded by church members.
	Among the allegations against Foeller is that he used a tire iron to
sodomize a child, causing colon damage and bowel control problems.
Foeller's attorney, Brian Thiede, refused to comment.
	One woman told the Detroit Free Press her son told her that the
alleged abuse often began with Foeller selecting a child to play a game
called ``Bunny Rabbit.''
	``He'd hop with his fingers around the kids' bodies and then move
down,'' she said.
	Afterward, she said, he would buy the children hamburgers, french
fries and ice cream.
	``I want him dead,'' she said.
	Suspicions arose in May when a nurse checking a 4-year-old boy during
a physical exam discovered what she thought was evidence of sexual
abuse. The mother talked to other parents, and by August a police
investigation was under way with church workers as suspects.
	When church officials were told of the allegations in August, Leonard
was relieved of duties involving children. But parents said Foeller
continued to drive the bus even after they complained to police.
41.292Bakker asks for reduced sentenceCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 18 1992 19:2473
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Bakker asks for reduced sentence
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 4:49:03 PST

	CHARLOTTE, N.C.(UPI) -- An attorney for former televangelist and PTL
founder Jim Bakker pleaded for a sentence reduction for his client
Monday, and friends and family of the fallen minister testified he was a
changed man.
	Daniel Foster, an associate warden and chief of psychology at the
Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., testified Bakker ``has made
substantive progress in coming to terms with his loss'' since being
placed in the facility Nov. 3, 1989.
	Bakker still works as an orderly with the primary chore of cleaning
toilets, has begun a program of weight-lifting, is learning to play
drums and participates in softball and other recreation at the prison,
Foster said.
	``He still reaches out to other human beings,'' said Foster, who
admitted that he has gotten to know Bakker ``very well'' since his
prison term began.
	Part of the motion by defense attorney Harold Bender involved letters
submitted on Bakker's behalf, some from the likes of singer Pat Boone,
evangelist Oral Roberts and Watergate conspirator Chuck Colson.
	Bakker himself wrote a letter to U.S. District Judge Graham Mullen
taking ``full responsibility for all my actions'' that led to federal
indictments and subsequent convictions that he bilked PTL followers out
of some $172 million in contributions.
	Prosecutors Deborah Smith and Jerry Miller contended Bakker still did
not admit his guilt and opposed a sentence reduction.
	Bender is seeking a reduction in his client's 18-year prison term,
which Mullen imposed in August 1991 after cutting Bakker's original 45-
year sentence. Bakker, 52, likely will learn Mullen's decision in about
three weeks.
	Jamie Bakker, 16, told Mullen that his father was his ``best friend,''
and that the elder Bakker's imprisonment in Rochester was ``the hardest
thing that's ever happened to me.''
	During testimony punctuated by tears, the younger Bakker said he
wanted his father's release ``more than anything I've ever needed in my
entire life.''
	He talked of his problems with dyslexia and how his father has helped
him with the learning disability, calling the elder Bakker ``my best
friend.''
	Tammy Faye Bakker, who filed for divorce from her husband earlier
this year, was noticeably absent, though both her children were in the
courtroom.
	Tammy Sue Chapman did not testify, but sat beside her brother,
frequently whispering to him and clutching his hand as witnesses
testified.
	Miller and Smith said defense contentions that liken Bakker's case to
those of convicted stock swindlers Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken don't
wash because both those men helped the government.
	The prosecutors urged Mullen not to consider a further reduction in
sentence. No new evidence was presented to warrant a reduction, they
argued.
	Bender contends that Bakker's sentence should follow federal
guidelines that would have placed it at 37 to 51 months.
	A federal probation consultant retained by the defense recommended a
sentence reduction to seven years, and Mullen has given both prosecution
and defense attorneys two weeks to respond.
	Mullen's decision could come as early as a week later, meaning his
decision may be announced as early as Dec. 7.
	''It would be nice to get him home before Christmas,'' Bender said
after the hearing.
	In his letter, Bakker called prison ``a place of living death, a land
of broken dreams, and sadness.''
	``I have done all I know to do to cooperate with the prison system
and those in authority over me,'' Bakker wrote. ``Everything that I have
been asked to do I have done to the best of my ability without
complaining.''
41.293Bishops warn against hasty actions concerning women priestsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Nov 24 1992 22:2945
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (MICK THURSTON)
Subject: Anglican bishops warn against hasty action over women priests
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 9:48:04 PST

	LONDON (UPI) -- A group of Anglican bishops, trying to avoid a split
in the church, appealed Friday for clergymen opposed to women priests
not to take hasty action to break away from the Church of England after
last week's narrow decision to allow women to be ordained into the
priesthood.
	The appeal came one day after a senior church official called for
clergymen opposed to women priests to form a breakaway group under the
authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
	Twelve bishops, including the Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. David
Hope, said they were aware of the distress caused by the decision by the
General Synod, the church's body, to accept women priests.
	``We are increasingly aware of the considerable anxiety, distress and
hurt amongst laity and clergy following last week's decision of the
General Synod to approve legislation for the ordination of women to the
priesthood,'' the statement said.
	``We understand and sympathize with those who now feel uncertain and
unsure as to their long-term future within the Church of England,'' it
said.
	But, the bishops added, ``In the meantime we ask for prayer and quiet
consultation and that people should not take precipitate action.''
	On Thursday the former Bishop of London, Dr. Graham Leonard, called
in an article in the Catholic Herald newspaper for a separate church to
be set up by Anglican churchmen opposed to women priests.
	The breakaway church would retain some aspects of the Church of
England, such as its liturgy, and Anglican bishops, but would be under
the ultimate authority of the Pope.
	Some observers said up to a third of Anglican priests could heed
Leonard's call, although others said no more than a few hundred would
follow him.
	The statement released Friday, which was signed by 12 Anglican
bishops, concluded, ``We continue to exercise pastoral care for all in
our diocese whatever their views on the ordination of women to the
priesthood.''
	Last week's General Synod vote has opened up deep rifts between
traditionalist and progressive churchmen and worshippers of the Church
of England.
41.294Church bells peal over noise lawCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Nov 24 1992 22:3047
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Church bells peal over noise law
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 10:22:16 PST

	POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (UPI) -- A church cited for its excessively loud
bells has resumed the ringing in an act of civil disobedience aimed at
forcing review of Pompano Beach's noise ordinance.
	The First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach, which provoked a city
crackdown on loud church bells, turned off its bells on Wednesday to
avoid a public hearing that afternoon.
	Church officials turned the bells back on Thursday and within
minutes, received word from a code inspector that the bells still
exceeded the city's 55-decibel noise limit.
	The church attorney, Albert Fletcher Jr., said the second citation
would enable First Presbyterian to join forces with four other churches
accused of exceeding the noise limits -- St. Gabriel Catholic, St.
Stephen Lutheran, St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal and St. Coleman's
Catholic.
	First Presbyterian's bells started the controversy when the church
received a first citation in July.
	Fletcher told city officials at the time that First Presbyterian's
bells weren't any louder than the bells at other churches. City
officials agreed and cited the other churches as well.
	Fletcher said the church turned off its bells, which work like a
player piano and are broadcast through loudspeakers, on Wednesday to
erase the July citation.
	Now the church wants to take advantage of strength in numbers and
argue the issue before the city, joining forces with the cited churches.
	``We'll consolidate the cases,'' Fletcher said. ``It was a legal
maneuver I had to do.''
	Fletcher said the crackdown stems from a complaint by one couple in
the neighborhood, Pete and Pat Anderson.
	In July, they filed a complaint with the city, accompanied by a
petition signed by nine of their neighbors.
	``I can assure you that there are a lot more neighbors around there
that love the bells than the 10 or 11 people that signed the petition,''
Fletcher said.
	That may be so, Pete Anderson said, but he said several other
neighbors agree with him but did not want to take sides against the
church.
	``I guess they think lightning will come down and hit them,'' he
said.
41.295Choir director admits to sex with boysCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Nov 24 1992 22:3356
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Choir director admits to sex with boys
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 13:33:23 PST

	PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (UPI) -- The director of a Roman Catholic boys'
choir has admitted to investigators that he had sex with a 15-year-old
choir member at least once a week for more than a year, and made sexual
advances toward a 14-year-old boy, authorities said Friday.
	Richard Trepinski, 55, was arrested Wednesday on 99 counts of lewd
and lascivious behavior and indecent assault against minors under age
16.
	Trepinski, the director of the Charlotte County Boy's Choir, remained
jailed Friday in lieu of $50,000 bond and was scheduled for arraignment
Dec. 2.
	Detectives in the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office began
investigating last week when the 14-year-old told his mother that
Trebinski had put his hands inside the boy's underwear and fondled his
buttocks when they were left alone after choir practice.
	The boy's mother reported the incident and gave investigators
permission to tap the family's telephone, saying Trepinski frequently
called her son.
	The investigators taped three phone calls in which Trepinski invited
the boy to stay overnight at his home, offered to show him X-rated
videos, and made several suggestive comments, Sheriff's Detective Lane
Dumser said in the arrestreport.
	Investigators then questioned other members of the choir, and the 15-
year-old acknowledged that he had been having sex with Trepinski one to
three times a week for more than a year.
	The police report said Trepinski told investigators the relationship
began when he and the 15-year-old shared a motel room during a choir
tour in Colorado in June 1991 and continued until the school year ended
in the summer of 1992.
	The boy said the incidents occurred at the Trepinski home, in motel
rooms and in woods near Port Charlotte, according to the arrest report.
	Dumser's report said Trepinski confessed that both boys' allegations
were true, and that his sexual relations with the older boy included 
``fondling, kissing, both mutual and independent masturbation and mutual
oral sex.''
	Trepinski was the music director at St. Charles Catholic School in
Port Charlotte. The choir is affiliated with the local Catholic parish,
but not the school, investigators and school officials said.
	Before moving to Florida, Trepinski directed a boys' choir at Christ
the King Catholic Church in Toledo, Ohio, from 1954 to 1975.
	He admitted to the Florida deputies that he also had sex with young
boys there, although prosecutors could find no evidence that he had ever
been arrested before.
	``The defendant fully admitted to having sexual relations with
several boys over the past 25 years,'' the arrest report said.
	Each of the 99 charges carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison,
so Trepinski could face life in prison if he is convicted on all the
charges, Assistant State Attorney Robert Ford said.
41.296Hanoi not allowing Bishop to returnCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Nov 24 1992 22:3624
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese
From: zts_duong@hg.uleth.ca
Subject: [NEWS] Hanoi not allowing Bishop Nguyen Van Thuan to go back
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 23:13:24 GMT

Troublesome Priest

Hanoi, which has been trying in recent years to improve relations with the
Roman Catholic Church, has rejected the Vatican's request to allow a leading
exiled Vietnamese Catholic priest to return to Vietnam to fill one of several
vacant bishoprics.  Monsignor Nguyen Van Thuan, a staunch anti-communist and
nephew of South Vietnam's former president Ngo Dinh Diem, was appointed
coadjutor of Ho Chi MInh City in 1975.  He was subsequently place under house
arrest by the victorious communist authorities and held until allowed to leave
the country for the Vatican in the early 1980.

------------------
F.E.E.R Nov 12,1992
[Far East Economic Review]
41.297On the Anglican vote to allow ordination of womenICS::BERGGRENdrumming is good medicineTue Nov 24 1992 23:3420
    On last week's England Anglican vote to allow ordination of women:
    
    	For years Catholics have watched the Anglican drama and felt the
    issues and arguments seeping into their own debates.  More than
    theology, it is everyday experience that has reshaped the perceptions
    of men and women alike.  The crucial turning point came with the Second
    Vatican Council (1962-65), when the world's bishops emphasized, among
    other reforms, the equality of the sexes and the importance of the
    laity.  Church members were to be no longer mere assistants to the
    clergy but full-fledged participants in the church's mission.  
    
    	Thus inspired, women began studying theology and filling leadership
    posts as the number of priests began falling.  The Women's Ordination
    Conference and nuns' groups began open agitation for women priests. 
    "Prior to the Second Vatican Council, women never did anything in the
    sanctuary," says R(v. Thomas Rausch of Loyala Marymount University. 
    "But now for 20 years Catholics have become used to seeing them
    proclaiming the Scriptures and sometimes even presiding at
    noneucharistic liturgies.  That means that the whole consciousness of
    the church begins to change."
41.298On the Anglican vote to allow ordination of women - Part 2ICS::BERGGRENdrumming is good medicineTue Nov 24 1992 23:4221
    Please pardon the noise on the line (last note);  to continue...
        
    	Given the human-rights preachments that all churches deliver, a
    good case can be made that accommodation of women's demands is not only
    just but also essential for the church's well-being.  Last week
    Anglicanism's world leader made just that argument.  "We are in danger
    of not being heard," declared Archbishop of Canterbury George
    Carey  , "if women are exercising leadership in every area of our
    society's life save the ordained priesthood."
    
    	However, the women's rights crusade increasingly is enmeshed with
    divisive projects of social, moral and theological reconstruction. 
    Many devout Christians, multitudes of women among them, cling ever more
    fervently to the old ways when all that is hallowed seems in danger of
    eroding.  That perhaps explains why conservative churhes that defiantly
    oppose the ascent of women are still thriving.  In order to succeed in
    the long term, the new Christian feminism must not only claim power and
    authority for women but also demonstrate that gender equality enhances
    the church's spiritual and moral strength.
    
    		-- Jordan Bonfante, reported in _Time_ November 2{, 1992.
41.299Tilton trims staff, TV timeCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 25 1992 20:0156
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Televangelist Robert Tilton trims staff, TV time
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 9:57:37 PST

	DALLAS (UPI) -- Televangelist Robert Tilton is cutting back on his
operations, blaming a severe drop in income following negative publicity
stemming from a report on his ministry that aired last November on ABC-
TV's ``PrimeTime Live.''
	The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday in a copyright story that
Tilton has laid off staff members, apparently closed a suite of offices
in the upscale Los Colinas area of Irving, and trimmed his purchase of
time on television stations.
	A spokesman for Tilton's ``Success-N-Life'' TV show, Don Moroso, said
the cutbacks were ``significant'' and included television production
personnel.
	``The continuing publicity of 'PrimeTime Live,' picked up by local
television outlets and newspapers like The Dallas Morning News, has
caused a negative reaction toward the ministry. And it has taken its
toll economically,'' Moroso said.
	Earlier this year, Tilton arranged to purchase the entire broadcast
day of a Dallas television station, KLDT-TV, to begin 24-hour-a-day
telecasts. However, the newspaper said the station has been without
power and off the air for three months.
	The Federal Communications Commission reportedly is also
investigating Tilton's association with KLDT-TV.
	At one time, Tilton's operation was viewed as the nation's fastest
growing television ministry, with an estimated income of $7 million,
generated in 200,000 pieces of mail a month. However, his ``Success-N-
Life'' program suffered a 39 percent drop in Arbitron ratings following
the ``PrimeTime Live'' report.
	The ABC broadcast showed prayer requests from viewers thrown into a
dumpster at the rear of the Tulsa, Okla., bank which receives
contributions from viewers. Although the minister says he prays for
viewers' requests, discarded requests were also found at a Tulsa
computer operation that answers Tilton's mail.
	Tilton filed suit agaisnt ABC a week ago in federal court in Tulsa.
His suit contents the prayer requests were ``planted...with the intent
to frame Pastor Tilton with the crime of mail fraud.''
	A consumer mail fraud investigation by Texas Attorney General Dan
Morales was thrown out in federal court earlier this year. However,
Tilton is being sued by the families of several men and women who
believed the minister's promises that their illnesses could be healed
through his prayers. Their survivors accuse Tilton of fraud and
misrepresentation.
	In the latest lawsuit, filed last week, Gary Richardson, a Tulsa
lawyer who represents seven plaintiffs, accused Tilton of editing a
made-for-television testimonial to imply that he, not God, saved a woman
from committing suicide.
	The testimonial appeared on Tilton's syndicated television shows and,
according to Richardson, ``is false, in poor taste, disgusting,
offensive and hurtful.''
41.300Priest encourages stunts of Guardian AngelsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 25 1992 20:0819
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI-Radio)
Subject: Massachusetts Fourth News in Brief [Nov 24]
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 11:35:45 PST

	(NEW YORK) - A priest in Massachusetts apparently encouraged Guardian
Angels founder Curtis Sliwa to invent heroic acts years ago to get
publicity and volunteers for his organization. Sliwa told the New York
Post that he made up six stunts and manipulated the press and the public
in the late l970s and early 80s. Silwa told the Post one bogus stunt was
encouraged by the Reverend James McNally. McNally, reached in an
UNdisclosed location in Massachusetts by the newspaper yesterday...
admitted he was in on the hoax. McNally said the concoction didn't hurt
anyone... that Sliwa did a good job and that he still believes in the
work Sliwa is doing.
41.301Researcher says some Pilgrims acted like devilsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceWed Nov 25 1992 20:0928
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Researcher says some Pilgrims acted like devils
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 11:24:18 EST

	COLLEGE STATION, Texas (UPI) -- As Americans get ready for another
Thanksgiving to pay homage to their ancestors, a researcher at Texas A&M
University has found something unsavory about some of the Pilgrims.
	John Canup, an expert on New England colonial history, said a
generation after the Pilgrims landed near Plymouth in 1620, more than a
few of the stereotypically strait-laced pioneers acted more like devils
than angels.
	Canup said the Thanksgiving fervor, partly created when President
Lincoln declared an official holiday for a nation torn by war, ``tries
to place our Pilgrims on a pedestal -- to turn them into something they
were not.''
	Canup said, ``We forget that the Pilgrims were human. Rigorous self-
discipline was an ideal for them, but they were far from prudish
Victorians.''
	The Pilgrims considered ``a strong sense of community essential,''
Canup said, a view that often led them to pry into each other's affairs.
	Canup said when one of their flock fell into sin or disobeyed the
law, he or she could be publicly humiliated, severely punished or
executed if the offense was sufficiently grave.
41.302Group home sued over prayer banCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Dec 01 1992 22:4537
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Group home sued over prayer ban
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 7:18:58 PST

	GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (UPI) -- A group home for the developmentally
disabled is being sued because it bans its residents from praying aloud
at the dinner table.
	Bonnie Silver said the ban violates her daughter's First Amendment
rights of free speech and religion.
	Silver's 30-year-old daughter, Lisa Schopper, is one of 15 residents
of the Gladiola Group Home in suburban Wyoming. Every day before dinner,
she said, her daughter would pray aloud at the table.
	``Prayer is as basic to Lori as food and water,'' Silver said.
	Now, Silver said, her daughter dreads approaching the dinner table
because she is confused over whether to obey her religious teachings or
the people who run the home.
	Silver said her daughter sometimes still prays aloud until workers
remind her of the ban.
	``In her heart, she believes she's supposed to pray, yet they're
saying she cannot,'' Silver said.
	Silver's suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids last
week, asks that the ban be repealed and seeks unspecified payment for
emotional distress.
	``If disabled people are going to be treated the same as everyone
else, they have the right to exercise their speech and religion rights
in their own home,'' said Silver's attorney, Kary Love.
	The group home is owned by Kent Client Services, a non-profit agency
that runs 10 homes in Kent County. The home receives federal funding and
must be licensed by the state.
	Agency Executive Director Ivan Wassink denied the home had banned all
prayer. He refused to comment on the case, however, except to say that
praying at the table was the issue.
41.303Ben Vereen thanks God for recoveryCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Dec 01 1992 22:4641
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Ben Vereen thanks God for recovery
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 7:39:35 PST

	CHICAGO (UPI) -- Entertainer Ben Vereen returned to his adopted church
to thank God for his recovery from serious injuries he received in a car
accident.
	``I'm just grateful to be here. I'm thankful to be here and I'm
thankful that God has once against proven himself to be miraculous,''
Vereen told the congregation Sunday at Christ Universal Temple on
Chicago's Far South Side.
	``I say when you see me, you see God in his workshop,'' he said.
	Vereen's association with the church began last year when he was in
the city for a fund-raiser for Providence St. Mel High School. He told
Midge Kimberly, who was working on the fund-raiser, he wanted to attend
a church that weekend and she took him to her church, Christ Universal.
	Vereen adopted the non-denominational institution as his Chicago
church. He has enrolled in its divinity courses and in May performed at
a fund-raising concert that brought the church $84,000.
	On June 9, Vereen was struck by a truck and critically injured while
``power walking'' before dawn on Pacific Coast Highway near the posh
Malibu Colony, Calif., where he was living while appearing in ``Silk
Stalkings.'' Vereen suffered major head and internal injuries and a
broken left leg.
	He has returned from what he called ``death's doorstep.''
	Vereen said he hobbled into a gymnasium during his first day of
rehabilitation to see quadriplegics, paraplegics, stroke victims and
gunshot victims struggling to recover.
	``I looked at the room and tears came to my eyes and I said, 'Thank
you, God, because I'm coming all the way back to tell people who you
are.'''
	The actor, the winner of seven Emmy awards, is known for playing
Chicken George in the 1977 television series ``Roots.'' Vereen talked of
making a comeback and made a passing reference to a possible performance
with actor-dancer Gregory Hines.
41.304Church could use a little good fortuneCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Dec 01 1992 22:4743
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: St. Cecilia's could use a little luck
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 8:20:23 PST

	HIALEAH, Fla. (UPI) -- If it weren't for bad luck the congregation at
St. Cecilia's Catholic Church might not have any luck at all, but
members are stubbornly determined to rebuild what robbers, rain and
Hurricane Andrew have destroyed.
	While most of Hialeah escaped Hurricane Andrew Aug. 24 with minor
damage, St. Cecilia's was flooded, the walls buckled and the roof caved
in. The city condemned the building and bulldozed it.
	A year ago flooding from torrential rains had heavily damaged the
church's old wooden foundation.
	To compound the troubles, thieves carted off art depicting the
crucifixion of Christ, and even the gold-washed crowns of the Virgin of
Fatima.
	Last week someone heisted a telephone that remained in the still-
standing parish hall, which now serves as the site of services.
	And the final insult came when a recent annual fund-raiser festival
was drowned out by rain.
	``We consider the festival the ark of Noah,'' joked Rev. Emiliano
Ordax, who Sunday offered each parishioner a sliver of wood saved from
the demolition for $5 to make money for a rebuilding project.
	The congregation is determined to move forward despite the troubles.
	The archdiocese has agreed to loan the church $1 million and members
are committed to doubling the size of the new building. Plans call for
the new St. Cecilia's to seat 500 people.
	Money raised through fund-raising will go to replace a damaged cross.
	The new church will include a room large enough for a small chapel or
music program and a daycare center for about 70 neighborhood children.
	``After all St. Cecilia is the patron of musicians,'' Ordax said.
	St. Cecilia's is in a mostly poor area where immigrants from South
and Central America settle before moving on, Ordax said.
	``Parents are looking for a very secure place for the children so
they can work in peace,'' he said.
	Gisela Valdes said she hopes the new church is finished soon.
	``I feel badly,'' Valdes said. ``We love the church. We've been going
for at least 18 years.''
41.305Bodies of U.S. nuns found in LiberiaCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceTue Dec 01 1992 22:4957
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (T. BUDU KAISA)
Subject: Bodies of U.S. nuns found in Liberia
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 14:17:05 PST

	MONROVIA, Liberia (UPI) -- Government officials Monday recovered a
body believed to be that of a Roman Catholic nun from the United States,
one of five American nuns reported killed by Liberian rebels last month,
officials said.
	The discovery of the body came just one day after authorities located
the bodies of three other American nuns and their Lebanese security
guard in the town of Gardnersville, 5 miles north of the capital,
Monrovia radio said.
	Five American nuns, all members of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ
Catholic Missionary Order in Ruma, Ill., were slain last month,
apparently by followers of guerrilla leader Charles Taylor.
	Authorities said a forensic identification of the body discovered
Monday could be available by Tuesday.
	There were conflicting reports about the identities of the bodies
discovered Sunday, and the U.S. State Department said no positive
identification would be available until the bodies were returned to the
United States and examined by forensic specialists.
	Monrovia radio indentified the nuns found Sunday as Shirley Kolmer,
61, Waterloo, Ill., her cousin Mary Joel Kolmer, 58, of Waterloo, Ill.,
Barbara Ann Muttra, 69, Springfield, Ill.
	The body found Monday in Bardsnerville, just north of Gardnersville,
was believed to be that of one of the other two nuns killed, Kathleen
McGuire, 54, Ridgway, Ill., and Agnes Muller, 62, Bartelso, Ill.,
government officials said.
	Sister Fran Schumer, a spokeswoman for the missionary order in
southwestern Illinois, said the order believed the first three bodies
found were those of Shirley Kolmer, McGuire and Muller.
	``We've received confirmation that there were three bodies found. The
exact identity cannot be confirmed until medical records can be procured
and compared,'' Schumer said.
	The nuns were killed in late October at a time of intense fighting
between troops of the Economic Community of West African States and
rebels of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia.
	Schumer said the bodies finally were found after fighting subsided in
the area. She said they would be returned to Illinois.
	``I think -- given the nature of their death -- it's very important to
have their bodies brought back here,'' Schumer said.
	The remains were turned over to the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia and were
to be flown back to the United States for more thorough identification
and forensic tests, the radio and government officials said.
	The five nuns were believed to have been killed along with two
Liberian aspirant Catholic sisters.
	The United States and the Roman Catholic Church have blamed the NPFL
guerrillas for the killings, although the rebels have denied any
responsibility.
	The ECOWAS peacekeepers have been fighting Taylor's NPFL forces, who
are apparently trying to take over the capital, for parts of the past
three years.
41.306Childhood abuse may have prompted church firesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceMon Dec 07 1992 21:5266
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Childhood abuse may have prompted church fires
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 92 14:00:56 PST

	GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UPI) -- The man accused of setting 21 church fires
in Florida and Tennessee was sexually molested by a church member as a
child, and may have acted out his resentment by torching houses of
worship, investigators said.
	Patrick Lee Frank was arrested on arson charges in November 1991. The
weekend disclosure of sexual abuse provided the first possible motive
for the fires, which caused millions of dollars in damage and destroyed
some of the churches.
	Federal and state investigators confirmed that Frank was sexually
assaulted by a church member in East Ridge, Tenn., the town where he
grew up and where some of the fires were set.
	``It didn't surprise me once the facts came to life,'' said David
Guy, an arson investigator with the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's
Office in Nashville. ``It added up. He was abused in his childhood, and
then many years later he began to take it out spitefully on churches.''
	The Rev. John Gillespie is pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church,
one of the churches in Gainesville that Frank is accused of burning.
	Gillespie said he and other church leaders have long wondered why
their churches were targets of an arsonist.
	``Part of me was wanting him to be completely crazy in hopes there
could be no rational reason for his attacking churches,'' Gillespie
said.
	Guy said that when investigators talked with Frank's family and
friends, they learned that someone connected to an East Ridge church
sexually assaulted Frank on several occasions.
	Guy would not say who molested Frank, how the person was connected to
the church or whether it was one of the churches that Frank is accused
of burning.
	``It is unknown whether the assaults took place in the church,'' Guy
said. ``Back when Patrick was a youth, these things were not brought
out. There was no means for him to vent his frustrations, no one for him
to talk to.''
	Guy said investigators tried to piece together Frank's past, learning
that he had a troubled life, came from a family with alcohol problems
and later abused alcohol himself.
	``The fact that he was abused, later got involved with alcohol, had a
bad marriage, may have all culminated in his setting these fires,'' Guy
said.
	Tom Miller, a federal assistant public defender who will represent
Frank in his trial, set for Dec. 14 in Gainesville, said he was unaware
of the sexual abuse allegations.
	``I'll have to dig into that a little bit further,'' Miller said.
	Frank, diagnosed as schizophrenic by court-appointed doctors, suffers
from a variety of mental problems, records show. He has spent the past
several months at the federal Bureau of Prison's hospital in
Springfield, Mo.
	Miller said he plans to use insanity as a defense in Frank's trial.
	Frank is accused of setting fires in 17 north Florida churches and
four in Tennessee churches.
	Bruce Snyder, Miami spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, declined to comment on a possible motive for the
fires.
	Snyder also declined to discuss an October public information seminar
in Orlando, at which he told state firefighters and police spokesmen
that Frank was sexually abused by a church member as a child.
	Officials who attended the session quoted Snyder as saying that such
abuse might have triggered Frank's desire to burn places of worship.
41.307Spanish catechism outsells MadonnaCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceFri Dec 18 1992 21:3041
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (GILES TREMLETT)
Subject: Catholic catechism sells out, outsells Madonna
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 92 11:14:59 PST

	MADRID, Spain (UPI) -- Spanish booksellers had a hit on their hands
Friday as the new Roman Catholic catechism sold out in shops across the
country on its first full day of sales.
	``I know it has been sold out in a lot of places. We have 70 left of
the 500 that we put out yesterday at mid-day,'' a spokesman for Madrid's
largest bookstore, Espasa Calpe, said two hours before closing.
	``It's certainly selling better than Madonna's recent book. This is a
different category altogether,'' he said, referring to ``Sex,'' a book
of photos showing the pop superstar in a variety of kinky poses.
	Spanish radio RNE reported almost the full 100,000 copies of the
catechism printed for Thursday's launch had been sold and that the
editors were now preparing a further run of 100,000 very soon.
	The Spanish translation of the new catechism, 706 pages thick and
costing $18 a copy, was presented Thursday by the country's senior Roman
Catholic clergy.
	``The new catechism answers all those fundamental questions that
people are now asking themselves,'' explained Cardinal Angel Suquia. 
``It guides personal, institutional and social behavior.''
	``This is to be read with concentration, with the television and
radio turned off,'' advised another clergyman, Monsenor Jose Manuel
Estepa. He said one-quarter of the catechism was devoted to morality.
	The new catechism provides advice on ``modern'' moral issues as
diverse as business dealings and the death penalty, church leaders said.
	The Spanish translation was prepared by a team of theologians and
priests including Suquia and prelates from Argentina and Chile. It is
published by a consortium of 23 publishers.
	The catechism was officially presented by Pope John Paul II in Rome
on Dec. 7. It is considered to be the most important text produced since
he became pope.
	The Holy See has reserved the copyright on the document and part of
the money raised from the Spanish edition will go to help Spanish-
speaking countries, Estepa said.
41.308Millions celebrate day of Virgin of GuadalupeCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceFri Dec 18 1992 21:3124
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Millions celebrate day of the Virgin of Guadalupe
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 15:17:35 PST

	MEXICO CITY (UPI) -- Millions of Roman Catholics Saturday celebrated
the anniversary of the legendary 16th-century appearance of the Virgin
of Guadalupe to an indigenous Mexican.
	Local media reports said more than 2 million believers descended on
the famous site in the north of the Mexican capital, where the Virgin
Mary is said to have appeared in a vision to Juan Diego on the summit of
Tepeyac hill on Dec. 12, 1531.
	Three shrines have been set up on the site to pay homage to the
patron saint of the Spanish-speaking world. The Virgin of Guadalupe
supposedly told Diego to build a church in her honor.
	The festivities began late Friday when thousands of pilgrims arrived
at the site with flower and fruit offerings. Many arrived barefoot or on
their knees as an act of devotion.
	On Saturday, there was a series of masses and celebrations at the
main basilica on the site.
41.309Suspect seen repeatedly near burned churchesCSC32::J_CHRISTIEStrength through peaceFri Dec 18 1992 21:3465
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (JEAN FEINGOLD)
Subject: Suspect was seen repeatedly near burned churches
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 13:34:50 PST

	GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UPI) -- Witness after witness reported Wednesday
seeing arson suspect Patrick Lee Frank at churches just before or after
they were torched.
	Frank, a 42-year-old drifter, is on trial in Gainesville federal
court on 10 counts of arson stemming from fires in 15 north Florida
churches in 1991. He waived his right to a jury trial, and U.S. District
Maurice Paul will return the verdict.
	Frank's federal public defender, Tom Miller, opted to wait until the
prosecution finishes presenting its evidence to give his opening
statement. He will try to prove that Frank, a diagnosed schizophrenic,
is innocent by reason of insanity.
	The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerome Sanford, called more
than a dozen witnesses Wednesday to establish that Frank was at the
scene of the fires.
	Several police officers testified they picked up Frank as he hitch-
hiked illegally on north Florida highways, loitered illegally or
committed acts of vandalism against parked cars.
	Each time, the officers ran a check for oustanding warrants through
the National Crime Information Center computer.
	The computer records helped put Frank at the arson scenes, as did
Western Union records showing where and when his family forwarded the
$400 Frank receives each month in disability benefits from Social
Security.
	Gainesville resident Catherine Walton testified that she was on her
way to work when she saw Frank walking near the Holy Trinity Episcopal
Church on Jan. 21, 1991.
	``I saw a man walking slowly backward...paying close attention to the
church,'' Walton said.
	She thought his bahavior odd and watched him for several minutes.
When Walton arrived at her office and learned firefighters were trying
to extinguish a blaze that caused $2.8 million in damage at Holy
Trinity, she called CrimeTrackers and reported what she had seen.
	Walter later identified Frank in a photo lineup, and confirmed the
identification in court Wednesday.
	Janitor James Coleman, who also works at North Central Baptist, said
Frank appeared to be the vagrant he saw that day near the storage room
where the fire began, though he was ``not 100 percent certain.''
	The North Central Baptist fire caused $63,000 in damage.
	Duane Diehl, who previously worked as a fire investigator for the
Gainesville fire-rescue office, said he inteviewed Frank on Jan. 22,
1991. Police had picked him up for questioning after receiving several
calls about a vagrant seen in the fire area.
	Diehl said Frank seemed calm at first. But when asked about the fire,
he started pulling at his face and became irrational, Diehl said. Still,
there was not enough evidence to hold him, so police photographed Frank
and released him.
	Frank faces trial later on additional charges of burning churches in
his home town of East Ridge, Tenn.
	Prosecutors also offered testimony showing why Frank is being
prosecuted in federal court rather than state court. Pastors at some of
the churches Frank is accused of burning testified that their churches
are part of national organizations, that they distribute literature
across state lines and that they buy supplies from out of state.
	If Frank is convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as 100 years
in prison. If he is found not guilty by reason of insanity, Paul could
sentence him indefinitely to a federal prison mental hospital.
41.310COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Dec 23 1992 10:325
    
    a Filipino Christian missionary is scheduled to be executed in Saudi
    Arabia on Christmas Day.
    
    he was charged with preaching the gospel.
41.311COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Dec 23 1992 15:1220
>    a Filipino Christian missionary is scheduled to be executed in Saudi
>    Arabia on Christmas Day.
>    
>    he was charged with preaching the gospel.

>Is anyone doing anything practical. Like voicing a protest to our
>government?  -- Mary Matejka (Internet)

Mary, I'm glad you wrote this.  It moved me to get more details on the
story in preparation for making some phone calls to the State Department,
and possibly to the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Fortunately, I found out that it won't be necessary.  The Philippine
Embassy informs me that the Philippine government was able to successfully
negotiate the release of the Philippine missionaries, who will be deported
to the Philippines within the next few days.  I am also informed that the
reports carried on a number of major radio and TV networks that one of them
had been sentenced to death were incorrect.

/john
41.312Mother Teresa says abortion 'nothing short of killing'CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorMon Jan 04 1993 20:1822
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Mother Teresa says abortion 'nothing short of killing'
Date: 27 Dec 92 17:52:51 GMT

	CALCUTTA, India (UPI) -- Mother Teresa, Calcutta's ``saint of the
gutters,'' urged doctors Sunday to discourage abortion, calling it 
``nothing short of killing.''
	The 82-year-old Roman Catholic nun, who won the 1979 Nobel Peace
Prize for her work among Calcutta's poor, appealed to doctors to 
``encourage the mother to love the gift of God.''
	The appeal came in an address to a conference of surgeons in
Calcutta, India's most populous city and capital of communist-ruled West
Bengal state.
	India, the world's second most populous nation after China, permits
free abortion, including at state-owned hospitals, and currently is
considering introducing the French RU 486 pill. The RU 486 is a non-
surgical alternative to termination of early pregnancies.
41.313Archeologists believe they've found Herod's palaceCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorMon Jan 04 1993 20:1933
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Archaeologists believe they have found King Herod's palace
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 92 8:59:07 PST

	CINCINNATI (UPI) -- Ancient pottery found 50 miles north of Tel Aviv,
Israel, helps confirm the site once was a grand palace built by King
Herod the Great, a University of Cincinnati archeologist says.
	Barbara Burrell, a university research associate and assistant
professor of classics who is the on-site field director at the
excavation, said the pottery was found in an area thought to have been
the main staircase at the palace.
	Herod the Great is known from biblical accounts about the birth and
the early years of Jesus Christ as the one who ordered the slaughter of
male children in and around Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate the
prophesised ``King of the Jews.''
	The pottery found at the palace dig dates from the reign of Herod,
who ruled ancient Judea from 37 B.C. until his death during the early
years of Christ.
	She said the excavation site is at Caesarea, an artifical harbor
Herod built on the coast of Israel.
	``Herod was the only one who could build a palace in the city he
founded,'' Burrell said. ``If the pottery belongs to his reign, he built
the palace.''
	She said the team at Caesarea has uncovered a mosaic-floored room
overlooking what was a 115-foot freshwater pool -- a source of fresh
water was discovered this summer beneath the pool.
	The room and pool are carved into a rock extending a few feet into
the Mediterranean Sea.
41.314Ancient eight-sided church found near JerusalemCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorMon Jan 04 1993 20:2433
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Ancient eight-sided church found near Jerusalem
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 11:16:34 PST

	JERUSALEM (UPI) -- Israeli archeologists have uncovered a fifth-
century church outside Jerusalem that early Christian leaders may have
built to mark what they believed was the site where Mary rested while en
route to Bethlehem where she gave birth to Jesus, officials said
Wednesday.
	Known as ``The Ancient Seat,'' the structure is the largest of three
rare eight-sided churches discovered in Israel. The shrine's mosaic
floor is decorated with stones imported from Italy and set in elaborate
geometric and floral designs.
	``The church is one of the most impressive of its type yet discovered
in Israel or abroad,'' said spokeswoman Efrat Orbach.
	According to Christian tradition, Mary traveled from Jerusalem to
Bethlehem during her pregnancy with Jesus and stopped for a rest after 3
miles. She blessed the rock on which she sat.
	Christian texts also tell of a church named the ``Ancient Seat,''
built in the fifth century A.D. with a donation from a rich woman named
Iqilia to commemorate Mary's rest stop.
	Efforts to excavate the site began in earnest after Israeli
authorities announced plans to build a highway at the southern entrance
to Jerusalem. The discovery confirms that the same route connected
Bethlehem and Jerusalem in the fifth century.
	The church's eight-sided shape is the same as that of the seventh-
century Dome of the Rock, which sits atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
and is the Muslim world's third holiest shrine.
41.315"Seek God,""Repent" and "Stop Evil"CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorFri Jan 08 1993 15:5655
The following are excepts from a newpaper article which appeared in yesterday's
local paper.

Richard
================================================================================
Bizarre details of attack on therapist puzzle police
----------------------------------------------------
Relgious slogan spray-painted on walls

Louis Aguilar
Gazette Telegraph

	A psychotherapist has reported that she was attacked in her office
Saturday by an assailant who spray painted religious slogans on the walls
and jabbed a civil liberties newsletter onto a door with a knife.

	The 48-year-old woman, Ruth Williams of Black Forest, said she was
knocked out and tear-gassed and her office.....ransacked at about 6:30 that
morning.  She was treated at Penrose Hospital for head trauma and an eye
injury, a hospital spokeswoman said.

	.....

	The psychotherapist said in an interview that she routinely goes to
her office early on Saturdays to catch up on paperwork.  On this particular
Saturday, she had been in the office for about 10 minutes when someone
came up from behind and hit her over the head with a vase.  She speculates
that her assailant may have entered through an unlocked back door; police
found no signs of forced entry.

	When Williams regained consciousness, she was lying on the floor
with a pepper-type tear gas sprayed in her eyes and in her shoes, she told
police.

	There was a minor scratch in the shape of a cross on the back of
her left hand, and a similar shape had been cut into the back of her jacket
and blouse, WIlliams said.

	Preliminary police reports don't mention either the scratch or the
cross cut into the clothes, but the victim's sister, Dorothy Williams, said
the scratch was "so minor" that it may have been overlooked by police and
the hospital.....

	Police spokesman Sgt. David Moore said Wednesday it is not uncommon
for victims toleave out details of a crime in the initial interview with
police.  "It's just very sketchy right now," Moore said.  "We definately
need to reinterview her."

	The police report does indicate the office had been ransacked, with
bookshelves, a plant and furniture overturned.  On a wall and two door were
foot-tall phrases in red spray paint: "Seek God,""Repent" and "Stop Evil."

	Stuck to an interior door by a kitchen knife was a copy of the
Freedom Watch newsltter.  The newsletter is produced by Citizens Project,
a group formed to monitor the religious right in this city.
41.316Catholic bishop joins anti-abortion protestersCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorMon Jan 11 1993 19:1338
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Catholic bishop joins anti-abortion protesters
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 93 9:15:41 PST

	DALLAS (UPI) -- The bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Dallas,
Charles Grahmann, joined other protesters Saturday to picket the home of
a physician believed to perform abortions.
	Dr. Norman Tompkins, an obstetrician and gynecologist who practices
at Presbyterian Hospital and has offices there, has been the object of
protests by the Dallas Pro-Life Action Network since October.
	The group is associated with a national network which places pressure
on doctors and their families, hoping the physicians will stop
performing abortions. The activists picket and telephone the doctors'
offices and homes and sometimes follow them and members of their
families.
	Dallas Pro-Life president Tom Cyr said Grahmann has been
participating in the group's protests at abortion clinics and hospitals
for about two years, but this was the first time he has taken part in an
activity at a doctor's home.
	The Rev. Edward Robinson, the coordinator of anti-abortion activities
for the Dallas diocese, had said Friday that Grahmann would briefly join
the 100 activists expected for the 8 a.m. gathering, adding ``He is just
going to recite the rosary.''
	However, cold and rainy weather apparently diminished the size of the
turnout. Witnesses said Grahmann joined only a dozen or so people at the
doctor's home.
	Janie Bush of the abortion rights group CHOICE characterized the
bishop's participation as a public demonstration of the church's
involvement in ``terroristic tactics.''
	On learning Grahmann would join the protest, Bush said, ``Stalking a
physician, following him, using binoculars to stare into his home on a
regular basis -- and now the bishop is coming to pray the rosary with the
people doing this.''
41.317Austria facing showdown on foreignersCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorMon Jan 11 1993 19:1466
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Austria facing showdown on foreigners
Date: 10 Jan 93 18:47:27 GMT

	VIENNA (UPI) -- Austria moved a step closer Sunday to a showdown on
foreigners as the Roman Catholic Church handed out 650,000 flyers urging
greater sympathy and the right-wing Freedom Party kicked off a campaign
to further tighten immigration laws.
	Catholic priests nationwide called on churchgoers to choose a life 
``with each other'' rather than one ``against each other,'' starting a
campaign of rock concerts, candle-lit demonstrations and public
discussions designed to defuse growing xenophobia.
	Catholic Action Austria, or KAO, the church's social action group,
handed out pamphlets to people after masses Sunday throughout the
country. The pamphlets presented 10 arguments thought to counterbalance
the 12 demands of the Freedom Party's anti-foreigner ``Austria First''
campaign.
	At the opening event of its campaign, Freedom Party leader Joerg
Haider called on Austrians to support the FPO's 12 demands by signing
the ``Austria First'' petition.
	``People who always stood for this land...they have the right to
decide also in future who to which extent may immigrate and settle in
this country,'' Haider told an enthusiastic crowd packed Sunday into a
conference hall in Graz, 120 miles south of Vienna.
	``This is our basic right of home, which we will defend with this
campaign,'' he said.
	Haider criticized Austrian President Thomas Klestil, saying he should
not always listen to the political left.
	Klestil earlier this month said anybody who deliberately promoted
fear in the discussion of foreigners acted against the interests of
Austria and its citizens.
	Worries about a flood of foreigners from the poorer countries of once
Communist Eastern Europe have forced the foreigner issue to the top of
the political agenda in Austria.
	Many Austrians cast a wary eye to neighboring Germany, where neo-
Nazis have repeatedly attacked and killed asylum seekers and immigrants.
	Although the number of asylum seekers fell sharply last year to 16,
238, government authorities said they were concerned about the growing
number of immigrants who work illegally in Austria.
	During a routine truck inspection Tuesday at the Hungarian border,
customs officers found 27 Turkish men in their 20s hidden among oranges
as they tried to enter the country illegally.
	But although a new foreigners law already has given police additional
powers to deal with illegal immigrants and has extended the
circumstances under which they may be deported, Haider is determined to
push for more restrictions.
	The Freedom Party, the third-largest political party in Austria,
wants to muster support for a national petition with which it hopes to
force further changes through parliament.
	Haider's opponents have brought together an alliance of leading
politicians, intellectuals, entertainers and church representatives
determined to prevent what they call counterproductive emotionalizing of
a sensitive issue.
	Led by showman Andre Heller, the group has been gathering evidence to
show the contributions foreign workers make to the social security
system exceed the benefits they receive.
	And the pro-foreigner lobby has tried to dismiss Haider's suggestions
that illegal immigrants are responsible for rising crime statistics.
	With about 512,000 legal foreigners and an additional estimated 50,
000 Yugoslav refugees in a country of 7.8 million people, the ``Austrian
boat by far is not full,'' the campaigners said in their publications.
41.318Falwell says Clinton platform will 'guarantee upheaval'CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPeace WarriorMon Jan 11 1993 19:1635
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From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Falwell says Clinton platform will 'guarantee upheaval'
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 6:29:07 PST

	DALLAS (UPI) -- The Rev. Jerry Falwell said between sermons in Dallas
Sunday that if President-elect Bill Clinton's platform is enacted, he
will ``guarantee upheaval'' in the United States.
	The former leader of the Moral Majority said, ``If he does some of
the things he's talking about, he'll blow the dome off the Capitol.''
Falwell preached two sermons at the First Baptist Church of Dallas and
performed a wedding over the weekend.
	Like Falwell, Clinton is a Baptist.
	Falwell said that after attending the last three inaugurations, he
doesn't plan on being in the nation's capital Jan. 20 for the swearing
in of Clinton, whom he rates ``below Michael Dukakis in competence.''
	As Falwell preached, two school busses parked near the church were
painted with slogans that read ``Rev. J. Falwell, a Baptist preacher, is
anti-Christ and a liar.''
	But the 59-year-old Falwell joked from the pulpit, ``When we can't
find a demonstrator, we usually find a rent-a-kook agency and hire some.
''
	In his sermons and during an interview with The Dallas Morning News,
Falwell, wearing a lapel pin that read ``Jesus First,'' chastised
Clinton's support for federal legislation protecting abortion rights and
blasted his call to lift the ban on gays in the military.
	Falwell said Clinton's policies would rejuvenate causes like the
Moral Majority, a conservative movement he founded in 1979. The group
ceased operations after 10 years, claiming to have achieved its goals.
He said, ``If Clinton enacts his platform, he is going to guarantee
upheaval in this country.''
41.319Fr. Carleton's jail sentence increased from 6 mos to 2 1/2 yrsCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Jan 14 1993 16:4048
Here's more on Fr. Carleton; a press release written by Norris@athena.mit.edu

Subject: Judge increases priest's sentence; Fr. Carleton begins fast
Date: January 13, 1993

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- A Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to 2 1/2
years in prison for blocking the entrance to an abortion facility.
Today, in a surprise move, Judge Wendy Gershengorn imposed the maximum
sentence on the Rev. R. Thomas Carleton, convicted in December of
violating an injunction.

In a written statement released after Fr. Carleton was taken into
custody, the priest stated that he is beginning a 30-day fast, taking
only water.  During that time, his prayer intention will be for the
lives of unborn children endangered by abortion.

At Fr. Carleton's trial in December, Judge Gershengorn had suspended
all but 6 months of the prison term, and imposed a 3-year probation.
But in court on Wednesday, the judge demanded that the priest agree to
an unusual list of probation promises, prior to his final sentencing.
The promises would have forbidden him to participate in any pro-life
activity, to have any contact with rescuers, or to go to any abortion
mills, even to pray there.  Fr. Carleton refused to agree; at this,
the judge imposed the maximum sentence and ended the hearing.

The charges against the priest arose from a rescue action in July
1992, when he and several other participants parked a van on the
sidewalk in front of the "Gynecare" abortion facility in downtown
Boston, disabled the van, and locked themselves together to the frame
of the vehicle.

Present for the sentencing today was the Brazilian pro-life leader
Msgr. Ney de Sa Earp, currently in the US to visit imprisoned
rescuers.  Praising Father Carleton's witness, he said, "the pro-life
prisoners are doing a lot for the faith of people, even around the
world."

Fr. Carleton, 46, is a member of the religious order "Pro Fratribus",
founded by the Czech-born Bp. Pavel Hnilica, now an auxiliary bishop
in Rome.  Until his sentencing, Rev. Carleton resided with his elderly
parents in Arlington, Massachusetts.

While on a pilgrimage in Italy, he participated in the first rescue in
that country, by taking part in a sit-in at a Bologna hospital's
abortion clinic.

It is not yet determined where Fr. Carleton will be housed during his
confinement.
41.320Injunction against Amendment #2CSC32::KINSELLAit's just a wheen o' blethersFri Jan 15 1993 22:0312
    
    Don't have alot of details, but an injunction has been put up 
    against Admentment #2 going into effect in Colorado.  
    
    The judge has stated that two things must be proved for him
    to stop it:
    
    1) That Amendment #2 is unconstitutional, and
    2) That it is necessary.
    
    The lines are drawn.  Should be interesting.
    
41.321God by fax?CSC32::J_CHRISTIECelebrate DiversityTue Jan 26 1993 18:0125
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    employees.

	JERUSALEM (UPI) -- God by fax?
	It was probably inevitable that someone would try to exploit
Jerusalem's prime location and offer to dispatch messages to the
Almighty with state-of-the-art technology.
	That's what Israel's telephone company did Wednesday.
	For the price of a call, Bezek workers will take faxed prayers,
blessings and heartfelt wishes and tuck them inside the many cracks of
the Western Wall, revered by Jews as the holiest place on Earth.
	The towering stone wall in Jerusalem's Old City, a remnant of the
Great Temple destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, is already crammed with
thousands of pieces of paper scrawled with visitors' deepest sentiments.
Many Jews believe God reads the messages and makes them come true.
	``If you want to put a note in the 'Kotel' (Western Wall) but can't
go there yourself, we'll do it for you,'' said Danny Ezer, a Bezek
spokesman.
	He said the AT&T and MCI telephone networks in the United States have
expressed interest in promoting the service abroad.
                               ------
	The fax number, including the international and city codes for Israel
and Jerusalem, is 972-2-612222.
41.322New light on assassination of Archbishop RomeroCSC32::J_CHRISTIECelebrate DiversityTue Jan 26 1993 18:0246
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	SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (UPI) -- The Catholic Church said Sunday an
imminent report on human rights abuses in El Salvador will shed new
light on the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero.
	Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez said new revelations about the slaying
would come from the U.N.-appointed Truth Commission, which is due to
publish its report on human rights abuses in the Central American nation
next month.
	``Undoubtedly we will know more about this than has come out up to
now,'' Rosa Chavez said in reference to the death of Romero, who was
shot through the heart while delivering mass in San Salvador.
	The Truth Commission was set up under last year's peace accord
between the government and guerrillas, which ended 12 years of war that
claimed an estimated 75,000 lives.
	Speaking to reporters after delivering a sermon in San Salvador
Sunday morning, Rosa Chavez said Romero's shooting ``is the most
important case that they (the commission) must deal with.''
	Former U.S. Ambassador Robert White and El Salvador's late ex-
President Jose Napoleon Duarte both accused right-wing political leaders
of masterminding the assassination. But the case -- like most political
killings that occurred during the bloody war -- has never gone to court.
	The Truth Commission's report is expected to review hundreds of cases
of alleged human rights abuses, illustrate patterns of violence by both
the U.S.-supported government and leftist rebels, recommend prosecution
where necessary and suggest changes in the legal system to prevent
future abuses.
	``The truth hurts, but it is a condition of peace,'' Rosa Chavez
said, noting that leaders of both the Salvadoran armed forces and the
leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, will be
cited in the report for abuses. ``It is important to know (the truth) so
that history does not repeat itself.''
	El Salvador's civil war ended formally on Dec. 15 after the FMLN
finished transforming its guerrilla army into a political party in
exchange for a series of reforms to the country's democratic
institutions.
	Rosa Chavez said the peace process has moved El Salvador toward
democracy, but he expressed reservations over President Alfredo
Cristiani's failure to complete a purge of senior military officers
mandated in the peace accord.
	The peace process ``is passing through turbulent waters,'' the cleric
said. ``Despite the difficulties, it is important to comply with (the
reforms) so that the future will be different.''
41.323Theologian anticipates need for women and married men as priestsCSC32::J_CHRISTIECelebrate DiversityMon Feb 01 1993 21:4636
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    employees.

	DAYTON, Ohio (UPI) -- An award-winning Catholic theologian says the
Catholic church, faced with a growing priest shortage, can no longer
evade the controversial issue of the ordination of women and married
men.
	Monika Hellwig, a professor of theology at Georgetown University for
the past 25 years, also predicted that responsibilities for lay people
will continue to grow in the next 25 years because of that shortage.
	``It's just banging on the door,'' said Hellwig, who was honored by
the University of Dayton Thursday with its Marianist Award to recognize
her contributions to the Catholic intellectual tradition.
	``I have the sense that the ordination of women is going to come, but
it's going to come slowly,'' she said. ``I don't think it's going to
come in this pontificate because John Paul II has said so dogmatically
that he doesn't see the possibility. The expansion of married priests is
probably going to move quietly but steadily.''
	She also predicted that Catholics will see the expansion of lay
pastors, people who take care of the parishes, even though they are not
ordained and don't exercise sacramental ministry.
	The responsibilities of priests will shift in response.
	``Over the centuries, we've bundled together a rather large
collection of ministries that don't necessarily need to be concentrated
in one person,'' she said.
	Born in Silesia, Hellwig fled during the Nazi regime to the
Netherlands in 1936 and later attended a boarding school in Scotland.
She earned a law degree from the University of Liverpool and a master's
in theology from the Catholic University of America.
	Hellwig is former president of the Catholic Theological Society of
America.
	The University of Dayton is one of three universities in the country
founded by the Marianists, a Roman Catholic order of brothers and
priests.
41.324ZaireSDSVAX::SWEENEYPatrick Sweeney in New YorkFri Feb 26 1993 19:4546
41.325SenegalSDSVAX::SWEENEYPatrick Sweeney in New YorkFri Feb 26 1993 19:4636
41.326CSC32::J_CHRISTIERise Again!Mon Mar 01 1993 19:103
    WACO, Texas - U.S. agents stormed an apocalyptic cult's compound to
    arrest its leader but ran into a barrage of gunfire that killed four
    agents and wounded at least 14, authorities said.
41.327More on the events in WacoCSC32::J_CHRISTIERise Again!Mon Mar 01 1993 20:03129
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)

	WACO, Texas (UPI) -- Two gunfights about nine hours apart on a
religious cult's heavily-fortified farm compound in central Texas left
at least five people dead and 15 wounded as federal agents attempted to
serve a warrant on a firearms charge, authorities said.
	Four agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms died
Sunday after arriving at hospitals in Waco, 10 miles from the scene of
the first bloody shootout about 9:30 a.m. CST, officials said.
	Those killed in the attack were: Steve Willis, 32, of Houston; Robert
J. Williams, 26, Little Rock, Ark.; Conway LeBleu, 30, New Orleans; and
Todd McKeehan, 28, New Orleans.
	Seven of the wounded were hospitalized, some in serious condition
from wounds apparently inflicted by large caliber weapons, authorities
said. At least one agent was listed in critical condition. Eight other
agents were treated and released.
	The second gunfight occurred about 6 p.m. CST, said ATF spokesman Les
Standford in the agency's Washington headquarters.
	``Three armed members from inside the compound came out shooting. One
was killed, one was wounded and is possibly dead - we can't get to him,
and one is in custody,'' Stanford said.
	Stanford said details on the second shootout were not immediately
available.
	He confirmed, however, that at least one ATF agent was hit by gunfire
from a 50-caliber machinegun, which is a large caliber military weapon
used against tanks, troops and aircraft.
	ATF Special Agent in Charge Ted Royster of Dallas told a news
conference there were reports of injuries inside the compound, but no
one inside had requested medical attention. Negotiations continued
throughout the night.
	``We want to bring the situation to an end. There are ongoing
negotiations between negotiators and Mr. Koresh (the leader). We want to
get his people out of there first. We have constant telephone contact.''
	Royster said there were 70 to 75 people in the compound. About 30 are
males, eight are juveniles, the rest are females.
	ATF asked Dallas radio station KRLD to broadcast a statement so it
could be heard in the compound. It read, ``ATF will not initiate any
aggressive action. Negotiations are going on and both parties are
seeking a peaceful resolution of the situation.''
	Royster said ATF had been investigating the cult for nearly eight
months and the raid had been planned for weeks. He said gunfire erupted
before agents could make any verbal contact with those inside.
	``We practiced for it. They drilled over and over again, and we had
our plan down... we had a diversion down. All went into effect, and they
were waiting,'' he said.
	``We know of them buying firearms, and we have heard of explosives at
the compound,'' ATF spokesman Tom Hill said in Washington. ``We went out
there to serve the warrant and look for the devices.''
	The warrant named Vernon Howell, who also uses the name David Koresh,
according to Royster. He is the 33-year-old charismatic leader of the 75
so-called Branch Davidians who live in the 77-acre Mount Carmel
compound.
	In a telephone interview with CNN, Howell said he was ``shot in
several places.'' Asked how he was feeling, Howell said: ``Weakening.''
Several times during the interview, his voice broke and his breathing
was labored.
	He said he had given authorities a message to be broadcast over an
area radio station. ``''We'll send two children out every time they play
the message,`` Howell said. ''I'll send two children out every time
until they're all gone.``
	By early Monday morning six children had been released by Howell.
	Asked if his followers inside the compound were well armed, Howell
said, ``Yeah, we're heavily armed.'' He declined to reveal any details
of weapons inside the compound.
	The siege began when 150 to 200 federal, state and local law officers
arrived to serve the warrant and look for illegal firearms or explosive
devices at the fortress-like compound equipped with a watch tower.
	When the officers arrived, backed up by three helicopters, they were
met with immediate gunfire, Royster said. Officers dressed in bullet-
proof vests and carrying shields stormed the compound and a 30-minute
gunfight broke out.
	Royster said after the initial gunfight, a ceasefire was negotiated
with Howell to allow the ATF to remove its wounded from the
headquarters. 
	Heavily-armed ATF agents picked up and carried their wounded from the
compound. Some of the injured were placed atop the hoods of ATF vehicles
for transport to where helicopters could airlift them to Waco hospitals.
	Two of the helicopters were hit by gunfire, Royster said, apparently
from a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle.
	Dramatic KWTX-TV videotape showed one ATF officer lying on the roof
next to a window after two other officers had gone inside. A torrent of
gunfire ripped through the wall and he rolled down the roof to a ladder
to escape.
	KWTX-TV reporter John McLemore, who witnessed the firefight with a
camerman, said he used his vehicle to transport three wounded federal
agents from the scene of the bloody battle after officers yelled for
help.
	``Somebody yelled 'Hey, television get an ambulance.' I ran back to
the truck, and then I heard a couple of shots hit the truck. I called my
news director and told him we need every ambulance you can get out here,
'' he said.
	The cult moved to the Waco area many years ago and came to public
attention this weekend with a copyright series published in the The Waco
Tribune-Herald.
	The cult, estimated at about 75 members male and female, is awaiting
the end of the world, the newspaper reported. Howell, the latest leader
of the cult that moved from Los Angeles in 1935, claims to be Christ.
	Former members of the cult told the Tribune-Herald that Howell abuses
both adult and child members of the cult and claims at least 15 wives.
Howell denies these charges, saying he has had only two children. 
	The Branch Davidians is an old off-shoot of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church, but the Seventh-Day Adventist Church strongly denies any
connection with Howell's group which was founded in 1934 by Victor
Houteff.
	At Fort Worth, a spokesman for the Seventh Day Adventist Church said
they have no connection with Howell's group and deplore what happened
near Waco.
	Cyrill Miller, president of the church's southwest region, said, 
``There are absolutely no connections whatsoever with the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church -- never have been and never will be.''
	Local welfare workers visited the cult's compound at least twice last
year to talk to the children there, former cult members told the
Tribune-Herald. Juvenile officils refused to discuss details of their
investigation.
	Howell and his followers believe he is the lamb referred to in the
Bible's book of Revelation, the newspaper said. His followers say he
alone can open the so-called Seven Seals, setting loose events that the
Branch Davidians believe will end mankind and propel Howell and his
followers into heaven.
	Howell told the Tribune-Herald, ``If the Bible is true, then I'm
Christ. But so what? Look at 2,000 years ago. What's so great about
being Christ? A man nailed to the cross. A man of sorrow acquainted with
grief. You know, being Christ ain't nothing. Know what I mean? ... If
the Bible is true, I'm Christ. If the Bible is true. But all I want out
of this is for people to be honest this time.''
	The cult was founded in Los Angeles when Houteff left the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church because his interpretation of the book of Revelation
disagreed with the church's view. It has had several leaders and
divisions since Houteff's death in 1955.
41.328Cultists believe leader can open seventh sealCSC32::J_CHRISTIERise Again!Mon Mar 01 1993 20:0454
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)

	WACO, Texas (UPI) -- Members of the Branch Davidian sect believe their
leader, David Koresh, is Christ and has the God-given authority to open
the Seven Seals described in the book of Revelation.
	During interviews that followed Sunday's gunbattle with federal
agents, Koresh made repeated references to the Seven Seals, which
describe mayhem and a catastrophic end to the earth.
	Revelation, believed to have been written by St. John the Divine,
describes a vision in which the Lamb of God opens the seals on a scroll.
	According to Reformed Dogmatics, a book by Herman Hoeksema, John sees
a white horse when the first seal is opened. The horse represents the
progress of the kingdom of God through the preaching of the gospel.
	With the second seal, John sees a red horse, which signifies war and
political strife.
	The third seal reveals a black horse with a rider holding a pair of
scales, symbolizing the difference between scarcity and luxury in the
social world.
	When he opens the fourth seal, John sees a pale horse representing
all forms of death from homicide and suicide to fires and epidemics.
	The fifth seal reveals those slain for the word of God crying for the
speedy coming of the final judgment.
	The opening of the sixth seal triggers the physicial breakdown of the
universe.
	With the opening of the seventh seal, seven angels appear before God
with seven trumpets, which leads to the opening of seven vials that
constitute the wrath of God on earth.
	Dr. Charles Wood, professor of theology at Southern Methodist
University, said Monday that Revelation is often the basis of cults like
the Davidians.
	Wood said, ``It is a book that is quite attractive to a number of
sects and cults because it is so mysterious, and lends itself to so many
strange interpretations. People can hit upon an odder reference and
invent an entire religion.''
	The sect was formed at Los Angeles in 1934 by Victor Houteff after a
dispute with the Seventh-day Adventist Church over the interpretation of
Revelation.
	The cult moved to the Waco area in 1935 and came to public attention
this weekend with a copyright series published in the The Waco Tribune-
Herald.
	The cult is awaiting the end of the world, the newspaper series said.
Howell, the latest leader of the cult that moved from Los Angeles in
1935, claims to be Christ. He assumed leadership in the mid 1980's.
	Former members told the newspaper that Howell abuses both adult and
child members and claims at least 15 wives. Howell confessed in Sunday
interviews that he is a polygamist and has many children, but denied
abusing children.
	The Seventh-day Adventist Church strongly denies any connection with
Howell's group.
	At Fort Worth, Seventh-day Adventist Church spokesman Cyrill Miller
said they have no connection with Howell's group and deplore what
happened.
	``There are absolutely no connections whatsoever with the Seventh-day
Adventist Church -- never have been and never will be,'' he said.
41.329Dem Branch DavidiansCSC32::J_CHRISTIERise Again!Fri Mar 05 1993 19:3395
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    RTw  03/03 1553  CULT LEADER WAITING FOR DIVINE MESSAGE By Tabassum
    Zakaria

    WACO, Texas, March 3, Reuter - The besieged leader of a religious cult
    locked in a four-day standoff with a small army of federal agents has
    told them he is waiting for God to tell him what to do, the Federal
    Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Wednesday.

    At least six people died on Sunday when agents stormed the compound of
    the Branch Davidian sect in an attempt to arrest David Koresh, 33, a
    former musician who says he is Jesus Christ. Some reports say up to 21
    died.

    The heavily-armed sect drove off the agents in the fierce Sunday
    firefight and the two sides have been deadlocked since. Koresh told
    authorities there are 110 followers -- 20 children, 47 women and 43 men
    -- in the heavily-fortified farm compound.

    Koresh was ready to surrender on Tuesday but, the FBI said he told them
    he had "received a message from God instructing him to wait." And FBI
    agent Jeffrey Jamar added Koresh said he would not leave the compound
    "until he receives further instructions from God."

    At a news conference near Koresh's farm called Mount Carmel officials
    stressed they want to resolve the situation with no further bloodshed.
    Four U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) officers died
    in the shoot-out Sunday, and 15 were wounded.

    Two cult members including a two-year-old are known to have died and
    others may be dead inside the compound. The Houston Chronicle quoted
    unnammed sources as saying as many as 15 people were dead inside the
    farm.

    Interviews with people involved in the raid and the 18 children and two
    women released so far "indicate there are some bodies in the compound
    -- the precise number we don't know," Jamar said.

    The gun battle exploded on Sunday morning when ATF agents lost the
    element of surprise in serving a weapons warrant on Koresh, said Dan
    Hartnett, associate director of ATF.

    An undercover agent inside the compound overheard a phone call come in
    shortly before the raid, which is now believed to have tipped the cult
    about the federal plan of action. The undercover agent "did not realise
    this was a tip at this time," Hartnett said.

    "We didn't expect this siege to occur," Hartnett said. "It took months
    and months of planning. When we went into the compound the element of
    surprise was essential."

    "We were halfway into the location when they opened fire," he said.

    Asked why agents had not tried to arrest Koresh outside the compound,
    Hartnett replied "he hasn't left in months," only social workers had
    gone in from time to time to check on the children.

    Koresh and the others in the compound had requested no food or supplies
    and made no new demands regarding an end to the seige.

    The Branch Davidians are an off-shoot of the Seventh-day Adventists,
    and believe they will ascend to heaven when the world ends. Koresh
    preaches he is the son of God, Jesus Christ, and the biblical "lamb"
    who can receive God's word on the formation of the kingdom of heaven.

    The sect broke away from the Adventists in 1933.  Koresh, who is said to
    have as many as 15 wives, says he is the head of the biblical House of
    David and took over the leadership of the sect in 1984.

    "Our impression is they are very self-sufficient," Jamar said. "We're
    not contemplating assaulting that compound at all."

    A small army of at least 450 federal agents have surrounded the Texas
    farm where Koresh and the followers, many from Australia and Britain,
    are entrenched. The British Foreign Office said 23 Britons were in the
    compound.

    "He believes in what he's doing and there's nothing I could say to
    change his mind.  I know that," Koresh's mother Bonnie Holdeman said on
    Wednesday.

    She said her son sounded "weak" in an hourlong taped message broadcast
    on Tuesday on radio stations across the country where he promised to
    surrender peacefully.

    Two of the Davidians who left the compound earlier in the week were
    charged with conspiracy to murder federal agents, federal prosecutors
    said.  They were identified as Margaret Lawsdon, 75, and Catherine
    Mattson, 77.
 
     REUTER MJC BRO JWO

41.330CSC32::KINSELLAit's just a wheen o' blethersFri Mar 05 1993 19:407
    
    I have an idea!  Why don't we get Steven Spielberg to work a little
    magic.  He and his special effects people can go in at night from 
    the air with special effects lighting the heavens, angelic chorus, 
    the works...Then the "voice of God" saying "Let my people go." 
    
    ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^) ;^)
41.331CSC32::J_CHRISTIERise Again!Fri Mar 05 1993 20:5719
Subject: FFRF says abolish Congress' chaplains
    
	MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- A Madison atheist group was quick to respond to
President Clinton's call for suggestions from citizens on how to cut fat
from the federal government.
	``Abolish federal chaplaincies, starting immediately with the
congressional chaplains,'' Annie Laurie Gaylor, the editor of the
Freedom From Religion Foundation's newspaper Freethought Today, wrote in
a letter to the president.
	``In return for a two-minute prayer to open sessions of Congress,
taxpayers are paying more than $115,000 each to Rev. Ricahrd Halverson,
chaplain of the U.S. Senate, and Rev. James P. Ford, chaplain of the U.
S. House of Representatives.''
	There are plenty of churches and clergymen in Washington members of
Congress could go to if they needed their services, she said.
	Gaylor said there are thousands of chaplains on the public payroll in
other programs.
	She said that ``in time of unprecedented poverty and burgeoning
national debt, these unconstitutional chaplaincies should be abolished.''
41.332Biblical lepers probably didn't have leprosyCVG::THOMPSONRadical CentralistFri Mar 19 1993 10:4538
Article: 3871
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.science,clari.tw.health,clari.news.interest.history,clari.news.religion
Subject: Biblical lepers probably didn't have leprosy
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 93 11:23:08 PST
 
	SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (UPI) -- The ``lepers'' described in the Old
Testament of the Bible almost certainly did not have leprosy,
dermatologist David Kaplan says.
	Syphilis, maybe, but not leprosy.
	And Kaplan blames the Greeks for the confusion.
	``It couldn't have been leprosy because Hansen's disease was unknown
in Mesopotamia at the time the Old Testament was being written (587-538
BCE),'' Kaplan said in the March issue of the Journal of the American
Academy of Dermatology.
	Hansen's disease is the formal name for leprosy. BCE means ``before
Christian era,'' the scientific equivalent of B.C.
	Kaplan says the available evidence indicates that leprosy was brought
to the Mideast from India around 325 BCE by soldiers serving under
Alexander the Great.
	Also, he says, Hansen's disease would not produce the symptoms
mentioned in Leviticus, Chapter 13. That text describes seven types of
skin and hair changes which occur rather rapidly during a few weeks.
Hansen's disease, Kaplan said, ``actually develops quite slowly over a
period of years and doesn't affect a person's hair or change its color
as described in Biblical texts.''
	Kaplan said more recent translations by Hebrew scholars, using root
word derivations, indicate the Hebrew word ``zara'at'' was used to refer
collectively to skin problems regarded by the Old Testament authorities
as unclean.
	He said the Greeks initiated the confusion during translation of
texts acquired by Ptolemy II for the library at Alexandria. But he said
subsequent translations into Latin made things even worse and many
references to general skin diseases were mistranslated into the word for
``leprosy.
	Kaplan said future versions of the Bible should drop all use of the
word ``leprosy'' and instead refer to ``sign of impurity'' as a more
literal translation of ``zara'at.''
41.333Edwin H. Wilson, 94CPDW::ROSCHMon Mar 29 1993 14:4524
    from this morning's Boston Globe

    SALT LAKE CITY - Edwin H. Wilson, a founder of American humanism and a
    prominent Unitarian Universalist minister, died Friday. He was 94.
    	Mr. Wilson was the first editor, in 1928, of The New Humanist
    magazine and the first editor, in 1941, of The Humanist. He was also a
    primary author of both "A Humanist Manifesto" in 1933 and "Humanist
    Manifesto II" in 1973.
    	Mr. Wilson was pastor of a number of Unitarian churches, including
    the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City from 1946 to 1949.
    	In 1941 Mr. Wilson formed, along with philosopher John Dewey and
    others, the American Humanist Association. In 1964 he founded the
    Fellowship of Religious Humanists, an independent affiliate of the
    Unitarian Universalist Association.
    	He was named Humanist of the Year in 1979 by the American Humanist
    Association. Other recipients of the award have included Carl Sagan,
    Margaret Sanger, Jonas Salk, Issac Asimov, Margaret Atwood, Ted
    Turner and Kurt Vonnegut.
    	The humanist manifestoes characterize the universe as
    "self-existing" and defined religion as the actions, purposes and
    experiences that are humanly significant, said the Rev. Barbara
    Hamilton-Holway of the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society.
    	He leaves two sons.

41.334CSC32::KINSELLAit's just a wheen o' blethersMon Mar 29 1993 20:585
    
    March 26th, 1993 - the day Edwin H. Wilson found out the truth.
    What a bummer to to find out that way!
    
    Jill
41.335You mean he found out he was right? :-)SSDEVO::PEAKS::RICHARDKill Your Television!Mon Mar 29 1993 21:350
41.336CSC32::KINSELLAit's just a wheen o' blethersMon Mar 29 1993 21:483
    
    Nah...it would appear that he was pretty much in for a rude awakening.  
    
41.337Filipinos mark Good Friday with crucifixionsCSC32::J_CHRISTIEDeclare Peace!Tue Apr 13 1993 20:0843
Subject: Filipinos mark Good Friday with crucifixions

	SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines (UPI) -- At least 11 people were
crucified Friday and hundreds of others dragged heavy crosses through
dusty streets and whipped their backs bloody to re-enact the suffering
of Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago.
	Filipinos dressed as ancient Roman guards drove sterilized spikes the
size of knitting needles through the palms of nine men in this village
50 miles north of Manila and hoisted them on 15-foot wooden crosses.
	``I will do this as long as I car bear it for the atonement of the
sins of my fellow men,'' wailed Bob Belles, a 34-year-old day laborer as
he was crucified for the ninth consecutive year Friday.
	``This is for the good of my family,'' carpenter Rolando Ocampo
shouted as helpers nailed his hands to a cross. ``I thank God for all
his blessings.''
	The nine men remained on the crosses for about five minutes before
being hauled down. The crosses were planted in make-shift mounds of
earth in the middle of a dried-out rice field.
	Two other men were crucified in nearby Santa Lucia village in the
annual Good Friday ritual to atone for sins or ask for help in healing
relatives and friends of disease.
	Hundreds of penitents in towns across Asia's only Christian nation
walked barefoot through the streets, lugging heavy wooden crosses and
whipping their backs with glass studded bamboo strips.
	While some view the beatings and crucifixions as appropriate forms of
worship, Manila's Roman Catholic hierarchy frowns on the practices,
which evolved from a blend of indigenous pagan rites and Catholic
traditions brought to the Philippines by Spanish friars in the 16th
century.
	The annual crucifixions cap a four-day festival in San Pedro and draw
thousands of foreign and local tourists. A businessman said some of the
penitents were paid by local officials in order to attract tourists.
	Police estimated about 5,000 people descended on the village to
witness Friday's ritual. Sales of miniature crucifixions and other
souvenir items werebrisk and disco music blared from the homes of
residents.
	``I cannot believe my eyes,'' said a Spanish tourist, who traveled by
bus with about 20 compatriots from Manila to see the crucifixions. ``In
Spain we only remember the crucifixion in film. This is just too much.''
	The crucifixions were preceded by a procession of actors and
actresses, some riding horses and garbed in colorful roes, to re-enact
the torture Christ suffered on his way to Calvary to be crucified as
written in the Bible.
41.338Church runs drive-thru Passion PlayCSC32::J_CHRISTIEDeclare Peace!Tue Apr 13 1993 20:1428
Subject: Church runs drive-thru Passion Play

	WAYNE, N.J. (UPI) -- A play depicting the life of Christ is a
traveling show with a twist at a New Jersey church.
	The patrons do the traveling while the actors remain in place.
	For the past six years on Easter Sunday, Calvary Temple in Wayne,
about 20 miles northwest of New York, has presented a free drive-through
play tracing the life of Christ.
	Motorists drive a serpentine course in the church's parking lot and
stop to watch elaborate scenes acted out by more than 100 church members
as well as live animals.
	A tape player the provides narration, a musical score and directions
for proceeding to each of 10 two-minute scenes.
	A shuttle service is also offered using vans borrowed from
congregation members and other churches.
	``There are many people who are hesitant to ever enter a church,''
said associate pastor Tom Philipps, adding that with the drive-through,
``people can remain in the security of their own cars and yet see this
great story.
	Philipps said church officials were looking for a new way to bring
more attention to the Easter story six years ago. They borrowed the
drive-through idea from a Southern church that held a drive-through
Christmas pageant.
	The church runs the play for five nights each year when weather
permits.
	More than 3,000 people drove through the four-day presentation this
year, with attendance peaking at more than 1,000 on Good Friday. The
final performance on Saturday was canceled due to rain.
41.339Militants kill police General and two aides in EgyptCSC32::J_CHRISTIEDeclare Peace!Tue Apr 13 1993 20:1770
Subject: Militants kill police General and two aides in Egypt

	CAIRO, Egypt (UPI) -- Muslim militants gunned down a police general
and two of his assistants Sunday in one of the most troubled areas in
southern Egypt, and a fundamentalist group later claimed responsibility
for the attack.
	Gen. Mohamed Abdel Latif El Sheemy, assistant chief of police in the
province of Assiut, a non-commissioned officer and his driver were
ambushed and shot dead near the police station of Abu Teig in Assiut.
Muslim militants have been very active in the province, about 200 miles
south of Cairo.
	El Sheemy was the highest ranking police official killed so far in
the ongoing war between the government security forces and the
militants, who seek to create an Iranian-style theocracy that would
enforce Islamic laws in everyday life.
	National media and police said the senior official, who was Muslim
himself, was on his way to pay a courtesy visit to loal Coptic
Chrisitian leaders as they celebrated Palm Sunday.
	Later in the day, someone claiming to speak on behalf of the Gama'at
El Islamiya organization, the militant Muslim group involved in much of
the violence, called news agencies to claim responsibilty for the
attack.
	The caller said, ``We killed El Sheemy in retaliation for the killing
of Shedid El Qassas,'' who was gunned down in a shootout with police on
March 25. During his funeral in Abu Teig, militant mourners vowed harsh
retaliation through loudspeakers.
	Observers in Cairo agree that the killing of the general is a major
setback to attempts by the moderate, secular government of President
Hosni Mubarak to stem the militants' activities.
	Reports from the area said the main highway that links Cairo with
Aswan in the south and runs through Assiut was closed by security forces
at the borders of the troubled province as police searched for the
attackers.
	The war between the government and Muslim extremists has claimed the
lives of more than 130 people since March 1992 and has already cost the
country's ailing economy hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
revenues from the hard-hit tourism industry.
	Tourism is Egypt's chief earner of foreign currency and employs more
than 1 million people.
	Also on Sunday, police reported they defused five explosive devices
that were placed by a suspected militant under two tourist buses near
Cairo's Citadel of Saladin. The suspect was arrested.
	The extremists began targeting tourism last October to turn up the
heat on the government. Three tourists were killed and two other dozen
were wounded in the attacks.
	Assiut has been the scene of much of the violence involving Muslim
activists. Last month, nine militants and two policemen were killed in
one gun battle there, including the leader of the Gama'at's military
wing, Ahmed Zaki.
	A police source who requested anonymity told United Press
International police believe Zaki's successor, Mahmoud Selim, and Abdel
Hameed Abu Aqrab, the nephew of a member of the parliament, were among
the perpetrators of the attack on El Sheemy.
	In a statement issued late Sunday, the Interior Ministry, which
controls police nationwide, did not blame Muslim militants for the
attack. It said top officials of the ministry and its forensic
department moved to the scene.
	The three policemen will be given a heroes' funeral under tight
security measures. It was announced that a representative of Mubarak and
other top aides will atend the services.
	Evening issues of state-run daily newspapers said an intensive
manhunt was already under way to capture the attackers.
	In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro reprinted in
Cairo Sunday, Mubarak said security authorities had captured along with
some militants arms that had been used in the Afghan war. He charged
that the weapons were smuggled into the country via Sudan, Egypt's
southern neighbor.
	Mubarek once again accused the Muslim fundamentalist regimes in Iran
and Sudan of financing, arming and training the extremists to
destabilize Egypt.
41.340NYC public schools, Rainbow curriculum, "stealth" campaigningLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (381-0899 ZKO2-2/T63)Thu May 06 1993 15:18125
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  On The Wall Street Journal editorial page in recent months, we've read quite 
a bit about the battle taking place over the future of public education. On 
the one side seem to be parents, motivated by concern for their children's 
well-being; on the other, or so we read, are the education professionals 
driven by a certain we-know-what's-best-for-your-kids rigidity.

  That's a nice little dichotomy. Unfortunately, it's a false one, too. Take 
the current battles in the New York City public schools as an example. Over 
the past half year, controversies over such issues as the Children of the 
Rainbow tolerance curriculum and condom distribution led to the sacking of 
schools chancellor Joseph Fernandez. Parents' organizations, if truth be told, 
were involved on both sides. But because the chancellor may have tended toward 
an occasional heavy-handedness, the mantle of protector of parents' rights 
went to his opponents.

  But let's be clear who those parents' "friends" are. Among the leaders of 
the anti-Rainbow battle were individuals and groups allied with Religious 
Right organizations, most notably Pat Robertson and his Christian Coalition. 
That's not to suggest everyone who opposed Rainbow was a Robertson dupe; 
plainly the curriculum touched a nerve. But some of the voices claiming most 
loudly to represent parents belonged to political leaders with an additional 
agenda.

  That agenda is becoming visible only now, as New Yorkers prepare to vote 
Tuesday for representatives on community school boards across the five 
boroughs. In that campaign, a few groups that led the anti-Rainbow charge are 
now seeking to elect slates of candidates using tactics that would seem to 
offend anyone truly interested in defending parents' rights.

  They began by relying on a strategy fine-tuned over the past few years by 
political activists in San Diego. The approach came to be called "stealth" 
campaigning, because it required that Religious Right-backed candidates "fly 
under radar" (the Christian Coalition's own description). These candidates 
campaigned fast and furious within their own church communities -- 
phone-banking to church directories, leafletting church parking lots, seeking 
and winning endorsements from the pulpit. What they didn't do was address the 
mainstream of voters. Following advice from slate organizers, they ducked 
interviews, skipped debates and declined speaking invitations -- doing all 
they could to avoid letting most voters figure out who they were and why they 
were running.

  That might sound like a recipe for defeat, but in small districts with low 
voter turnout -- factors at work in New York as well -- a concentrated turnout 
from one or two congregations is enough to carry the day. It certainly was in 
San Diego in 1990, where a slate of these stealth candidates won two-thirds of 
their races.

  Now the show has finally made it to Broadway. Recognizing the organizing 
opportunity presented by the Rainbow and condom battles, these forces (with a 
lot of help from one of the city's Catholic archdioceses) launched a concerted 
effort to take over the city's community school boards. For tax reasons, the 
visible Religious Right leaders have said they're simply assembling lists of 
candidates for their followers to "pray for," not vote for. But nobody's 
fooled. And the great irony is that they're trying to exploit the same 
parents' rights argument.

  Here's the catch: As in San Diego, the candidates are refusing to 
acknowledge their Religious Right support, and movement leaders have refused 
to say who they're endorsing, er, praying for. At a recent Christian Coalition 
training seminar, one speaker defended stealth tactics: "You're not morally 
obliged to say all things to all people. . . . You don't have to answer every 
question, and if you do, you're going to get yourself in trouble." Another 
speaker -- this one an official of the Christian Coalition -- bragged that 
"We've got candidates in almost every district, and we're going to load those 
boards up." And yet no names have been produced, leaving voters in the dark 
about the broader agenda.

  For example, it would have been useful to know in San Diego that candidates 
were intending to censor books from school libraries on the grounds that they 
contained ghosts and goblins. It would have been instructive to know that they 
were going to work to shut down school breakfast programs for disadvantaged 
kids on the ground that they were somehow antifamily. It might even have been 
worthwhile to know that they had it in their plan to work to introduce the 
teaching of Adam and Eve into school biology classrooms.

  That's precisely what happened in San Diego. And whether the parents/voters 
supported those actions or not, I imagine they would rather have known where 
the candidates intended to take the schools. In part because of the heightened 
interest in the New York races, we have finally begun to hear some of these 
candidates' views. But the Christian Coalition slate, along with its members' 
ultimate plans for New York City schools, remains a mystery.

  San Diego and New York are hardly isolated incidents. Over the past several 
years a number of organizations have worked to recruit "Christian" candidates 
for school boards. Their stated aim is to "Christianize" the public schools, a 
goal that should concern anyone who cares about religious freedom. But their 
intermediate agenda -- clearing the libraries, gutting sex education, making a 
mockery of biology instruction, and more -- should concern everyone, parents 
especially.

  So the truth is that the battles for the schools are a lot more complicated 
than the parents-vs.-educators dichotomy. And those who proclaim most loudly 
that they speak for the interests of parents ought not to be taken blindly at 
their word.

  Of course these folks have a right to participate in the process, speak up 
at textbook selection hearings, and run for school boards. In fact, I salute 
them for caring enough to take part. But the least they should do is own up to 
their true agendas. In New York, the Religious Right's first step should be to 
come forward with its slates of candidates, own up to all of its plans for the 
schools, and then let the voters decide on the merits.

  The second step is for all elements of the community to take an interest in 
the public schools, and not just in New York. So long as people turn their 
backs on the public school system, they will be bitterly rewarded. So long as 
voters don't vote, parents don't go to school board meetings, and citizens 
don't stand up to schoolbook censors, things will only get worse. The real 
challenge then is for citizens and particularly parents -- all parents -- to 
stand up for their children's education.

  ---

  Mr. Kropp is president of the People for the American Way Action Fund, a 
nonpartisan constitutional liberties organization. 

  (See related letter: "Letters to the Editor: A Grass-Roots, Parents' Revolt" 
-- WSJ May 4, 1993)
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41.341GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerThu May 06 1993 15:235
Yes, that's a troubling trend.  Hopefully, though, as the public becomes
aware of how their school systems are being taken over by the religious
right, there will be a backlash against such candidates.

				-- Bob
41.342Politics as normalCVG::THOMPSONRadical CentralistThu May 06 1993 15:3110
    RE: .340 This works both ways of course. In my town a candidate did
    the same sort of thing. He pushed hard in some groups and refused to
    answer some questions. He would not talk to reporters at all. On the
    big issue of the campaign, condoms in the school, he lied. Well, maybe
    he didn't lie. Maybe he changed his mind on election day. Before the
    election he was opposed to condoms in the school. As soon as the votes
    were counted he said they were a good idea. He won. I think this
    happens all the time. 

    			Alfred
41.343CSC32::J_CHRISTIEDeclare Peace!Thu May 06 1993 18:2714
	The McNeil Lehrer Hour (PBS) devoted a segment on this very issue
recently (41.340).

	A speaker representing Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition made the
point that, according to polls, 70% of all Americans claim to be Christian.
And therefore, 70% would be a fair representation in public office.  Tacitly
stated here is the assertion that if you're a Christian, you'll necessarily
be in complete agreement with the agenda of the Christian Coalition.

	This is the pattern I've seen over and over, rhetoric just loaded with
unquestioned underlying assumptions.

Richard

41.344Cardinal O'Connor asks "Are We Headed for the Devil?"LGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (381-0899 ZKO2-2/T63)Fri May 07 1993 15:46125
Are We Headed for the Devil?.  ----.  By John Cardinal O'Connor - PNS DOW Story
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  Os Guinness in his book "The American Hour" (Free Press, 458 pages, $24.95) 
turns a phrase with enviable adroitness. His book is laced with pungent 
aphorisms that rarely become cliches. "Nowhere is America more inventive than 
in discovering new ways to destroy families," he writes. And ". . . instead of 
their valuable task of illuminating norms and supporting the normal, 
borderline cases are often used to deride the normal and dismiss the notion of 
norms altogether. Without a strong framework, a host of hard cases breeds one 
soft culture." The entire text is worth careful study, but for those in a 
hurry, his aphorisms provide shortcuts to complex analyses of American culture.

  Mr. Guinness clearly believes that America is going to hell in a handbasket, 
although, as a Britisher living among us and an Oxonian doctor of philosophy, 
he seems too polite to say so bluntly. He modestly calls his work a "whisper 
in the ear," a reference to the story of the Roman slave who whispered in the 
ear of a victorious commander in chief, "This too shall pass away." We are 
thus reminded that "a crisis of cultural authority" gravely threatens the 
vitality, if not the survival, of American democracy itself.

  This is not another doomsday book, however. We may be going to hell, but 
we're not there yet, and our course, Mr. Guinness would say, is reversible. 
But the God-given moment of destiny, the time to reverse gears, the American 
Hour, is now. "The day after tomorrow is too late to be of any use," he warns. 
We are distancing ourselves rapidly from our moral, spiritual and religious 
traditions, and thus heading for national suicide. To such effect Mr. Guinness 
quotes John Adams: "We have no government armed with power capable of 
contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our 
Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly 
inadequate to the government of any other."

  The author offers various proposals for preserving and revitalizing 
"Americanism." I find two of these particularly intriguing, if exceedingly 
difficult: First is the proposal "to reforge the public philosophy through the 
renewal of a concept that is at the heart of American democracy and the 
American constitutional tradition -- covenantalism."

  Mr. Guinness calls the concept of constitutional traditional covenantalism 
"one of the freshest and most important findings of recent scholarship." 
"Recent" is, of course, a relative term. Actually, while at Georgetown 
University in the late 1960s, I was fascinated by the work of political 
scientists Willmoore Kendall and George W. Carey on the symbols of the 
American tradition. These authors reminded political historians of the grave 
disservice to our traditions rampantly perpetrated by those who date our 
political life from either the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, 
the Federalist or the Bill of Rights. Several covenants were vital to our 
political origins before any of these documents were born: For example, the 
Mayflower Compact, the General Orders of Connecticut, the Body of Liberties of 
Massachusetts Bay and the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

  These documents introduce us to the kind of people we started out to be, 
people with notions of individual rights, the general good, unanimous consent, 
"liberties, immunities and privileges" related to humanity, civility and 
Christianity, and freedoms "due to every man in his place and proportion" (the 
latter phrase crucial). Such fundamental notions meant something far different 
from what we mean today by "individual rights," now considered the very 
essence of the American political tradition, with any suggestion of 
subordinating individual rights to the "common good" considered reprehensible.

  The most critical concept pervading all the covenants, however, is that of a 
virtuous people, expected to live by the canons of humanity, civility and 
Christianity. Self-government without a virtuous people is impossible. I see 
such models and the entire concept of a "renewed national compact" or covenant 
as having a certain appeal, but leaving open a lot of questions. Who creates 
such a compactsome "re-founding fathers"? What would they represent, if not 
our current culture, of which many would be products? What authority would 
they have to forge a mutual agreement on the role of religion, or on the 
management of religious differences? In other words, even if desirable, how 
would we get there from here?

  The second proposal emerging from Mr. Guinness's text is that we must 
restore and reinforce those critical mediating agencies in society that have 
been abolished or eroded, in part by governmental action. In analyzing what he 
calls "a crisis of moral authority," Mr. Guinness quotes from the Williamsburg 
Charter: "Lethal to freedom and the chief menace to religious liberty today is 
the expanding power of government control over personal behavior and the 
institutions of society, when the government acts not so much in deliberate 
hostility to, but in reckless disregard of communal belief and personal 
conscience."

  In my own review of studies marking the 200th anniversary of the French 
Revolution, I was struck by the postulate that the Declaration of the Rights 
of Man was an effort to destroy or control all mediating agencies that stood 
between the individual and the government. The lie was that the individual 
would thus be free of the "middle man," able to negotiate as an equal directly 
with the government. The reality was that the individual was left hopelessly 
vulnerable in a one-sided governmental attack on his rights, unprotected by 
such mediating agencies as family, church, school or a transcendent moral code.

  Napoleon Bonaparte was a logical outcome. When it suited him to turn the 
magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris into a stable for his horses, he 
had the constitutional right to do so. When he wanted appropriate pomp for his 
royal marriage, he simply restored the cathedral's grandeur. While not 
suggesting anything Napoleonic about the government of New York City, I would 
say that there are local manifestations of government undermining mediating 
agencies. The effort to force the "Rainbow Curriculum" on the public schools, 
for example, was perceived widely as an attack on traditional concepts of 
family.

  Much the same could be said of congressional efforts to push through a 
Freedom of Choice Act that would prohibit any state-sponsored requirement for 
parental notification or parental permission before a minor could have an 
abortion. The authority of the family, the most critical mediating agent in 
society, would be pushed aside completely by the federal government, as it is 
already pushed aside by various state governments.

  Mr. Guinness wraps it up nicely: "Human rights have become a grand game of 
'let's pretend.' Without a belief in the dignity and distinctiveness of human 
nature, all that is left is specious chauvinism. . . . If God is dead, we must 
face the fact that nature is morally indifferent, rationality is only a tool 
of power, and human rights are a fiction."

  ---

  Cardinal O'Connor is archbishop of New York.
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Headline: .LEISURE & ARTS -- Bookshelf:.  Are We Headed for the Devil?.  ----.  By John Cardinal O'Connor
transmissionTime: 0251
Time: 2141
41.345ACLU, Jewish group sue over jail ``God Pod''CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPacifist HellcatFri Jul 02 1993 16:3634
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: ACLU, Jewish group sue over jail ``God Pod''

	FORT WORTH, Texas (UPI) - The American Civil Liberties Union and the
American Jewish Congress filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that the so-
called ``God Pod,'' a Christian unit in the Tarrant County Jail, is
unconstitutional.
	The lawsuit claims that the special unit is inconsistent with the
notion of separation of church and state, and gives preferential
treatment to Christian inmates and does not accomodate practitioners of
other religions.
	Donald Jackson, president of the Fort Worth ACLU chapter, said his
group and the Jewish congress have worked for one year to settle the
dispute in an effort to avoid legal action but has been unable to reach
an agreement.
	Texas ACLU Executive Director Jay Jacobson said, ``The 'God Pod'
represents a classic example of the denial of an individual's right to
free exercise of religion.''
	The suit was filed on behalf of two inmates -- one who is Jewish and
another who is a Jehovah's Witness -- and Dr. Ronald Flowers, a Christian
Church minister who objects to the use of public resources to promote
religion.
	Reading material in the Christian unit, the suit said, lists the
Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Unity and Unitarianism in the ``cult
non-Christian spiritual experience inventory. Indexed under ''other
religions`` to be renounced by one who wishes to become a Christian, the
suit said, are Islam, Black Muslim, Hinduism and Zen Buddhism.
	Sheriff David Williams, the primary defendant in the lawsuit, and
other Tarrant County officials were not immediately available for
comment.


    

41.346Pastors for Peace arrange caravan for CubaCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPacifist HellcatTue Jul 27 1993 17:3530
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI)
Subject: Caravan headed for Cuba arrives in Laredo

	LAREDO, Texas (UPI) -- A 95-truck convoy carrying about 100 tons of
humanitarian aid to Cuba began arriving Monday in Laredo on a journey to
Tampico, Mexico where the goods will embark on a freighter to Cuba.
	The caravan called U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment is being coordinated by
Pastors for Peace, a Minneapolis-based project of the Interreligious
Foundation for Community Organization, in defiance of the U.S. blockade
of Cuba. The group considers the U.S. policy immoral and illegal.
	A similar shipment, much smaller in scope however, was organized by
the same group last November.
	Elizabeth Flannery of the Pastors for Peace said the some 300
volunteers are driving the truck caravan. It was scheduled to stop along
12 separate U.S. routes to pick up collections of powdered milk,
medicine and medical supplies, school supplies, bicycles and bicycle
parts and Spanish language Bibles.
	An earlier news release from the organization said a caravan of
several dozen trucks form Mexico organized by the group ``Va Por Cuba''
was to meet the Friendshipment in Nuevo Laredo in Mexico.
	The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization said it had
sought federal protection for the caravan because of threats broadcast
over the radio in New Jersey by ``right wing Cuban-Americans, and the
general climate of fear created by affiliated groups in Miami.''
	After all the trucks arrive at Laredo, the drivers will hold a two-
day orientation. The caravan is scheduled to cross the U.S. border into
Mexico on Thursday and travel by land to Tampico.


    
41.347WHITE HOUSE INTERFAITH BREAKFASTLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (DTN 223-8576, MSO2-2/A2, IM&amp;T)Tue Aug 31 1993 15:23215
From:	NRSTA2::US2RMC::"Clinton-Info@campaign92.org" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 30-AUG-1993 22:31
To:	Clinton-Speeches-Distribution@campaign92.org
CC:	
Subj:	Clinton Remarks Interfaith Bfast






                                  THE WHITE HOUSE

                           Office of the Press Secretary

____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                August 30, 1993 

                             REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
           IN PHOTO OPPORTUNITY DURING WHITE HOUSE INTERFAITH BREAKFAST

                               The State Dining Room

10:03 A.M. EDT



        THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  I want to, once again,
as the First Lady did, welcome all of you to the White House on behalf of Vice
President and Mrs. Gore, and Hillary and myself -- we're delighted to have you
all
here.
        
        We wanted to make this new beginning, by beginning with a group of
religious leaders from all faiths and parts of our country to come here today as
we rededicate ourselves to the purposes for which we're called here.
        
        I wanted to make just a couple of brief remarks.  We've had an immensely
interesting conversation at our table about some of the things which are
dividing Americans of faith, as well as those which are uniting them.
        
        I would say to you that I am often troubled as I try hard here to create
a new sense of common purpose.  All during the election I would go across the
country and say that we're all in this together unless we can find strength in
our diversity:  our diversity of race, our diversity of income, our diversity of
region, our diversity of religious conviction; we cannot possible meet the
challenges before us.
        
        That does not mean, in my view, that we have to minimize our diversity,
pretend that we don't have deep convictions, or run away from our honest
disagreements.  It means that we must find a way to talk with respect with one
another about those things with which we disagree and to find that emotional, as
well as the intellectual freedom to work together when we can.  
        
        A couple of days ago, when I was on vacation -- let me say, the most
important religious comment made to me this morning was that several of you gave
me dispensation for my vacation. (Laughter.)  You said I did not need to feel
any guilt for taking a little time off, so I appreciate that.  (Laughter.)
        
        But I bought a book on vacation called "The Culture of Disbelief" by
Steven Carter, a professor at our old alma mater, Hillary's and mine, at the law
school.  He is, himself, a committed Christian very dedicated to the religious
freedoms of all people of faith -- of any faith in the United States.  And the
subtitle of the book is: "How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious
Devotion."  And I would urge you all to read it, from whatever political as well
as religious spectrum you have because at least it lays a lot of these issues
out that I am trying to grapple with.  
        
        Sometimes I think the environment in which we operate is entirely too
secular.  That fact that we have freedom of religion doesn't mean we need to try
to have freedom from religion.  It doesn't mean that those of us who have faith
shouldn't frankly admit that we are animated by that faith, that we try to live
by it -- and that it does affect what we feel, what we think, and what we do.
        
        On the other hand, it is very important that, as Americans, we approach
this whole area with a certain amount of humility.  That we be careful when we
say that because we seek to know and do God's will, God is on our side and,
therefore,against our opponent.  That is important for two reasons:  one is, 
we might be wrong.  (Laughter.)  After all, we're only human.  (Laughter.)
The other is that the thing that has kept us together over time is that our
Constitution and Bill of Rights gives us all the elbow room to seek to do God's
will in our own life and that of our families and our communities.  And that
means that there will be inevitable conflicts, so that there will never be a time when
everything that we think is wrong can also be illegal.  There will always be
some space there because there will have to be some room for Americans of good faith
to disagree.
        
        I think we need to find areas where we can agree and work together on
the restoration of religious freedoms acts is a very important issue to me,
personally.  And this administration is committed to seeing it through
successfully.  (Applause.)  And I think virtually every person of faith in this
country without regard to their party or philosophy or convictions on other
issues agrees with that; so we are hopeful that that will happen.  But there must be
other areas in which we can meet together and talk together and work together
and, frankly, acknowledge our agreements and our disagreements.  
        
        If people of faith treat issues about which they disagree as nothing
more than a cause for a screaming match, then we also trivialize religion in our
country.  (Applause.)  And we undermine the ability to approach one another with
respect and trust and faith.  And I say that not just to those who disagree with
me on some of the particularly contentious issues, but also to those who agree
with me.  Every person in this country who seeks to know and do the will of his
or her creator is entitled to respect for that effort.  That is a difficult job. 
Difficult to know, even harder to do.  That is hard work.
        
        But people that have that level of depth, that aren't totally carried
away by the secular concerns of the moment must, it seems to me, find a way to talk
and work with one another if we're ever going to push the common good.  We can't
pass a health care program without a conviction that this is in the common interest,
that over the long run we will all win.  If this becomes some battle where I'm
trying to slay some dragon of special interest and that's all it is, we'll never
get where we want to go.  The American people have to open their hearts as well
as their minds and figure out --this is this horrible problem, we have to solve it.

But we have to solve it in a way that enables us to be united together.  
        
        We can't work our way through a lot of these economic problems unless we
frankly admit that we're moving into a new age where no one has all the answers.

We may have to modify -- all of us -- our specific policy positions.  But our
goal should be to enable every person who lives in this country to live up to his or
her God-given potential.  And if we look at it that way, and frankly admit we're
in a new and different era, then we can go forward.
        
        We can't possibly do anything for anybody in this country unless they're
willing to also do something for themselves.  There has to be a new ethic of
personal and family and community responsibility in this country that should
unite people across the lines of different faiths and even different political
philosophies.  And the people of faith in this country ought to be able to say
that, so that if you say that you've got to have that sort of revitalization at
the grass roots, person by person, that the Democrats can feel comfortable with
saying that.  No one says "Oh, you're just being a right-winger."  It's just
simply true.  It is self-evidently true;  you cannot change somebody's life from
the outside in unless there is also some change from the inside out.
        
        So these are the kinds of things that I've had a lot of time to think
about over the last few days.  And I have felt in the last several months during
my presidency that we oftentimes get so caught up in the battle of the moment,
the heat of the moment -- how are you going to answer this charge, and make that
change, or deal with this difficulty -- that sometimes we forget that we are all
in this because we are seeking a good that helps all Americans.  There must be
some sense of common purpose and common strength and, ultimately, an end which
helps us all, that revels in the fact that there are people who honestly
disagree about the most fundamental issues, but can still approach one another with real
respect --without assuming that if you disagree on issue X or Y, you've jumped
off the moral and political cliff and deserve to be banished to some faraway place.
        
        So I wanted to have you here today because I wanted you to hear this
direct from your President:  I wanted to ask you to continue to pray for me and
for our administration, and I wanted to invite you to  be part of an ongoing
dialogue, which we will come back to all of you later on -- talk about how we
can continue to involve people who care about their citizenship as well as about
their relationship to their God and how we can work through these things.
        
        There are no easy answers to this.  The Founding Fathers understood
that; that's why they wanted us to have the First Amendment.  There are no simple
solutions.  But I am convinced that we are in a period of historic significance,
profound change here in this country and throughout the world, and that no one
is  wise enough to see to the end of all of it, that we have to be guided by a few
basic principles and an absolute conviction that we can recreate a common good
in America.
        
        But it's hard for me to take a totally secular approach to the fact that
there are cities in this country where the average murderer is now under the age
of 16.  Now, there may not be a religious answer to the policy question of
whether it's a good thing that all these kids can get their hands on semi-automatic
weapons.  But there certainly is something that is far more than secular about
what is happening to a country where we are losing millions of our young people
and where they shoot each other with abandon, and now often shoot total
strangers for kicks -- shoot at them when they are swimming in the swimming pool
in the summertime.
        
        So I believe that we have enormous possibilities.  I think we have
enormous problems.  There will always be some areas of profound disagreement. 
What I would ask you today to do is to, as I said, to pray for us as we go
forward, to be willing to engage in this dialogue, to reach out to others who
may disagree with us on particular issues and bring them into the family of America,
and to give us a chance to find common ground so that we can build a common good
and do what all of us in our own way are required to do. For I believe that each
of us has a ministry in some way that we must play out in life -- and with a
certain humility, but also with deep determination.  
        
        So I thank you for being here.  This has been a wonderful morning for me
and for all of us.  And I ask you to think about these things and to be willing
to continue to engage in this dialogue.  We have a lot of work to do to lift this
country up and to pull this country together and to push this country into the
21st century, and we have serious responsibilities beyond our borders.  Every
day there is some good news in the press about that.  Some of you have been talking
about the Middle East -- how many times have we thought we had good news and
been disappointed?  But better than the bad.  And every day there is some
frustration. So we have to go forward with a much deeper sense of shared values and
togetherness toward the common good than we've had so far.  That is what I seek
to do and what I ask for your prayers and guidance and support and involvement --
active involvement -- to achieve.  
        
        Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
        

                                 END10:15 A.M. EDT



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41.348GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerTue Aug 31 1993 16:4416
Re: .347

>        But I bought a book on vacation called "The Culture of Disbelief"
>by Steven Carter, a professor at our old alma mater, Hillary's and mine,
>at the law school.  He is, himself, a committed Christian very dedicated
>to the religious freedoms of all people of faith -- of any faith in the
>United States.  And the subtitle of the book is: "How American Law and
>Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion."

Michael Kinsley mentioned this book in the "TRB" column in the latest New
Republic.  Kinsley's comment is that the book exaggerates the alleged
anti-religious bias in American public life.  For example, it takes more
courage to say "I don't believe in God" than it does to say "I believe in
God".

				-- Bob
41.349CVG::THOMPSONRadical CentralistTue Aug 31 1993 16:4911
    
>Michael Kinsley mentioned this book in the "TRB" column in the latest New
>Republic.  Kinsley's comment is that the book exaggerates the alleged
>anti-religious bias in American public life.  For example, it takes more
>courage to say "I don't believe in God" than it does to say "I believe in
>God".
    
    I am quite surprised to hear anyone say that. At least in Digital I've
    found it takes more courage to say "I believe in God."
    
    			Alfred
41.350SDSVAX::SWEENEYVia,Veritas,VitaTue Aug 31 1993 17:2914
    The same opinion appears in Michael Kinsley's syndicated column today
    which appears in the New York Post, among other newspapers.

    His column appears with a picture of George Orwell.  The article
    approvingly quotes Orwell who engages in a bit of name-calling:
    "intellectually crippled" is the term Orwell used to describe what he
    called the "orthodox religious believer".

    Of course Orwell and Kinsley are wrong.  The hostility to religion and
    the embrace of atheism in the United States as a cultural force is
    overwhelming.

    The way he put the question, "Does anyone really think..." is a way of
    not asking the question and assuming the answer.
41.35146% of Alabamans going to hellGRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerMon Sep 20 1993 21:0939
This article was in Saturday's Nashua Telegraph, but I forgot to clip it
so I'll have to paraphrase the article from memory.  It seems that the
Southern Baptist Church has determined that 46% of the residents of
Alabama are going to hell.  They determined this by looking at church
membership in the state and then using a secret formula which told them
the percentage of people from each denomination who were saved, based on
how closely that denomination conformed to Southern Baptist theology.  For
example, a higher percentage of Methodists were deemed to be saved than
Catholics.  Essentially 100% of non-Christians were assumed to be going to
hell.

I don't quite understand their assumption that among two non-Baptist
denominations, the denomination whose teachings most closely matched
Southern Baptist teachings would have a higher percentage of people saved.
Say the numbers were 95% of Southern Baptists, 80% of Methodists and 60%
of Catholics being saved, and let's say that of ten key tenets of the
Southern Baptist faith, Methodists agreed with eight of them and Catholics
with only six of them.  There would then be two points of disagreement
between Methodists and Southern Baptists.  Either these two tenets are
essential for salvation or they are not.  Doesn't that mean that, if they
were not essential for salvation, just as many Methodists would be saved
as Southern Baptists.  Or if the tenets are essential for salvation, then
0% of Methodists would be saved.  Similarly for Catholics, you'd think
either 95% or 0% of Catholics would be saved, not 60%.

Of course this assumes that everyone in a particular denomination holds a
particular set of beliefs.  Maybe the people who wrote this report assumed
that out of ten tenets of belief essential for salvation, say, 95% of
Baptists held all ten beliefs, 80% of Methodists and 60% of Catholics.
But it seems pretty arbitrary to make such an assumption based just on how
closely official Methodist and Catholic doctrine matched official Southern
Baptist doctrine.  It would have been better to have surveyed a
representative sample of Methodists, Catholics and Southern Baptists and
asked them what believed about the ten essential tenets.

In other words, it's OK to tell people that they're going to hell, but at
least be scientific about it.

				-- Bob
41.352THOLIN::TBAKERDOS with Honor!Tue Sep 21 1993 13:093
>                      -< 46% of Alabamans going to hell >-

    Well, now we know...
41.353HELL 101...LEDS::LOPEZA River.. proceeding!Tue Sep 21 1993 17:509
re.351 Bob

>In other words, it's OK to tell people that they're going to hell, but at
>least be scientific about it.

Never really thought of it as a science before.  8*)

ace
41.354Get the timing right!VNABRW::BUTTONToday is the first day of the rest of my life!Wed Sep 22 1993 06:2210
    >		-< 46% of Alabamans going to hell >-
    
    Some would have it that they're there already!   :-)
    
    As a non-Christian, non-Alabaman, where am I likely to end? (Apart
    from an urn).  My wife once said that she will have my ashes made into
    on of those glass egg-timers: "at least you'll be working for a death,
    after spending a lifetime working for a living"
    
    Greetings, Derek.
41.355In the minorityTINCUP::BITTROLFFTheologically ImpairedMon Oct 04 1993 22:245
Actually, I suspect that no matter what you believe or which doctrine you persue,
at any given time more than 50% of the people in the world that believe in a 
hell or its equivelant will, based on your beliefs, say that you are going there.

Steve
41.356Remarried Italian Catholics must promise to give up sexGRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerWed Oct 13 1993 01:4445
From the Nashua Telgraph a couple of days ago:

	Church hardens position on sexual abstention

	To receive sacraments, remarried divorcees
	must promise to give up sex, bishops say.

	  ROME (AP) - If abstention from sex is the price of communion for
	the divorced, unmarried or separated, well, communion might have to
	wait.

	  A conference of Italian bishops told church followers Friday
	that remarried divorcees, unmarried couples and separated Roman
	Catholics will only be allowed to receive church sacraments if
	they promise to give up sex.

	  Across Italy, where most people call themselves Roman Catholics
	but often diverge from church edicts, a common reaction was
	outrage.

	  "This sets the church back at least 200 years," said popular
	television host Pippo Baudo, who is divorced and remarried.  "This
	seems to me to be something from the Middle Ages," added fashion
	designer Laura Biagiotti.

	  The bishops' "Pastoral Familial Directorate" was issued three
	days after Pope John Paul II issued his encyclical "Veritatis
	Splendor" (The Splendor of Truth).  The long-awaited encyclical
	reaffirmed the Vatican's intolerance of those seeking to amend
	basic church tenets, such as a ban on divorce.

	  According to the bishops' document, Roman Catholics "should live
	the life of a Christian" in order to receive the sacraments, said
	Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who presented the paper at the Vatican.

	  Remarried divorcees can only take full part in church life if
	they "interrupt their sexual life and transform the bond into one
	of friendship, esteem and reciprocal help," the directive said.

	  The document also said the person "morally responsible" for a
	divorce should "repent and make up for damage caused."

	  Although it left little room for doubt about church intolerance
	of sex outside marriage, the paper noted that the church "must be
	more open to families in difficult or irregular situations."
41.357nothing newLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (DTN 223-8576, MSO2-2/A2, IM&amp;T)Wed Oct 13 1993 11:4631
re Note 41.356 by GRIM::MESSENGER:

> 	  "This sets the church back at least 200 years," said popular
> 	television host Pippo Baudo, who is divorced and remarried.  "This
> 	seems to me to be something from the Middle Ages," added fashion
> 	designer Laura Biagiotti.

        The implication here is that the Church reversed some changes
        made during the part 200 years.  This new message seems
        totally consistent with what I have heard as Church teaching
        throughout my life (a significant fraction of 200 years :-).

        What is interesting, in the case of remarried individuals, is
        the emphasis on sex as the thing that must be denied rather
        than the marriage itself.  Perhaps the Church allows the
        second marriage to continue as a "convenience."  Perhaps the
        Church equates marriage with sex.  Perhaps this is
        manifestation of a continuing obsession with sexual morality.

> 	  Remarried divorcees can only take full part in church life if
> 	they "interrupt their sexual life and transform the bond into one
> 	of friendship, esteem and reciprocal help," the directive said.

        Of course, they could get divorced from the second marriage
        and still continue a bond of "friendship, esteem and
        reciprocal help."  In fact, since allowing the state of (re-)
        marriage to continue gives the impression to the world that
        sex is involved, one would think that the church would urge a
        civil divorce for any second marriage.

        Bob
41.358Bible can't be consulted during jury deliberationsGRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerMon Oct 18 1993 15:3131
New trial in preacher's teen-sex case

  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A religious group leader convicted of
having sex with a teen-age follower won a new trial because a juror read a
Bible passage about circumcision aloud during deliberations.

  Circuit Judge Virginia Gay Broome, who threw out the conviction of
Clarence "Brother Bill" Williams, ruled that "consulting a Bible during
jury deliberations breaches the separation of church and state guaranteed
by the U.S. Constitution."

  Williams headed a religious group called The Way for 18 years.  One of
his followers, now 20 years old, testified that he began having sex with
her when she was 14.

  Five jurors told Broome in July that God's law, as well as state law,
was discussed during deliberations at Williams' April trial.

  "We have a quote from the Bible, and that quote deals directly with a
key defense in the case," Williams' attorney, Bert Winkler, said while
arguing for a new trial.

  Williams' accuser had testified that he is circumcised.  Williams' wife
testified that he is not.

  Juror Peggy Kiltau said that while talking to an undecided juror, she
quoted Genesis 17:10: "Every male among you shall be circumcised."

  The jurors sat in silence after she read the passage, Kiltau said.  Then
they voted to convict Williams.
41.359TLE::COLLIS::JACKSONDCU fees? NO!!!Wed Oct 20 1993 13:2519
I hardly see where the recitation of a Bible passage during
the jury deliberation where a religious figure is being
prosecuted "establishes a state religion" (which is what
the Constitution forbids).

Based on the few facts in the story, it appears that this
woman believed that the man was probably circumcised because
of this particular Old Testament law.  Personally, I have
real doubts about the man's claim to not be circumcised
as it is easily conclusively proven, would be a major
point for the defense, and yet they refused to conclusively
prove it (only deny it).  That makes absolutely no sense
to me.  It would tend to make me believe that the man is
more guilty than if it was never raised as an issue.

But, back to the judge's decision.  What kind of off-beat
reasoning was this???

Collis
41.360GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerWed Oct 20 1993 14:4017
Re: .359 Collis

>I hardly see where the recitation of a Bible passage during
>the jury deliberation where a religious figure is being
>prosecuted "establishes a state religion" (which is what
>the Constitution forbids).

I agree that throwing out the conviction was probably not justified in
this case.  The Bible was used in an attempt to establish whether or
Williams was circumcised, not as a substitute for state law.  Now if
Williams had been charged with blasphemy...

If there was a question as to whether Williams was circumcised or not I'd
think a medical examination would be more reliable evidence than testimony
from interested parties or a quote from the Bible.

				-- Bob
41.361TLE::COLLIS::JACKSONDCU fees? NO!!!Wed Oct 20 1993 18:337
  >If there was a question as to whether Williams was circumcised or 
  >not I'd think a medical examination would be more reliable evidence 
  >than testimony from interested parties or a quote from the Bible.

Exactly.  The defense refusal to provide such obvious evidence
flies in the face of logic (if the wife's testimony is indeed
true).
41.362More militant gay activism to come in ColoradoCSC32::KINSELLAWhy be politically correct when you can be right?Thu Nov 11 1993 21:3574
    
    Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs
    November 10, 1993
    By Rosemary Harris
    
    Gay rights advocates split over worth of militant actions Group's
    disruption of church service trigger debate
    
    
    When Chris Baka helped found Savage Homos Into Truth, he envisioned an
    in-your-face organization that would dramatically draw attention to gay
    rights issues.
    
    So, as a debut, the month-old, 12-man group joined forces with the
    Lesbian Avengers, another small group of gay activists.  Together, they
    interrupted the Sunday morning service at Village Seven Presbyterian
    Church with references to gay persecution and Colorado for Family
    Values co-founder Will Perkins and threw condoms into the congregation. 
    The church says homosexuality is morally wrong.
    
    Baka views the group's debut effort as a success.
    
    But as much as anything, the three-minute disruption has set off a
    debate among those concerned about gay rights issues - one that centers
    on whether militant tactics help or hurt the gay cause.
    
    "People are certainly buzzing about this," said Franklin Whitworth, a
    spokesman for the gay-rights group Ground Zero.  "We talked about it
    during our board meeting Monday and lots of people called the office
    with questions about whether this was responsible."
    
    Ground Zero, Whitworth said, will continue promoting gay rights through
    public education, community outreach and coalition with other minority
    communities.  "We decided that a militant stance is not one we want to
    take."
    
    Still, Whitworth said he personally thinks militant activism has
    validity as a strategy for change.
                                
    Peter Joseph, who chairs Ground Zero's information committee, though,
    believes disruption merely plays into the very stereotypes gay groups
    hope to dispel.
    
    "I think the chance of turning people off is greater than the chance of
    converting them to your cause, especially when you do something like
    disrupt a church service," he said.
    
    Mike Shaver, a spokesman for Citizens Project and a board member of the
    Pikes Peak Gay & Lesbian Community Center, said the Sunday
    demonstration speaks to how embattled some members of the local gay
    community feel.
    
    "But if they are trying to break down sterotypes, generate an
    understanding and appreciation of what it means to be gay, this is
    probably not the best way to do it."
    
    As far as the Savage Homos go, the debate will have little effect on
    its mission of confrontational change, Baka said.
      
    
    Many of its members have already tried the conservative approach, but
    Baka said it did not provide the kind of outlet for activism they
    desired.
    
    Three years ago, he started a chapter of Queer Nation is Colorado
    Springs.  The group disbanded for lack of support.  The Savage Homos,
    with members mostly in their 20s and 30s, is an outgrowth of Queer
    Nation.
    
    "The gay community her is, for the most part, conservative," Baka said. 
    "But ther have to be those of us who push the envelope."
    
    The group, Baka said, plans more disruptions similar to the one Sunday.
    
41.363Principal fired for allowing school prayerGRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerFri Nov 26 1993 13:5029

		Principal fired for allowing school prayer

  JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A public high school principal says he has been
fired for letting a student recite a daily prayer over the school's
intercom system.

  Bishop Knox announced his dismissal as principal of Wingfield High
School after a meeting Wednesday with Jackson School Superintendent Ben
Canada.

  Canada refused to comment, saying he can't discuss personnel matters.
But he made it clear that the district must follow a 1962 Supreme Court
decision banning school-supported prayer as unconstitutional.

  Knox, 38, was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 11 for allowing
the prayers for three days beginning Nov. 9.  Student had voted 490-96 for
the prayer.  Wingfield, one of the city's largest schools, has about 900
students.

  Knox, in his second year as principal, would not say if he plans to
fight the dismissal, but added he had no regrets about his decision to let
the president of the Student Council read the prayer.

  The suspension touched off an uproar.  Dozens of parents and supporters
called the school board.  The state's largest newspaper, The (Jackson)
Clarion-Ledger on Wednesday had nearly a full page of letters on the
controversy.
41.364CSLALL::HENDERSONI'd rather have JesusFri Nov 26 1993 20:1211

 He probably would have received the adminstrator of the year award for
handing out condoms.






Jim
41.365COMET::DYBENGrey area is found by not lookingSat Nov 27 1993 10:085
    
    
    -1
     
     :-)
41.366Last week's Newsweek (dated Nov. 29, Snoop Doggy Dog on the cover) has ...YUPPIE::COLEOpposite of progress: Con-gressMon Nov 29 1993 12:297
	... a two page-plus article about "religousness" in America near the
back of the issue. I have had the magazine almost a week, just found the
article late last night (eclipse-waiting!).  Due to the hour, I didn't read it
closely, but it was heavy on charts, and the sub-head said that although about
70 per-cent of Americans "profess" religion, only about 30(?)% "practice" it.
Surprising news, right? I intend to read tonight, and see what all those
charts said.
41.367Judge says no to Jesus picture (also more info on Knox case)GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerSat Dec 04 1993 14:2788
From the Nashua Telegraph a few days ago:


		 Judge says no to Jesus picture in school

Refuses to allow compromise [in] case

By LISA PERLMAN
The Associated Press

  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A federal judge who said he received death threats
for ordering a picture of Jesus Christ removed from a high school hallway
rejected a settlement Monday that would have added portraits of other
historical figures to the display.

  U.S. District Judge Benjamin Gibson said the settlement reached by
lawyers "still violates the Constitution and promotes a particular
religion excessively by a public body".

  The lawsuit was filed 13 months ago by Eric Pensinger, then a senior at
Bloomingdale High School.  He said the large framed picture of Christ that
had been hanging in the public school's hallway since it was donated in
the 1960s violated the constitutional ban on government establishment of
religion.

  In February, Gibson ordered the picture removed but allowed it to
remain, covered with a cloth, while the school district appealed.

  The appellate court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on the
school's motion to dismiss the case.  Lawyers for both sides agreed two
weeks ago that the picture could stay if similarly sized portraits of
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. were hung nearby.

  They also agreed the display would carry a disclaimer stating that no
public money was used to buy the pictures and that they do not serve to
endorse a particular religion.

  Gibson refused Monday to amend his earlier ruling, saying the proposed
additional pictures were of secular figures and did not adequately balance
the religious nature of the Jesus picture.

  "How can you compromise constitutional rights?" Gibson said.  "This is
not a fender-bender where you can split the difference."

  In his February ruling, Gibson relied on a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that said laws or government practices are unconstitutional if they
have a religious purpose, primarily advance or promote religion, or
excessively entangle government and religion.

  On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to re-examine that landmark
ruling.

  Neither side in the picture dispute was particularly disappointed with
Gibson's ruling Monday, since neither had been especially satisfied with
the compromise.

  Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, who represented
Pensinger, said they were willing to settle because they feared the case
would be dismissed on appeal.

  Attorney David Melton said the school district agreed to settle in order
to limit liability should it lose.

  Pensinger's attorney, Susan Fall, said Pensinger would prefer the
picture be taken down but had been willing to settle as "the lesser of two
evils".

  During the hearing, Gibson said he has received death threats since his
earlier ruling and has been under police protection.  Pensinger, who
graduated in June and works at a metal finishing factory, has said he has
been harrasssed and threatened.  He was not in court Monday.

  The U.S. Supreme Court in recent years has decided several cases in
which it was asked to overturn the 1971 decision in Lemon vs. Kurtzman.

  The sternest test came last year, when the court reaffirmed its
31-year-old ban on officially sponsored prayers in public schools.

  In Jackson, Miss., on Monday, about 200 Wingfield High School students
walked out of classes in support of their principal, Bishop Knox, who was
fired last week for allowing a student to read a prayer over the public
address system.  Knox is appealing.

  School officials said the students would be suspended for three days.

  "We are trying to prove that school prayer is right.  We need it.  Maybe
there wouldn't be as much crime," said 14-year-old Joany Dalton, a
ninth-grader.
41.368CSLALL::HENDERSONFriend will you be readySat Dec 04 1993 19:2210

   In the Knox case, the suspensions of the students were lifted and removed
   from their records.  It was also ruled that the students may indeed pray
   on the school grounds, in groups or clubs, etc..no word on the principal
   however.



 Jim
41.369No Jeff Hunter lookalike!!CSC32::J_CHRISTIEInciting PeaceSun Dec 05 1993 01:4515
    This is probably not the right place to respond to .367, but what the
    heck.  Call me compulsive! ;-}
    
    My main objection to the overwhelming majority of artistic renderings
    of Jesus is that they look so Anglo, so milky white and so pure in
    complexion.  Some have even portrayed Jesus as blond and blue-eyed
    with strong Scandanavian features.
    
    For all the time he spent outdoors and in the sun, Jesus should most
    likely have had tan or olive skin.  Jesus would have dark eyes and dark
    hair (at least, on his mother's side).
    
    Shalom,
    Richard
    
41.370CVG::THOMPSONWho will rid me of this meddlesome priest?Sun Dec 05 1993 02:159
    Artistic renditions of Jesus tend tolook like the people in the culture
    that the artist comes from. In the Orient I hear the pictures have
    unmistakably Oriental features, and on and on in other areas. I believe
    that this is an attempt to make Jesus appear familiar and approachable.
    
    I myself would rather no pictures of Jesus be created as I find them
    distracting (from His message).
    
    			Alfred
41.371The Barbie version of JesusWELLER::FANNINSun Dec 05 1993 15:5410
    re: .370
    
    >>I myself would rather no pictures of Jesus be created as I find them
    >>distracting (from His message).
    
    Alfred, my Dad always had the feeling that all these pictures bordered
    on idolatry...he may have been right in some ways.
    
    Ruth
    
41.372Bill Shielding Abortion Clinics also Aims at ACT-UP DemosCVG::THOMPSONWho will rid me of this meddlesome priest?Mon Dec 13 1993 12:2194
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New York Post

Bill Shielding Abortion Clinics also Aims at ACT-UP Demos

Robert D. Novak 

Washington mystery: Why did the bill making it a federal crime to obstruct 
access to abortion clinics, supported by big majorities in both 
the House and Senate, fail to pass before congressional adjournment 
-denying President Clinton a gala Thanksgiving signing?

Apparent solution to the mystery: Conservatives pinned on a "religious freedom" 
amendment applying that same year-in-jail and $100,000-fine penalties for 
protesters who obstruct access to churches -specifically aimed at ACT-UP and 
other homosexual extremists.

The gay lobby objected, and no final action was taken on the clinic-access 
bill, though separate versions had passed both houses.

The liberal establishment running Congress is faced with an agonizing dilemma. 
It wants desperately to crack down on Operation Rescue and other often violent 
anti-abortion demonstrators. But it cannot pass the draconian bill for that 
purpose without including often violent gay demonstrators. So, how to please 
the pro-abortion lobby without offending the gay lobby?

This dilemma's orgin may be traced to Sept. 19 when 75 gays disrupted Sunday 
evening services at the Hamilton Square Baptist Church in San Francisco to 
protest the appearance there of the Rev. Lou Sheldon, a prominent conservative 
activist. A videotape shows demonstrators jostling members entering the 
church, trying to kick open the door and causing some $2,000 in damage.

Sheldon, complaining that no arrests were made even after outnumbered San 
Francisco police were manhandled by the gays, appealed to Senate 
conservatives. Since the notorious December 1989 attack by gay extremists on 
St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, vandalism against churches has been 
reported across the country.

The result was an amendment to the clinic-access bill by Sen. Orrin Hatch 
(R-Utah), the Senate Judiciary Committee's senior Republican, to prohibit 
violation of a "place of religious worship."

It is hard to exaggerate how delicious the irony is for conservatives. They 
are bitter about severe penalties for blocking abortion clinics, while no such 
penalties are levied against union strikers, environmental protesters or 
animal-rights activists. But pro-choice senators, led by Sen. Edward M. 
Kennedy (D-Mass), could hardly deny the same treatment for ACT-UP that is 
intended for Operation Rescue.

Kennedy on Nov. 16, as manager of the clinic-access bill, accepted the 
amendment and staved off the roll call vote sought by Hatch so that no senator 
was put on the record. There was also no debate.

Until that happened, the plan had been for the House to take up the Senate 
bill instead of its own and send the finished product to the Oval Office by 
Thanksgiving. But the influental Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif), who strongly 
supports the homosexual community, prevailed on Democratic leaders to change 
plans and bring up the House's own measure. It passed Nov. 18, without the 
Hatch amendment.

On Nov. 19, Kennedy in private telephone calls asked whether there were 
Republican objections to bringing up the House-passed version and adopting it 
in the Senate -killing the religious amendment. There were indeed GOP 
objections, and the bill's sponsors decided to wait until next year.

"I am certain that the homosexual lobby was involved here," Hatch told me. 
Certainly, when questioned by this column, gay spokesmen did not disguise 
their sentiments.

"It's not only an issue of separation of church and state, but it would also 
clearly quell free speech," said ACT-UP's Denny Lee. "This country was founded 
on the right to protest against the church. For Orrin Hatch to put this in the 
bill is the most unpatriotic thing he could do."

Beatrice Dohrn of the more moderate Lambda Legal Defense Fund said, "ACT-UP is 
not making an organied effort to discourage church going, while Operation 
Rescue is making an organized effort to stop women from using abortion 
clinics.

Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), principal House sponsor of the clinic-access 
bill, told me he had heard nothing from homosexuals and had no position on the 
Hatch amendment. "Has there been a concerted effort to take a right away?" he 
asked, indicating he thinks the answer is no and doubts whether ACT-UP 
threatens constitutional rights in the way Operation Rescue does.

But a majority of Congress probably thinks otherwise. If anti-abortion 
extremists are to be denied the full protection of the First Amendment, the 
same will have to apply to homosexual extremists.
    
41.373Yellow Pages Closed to Religious SymbolsCVG::THOMPSONAn other snowy day in paradiseMon Feb 21 1994 10:58113
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               YELLOW PAGES CLOSED TO RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS
               
                   HUD rule hits church nursing homes

                           By Larry Witham
                 THE WASHINGTON TIMES February 17, 1994

If you let your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages' housing ads in
coming days, they probably will never trip over a religious symbol.

Federal fair-housing probes have prompted Yellow Pages publishers to start 
stripping religious symbols from ads for church-affiliated nursing homes, 
saying the icons convey discrimination.

US West, which produces 300 Yellow Pages directories in 14 states, has begun
its 1994-95 publishing cycle by asking two nursing homes in Minnesota to delete
Christian symbols from their ads.

The initiative comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's
fair-housing division, headed by Roberta Achtenberg. Several inquiries to HUD
officials went unanswered yesterday.

"It is the beginning of what is going to be happening in all the phone books,"
said Suzanne Hartley, community relations coordinator for Good Shepherd
Lutheran Home near St. Cloud, Minn.

The home's logo, a shepherd's cross, had to be excised before the ad could be
placed.  St. Benedict's Center, a Catholic nursing home in the same area, was
forced to remove a symbol bearing a cross. It also was told to change its
motto, "Spiritual care for all faith's" to "All faiths welcome without
preference."

"Our policy does not allow religious references in ads falling under headings
for housing ' US West spokeswoman Susan Poulos said noting that nursing homes
were recently added to the policy.

"A religious symbol or phrase in an ad can be viewed by a customer not of that
religion as saying their business is not welcome ' she said.

Industry sources said US West is one of three "Baby Bell" Yellow Pages 
publishers investigated under the new HUD initiative, which resulted in the
policy change.

"It's become an issue for the Yellow Pages publishers of the country in the
last several months," said John Purcell, vice president for public policy at
the Yellow Pages Publishers Association.

"In each case, the outcome has been held between HUD and the company," he said.
US West officials said the policy change resulted from its own annual internal
review.

"We are expecting to go to HUD and get guidelines to send to our membership to
police ourselves' Mr. Purcell said.  He said his group's 500 member publishers
produce Yellow Pages directories that 97.5 percent of the adults in America
consult at least once a week.

HUD dictates that ads tied to housing--from rentals and real estate to lending
banks, trailer parks and nursing homes--not display items related to religion,
age, family status or gender that would appear to discriminate.

The dispute over the Minnesota Yellow Pages reflects a growing legal conflict
between anti-discrimination laws and claims of religious freedom.

For instance, two Massachusetts brothers have won in court their contention
that renting an apartment to an unmarried couple abets a sin, which their
religion does not allow.  Also, in Wisconsin, a woman who placed a tenant ad
for a "mature Christian handyman" was fined by local HUD authorities, leading
to litigation costing thousands of dollars.

Moreover, news reports on the Minnesota phone-book flap have roused protests
over federal regulations that appear to limit religious freedom.

"The same U.S. government that favors proliferation of the word 'condom' has,
through the Fair Housing Act, convinced US West that refusal to allow 
proliferation of religious terminology is not to be construed as censorship or
as a violation of freedom of religion or freedom of expression," wrote Sister
Nancy Bauer, editor of the St. Cloud Visitor, the diocesan newspaper.

"Furthermore, if people want to use those terms, it is to be construed that
they intend to unfairly discriminate against those who are not of the same
faith or who are of no faith," she wrote in a newspaper editorial.

Diane Hageman of St. Benedict's Center said US West's policy has "gone 
overboard" in attempts to make ads "as religion-free as possible."

Officials at Good Shepherd Lutheran Home said the 1988 Fair Housing Act's 
exemption for exclusive housing for the elderly also covers the home's 
religious identification.

But US West's Ms. Poulos said the religion exemption is only for groups that
serve only their own members, such as convents. "I think the resistance to
change is high," she said.

Similar disputes may arise next year, as 299 other areas serviced by US West
become aware of the company's new standards for Yellow Pages.

Bell Atlantic, which publishes 240 Yellow Pages directories in six states near
the District, has agreed with HUD on guidelines to avoid discrimination,
industry sources said.

"If an organization of business is directly affiliated with a church, they may
use religious symbols," said Bell Atlantic spokeswoman Stephanie Hobbs, noting
that the policy is at least 3 years old.

She said, however, that Bell Atlantic would not allow a proprietor to place a
Christian fish or Jewish symbol in an ad in hopes of drawing those believers.
41.374Vatican decision brings joyCSC32::J_CHRISTIEMost Dangerous ChildThu Apr 14 1994 22:0622
Excepts from today's Rocky Mountain News.
by J.R. Moehringer

The altar candle was gutting, but 14-year-old Theresa Rivera's spirit
was soring just a bit.

Upon hearing Wednesday that the Vatican had officially approved of girls
serving at the altar in Catholic Masses, the Holy Trinity Church altar
server felt she'd gotten a promotion of sorts.

"I never thought they'd do *that*," she said of the papal decision to
approve what many U.S. churches have been doing for some time.

Rivera's reaction was typical throughout the metro [Denver] area.  Pastors
and priests were elated at the Vatican's move, which is seen as a vital
concession on women's rights in the church.

Many U.S. churches have been allowing girls to serve for years.  But others
have not allowed such a departure from the rules.

Now, all that may change.

41.375AKOCOA::FLANAGANhonor the webFri Apr 15 1994 13:132
    awomen!
    
41.376released from prison todayTFH::KIRKa simple songFri Jul 01 1994 13:095
Heard on the radio this morning...

After 4 1/2 years in prison, evangelist Jim Bakker (sp?) is being released
from prison to a half way house in North Carolina.  He was convicted of
bilking his followers of $150,000,000. 
41.377JULIET::MORALES_NASweet Spirit's Gentle BreezeFri Jul 01 1994 15:161
    AMEN! it's about time.  Heck murderers get less then Bakker!
41.378when is a rodent a fish?TFH::KIRKa simple songThu Sep 22 1994 14:0822
_Scientific American_  October, 1994

The classification of the planet's life-forms has implications that reach 
beyond biology.  Take the capybara, a shy and intellegent rodent that in size 
(100 pounds) and color looks much like a pig.  Yet in the 16th century, in 
response to a petition by Venezuelans and Colombians, the pope decreed that 
the capybara is a fish.  The dispensation enables observant communicants to 
consume the creature during the fast of Lent--more than 400 tons of it every 
year, according to a 1991 report by the National Research Council.

Likewise gracing the Lenten menu in parts of Canada is the beaver's tail.  The 
scaliness and predominantly aquatic environment of the appendage persuaded the 
Royal Academy of Sciences in the early 1700s to place it in the picine order.
The faculty of divinity at the University of Paris graciously deferred to the 
superior scientific acumen of its colleagues.

						--Madhusree Mukerjee

... [the article goes on to discuss the classification of tomatoes as 
     vegetable for tax purposes as well as other reasons to reclassify
     animals; for the purpose of laboratory experimentation and various 
     legal reasons.]
41.379COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertSat Nov 19 1994 20:0814
    In some parts of the world Christians are still being crucified,
    quite literally so.  News agencies report that five Christians
    have been crucified since July in Sudan, one being an Anglican
    priest.  The detail is supplied that the executioners used six-
    inch-long nails.  In Wad Medani two Catholic converts have been
    sentenced by an Islamic law court to be crucified.  Anglican
    Bishop Daniel Zindo reports that widows and orphans of slain
    Christian men are sold into slavery in north Sudan and Libya for
    $15 per slave.  Such behavior does put a strain on hopes for
    better Christian-Muslim relations.

					-- "First Things", December 1994

41.380COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Dec 13 1994 16:3428
	  VANCOUVER, British Columbia, (Reuter) - A Canadian choir
prepared to sing its usual program of popular Christmas carols
at the British Columbia legislature Thursday after resolving a
conflict over a government edict to avoid songs about Jesus
Christ.

	 A furor erupted after government officials told the choir to
perform songs that reflected Canada's ethnic diversity and avoid
overtly religious carols.

	 ``This year we were ordered to sing carols that do not
include 'Christ' or 'Jesus.' They had to be non-Christian ...
part of the move to so-called political correctness, I
suppose,'' said one choir member.

	 After an outpouring of protest, government officials rushed
to dispel the notion they had ordered the move, saying there had
been a misunderstanding.

	 ``Lord help us. Last time I checked this was a religious
celebration,'' said provincial health minister Paul Ramsey.

	 The choir sings on the steps of the legislature in the city
of Victoria at a Christmas tree lighting every year.

	 Some bureaucrats were reportedly upset at the singing last
year of ``Silent Night'' which contains references to the Virgin
Mary and the infant Jesus.
41.381AIMHI::JMARTINBarney IS NOT a nerd!!Tue Dec 13 1994 17:338
    Booo Hooooo!!!!
    
    More of the humanist whining.  They want to reap the benefits of the
    holiday but they don't want to acknowledge it's true meaning.
    
    Letches!!!!
    
    -Jack
41.382PEAKS::RICHARD_2B or D4?Tue Dec 13 1994 18:074
But Jack, the Solstice is the real 'reason for the season', 
as they say.  :-)

/Mike
41.383POWDML::FLANAGANI feel therefore I amTue Dec 13 1994 19:009
    We sing a lot of Christmas Carols at our solstice celebration.
    
    Deck the Halls,
    
    Dashing through the Snow
    
    O' Christmas Tree
    
    Lord of the Dance.
41.384AIMHI::JMARTINBarney IS NOT a nerd!!Tue Dec 13 1994 19:154
    You got me on that one!!!  I was referring to the birth of the one who
    died for the sin of the world though!!
    
    -Jack
41.385FRETZ::HEISERGrace changes everythingTue Dec 13 1994 21:181
    Naw, doesn't look to me like they persecute Christians anymore.
41.386CSLALL::HENDERSONLearning to leanTue Dec 13 1994 22:1710


 Some schools in NH have removed Christmas carols from their "winter" programs
 (formerly called Christmas Programs), including "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
 as that song mentions "Christmas"..


 
 Jim
41.387HURON::MYERSWed Dec 14 1994 02:5826
    re .385

    First of all the article said:

    > After an outpouring of protest, government officials rushed
    > to dispel the notion they had ordered the move, saying there had
    > been a misunderstanding.

    It went on to say that only "some bureaucrats" had complained after
    last year's celebration. While I'll admit the notion of removing
    "Christ" from Christmas carols is a twitty idea -- and one that was
    soundly squashed, or so it seems -- this incident is *hardly* an
    example of Christian persecution. 

    The Jews were persecuted earlier this century. Japanese Americans were
    persecuted during World War II. Blacks were persecuted throughout
    American history. Native Americans were the focus of government
    sponsored genocide. Getting a sense of how the word "persecute" should
    be used? You keep crying "wolf" and soon people will dismiss you as a
    crackpot. People who are concerned about *real* attempts to stifle
    religious freedom should choose their words more wisely. 
    
    	Eric
    
    You just keep hitting om my pet peeves, don't you :^)
    
41.388won't be longFRETZ::HEISERGrace changes everythingWed Dec 14 1994 15:101
    "just another brick in the wall..."
41.389POWDML::FLANAGANI feel therefore I amWed Dec 14 1994 15:3318
    Every school must address the question of cultural pluralism particular 
    at Christmas time which is the most lavish celebration by those who in
    anyway identify themselves as Christian.
    
    The last time I attended a holiday program at my daughter's elementary
    school, they did a wonderful program that included Chirstmas Carols,
    Hanukah songs, and Yule time  songs.  It was wonderful.
    
    My daughter had a Doctors appointment and the Dr on leaving wished
    Diane a Merry Christmas.  Diane replied that she wished him a Merry
    Christmas to, if he celebrated Christmas.  I thought it was wonderful
    the she recognized that not everyone celebrates Christmas, and in a
    subtle sense, it is offensive to assume everyone does.
    
    The schools for the most part do a great job with this issue even
    though they do make mistakes and always upset some group.
    
                                    Patricia
41.390just meSOLVIT::HAECKDebby HaeckThu Dec 15 1994 16:3317
    I don't mean offense when I wish someone a Merry Christmas.  If they
    take offense, then it was added after the wish left my heart and mouth.

    If I am talking to someone I know is not Christian, then I may say
    Happy Holiday, maybe not.  If I am given a greeting that is religious
    and non-Christian, I don't take offense.  I am flattered at the sharing
    of something special to the speaker.  I guess I am assuming no overt
    anti-Christian implication.

    And when I send out Christmas cards to non-Christian friends, I pick
    ones with a theme of may you experience the joy/peace/love of the
    season.  Christians do not have a monopoly on those feelings.

    I will not hide or disguise the fact that I am Christian.  I am not out
    to convert or other wise influence people when I wish them a Merry
    Christmas.  I am expressing my own celebration of a sacred season, and
    wishing a Merry Christmas is part of being me.
41.391RDGENG::YERKESSbring me sunshine in your smileThu Dec 15 1994 17:0817
re .390


 Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Christmas, but were not
 offended when given greetings from those that do. There
 can be a problem when persons expect you to participate in
 the celebration and can be offended sometimes when you
 don't join in the spirit of the thing.

 My main experience however has been that most respect our wish 
 not to participate. Some work colleagues have even expressed
 envy because of the commercial aspect of Christmas, from 
 passed experience I know that this holiday period can be a
 very stressful time of the year. 

 Phil. 
 
41.392COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertSat Dec 17 1994 14:0714
Moments before the annual concert at which students at Primrose Hill
School in Barrington, Rhode Island, were to sing Christmas and Chanuka
songs, the principle caved in to a complaint from a furious parent.

The word "Christ" was removed from all the carols, because it proclaims
that Jesus is the messiah or anointed one, which this parent refused to
allow the school children to use in song.

For example:

	"Jesus Christ is born today" was changed to
	"Je-e-sus is born today".

/john
41.393Prayers in Missipi public schoolsGRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerFri Dec 30 1994 18:2962
    AP 20 Dec 94 18:34 EST V0433
 
    Copyright 1994. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
 
    OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- A 7-year-old was humiliated in class when he
    objected  to hearing prayers in his public school, his mother said
    Tuesday as she filed  suit to stop the religious practice. 

    A second-grade teacher asked Jason Herdahl to wear headphones in order
    to  drown out the prayers, and he was made fun of and called names like
    "football  head," Lisa Herdahl said at a news conference. 

    Herdahl said the lawsuit was a last resort in her yearlong effort to 
    eliminate prayer and Bible study from classes attended by her five
    children,  who are in kindergarten through ninth grade at North
    Pontotoc Attendance  Center in Ecru. 

    She said her children were "stigmatized by school officials, and teased
    and  harassed by other students" because they elected not to
    participate in Bible  classes or prayer. She said they have been
    taunted so much that they no longer  want to attend class. 

    The school serves about 1,300 students from kindergarten through high 
    school and is the only public school in the area. Prayers are fed into 
    classrooms by intercom. 

    Public schools in Mississippi have traditionally allowed prayer over 
    intercoms at the start of the school day, saying they do not violate
    the  Supreme Court ban on public school prayers because students
    initiate them. 

    "We plan to vigorously defend our practices -- we feel it's
    constitutional  and doing good for the students," Pontotoc school
    superintendent Jerry Horton  said Monday. "We don't consider it a
    state-sponsored prayer or for people to  do it or listen to it." 

    The school's practices are "not even close to the line between 
    constitutional and unconstitutional," said Judith Schaeffer of People
    for the  American Way. The civil rights group and the American Civil
    Liberties Union  sued on Herdahl's behalf. 

    Herdahl said that, when her children entered the school in October
    1993,  she was told Bible teachers from various churches went to the
    school regularly  and taught Christian principles to children in the
    lower grades. 

    Herdahl said her children were baptized as Lutherans. 

    "I simply do not want the school telling my children how and when to
    pray,"  Herdahl said. "Prayer is something that my children learn at
    home and in our  church. It is ironic that in the name of religion my
    children are forced to  face daily ridicule and cruelty." 

    Over the past year, Herdahl repeatedly asked the school to stop
    sanctioning  the teaching of religion. "They never responded," she
    said, "except to say  they would deal with it at a further meeting.
    They never did." 

    Jason only wore the headphones a few times, Herdahl said, "because his 
    teacher was disturbed by it and called me." Herdahl said the teacher
    told her  that someone else had instructed her to put the headphones on
    the child. 
41.394Sad news from SarajevoRDGENG::YERKESSbring me sunshine in your smileMon Jul 10 1995 08:5455
Forwarded message:
From:	NewsAgent@aol.net
Date: 95-07-08 09:55:05 EDT

          By Sabina Cosic
          SARAJEVO, July 8 (Reuter) - The crump of random shellfire
echoed across Sarajevo on Saturday as the city's small Jehovah's
Witness community buried Bozo Djorem and his wife and daughter,
who died in a war which they, as pacifists, wanted to ignore.
          The Djorem family were trying to visit another family to
persuade them to join their church when a shell fell near them
on Thursday, killing Magdalena, aged five, and her mother Hena,
30, on the spot, friends said.
          ``Little Magdalena died clutching the bible in her hands but
Bozo was still alive, pointing to the rescuers to take his wife
and daughter first. He died in the hospital later,'' said
Jasmina Lelovic, 43, who saw the shell impact from her window.
          Since beseiging Bosnian Serb forces increased their shelling
of the city in May, more than 200 people have been killed and
about 900 wounded, the World Health Organisation says.
          ``They were saying ``nothing can happen to us, Jehovah
protects us' and now they're with him,'' said a weeping Mirko
Djuric, a friend of the Djorem family, as he placed flowers on
Magdalena's fresh grave.
          ``We were telling them they shouldn't walk around when there
is shelling going on, but Hena would say ``We have to tell the
people about Jehovah','' Djuric added.
          The Jehovah's Witness Christian sect in Sarajevo has about
100 members of all ethnicities and about 180 supporters,
so-called ``friends of truth,'' preparing to become members.
          Bozo, who was 38, Hena, and Magdalena were buried in
Sarajevo's cramped Lion's cemetery, overlooking the burned out
1984 Winter Olympic ice skating stadium and next to the city's
shell-scarred Kosevo hospital psychiatry building.
          ``Look at the irony -- (Bosnian Serb leader Radovan)
Karadzic's office used to be here. They were killed by his guys
after Bozo was scoffed at by the authorities here because he
wouldn't take a gun and fight,'' said Samir Polo, 22, a fellow
Jehovah's Witness.
          Djorem, a Jehovah's Witness since 1991, served 14 months in
Sarajevo's military prison with Polo because his religious
principles forbade him from becoming a soldier.
          He was then offered the chance to be sent to Bosnian Serb-
held territory in exchange for a captured government army
soldier, but he refused and stayed with his family.
          ``The whole family was wiped out. Neither Bozo nor Hena had
any relatives in Sarajevo. They only had Jehovah,'' Djuric said.
          The family recently got permission to leave the city and
travel to the Netherlands, where they hoped to start a new life,
Polo said. ``They lived off the humanitarian aid sent by our
brothers and sisters from abroad.''
       ^REUTER@



41.395CSC32::J_CHRISTIEUnquenchable fireTue Jul 11 1995 15:445
    Sad indeed, Phil.
    
    Shalom,
    Richard
    
41.396OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallTue Jul 11 1995 17:552
    Sri Lanka's Air Force bombed a Catholic Church in Bosnia today too. 
    Many, including children, were killed.
41.397APACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyTue Jul 11 1995 21:2185
    Well you got part of the story right. Truly a horrible tragedy, but no
    where near Bosnia. 
    
    It was not an offensive against Catholics or Christians.
    -----------------------
    

      COLOMBO, July 11 (Reuter) - Thirteen babies were among the 65 dead
found under the rubble of a Catholic church bombed by the Sri Lankan air
force, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official said on
Tuesday. 

    ICRC field coordinator Dominique Henry said at least one bomb hit St
Peter's Church at Navali, north of Jaffna town, on Sunday, the day the armed
forces launched their ``Operation Leap Forward'' against Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam. 

      The military, which said it was not aware of any church being bombed,
had dropped leaflets warning civilians in the rebel-held peninsula to seek
refuge in temples and churches to minimise the chance of death or injury in
air strikes. 

    The Tiger, who have been fighting for 12 years for a separate homeland in
the north and east, said the church was hit by nine bombs. Both the ICRC and
the Tigers said more than 100 people were inured. 

    ``This is really a violation of humanitarian law if a civilian area has
been deliberately targeted,'' Henry said, adding that he had no information
on whether the attack was deliberate or an accident.  ^REUTER@
      The military, which said it was not aware of any church being bombed,
had dropped leaflets warning civilians in the rebel-held peninsula to seek
refuge in temples and churches to minimise the chance of death or injury in
air strikes. 

    The Tiger, who have been fighting for 12 years for a separate homeland in
the north and east, said the church was hit by nine bombs. Both the ICRC and
the Tigers said more than 100 people were inured. 

    ``This is really a violation of humanitarian law if a civilian area has
been deliberately targeted,'' Henry said, adding that he had no information
on whether the attack was deliberate or an accident. 


    --------------------------------
    
    
    
      COLOMBO, July 11 (Reuter) - Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga
ordered the military on Tuesday to investigate reports the air force bombed a
packed Catholic church in the northern Jaffna peninsula, killing 65 people. 

    Kumaratunga telephoned the Archbishop of Colombo, Nicholas Marcus
Fernando, to express her concern and ask whether the archbishop had any
``authentic'' information on the reports, the presidential secretariat said
in a statement. 

    Thirteen babies were among the 65 dead found under the rubble of St
Peter's Church, at Navali, bombed on Sunday by the Sri Lankan air force at
the start of a major offensive against the Tamil rebels, an International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) official said. 

    Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) radio said the church was hit by
nine bombs. Both the ICRC and the rebels said more than 100 people were
injured. 

    Kumaratunga told the archbishop that, according to military reports,
fighting was going on about 3 km (two miles) northwest of Navali and it was
``unlikely any action by the security forces would have affected the church
or its environs.'' 

    ``The president also assured the archbishop that the on-going military
operation was clearly aimed at liberating the people of Jaffna and
accordingly the military had been given strict instructions to ensure maximum
possible safety of the civilian population,'' the statement said. 

    She had instructed the army to inquire into the reports, the statement
said. 

    The current armed forces offensive is aimed at wresting control of Jaffna
from the Tigers, who have een fighting for a separate homeland in the north
and east of the island for 12 years. 

    The government says more than 50,000 people have been killed.

    
41.398OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallTue Jul 11 1995 21:521
    My mistake, I had Bosnia on the brain.
41.399Schools not Religion-Free ZonesAPACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyWed Jul 12 1995 21:0036
    
      VIENNA, Va. (Reuter) - President Clinton said Wednesday the
Constitution does not make public schools ``religion-free zones'' and told
the Education Department to notify educators what religious expressions are
allowed. 

    ``The First Amendment does not ... convert our schools into religion-free
zones,'' Clinton said of the section in the Bill of Rights that ensures
religious expression. 

    ``There are those who do believe that schools should be value-neutral and
that religion has no place inside the schools,'' Clinton said. ``Well I think
that wrongly interprets the idea of the wall between church and state.'' 

    ``There are those who say that values and morals and religions have no
place in public education. I think that is wrong,'' he said during a speech
at a high school named after James Madison, one of the chief architects of
the ``Bill of Rights.'' 

    In recent weeks, Clinton has been staking out his positions on moral
issues and themes as his stresses the moral authority of the presidency and
his own leadership on such issues as the 1996 campaign for the White House
nears. 

    Clinton directed the Education Department to notify public school
districts of what is allowed under the various Supreme Court rulings dealing
with religious expression at schools. 

    ``People assume that there is a positive anti-religious bias in the
cumulative impact of these court decisions,'' Clinton said. 

    He said the Education Department would be clarifying what is permitted at
public schools before the start of school in the Fall.   

Reut12:19 07-12-95

41.400MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalWed Jul 12 1995 21:143
    I'm curious why he would bring this up now!
    
    -Jack
41.401says one thing, does anotherOUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallThu Jul 13 1995 21:351
    because he's in campaign mode already for next year.  
41.402POWDML::FLANAGANlet your light shineFri Jul 14 1995 13:4210
    I would like to believe because he is a man of faith and the leader of
    our nation.
    
    I believe that he loves the bible and at the same time honors the rights
    and responsibility of every American to believe as she/he is called to
    believe.
    
    Bill Clinton is one Christian leader that I like seeing in office!.
                        
                                 Patricia
41.403RrrrrrrrrightCSLALL::HENDERSONLearning to leanFri Jul 14 1995 14:0011
    
>    Bill Clinton is one Christian leader that I like seeing in office!.
                        
 
    Yes...he's a shining example of morality and is rock solid in his
    convictions.  




 Jim
41.404MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalFri Jul 14 1995 14:3226
    Patricia:
    
    I'm somewhat surprised by your opinion of Mr. Clinton.  Considering he
    hasn't exactly lived above reproach in matters of honoring his spouse,
    being a great beneficiary of the evil 80's (Reagan and all that),
    clearly pandering to both sides of the spectrum...and I don't mean
    compromising...I'm talking about bold faced mistruths on issues of
    policy...sorry but I simply don't see the merit.
    
    I can somewhat understand your endearing yourself to him because
    Hillary tends to get into the spotlight from time to time and he's the
    closest thing we will ever see to a president espousing to radical
    leftist dogmas of politics...but please, let's not be disingenuous in
    using the term Christian as synonomous with our CiC.  Let's be upfront
    and honest in stating that this whole thing is about ideology and
    Christianity has little to do with it.  Now this prayer thing is
    strictly a matter of a politician pandering to the southern
    democrats...you know, the people who don't believe in the party line
    but are simply tied in to the need to vote the party and not the
    candidate.  If you can't see the manipulation going on here, then it is
    time you became astute to such matters.  
    
    By the way, these comments are non partisan.  I simply detest a
    politician making a fool of his/her constituents.
    
    -Jack 
41.405BIGQ::SILVADiabloFri Jul 14 1995 14:4813
| <<< Note 41.403 by CSLALL::HENDERSON "Learning to lean" >>>


| Yes...he's a shining example of morality and is rock solid in his convictions.


	Jim, have you ever known someone who made mistakes in the past that
turned their life around? Should those people get the same treatment Clinton
gets? Maybe you could provide some examples that happened which make you feel
he has not changed.


Glen
41.406POWDML::FLANAGANlet your light shineFri Jul 14 1995 14:4816
    Jack,
    
    I believe that Bill Clinton is a man of honor and solid conviction.
    
    I believe that he has made mistakes.  He has admitted his infidelity
    and it has cost him.  I am impressed that he and Hillary have been able
    to work through that issue and seem to love and honor one another.
    
    I have a real problem with those who label themselves "Christian" and
    make a solid practice of determining who is and who is not Christian.
    
                                   Patricia
    
    
    
                                 
41.407MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalFri Jul 14 1995 14:5716
    As far as Bill Clinton being a Christian, nobody really knows because
    he never seems to talk about spiritual issues.  I've never heard him
    mention Jesus before so please don't count me as one who was
    determining whether or not he is a Christian.
    
    What I was saying was please don't use the term Christian synonomously
    with Bill Clinton.  His actions would show him to be a poor testimony
    to that fact.  I may or may not be any better but that isn't germane
    since I am not President of the United States and he is.
    
    I think the biggest error the American electorate made three years ago
    was believing the lie that character is not an issue.  It's all about
    ideology Patricia, admit it!  Honor and character have nothing to do
    with this.
    
    -Jack
41.408CSC32::J_OPPELTWanna see my scar?Fri Jul 14 1995 16:231
    	I can't believe you guys fell for the leg-pulling.
41.409both ways?HBAHBA::HAASimprobable causeFri Jul 14 1995 16:4311
>    ... I've never heard him
>    mention Jesus before so please don't count me as one who was
>    determining whether or not he is a Christian.
>    
>    What I was saying was please don't use the term Christian synonomously
>    with Bill Clinton.  

So which is it? Seems like you've determined, and in fact, have spoken
your judgement.

TTom
41.410BIGQ::SILVADiabloFri Jul 14 1995 17:116
| <<< Note 41.408 by CSC32::J_OPPELT "Wanna see my scar?" >>>

| I can't believe you guys fell for the leg-pulling.


	Huh? Where is the leg pulling coming from Joe?
41.411MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalFri Jul 14 1995 18:0633
    Ttom:
    
    A highly regarded man once had a son who was a good boy...but young and
    inexperienced.  This man had to go on a long journey to meet other
    dignitaries.  Upon leaving, he told his son, "My home and all its
    belongings will be under your stewardship until I return.  All that I
    have will be put in your charge.
    
    The man had been gone for weeks and the son decided it would be fun to
    have a party.  Well, this party turned into quite a fiasco...and the
    behavior was very undignified.  To his detriment, his father returned
    that evening to see this spectacle.  I imagine that the son was
    forgiven and was still and always would be the man's son.  At the same
    time I can imagine the father not really being too proud to boast the
    boy was his son.
    
    The president is a steward of the country.  He was elected to honor
    this stewardship.  I put alot of stock in this and highly respect the
    OFFICE of the presidency.  In short, regardless of party, I don't
    appreciate orgies going on under my roof.
    
    At the same time, the president is a steward of all that belongs to
    God.  I EXPECT a leader to honor God in all his actions.  I expect a
    leader to live above reproach.  Bill Clinton may be a Christian; but he
    is also in a position where he influences values and policy; therefore,
    he is subject to more scrutiny than anybody else...just as a pastor is.
    
    "Let not all of us become teachers, lest we incur stricter judgemnent."
    How applicable.  I believe if a man...especially a man in Clintons
    position can identify with Christianity, he must first walk in a manner
    worthy of it. 
    
    -Jack
41.412President ChameleonOUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallFri Jul 14 1995 18:224
>    Yes...he's a shining example of morality and is rock solid in his
>    convictions.  
    
    Amen, Jim!  Too bad they change from week to week.
41.413the fruit of SlickOUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallFri Jul 14 1995 18:2512
>	Jim, have you ever known someone who made mistakes in the past that
>turned their life around? Should those people get the same treatment Clinton
>gets? Maybe you could provide some examples that happened which make you feel
>he has not changed.
    
    how many murders, real estate scams, adulterous affairs, and money
    laundering schemes does it take before you renounce your ways and turn
    to God with a repentant heart?  His political policies are a dead
    giveaway that he hasn't repented.
    
    Mike
    
41.414BIGQ::SILVADiabloFri Jul 14 1995 18:3636
| <<< Note 41.413 by OUTSRC::HEISER "watchman on the wall" >>>


| how many murders, 

	Please provide who's murder he was involved in please.

| real estate scams, 

	Please provide all real estate scams he has been found guilty of
please. BTW, found guilty is with proof, not in your own mind.

| adulterous affairs, 

	Please tell me of how many adulterous affairs the man has had since it
had all come out back in 92.

| and money laundering schemes 

	Please tell me of all the money laundering schemes he has been
convicted above please.

	Mike, it would appear, anyway, that unless you can provide the
convictions, the people he has slept with since it got out in 92, etc, that you
are basing your assumptions about Clinton on a bunch of rumor, maybe's, and
possibly falsehoods (I can't wait for a murder explaination). Seems to me that
the book you hold so dear has something in it about spreading falsehoods about
others. So I hope you are able to explain it all to us.

	The other thing that appears to be happening is that by your above
logic, once someone goes sour, they can't come back. If that was what you
meant, I can't agree with you. If you meant something else, please state it.


Glen

41.415OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallFri Jul 14 1995 18:448
    Glen, the evidence will begin to come out when the trial starts on
    Tuesday (18th).  I still say he will be forced to resign at the least.
    
    If you can't wait until then, get a copy of the video called "The
    Clinton Chronicles."  Or I can post the transcript of it (2000 lines
    long).
    
    Mike
41.416APACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyFri Jul 14 1995 18:456
    
    Lest we forget, this isn't SOAPBOX. Although I'm sure you wear my
    displeasure as a badge of honor, I find the invective comments 
    unnecessary.

    At the very least, can we take this discussion to the "Politics" topic.
41.417CSC32::J_OPPELTWanna see my scar?Fri Jul 14 1995 18:502
    	I wonder if those giving Clinton every benefit of the doubt
    	also do the same for Jim Bakker.
41.418gaspCSLALL::HENDERSONLearning to leanFri Jul 14 1995 19:094


 
41.419BIGQ::SILVADiabloFri Jul 14 1995 19:5122
| <<< Note 41.415 by OUTSRC::HEISER "watchman on the wall" >>>

| Glen, the evidence will begin to come out when the trial starts on
| Tuesday (18th).  

	Mike, you amaze me. You have convicted the guy already. Based on what
you know, you have slandered this man. You don't have facts, yet you call him
guilty. Mike, is there anything in the Bible that talks about making false
claims against another? Because until you have the facts, which you don't, you
are making nothing more than idle gossip. 

| If you can't wait until then, get a copy of the video called "The Clinton 
| Chronicles."  Or I can post the transcript of it (2000 lines long).

	Let's see..... something someone was supposed to do is on video? Is it
him doing the actions themselves, or is it someone else saying he did this or
that? 

	What about this murder he is supposed to be involved in?


Glen
41.420BIGQ::SILVADiabloFri Jul 14 1995 19:528
| <<< Note 41.417 by CSC32::J_OPPELT "Wanna see my scar?" >>>

| I wonder if those giving Clinton every benefit of the doubt also do the same 
| for Jim Bakker.

	When bringing up Jim, it is based on what he has done and has been
found guilty of doing. It is not based on something one is being accused of.
Big difference there.
41.421Hillary is up (indictment) for 20 years for bank fraudOUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallFri Jul 14 1995 20:247
    Glen, take your head out of the sand.  The facts are out there for
    those who want to read them.  Just because you haven't read it in
    mainstream media doesn't mean the facts are already in.
    
    And it is murderS not 1 murder.
    
    Mike
41.422CSC32::J_OPPELTWanna see my scar?Fri Jul 14 1995 20:3021
    	re .420
    
    	in .414 you said:
    
>	Please tell me of how many adulterous affairs the man has had since it
> had all come out back in 92.
    
    	Obviously you agree that Clinton "did something" before 1992.
    	(Considering that he admitted it himself, I agree that he "did
    	something" too.)
    
    	Then you said:
    
>	The other thing that appears to be happening is that by your above
> logic, once someone goes sour, they can't come back. 

    	Clinton "did something" before 1992, and you want to give him 
    	the benefit of the doubt that he can come back from going sour.  
    	(Interesting choice of words you chose to describe him, BTW.)
    	Bakker "did something" before 1992, and I again ask if you are
    	willing to extend that same benefit of the doubt to him.
41.423BIGQ::SILVADiabloSat Jul 15 1995 01:1623
| <<< Note 41.421 by OUTSRC::HEISER "watchman on the wall" >>>

| -< Hillary is up (indictment) for 20 years for bank fraud >-

	Nothing is proven. Until it is, all you are doing is spreading rumors
and gossip. You are going against what the Bible says.

| Glen, take your head out of the sand. The facts are out there for those who 
| want to read them. Just because you haven't read it in mainstream media 
| doesn't mean the facts are already in.

	Until the facts are out for people to see, AND THEN PROVEN, all you are
doing is spreading rumors, gossiping. That is going against the Bible. You
know, the book you hold so dear?

| And it is murderS not 1 murder.

	Wow.... you get all upset about the other stuff because it goes against
the law, and something that is legal, you're up in a huff about. You can't win
with you Mike. I wonder when you will be like the Bible says you should be?


Glen
41.424BIGQ::SILVADiabloSat Jul 15 1995 01:1818
| <<< Note 41.422 by CSC32::J_OPPELT "Wanna see my scar?" >>>



| >	Please tell me of how many adulterous affairs the man has had since it
| > had all come out back in 92.

| Obviously you agree that Clinton "did something" before 1992.

	A lot of people did stuff before 1992. It doesn't mean those people,
like Clinton, didn't learn from their mistakes.

| Clinton "did something" before 1992, and you want to give him the benefit of 
| the doubt that he can come back from going sour. Bakker "did something" before
| 1992, and I again ask if you are willing to extend that same benefit of the 
| doubt to him.

	Why wouldn't I? 
41.425CSC32::J_OPPELTWanna see my scar?Sat Jul 15 1995 02:348
    	re.-1
    
    	Why wouldn't you?  I don't know.  You tell me!
    
    	You've blasted Bakker for his past transgressions, no different
    	from those who blast Clinton for his.  I'm just pointing out
    	that you might want to be a little more judicious in this area
    	as you are calling others to do.
41.426trueLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (DTN 297-5780, MRO2-3/E8)Sun Jul 16 1995 17:1425
re Note 41.404 by MKOTS3::JMARTIN:

>     Let's be upfront
>     and honest in stating that this whole thing is about ideology and
>     Christianity has little to do with it.  

        Now do you believe this applies only in the case of Clinton,
        or do you agree that this applies equally well to the dozens
        of other politicians, mostly in the Republican party, who
        have also been using this non-issue for political gain?

        The problem is that once an issue like this is used
        successfully by one side, the other side is essentially
        forced to use it as well, regardless of its importance.  (In
        fact, it often seems that the less important the issue, the
        more likely the other side will simply adopt a similar
        stance, rather than waste precious time on it.)


>     If you can't see the manipulation going on here, then it is
>     time you became astute to such matters.  
  
        I agree, Jack, I agree.
          
        Bob
41.427the "liberation theology" of the rightLGP30::FLEISCHERwithout vision the people perish (DTN 297-5780, MRO2-3/E8)Sun Jul 16 1995 17:3929
re Note 41.413 by OUTSRC::HEISER:

>     His political policies are a dead
>     giveaway that he hasn't repented.

        Well, I see things differently (as you might expect).

        Clinton is one of the few prominent leaders on the U.S. scene
        today who hasn't bought into the worldly (and HIGHLY
        secularlized) so-called Christianity of the right (which is,
        at best, the political right's equivalent to "liberation
        theology" on the Marxist end -- an attempt to reconcile a
        particular political philosophy with Christianity).

        That, of course, doesn't prove he's more Christian than
        anybody else (I don't want to fall into the same trap you've
        apparently fallen).

        Bob

        P.S.  When I "came of age" in the years before and
        immediately after 1970 all the liberals I knew personally
        were Christian (and in almost all cases were evangelicals or 
        Catholics) and the majority of the Christians I knew were
        liberal in their political leanings.  Everything I have seen
        in the intervening years -- increasingly conservative
        government lead mostly by Republicans, accompanied by
        increasing deterioration in society -- has convinced me that
        liberalism and Christianity is the healthier mix.
41.428BIGQ::SILVADiabloMon Jul 17 1995 00:0924
| <<< Note 41.425 by CSC32::J_OPPELT "Wanna see my scar?" >>>


| You've blasted Bakker for his past transgressions, no different from those 
| who blast Clinton for his.  

	There is a big difference Joe. I blast Bakker for his past, 
transgressions, but don't hold it against him today. People with Clinton 
hold it against him to this day. Here is an example:

	Jim Bakker had been caught and sent to jail. He was not a good
Christian for his actions. 

	Nothing is said about how his character is now. Lets look at Clinton.

	Bill Clinton got caught having sex with another woman. That means we
can not trust him, even though it happened a few years ago. 

	Of course, that says nothing of those who condemned Clinton for things
not proven yet. 



Glen
41.429MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Jul 17 1995 13:4517
    Bob:
    
    The Republican party???...Lilly white???  I agree that's a laugh.  But
    listen, the important thing is that I'm sitting here admitting this so
    at least I have a realistic outlook on politics.  
    
    Vladimere Lenin once stated, "Liberals are useful idiots."  Hence if
    Lenin thinks this way of liberals, what do you think the left wing
    politicians think of their contituency?  The only point I was making to
    Patricia was that when she accolades a politician who lacks the ability
    to live above reproach and apparently has alot of dirty laundry...and
    forms a cabinet who has over half it's membership under
    investigation...I mean come on...let's be a little realistic in our
    assessments here.  I think Nixon was one of the greatest Presidents of
    the century but hey, the guy was a crook!
    
    -Jack
41.430unconstitutional and judgementalHBAHBA::HAAStime compressedMon Jul 17 1995 15:3824
Well, the religious aspect of this is obvious.

1. Many of the opinions expressed show total disregard for our current
form of criminal and civil justice. Jerry Falwell has a video put out at
taxpayers expense that relates his view of Clinton and that is accepted
as good enough evidence, hearing and decision of some. The irony of this
is that George Bush is not similarly convicted since he was also party to
some of the "murders" and most of the drug trafficing that led to the
"murders".

2. And more important from the Christian perspective, some have consulted
with God, looked into Clinton's heart and pronounced the man evil. I've
attempted to discuss this with some of those that profess this opinion
and I've been told that this condemnation is Biblically based.

So, with total disregard for his constitutioinal rights and with total
disregard at a significant portion of the new testament, he is condemned
in the name of witnessing to one's belief.

The only part of all this can be agreed with is to await the outcome of
the hearings which most certainly will not lead to Clinton's resignation
and will thus be condemned themselves.

TTom
41.431OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallMon Jul 17 1995 17:1436
    Bob,
    
>        Clinton is one of the few prominent leaders on the U.S. scene
>        today who hasn't bought into the worldly (and HIGHLY
>        secularlized) so-called Christianity of the right (which is,
>        at best, the political right's equivalent to "liberation
>        theology" on the Marxist end -- an attempt to reconcile a
>        particular political philosophy with Christianity).
    
    Why did he allow a nationally broadcasted interview in which he
    professed his faith on ABC last year?  Why does he waffle on his
    party's stances (budgeting, Hollywood, military bases, etc.) and try to 
    sound like a Republican now that he's outnumbered?

>        That, of course, doesn't prove he's more Christian than
>        anybody else (I don't want to fall into the same trap you've
>        apparently fallen).
    
    No he's less.

>        P.S.  When I "came of age" in the years before and
>        immediately after 1970 all the liberals I knew personally
>        were Christian (and in almost all cases were evangelicals or 
>        Catholics) and the majority of the Christians I knew were
>        liberal in their political leanings.  Everything I have seen
>        in the intervening years -- increasingly conservative
>        government lead mostly by Republicans, accompanied by
>        increasing deterioration in society -- has convinced me that
>        liberalism and Christianity is the healthier mix.
    
    The partisan commonality was implied then with respect to moral and
    social issues (i.e., both major parties shared the same views).  The
    only differences then were in real political issues: economics, 
    governing, labor, welfare, etc.
    
    Mike
41.432OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallMon Jul 17 1995 17:165
    I don't think anyone said Bush wasn't at fault in here.  He was and
    should be punished.  Unfortunately he's not a priority now because he's
    politically irrelevant.
    
    Mike
41.433BIGQ::SILVADiabloMon Jul 17 1995 17:3325
| <<< Note 41.431 by OUTSRC::HEISER "watchman on the wall" >>>


| Why did he allow a nationally broadcasted interview in which he professed his 
| faith on ABC last year?  

	And if he never professed his faith, would you say he can't even tell
us what his faith is? He loses both ways....

| Why does he waffle on his party's stances (budgeting, Hollywood, military 
| bases, etc.) and try to sound like a Republican now that he's outnumbered?

	I don't think he sounds like a republican at all. Believe it or not,
repubs can have a good idea or two, along with the dems. Sometimes the whole
idea is good, sometimes just parts of it is. (for both parties) If Clinton, or
anyone else take part of an idea that is good, and try to make it better, then
he is doing something he should be commended for, his job. He could just say
every repub idea is bad, and veto any and everything they try to pass. But he
doesn't. Yet you call him a repub. He is the President. He is trying to do his
job. The party stuff shouldn't even come into play. Getting things done,
should.



Glen
41.434BIGQ::SILVADiabloMon Jul 17 1995 17:349

	RE: .430


		Very good note. Thanks for posting it.


Glen
41.435MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Jul 17 1995 17:416
 ZZ   Believe it or not,
 ZZ   repubs can have a good idea or two, along with the dems. 
    
    Oh yeah?  What good ideas have the dems had lately?  Sincerely asking.
    
    -Jack
41.436'nuff saidOUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallMon Jul 17 1995 19:466
>	And if he never professed his faith, would you say he can't even tell
>us what his faith is? He loses both ways....\
    
    faithful in the small things, faithful in the big things
    a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump
    character matters
41.437OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallMon Jul 17 1995 19:475
    >    Oh yeah?  What good ideas have the dems had lately?  Sincerely asking.
    
    Jack, the dem that told his peers to "feel free to do what you have to
    do to stay elected, even in opposing the President" was a pretty smart
    one.
41.438MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Jul 17 1995 20:533
    Good note Mike.  Thanks for posting it!
    
    Sound familiar?
41.439exitAPACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyMon Jul 17 1995 21:104
    
    > Oh yeah?  What good ideas have the dems had lately?
    
    .399
41.440MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Jul 17 1995 21:237
    Eric:
    
    This is all very good...unfortunately, it is an idea that was stolen by
    the people everybody is ascared of...guys like Pat Robertson, Dick
    Armey, Bob Dole, and Newt Gingrich!
    
    -Jack
41.441HURON::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyMon Jul 17 1995 22:4412
    
    >  ...it is an idea that was stolen...
    
    This is a peach. Anyone who holds religion and faith to be a positive
    quality has stolen the idea from conservative republicans. 
    
    Secondly, the idea(s) Clinton put forward are *not* held by those you
    list. Most certainly not Pat Roberson, whose organization specifically
    states that the US Constitution does not go far enough to guarentee
    their form of religious freedom.
    
    Eric
41.442OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallMon Jul 17 1995 22:521
    Jack, GREAT NOTE!!!
41.443Bishops condemn sexual abuse of childrenCSC32::J_CHRISTIEPs. 85.10Thu Oct 26 1995 12:1982
    (c) 1995 Copyright The News and Observer Publishing Co. (c) 1995
    Associated Press
    
    (Oct 24, 1995 - 23:24 EDT) -- After a decade in which the sins of
    pedophile priests placed their church on the defensive, U.S. Roman
    Catholic bishops are issuing a forceful pastoral message that condemns
    the sexual abuse of children.
    
    The bishops, whose church lauds the sanctity of family, declared sex
    abusers must be held accountable for their actions, even if it means
    breaking up families to protect children at risk.
    
    The Associated Press obtained a copy of the document Tuesday; it is to
    be formally released Thursday.
    
    In the statement, the bishops acknowledge their own vulnerability and
    damaged credibility concerning pedophilia. For years, abusive priests
    traditionally received counseling but then were sent on to new
    parishes, where more abuse sometimes occurred.
    
    While forgiveness is often seen as charitable and Christlike, all acts
    of child sex abuse are morally evil and only God can absolve abusers,
    the bishops say in "Walk in the Light: A Pastoral Response to Child
    Sexual Abuse."
    
    "We emphasize that the community, including the family, needs to call
    the abuser to accountability," the bishops said. "We need to say:
    Abusive behavior is wrong and we will hold you accountable for it."
    
    The statement, developed by the National Conference of Catholic
    Bishops' committees on Marriage and Family and on Women in Society and
    in the Church, was approved by the church's 50-member Administrative
    Committee. It will be distributed as a booklet to churches, parochial
    schools and church day-care centers.
    
    No one has been able to come up with solid numbers on clerical
    pedophiles, but experts from every faith say the problem exists in all
    religions and denominations.
    
    "Whenever people, especially men, have authority over children, there's
    some percentage of sexual abuse going on," said the Rev. Jim Poling, a
    Presbyterian psychotherapist and author of "The Abuse of Power: A
    Theological Problem."
    
    In one of the most recent examples, four Catholic priests in
    Washington, D.C., were arrested in February and charged with sexual
    abuse. One of them, the Rev. Thomas S. Schaefer, was sentenced last
    week to 16 years in prison for molesting altar boys in Washington and
    Maryland over three decades. A second is to be sentenced in December,
    and the two others go on trial soon.
    
    Because of such cases, the organized groups of victims and the Catholic
    church's own sheer size and number of priests, it is the 60 million-member
    church that has seemed especially mired in the murk of pedophilia.
    
    Before making their statement, the bishops debated whether Americans
    would see them as having the credibility to address child sex abuse,
    say people involved in developing the statement.
    
    They decided that child sex abuse thrives on silence and that their
    voices were needed to pierce the victims' isolation, said Dolores
    Leckey, executive director of the Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women
    and Youth.
    
    "You've got to bring things to light. That's the Gospel, isn't it?" she
    said.
    
    The pastoral statement acknowledges the "havoc and suffering" caused by
    those within the church.
    
    "We are compelled to speak, even knowing that the Church carries a
    heavy burden of responsibility in the area of sexual abuse," the
    bishops said.
    
    "We state firmly and clearly that any act of child sexual abuse is
    morally evil. It is never justified," they said.
    
    Addressing an issue of special concern to victims, the bishops
    emphasized that abusers need to suffer the consequences of their
    actions; they urged church workers to become familiar with civil
    reporting requirements as well as church policies.
    
41.444OUTSRC::HEISERwatchman on the wallThu Oct 26 1995 15:1311
Mark 9:42  
    And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me,
 it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were
 cast into the sea.
    
    I think priests need to be empowered (Acts 1:8) by the Holy Spirit to 
    overcome these obstacles and the hurdles Paul talked about in Romans 7.  
    I also believe the Bible forbids those that prevent marriage (1 Timothy
    4:3).
    
    Mike
41.4451 Tim 4:3 not applicable to the situationCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Oct 26 1995 17:3610
Well, of course the Roman Catholic Church doesn't "prevent marriage"; they
consider it to be a very honorable state.

And they even have married priests in Eastern Europe and Asia (plus a few
exceptions for converts from the Episcopal Church in the USA).  But in the
West and Far East (those areas in the Latin Rite), they have determined
that the demands of the job of being a parish priest are incompatible with
the obligations to family.

/john
41.446COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertMon Nov 20 1995 02:4660
Vatican says ban on women priests is forever
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VATICAN CITY (Nov 19, 1995 - From wire services) - In a drastic move, the
Vatican has attempted to slam shut the debate over women priests by
declaring that the ban on their ordination is an infallible part of
Catholic doctrine that cannot be disputed or changed.

Saturday the Vatican released a ruling that Church sources said would make
it absolutely impossible for a future pope to reverse the official Catholic
policy against women priests.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican body that
oversees doctrinal issues, issued a statement at the pope's request in an
attempt to clear up lingering doubts about the definitive nature of his 1994
letter on women priests.

The Congregation said Catholics should see the 1994 letter as applying
"always, everywhere and to all faithful" and declared it an unquestionable
part of the "deposit of faith."

"This doctrine calls for a definitive assent because, founded on the word of
God, written and constantly preserved and applied in the tradition of the
Church from the beginning, it has been proposed infallibly by the ordinary
and universal magisterium (Church teaching authority)," the statement said.

The Vatican observed that male ordination should not be seen as
discriminatory against women. "The Church teaches as a fundamental truth:
the equality of men and women," the Vatican said.  "The priesthood is a
service and not a position of power and privilege over others," the note
continued. Those who see it as discriminatory are "profoundly mistaken."

The method chosen to stress the definitive nature of the ban on women
priests stopped just short of the most solemn form of declaring something
infallible -- when the pope does it himself, speaking "ex cathedra" (from
the throne).

A Vatican spokesman explained that technically the entire 1994 papal
document was not being declared infallible but the ban on women priests
contained in the same document was declared an infallible part of Church
teaching and tradition.

The Vatican says the Church does not have the authority to allow women to
become priests because Christ, in a free and sovereign way, chose only men
as his apostles. The Church asserts Christ was reflecting divine and not
human will.

Church leaders have rejected assertions by women's groups who say that by
choosing only men Christ was merely acting in accordance with the social
norms of his times.

In the 1994 document the pope solemnly wrote:

"I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly
ordination on women and that this judgement is to be definitively held by
all the Church's faithful."

That document followed the ordination of women priests in the Church of
England, a move that brought relations with Rome to their lowest point in
centuries.
41.447PMROAD::FLANAGANlet your light shineMon Nov 20 1995 13:443
    The vatican and the pope are "profoundly mistaken" in this heretical
    decision and the attempt to enforce in perpetuity the evil of
    institutional sexism.
41.448MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Nov 20 1995 14:035
    Patricia:
    
    Do you believe that the Muslim faith is sexist?
    
    -Jack
41.449POWDML::FLANAGANlet your light shineMon Nov 20 1995 16:4818
    From what little I know of the Muslim faith, I believe the practice of
    the Muslim faith to be sexist.  I do not know anywhere near as much as
    I should know about that faith.
    
    I know that the Muslim use the Hebrew Scripture, the CHristian
    Scripture and their unique Scripture.  I know the Christian Scripture
    and Hebrew scripture to be sexist and patriarchal.  All peoples who
    worship the God of Abraham, shared certain stereotypes and culturally
    defined attributes.  All can only be anti sexist and not non sexist. 
    Many fundementalist followers of the God of Abraham have no desire to be
    anti sexist and therefore tend to be blatantly sexist by nature.
    
    The pope decreeing infallibly that women cannot be priests is blatantly
    sexist.  
    
    I don't address my remarks at Muslim sexism because I believe at
    looking at the brick in my own eye before trying to reform someone
    else.
41.450MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Nov 20 1995 16:567
     ZZ   I don't address my remarks at Muslim sexism because I believe at
     ZZ   looking at the brick in my own eye before trying to reform someone
     ZZ   else.
    
    I couldn't make this claim because I am not Catholic.
    
    -Jack
41.451CSC32::J_CHRISTIEPs. 85.10Mon Nov 20 1995 17:146
    Catholics are Christians.  Muslims are not.  Jesus did get a nice
    little write up in the Koran, however.
    
    Shalom,
    Richard
    
41.452TNPUBS::PAINTERPlanet CrayonMon Nov 20 1995 18:3516
    
    I believe that the cores of all the major religions are not sexist.  
    However there are people who are practicing them that make them appear 
    to be so...and this includes Islam, along with Christianity, Hinduism, 
    Buddhism, Judaism, etc.
    
    I happen to know many Muslims...in fact the son of a Sufi master in 
    Europe is an acquaintence of mine.  (Sufism is the mystical branch of 
    Islam.)  Their order holds women in very high regard.
    
    As for women priests in Catholicism...it appears as if this is the Last 
    Word, and so hopefully those who don't like it will finally find the 
    courage to leave and join other religions that do recognize that women 
    are just as capable of being priests and ministers as men are. 
    
    Cindy
41.453MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Nov 20 1995 19:006
    I would go even further to say that there are women out there far more
    capable of being a priest than some of the priest today.  Just as there
    are Digital employees far more capable of learning to fly an F16 than
    some of our Airforce personnel.  
    
    -Jack
41.454HURON::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyMon Nov 20 1995 19:578
    
    Jack,

    I don't understand the analogy. Could you elaborate.

    Thanks,

    Eric
41.455MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalMon Nov 20 1995 20:026
    As a Digital employee, I may be more astute at learning to fly a jet
    than somebody in the Air Force.  However, I am a Digital Employee and
    therefore, it is not within the realm of duty for me to fly jets.
    Translation:  it is not my duty or my role.
    
    -Jack
41.456HURON::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyMon Nov 20 1995 20:395
    
    Well, I'm glad to see an employee with no desire to ever leave the
    company, no matter how dire the circumstances.
    
    Eric
41.457BIGQ::SILVADiabloMon Nov 20 1995 21:505

	But Eric, if he did leave the company he could at least be closer to
the altitude of his thoughts......they are way out there..... maybe the space
program would be better suited for this. :-)
41.458MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalTue Nov 21 1995 12:551
    Ho ho...you got nerve!
41.459BIGQ::SILVADiabloTue Nov 21 1995 13:191
hee hee hee!!!!
41.460COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Nov 21 1995 14:107
>    The vatican and the pope are "profoundly mistaken" in this heretical
>    decision ...

Er, it can't be heretical; the word "heretical" means "that which departs
from accepted standards"; the accepted standard is the male-only priesthood.

/john
41.461POWDML::FLANAGANlet your light shineTue Nov 21 1995 14:442
    The accepted standard as far as I am concerned is justice, equity, and
    compassion in human relationships.
41.462CSC32::J_OPPELTWanna see my scar?Tue Nov 21 1995 14:587
             <<< Note 41.452 by TNPUBS::PAINTER "Planet Crayon" >>>

>    I happen to know many Muslims...in fact the son of a Sufi master in 
>    Europe is an acquaintence of mine.  (Sufism is the mystical branch of 
>    Islam.)  Their order holds women in very high regard.
    
    	But will their order allow women to be Sufi masters?
41.463COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Nov 21 1995 15:3941
                             Responsum ad Dubium
                              October 28, 1995
          --------------------------------------------------------
                    Concerning the Teaching Contained in
                           Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
          --------------------------------------------------------
                 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Dubium: Whether the teaching that the Church has no authority whatsoever to
confer priestly ordination on women, which is presented in the Apostolic
Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis to be held definitively, is to be understood
as belonging to the deposit of faith.

Responsum: In the affirmative.

This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word
of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the
Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary
and universal Magisterium (cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church Lumen Gentium 25, 2). Thus, in the present circumstances, the
Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf.
Lk 22:32), has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration,
explicitly stating what is to be held always, everywhere, and by all, as
belonging to the deposit of the faith.

The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul II, at the Audience granted to the
undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved this Reply, adopted in the ordinary
session of this Congregation, and ordered it to be published.

Rome, from the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on
the Feast of the Apostles SS. Simon and Jude, October 28, 1995.

+ Joseph Card. Ratzinger
Prefect

+ Tarcisio Bertone
Archbishop Emeritus of Vercelli
Secretary

[New Advent Web Page]
http://www.knight.org/advent
41.464GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerTue Nov 21 1995 16:047
I wonder whether this declaration that the inability of woman to become
priests is part of the "deposit of faith" of the RCC will lead to a split
between the Anglican church and the Roman Catholic Church.  Otherwise it
would seem to be a decisive blow against the progressive faction within
the Anglican church.

				-- Bob
41.465TNPUBS::PAINTERPlanet CrayonTue Nov 21 1995 16:3312
    
    Re.462
    
    >But will their order allow women to be Sufi masters?
    
    I don't know that offhand...I do know that the next successor has been
    chosen (and he is male), however I'm not aware of any restrictions
    placed upon women being viable candidates for that position (unlike
    what the Pope has done with the Catholic church.)
    
    Cindy
    
41.466CSC32::J_OPPELTWanna see my scar?Tue Nov 21 1995 17:3319
             <<< Note 41.465 by TNPUBS::PAINTER "Planet Crayon" >>>
    
>    >But will their order allow women to be Sufi masters?
>    
>    I don't know that offhand...I do know that the next successor has been
>    chosen (and he is male), however I'm not aware of any restrictions...
    
    	Of course, that doesn't mean such restrictions don't exist.
    
>    (unlike what the Pope has done with the Catholic church.)
    
    	Perhaps the Vatican has to say it outright because it no longer
    	"goes without saying".  Perhaps it simplt goes without saying
    	regarding Sufi masters..
    
    	Lots of 'perhaps' and 'I'm not aware' statements floating 
    	around here.  I just want to suggest that we don't have 
    	enough to go on to say that one religion says/does something
    	than another doesn't.
41.467well, ok...TNPUBS::PAINTERPlanet CrayonTue Nov 21 1995 17:569
    
    Re.466
    
    >Of course, that doesn't mean such restrictions don't exist.
    
    Since I'll be seeing the successor of the order within the next
    month, I'll just ask him.  (;^)
    
    Cindy
41.468COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Nov 21 1995 21:368
>I wonder whether this declaration that the inability of woman to become
>priests is part of the "deposit of faith" of the RCC will lead to a split
>between the Anglican church and the Roman Catholic Church

There has been a split for 400 years.  There was a great deal of hope for
ending it during the early 1970s, but that hope is gone.

/john
41.469GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerWed Nov 22 1995 00:079
John,

Based on what you've written elsewhere my impression was that there was
still a connection between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, so
that a decision taken by the RCC could affect the Anglican church.  Or did
you just mean that the RCC's declaration that women can never be priests
*should* be binding on the Anglican church, in a moral sense?

				-- Bob
41.470COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Nov 22 1995 00:205
What I meant is that since the constant teaching of the Church is true, it
applies to the Anglican Communion as well, whether all those in the Anglican
Communion agree with it (and many do) or not.

/john
41.471GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerWed Nov 22 1995 00:4922
So it sounds like the Anglican church could either accept this statement
of doctrine from the Roman Catholic Church and go back on their earlier
decision to appoint women as priests, or if they reject the doctrine it
will mean a widening of the Anglican/RCC split.  And it also sounds like
there are some Anglicans who would like their church to go one way and
some the other.  Do you have sense of what the leadership is likely to do?

I'm still not sure I understand the subtle connection between the Anglican
and Roman Catholic churches.  I know that Methodists hold the Apostles'
Creed, with its statement of belief in "the holy catholic church", as
being a central tenet of their faith, but do not acknowledge the doctrinal
authority of the RCC.  I think the idea is that the "catholic" church
refers to the Christian Church which is united at some level by belief in
Jesus Christ even though it has become fragmented into many different
denominations, communions etc. because of differing beliefs and
traditions.

Does the Anglican church interpret this aspect of the Apostles' Creed in a
similar way?  Is there more of a special relationship between the Anglican
and Roman Catholic Churches than there is between the Methodist and RCC?

				-- Bob
41.472The canonical process takes seven years to implementCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Nov 22 1995 01:197
The leadership of the Episcopal Church in the United States is about to
enforce belief in women's ordination.  This will be the first and only
required doctrine in the entire history of the Episcopal Church.

No action by the Roman Catholic Church is expected to have any effect.

/john
41.473POWDML::FLANAGANlet your light shineWed Nov 22 1995 11:5117
    The gulf between the RCC church and the Anglican Church and the
    Episcopal church will continue to increase until institutional sexism
    is eliminated from the RCC.
    
    The Anglican church and the Episcopal church have reformed themselves
    with regard to this institutional evil.  Until the Roman Catholic
    church reforms itself, there will be no possibility of union.
    
    Perhaps as time goes on, other "catholic" churches will separate from
    the Roman Catholic Church and separate themselves from a male only
    patriarchal bureaucracy.
    
    The evil of sexism will be overcome.  Either the Catholic church will
    reform itself, or more scisms will continue until the "holy catholic'
    church rids itself of all traces of decision making based on gender.
    
    Good will ultimately win over evil.
41.474MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalWed Nov 22 1995 12:225
    But a change like this would have to come from within.  A church should
    never be compelled politically to change.  The change has to come from
    the heart.
    
    -Jack
41.475APACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyWed Nov 22 1995 12:367
    The Roman Catholic church also prohibits female Eucharistic ministers
    and alter servers, yet many American RC churches do not adhere to this
    ban. This iron fisted approach, no matter how velvet the glove, *may*
    force the American Roman Catholic community (and clergy) to take a long
    hard look into their hearts.

    Eric
41.476MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalWed Nov 22 1995 12:577
    Eric:
    
    They may do what they personally believe to be right; however, they are
    not submitting to the authority of Rome and should break their ties
    with them if they aren't willing to go with the plan.
    
    -Jack
41.477CSC32::M_EVANSruns with scissorsWed Nov 22 1995 13:194
    Excuse me?
    
    Wasn;'t there a female altar server in NJ this year when John-Paul II
    served mass?
41.478MKOTS3::JMARTINI press on toward the goalWed Nov 22 1995 13:436
    You talking to me?  
    
    What I'm saying is if a church wants to rebel, then fine.  But get out
    from under the auspices of Rome.
    
    -Jack
41.479APACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyWed Nov 22 1995 14:189
    
    > Wasn;'t there a female altar server in NJ this year when John-Paul II
    > served mass?

    I don't know. My information came from the priest and pastoral
    associate of my parent's parish, and not from any formal doctrinal
    investigation. 

    Eric
41.480COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Nov 22 1995 16:5816
>    The Roman Catholic church also prohibits female Eucharistic ministers
>    and altar servers,

The Roman Catholic Church has never prohibited female Eucharistic ministers;
the ban on female altar servers (which was because being an altar server was
a training ground for priests) was removed by the Vatican some time ago.

Those were not doctrinal issues.

The issue of women priests is a doctrinal issue.

The issue with women priests is not whether women should have the right to do
something, but the _meaning_ of the function that is being performed in the
person of Christ by the priest performing the holy sacrifice of the mass.

/john
41.481BIGQ::SILVADiabloWed Nov 22 1995 17:127

	John...does this mean when the Bible says men, it applies to everyone,
including women....but when the RCC says men, it is only men?


Glen
41.482TNPUBS::PAINTERPlanet CrayonWed Nov 22 1995 17:1311
    
    I think the women (and men) who object to this statement by the Pope 
    should just leave and either form their own church where they can 
    worship together (or join one that will allow it), separate from Rome
    if necessary, and be done with the whole patriarchial bit. Who needs it?  
    
    Unfortunately though, I realize this is hard to put into practice,
    given long-established community ties and pressure that would 
    inevitably come from friends and family members.    
    
    Cindy
41.483APACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyWed Nov 22 1995 17:236
    
    RE .480

    Thank you for straightening me out on this, John.

    Eric
41.484COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Nov 22 1995 18:247
>John...does this mean when the Bible says men, it applies to everyone,
>including women....but when the RCC says men, it is only men?

There are two words:  "Homo", which means men and women,
		  and "vir" which means a male human being.

/john
41.485COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Jan 18 1996 04:0692
41.486COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertSat Feb 03 1996 02:53103
OKLAHOMA DIOCESE CONTINUES TO ADDRESS HUMAN COSTS IN WAKE OF BOMBING

BY JAMES H. THRALL

(ENS)--Some of the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing have yet to
discover that they even are victims.

Even those residents of Oklahoma not injured in the April 19, 1995, blast
at the Alfred Murrah Federal Building and not directly related to someone
who died or was hurt in the bombing, find the horror of that day creeping
up to strike them months later.

"It's not one of those things where you can go away and forget it," said
the Rev. Mel Truitt, rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Oklahoma City
and coordinator of relief efforts for the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma.
"It's going to be right there in front of you." 

As the diocese works with other religious and relief organizations to
distribute the funds that poured in to assist bomb victims, an increasing
need is for "long-term counseling for those who are secondary victims," he
said. Secondary victims, he  explained, can include family members and
friends, but also those just struggling with the psychological costs of a
bomb that struck too close to home. 

"The 19th of April hit all of us," Truitt said. "It was like lightning and
thunder--all of us jumped."

Counselors geared up for Christmas--a time when those who perished would be
especially missed--and will be preparing as well for the first anniversary
of the blast and for the trial of suspect Timothy McVeigh when renewed
media attention will spark another resurgence of memories. "We're looking
for the long-range now," Truitt said. "People are showing up who didn't
think they needed any counseling."

AN INTER-FAITH EFFORT

Much of the support offered by the diocese has been coordinated through the
Interfaith Disaster Discovery of Greater Oklahoma City. 

"It's the only group that included Muslims, Bahai--every faith group you
can think of," said the Rev. Charles Woltz, diocesan canon to the ordinary.
The interfaith emphasis was key, he said, because "almost immediately after
the bombing, some of the TV stations mentioned Muslims as suspects and
raised all the old ghosts. We wanted to combat that in a healthy way."

At the same time, reported Truitt, who served for a while as president of
the interfaith group's board, the funds distributed by the diocese have
been identified as specifically Episcopal. 

"We wanted to make sure that the Episcopal presence was felt in the
community," Truitt said. Though only 20,000 strong in the area,
Episcopalians were able to make a significant impact because "the Anglican
community was very, very generous from around the world and in the
community here," he said. "We're still getting funds."

Nearly $550,000 was received in donations from around the world, including
a grant from the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, a gift from the
Archbishop of Canterbury and gifts from most of the dioceses in the United
States. Reflecting the high level of generosity, the diocese was able to
return the $25,000 grant from the Presiding Bishop's Fund "so that it could
be used elsewhere," Truitt said.

An additional $100,000 was sent to the diocese for the restoration of St.
Paul's Cathedral, which was severely damaged in the blast. The diocese
matched the donations for the cathedral restoration with its own grant of a
second $100,000 from diocesan funds.

So far, nearly $375,000 of the undesignated funds has been paid out in
assistance to families of victims for counseling and medical expenses,
burial expenses, and housing, house repair and living expenses. In some
cases, "we replaced cars or made repairs to cars that were damaged," Truitt
said.

For the families of the two Episcopalians who died in the bombing,
donations have provided a year's college tuition for their children. And
$102,000 was pooled with funds of other relief groups to provide a central
fund for distribution.

In order to show "solidarity with other downtown churches," Truitt said,
some of the funds have helped churches of other denominations rebuild,
including a downtown Methodist church; Calvary Baptist Church, historic as
a meeting place during the civil rights movement; and the Roman Catholic
cathedral.  

Cathedral pursues ambitious program to rebuild

St. Paul's Cathedral, which stands only two blocks from the bomb site, is
using the need to repair extensive bomb damage as an opportunity to make
other "much-needed repairs and improvements," said Marilyn Smotherman,
development coordinator.

Under an aggressive time-table that has telescoped many of the planning
steps into just a few months, the congregation hopes to have the cathedral
re-opened by Christmas, 1996, she said. According to Woltz, "well over a
million dollars" has been received in donations and pledges in a $2.8
million fund-raising drive that will supplement insurance money for the
reconstruction. 

Meanwhile the work of the cathedral, including the congregation's St.
George's Guild which provides services to the needy, has continued,
Smotherman reported. "We have Mobile Meals to serve shut-ins every
Wednesday," she said. "It was a Wednesday when the bomb hit and they still
got the meals out."
41.487COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertFri Jul 05 1996 13:01153
41.488COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Aug 21 1996 13:37140
     Law voided on days off for religion.

     By John Ellement, Globe Staff, 08/21/96

     A Massachusetts law that protected employees who
     refused to work on religious holidays was struck
     down yesterday by the state's high court as an
     unconstitutional infringement on the separation of
     church and state, raising fears that employees may
     be forced to choose between their faith and their
     paycheck.

     In a 4-3 ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court said
     that two Roman Catholic women who were fired in
     1992 for refusing to work on Christmas Day at the
     Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park cannot get their
     jobs back.

     The majority, in an opinion written by Justice
     Francis P. O'Connor, said the 23-year-old law
     wrongly forced judges to delve into the theology
     and doctrine of particular faiths. The majority
     also said the law improperly granted protection to
     organized religions, but not to lesser known
     faiths or to an individual who may hold unique,
     but sincere, religious beliefs.

     Those flaws violated not only the separation of
     church and state but the requirement that citizens
     receive equal protection, regardless of their
     faith. ``A statute that prefers one or more
     religions over another violates the establishment
     clause,'' O'Connor wrote. The law required judges
     to determine the beliefs of ``adherents to the
     Roman Catholic faith. These are not proper matters
     for the courts to decide,'' said O'Connor.

     Kathleen Pielech, one of two women who firmly
     believed that the doctrine of her church forbade
     her to work on Christmas Day in 1992 and who filed
     the lawsuit, yesterday said she was devastated by
     the SJC's decision.

     ``It just shatters all my faith in the legal
     system. It shatters my belief in government,''
     said Pielech, who is a member of the Holy Family
     parish in Taunton. ``Personally, it's devastating.
     It's absolutely devastating. I lost my job after
     nine and a half years because I believe in
     Jesus.''

     Patricia Reed, Pielech's co-worker, fellow
     parishioner and fellow plaintiff before the SJC,
     said she has been twice ``penalized.'' First when
     she was fired and now by the SJC.

     ``I would say losing your job because you choose
     your worship of God over your worship of money,''
     is outrageous, said Reed, who lives in Berkley.
     ``I just can't imagine that this is America
     anymore. Our country was founded by people who
     want what I want - to worship on my own.''

     Filing briefs with the court in favor of
     protecting the women were the Anti-Defamation
     League, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Civil
     Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Attorney
     General Scott Harshbarger.

     Howard A. Brick, the attorney for the
     Anti-Defamation League, said the way Superior
     Court Judge John J. O'Brien handled the Catholic
     women's case raised concerns about the impact
     future rulings would have on Judaism, with its
     lack of a centralized governing body and multiple
     views of what it means to be a Jew.

     ``Our concern was that if you had a statute that
     provided protections only to beliefs that could be
     proven to be the required practice of any
     recognized religion, what do you do with Judaism
     where there is Reformed Judaism, Conservative
     Judaism and Orthodox Judaism?'' he said. ``We're
     concerned that as things now stand, there is no
     statute protecting employees.''

     Pielech and Reed said they want to bring the issue
     to the US Supreme Court and appealed to ``people
     of all faiths to come forward and fight this with
     us,'' Pielech said.

     Their attorney, Harvey A. Schwartz, said the
     conflict between faith and work schedules arose
     more often in less mainstream religions, but had
     usually been quickly quelled when an employer
     learned of the law. ``Some people are going to
     have to search their conscience and decide, `Is my
     faith more important than my paycheck?'''

     But Kenneth Gear, vice president and legal counsel
     for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts,
     said most employers already try to accommodate
     their employees' religious needs. ``Most employers
     probably didn't know about the existence of that
     law,'' he said. ``They acted to help out their
     employees.''

     Gear also said it was his personal impression that
     the 1,000 retailers in his trade group would not
     seize on the SJC's ruling to suddenly change past
     habits. Moreover, he said, the state laws that
     allow stores to open on Sundays require that
     employees volunteer for the duty. That law
     apparently is not affected by the SJC ruling

     Joel A. Kozol, the attorney for the dog track,
     predicted that the Legislature would quickly enact
     a successor law, one that does not ``involve the
     courts in determining what is the correct dogma of
     a particular religion, which is an area the courts
     should stay out of.''

     In the dissenting opinion, written by Justice Ruth
     I. Abrams, three justices said they would have
     sent the issue back to Superior Court to determine
     whether the two women acted out of sincerely held
     religious beliefs. There was no need, the
     dissenters said, to strike down the entire law.

     ``Workers in this Commonwealth have now lost an
     important state protection designed to preserve
     their religious beliefs against the unreasonable
     demands of employers,'' Abrams wrote. And ``two
     women have been denied the chance to show that
     their sincerely held religious beliefs do not
     permit them to work on Christmas, and they have
     lost their jobs.''

     This story ran on page a1 of the Boston Globe on
     08/21/96.
41.489MKOTS3::JMARTINMadison...5'2'' 95 lbs.Wed Aug 21 1996 13:464
    Were I one of these women, I would not want to work for a company that
    did not share some sort of value in this.
    
    -Jack
41.490BIGQ::SILVAquince.ljo.dec.com/www/decplus/Wed Aug 21 1996 13:574

	I know many have said that about you, Jack... but they still work here.
heh heh
41.491THOLIN::TBAKERFlawed To PerfectionWed Aug 21 1996 14:1218
>     Filing briefs with the court in favor of
>     protecting the women were the Anti-Defamation
>     League, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Civil
>     Liberties Union of Massachusetts and Attorney
>     General Scott Harshbarger.

    Strange bedfellows, indeed....

    I remember when the law was enacted.  It was something that
    allowed businesses to be open on Sundays and holidays.  In
    order for it to pass the key provision protecting employees'
    religions beliefs had to be there.  It wouldn't have passed
    any other way.

    As you can see, this law has been upheld about as well as
    laws prohibiting descrimination based on race.

    Tom
41.492COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Aug 21 1996 19:5068
More on the story in .488

Protection against religious discrimination ruled unconstitutional in
Massachusetts

--------------------------------------------

Because the courts cannot determine whether a religious practice or belief
is a legitimate belief or not, the courts also cannot protect a person who
is discriminated against because of that belief.

Two women had filed suit under the anti-discrimination law, claiming that
by firing them when they had insisted on observing their devout beliefs,
their employer had engaged in illegal religious discrimination.  They had
provided an affidavit that their religion prohibited work on Christmas Day;
their employer provided a competing affidavit that their religion had no
such prohibition.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court, in upholding a lower court decision,
said that the anti-discrimination law "effectively compels courts, in
cases where the dogma of an established church or religion is disputed,
to ascertain the requirements of the religion at issue."

"These are not proper matters for the courts to decide," Justice Francis P.
O'Connor wrote in the majority opinion, joined by Justices Charles Fried,
Herbert Wilkins and Neil Lynch. 

From an AP article:

In their dissenting opinion, the other three justices argued that in the
decision, the court ``relies on a rigid and overly analytic interpretation
of its words ...'' 

``Two women have been denied the chance to show that their sincerely held
religious beliefs do not permit them to work on Christmas, and they have
lost their jobs,'' wrote Justice Ruth Abrams. ``Even more regrettably,
workers in this commonwealth have now lost an important state protection
designed to preserve their religious beliefs against the unreasonable
demands of employers.'' 

Joining Abrams in the dissent were Chief Justice Paul Liacos and Justice
John Greaney. 

The Massachusetts Council of Churches blasted the ruling today, saying:
``In this case, equal protection ends up providing no protection.'' 

``The effort to be even-handed all too often has resulted in an actual
undermining of the very religious values which our society originally was
trying to protect through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,'' Rev.
Diane Kessler, director of the council, said in a statement. 

Attorney General Scott Harshbarger criticized the ruling, and vowed to
replace the law in question with a new one that would withstand such
judicial scrutiny. 

``The Supreme Judicial Court has left working men and women at the mercy of
their employers when they seek to exercise their sincere religious
beliefs,'' Harshbarger said in a statement. ``Based on this ruling, an
unreasonable employer can refuse to grant a Catholic time off for
Christmas, or a Jew time off for the high holidays without fear of
retribution.'' 

Reed, Pielech and representatives from the race track could not immediately
be reached for comment. 

The Governor's Council is expected Wednesday to approve Gov. William F.
Weld's nomination of Wilkins to replace Liacos, who is resigning, as chief
justice. 
41.493COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertMon Sep 30 1996 14:22128
41.494Evolution and the Roman Catholic churchAPACHE::MYERSHe literally meant it figurativelyMon Oct 28 1996 13:4975
41.495!CSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Mon Dec 09 1996 19:425
41.496MKOTS3::JMARTINBe A Victor..Not a Victim!Mon Dec 09 1996 20:051
41.497re: -1PHXSS1::HEISERR.I.O.T.Fri Dec 13 1996 19:021
41.498Wacko or Whack-ohhCSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Fri Dec 13 1996 22:0713
41.499MKOTS3::JMARTINBe A Victor..Not a Victim!Mon Dec 16 1996 14:149
41.500CSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Mon Dec 16 1996 17:588
41.501GRIM::MESSENGERBob MessengerTue Dec 17 1996 13:304
41.502MKOTS3::JMARTINBe A Victor..Not a Victim!Tue Dec 17 1996 13:501
41.503CSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Tue Dec 17 1996 18:137
41.504COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertThu Dec 19 1996 16:5617
41.505CSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Thu Dec 19 1996 17:078
41.506MKOTS3::JMARTINBe A Victor..Not a Victim!Thu Dec 19 1996 17:307
41.507COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertSat Dec 21 1996 18:3797
41.508THOLIN::TBAKERFlawed To PerfectionMon Dec 23 1996 12:2911
41.509COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Dec 24 1996 11:34111
41.510COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Dec 24 1996 11:3651
41.511COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertTue Dec 24 1996 12:5879
41.512CSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Tue Dec 24 1996 17:238
41.513MKOTS3::JMARTINEbonics Is Not ApplyTue Dec 24 1996 17:399
41.514CSC32::J_CHRISTIEYou're so good-looking!Tue Dec 24 1996 17:496
41.515MKOTS3::JMARTINEbonics Is Not ApplyTue Dec 24 1996 17:491
41.516COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertSat Dec 28 1996 15:4698
41.517COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Jan 01 1997 18:0471
41.518Where is Janet Reno?COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertMon Jan 27 1997 13:006
Will the pro-abortion-rights protesters who painted the outlines of
bodies on the courtyard of St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco be
charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinics and Religious Sites
Act with defacing Church property?

/john
41.519CSC32::M_EVANSbe the villageWed Mar 05 1997 15:0123
-
    Taken from AP and the Rocky Mountain News
    
    Newark NJ
    
    Desi Arnaz Giles is starring in the "role of his life" but his
    portrayal of Jesus Christ has caused ticket cancellations and death
    threats.  
    
    "I have led a very complete life.  should someone clip me during a
    performance, don't cry for me, rejoice because I am ready to go home."
    said Giles.  
    
    After Sunday, the first performance of the Park Theater Performing
    Arts Center's Passion Play, word quickly spread that a black man was
    playing the part of Jesus.  The theater has received calls asking when
    the white Jesus will perform,  and two large groups have cancelled
    their reservations and another moved their day to a day when giles is
    not performing. 
    
    It happens that Giles is also perfomring as the devil in a musical in
    Plainfield this weeken.  "We'll see how many people object to a black
    man playing him." he said.
41.520Let them be shown for what they are...COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertWed Mar 05 1997 19:323
The names of those groups should appear on the front page of the NY Times.

/john
41.521United Nations Calls on Israel to halt illegal settlement activityCOVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertSat Mar 15 1997 13:23360
41.522ASGMKA::MARTINConcerto in 66 MovementsMon Mar 17 1997 13:054
 Z   GENERAL ASSEMBLY CALLS ON ISRAEL TO REFRAIN FROM SETTLEMENT ACTIVITY,
 Z   EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN AT RECENT DECISION TO BUILD IN EAST JERUSALEM
    
    Mind your own business!
41.523MYOBPHXSS1::HEISERMaranatha!Mon Mar 17 1997 14:501
    Amen, Jack!
41.524APACHE::MYERSMon Mar 24 1997 14:2953
    NEW YORK (CNN) -- The ordination of homosexuals has become a
    thorny issue in the U.S. Presbyterian Church. 

    Gay elders and deacons aren't allowed, according to new church
    rules. But that hasn't stopped a defiant Presbyterian minister in
    New York City from ordaining gay preachers. "We are not afraid to
    be a martyr for this cause," said elder Andy Robinson. 

    The opposition comes shortly after passage of an amendment --
    ratified this summer -- that requires all unmarried ministers,
    deacons and elders to be sexually celibate. 


    Question of intent

    Though the measure would affect thousands of heterosexual church
    officers, some church leaders argue the real aim is to ban the
    ordination of gays. 

    For those who are gay or lesbian, or who have "children or
    brothers and sisters that are gay and lesbian -- the message
    they're receiving from the Presbyterian Church this week is that
    their loved ones are not welcome," said the Rev. Jan Orr-Harter,
    an amendment opponent. 

    Yet many conservative Presbyterians believe that passage of the
    so-called Fidelity and Chastity Amendment will end more than two
    decades of division over homosexuality. 

    Describing the ordaining of gays as a "direct challenge of the
    scriptures," the Rev. Jack Harderer, a supporter of the amendment,
    said, "It has boiled down to the real watershed issue: (do) we
    believe in the authority of the scripture or do we not?" 


    Indirect reference

    The amendment's text doesn't specifically mention homosexuality;
    rather it addresses the issue indirectly. It reads: "Those called
    to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to
    Scripture ..." 

    That means abiding by the requirement to live either in fidelity
    within the covenant of marriage of a man and a woman, or chastity
    in singleness. Those who fail to repent for adultery are subject
    to sanctions. 

    Parishioners views seem to range from indifference to outrage.
    Just about everyone agrees it will be difficult -- perhaps
    impossible -- to enforce the amendment. Eventually, many churches
    may adopt the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on
    homosexuality. 

41.525PHXSS1::HEISERMaranatha!Mon Mar 24 1997 15:052
    Regardless of orientation, God's Word has much to say about
    fornication.  It's shameful some churches take so long to realize this.
41.526THOLIN::TBAKERFlawed To PerfectionMon Mar 24 1997 16:073
    Regardless of orientation, God's Word has much to say about
    love.  It's shameful some churches take so long to realize this.

41.527ACISS2::LEECHTerminal PhilosophyMon Mar 24 1997 16:2259
    .524
    
>    Though the measure would affect thousands of heterosexual church
>    officers, some church leaders argue the real aim is to ban the
>    ordination of gays. 

    This is ridiculous.  This "new" rule is Biblically sound.  I would
    EXPECT *ALL* church leaders to set an example of Godly living - this
    includes refraining from fornication... orientation matters not a whit.
    How does this effectively "ban" the ordination of gays?  All it says is
    that single preachers must be celibate.  Can't gay preachers abstain
    just as well as het. preachers?
    
    I'm absolutely amazed this has become such a big issue.  It's sound
    Biblical doctrine that should have been followed from day one.
    
>    For those who are gay or lesbian, or who have "children or
>    brothers and sisters that are gay and lesbian -- the message
>    they're receiving from the Presbyterian Church this week is that
>    their loved ones are not welcome," said the Rev. Jan Orr-Harter,
>    an amendment opponent. 

    Nonsense.  All it says is that single preachers must remain celibate. 
    What's the problem?   If they have a problem with this, then they have
    a problem with what the Bible clearly says.
    
>    Yet many conservative Presbyterians believe that passage of the
>    so-called Fidelity and Chastity Amendment will end more than two
>    decades of division over homosexuality. 

    I don't see how.
    
>    The amendment's text doesn't specifically mention homosexuality;
>    rather it addresses the issue indirectly. It reads: "Those called
>    to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to
>    Scripture ..." 

    Whether this is the intent or not is irrelevant, IMO, as long as the
    amendment is scripturally sound... and it is.  This is just a bunch of
    political nonsense.
    
>    Just about everyone agrees it will be difficult -- perhaps
>    impossible -- to enforce the amendment. 
    
    Of course it will be difficult to enforce... that is not the point. 
    The point is that the right message is being sent - that the preachers
    are to live by the doctrine they supposedly follow (novel concept,
    eh?).  If this is something that has to be actively "enforced", then
    the church has a serious problem.
    
>    Eventually, many churches
>    may adopt the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on
>    homosexuality. 

    Following the secular world's example... somehow this doesn't sit right
    with me.
    
    
    -steve
41.528ASGMKA::MARTINConcerto in 66 MovementsMon Mar 24 1997 17:0712
    Z    Regardless of orientation, God's Word has much to say about
    Z    love.  It's shameful some churches take so long to realize this.
    
    Tom, while your statement above is absolutely true and has alot of
    merit to it, it is completely unrelated to the issue of celibacy while
    in an unmarried state.
    
    The 1st commandment Jesus gave was to love God with heart, soul, and
    mind.  Living in sin is obviously a disregard of the greatest
    commandment.
    
    -Jack                                                             
41.529THOLIN::TBAKERFlawed To PerfectionMon Mar 24 1997 17:1615
>    The 1st commandment Jesus gave was to love God with heart, soul, and
>    mind.  Living in sin is obviously a disregard of the greatest
>    commandment.

    We do what we can and pray for grace.  God understands.  His Son
    was fully human, remember?

    Are you  referring to "shacking up?"  "Love your neighbor as well,
    for how can you love the Lord whom you've not seen if you don't
    love your neighbor whom you have seen?"  I don't see a conflict.

    I disagree that "living in sin" is disregarding the greatest commandment
    any more than owning a car is.

    Tom
41.530ASGMKA::MARTINConcerto in 66 MovementsMon Mar 24 1997 17:3719
 Z   Are you  referring to "shacking up?"  "Love your neighbor as well,
 Z   for how can you love the Lord whom you've not seen if you don't
 Z   love your neighbor whom you have seen?"  I don't see a conflict.
    
    Tom, could you rephrase this...(fully admitting that I am missing the
    translation).  If it is what I think it may be, then there is great
    conflict.  You cannot apply a universal statement as in loving your
    neighbor to every situation.  If shacking up is a living out of loving
    your neighbor, then the application is quite fallable.  
    
 Z   I disagree that "living in sin" is disregarding the greatest
 Z   commandment any more than owning a car is.
    
    I appreciate your honesty here.  This is really the root to where our
    differences lie.  Without moral absolutes, one can only portray life
    choices on a subjective level.  I've seen too much in my life to make
    the conclusion that God is indifferent to sin.
    
    -Jack
41.531THOLIN::TBAKERFlawed To PerfectionMon Mar 24 1997 17:4634
> Z   Are you  referring to "shacking up?"  "Love your neighbor as well,
> Z   for how can you love the Lord whom you've not seen if you don't
> Z   love your neighbor whom you have seen?"  I don't see a conflict.
>    
>    Tom, could you rephrase this...(fully admitting that I am missing the
>    translation).  If it is what I think it may be, then there is great
>    conflict.  You cannot apply a universal statement as in loving your
>    neighbor to every situation.  If shacking up is a living out of loving
>    your neighbor, then the application is quite fallable.  

    Well, not everyone is allowed to get married.

    It may go against a commandment, but not the one you site.

    
> Z   I disagree that "living in sin" is disregarding the greatest
> Z   commandment any more than owning a car is.
>    
>    I appreciate your honesty here.  This is really the root to where our
>    differences lie.  Without moral absolutes, one can only portray life
>    choices on a subjective level.  I've seen too much in my life to make
>    the conclusion that God is indifferent to sin.

    You're right.  Owning a car has *no* place in a religious
    person's life.  Especially when you realize how much destruction
    it is capable of.  Not to mention the time it takes to take care
    of it.  That time would be better spent in  prayer.

    I say, stay at home with your loved ones.  Leave the cars to 
    the sinners.

    Tom

    PS: I never said Jesus was just a martyr.
41.532ASGMKA::MARTINConcerto in 66 MovementsMon Mar 24 1997 18:0617
   Z     Well, not everyone is allowed to get married.
    
   Z     It may go against a commandment, but not the one you site.
    
    Tom, now I understand better where this is going.
    
    Still, would you agree that if a church, the Presbytarian church in
    this case, believes in a tenet of scripture that it is wrong for a
    small group of people who feel otherwise to go against the authority of
    said church?  
    
    I used to belong to a church and found I disagreed with much of what
    they had to say...so I left!  I just find it a heck of alot easier and
    stand for my convictions.
    
    -Jack
    
41.533CSC32::J_CHRISTIESpigot of pithinessMon Mar 24 1997 18:1012
.531

>    Well, not everyone is allowed to get married.

Amen.  And not all marriages, including Christian, throughout history have
been recognized by the state.  Most contemporary Christians, when they talk
about marriage, however, are speaking of a legally permitted relationship.

Oh, and Jesus *was* a martyr (meaning witness), but not *only* a martyr.

Richard

41.534THOLIN::TBAKERFlawed To PerfectionMon Mar 24 1997 18:1110
    If a church wants to believe that homosexuality is bad, they
    may do that.  If a church wants to believe that it is OK,
    they may do that also.

    If members of such church want to change what the church
    says it believes, that is also within its right.

    Change churches or change the church.  Both are options.

    Tom
41.535ASGMKA::MARTINConcerto in 66 MovementsMon Mar 24 1997 18:458
 ZZ    Change churches or change the church.  Both are options.
    
    Well, I agree.  I do believe the methodology needs to be appropriate. 
    I put ordaining "inappropriate spiritual leaders" in league with Bill
    Clintons forcing people through immigration services in order to get
    the vote.  It is simply not the right thing to do.
    
    -Jack
41.536COVERT::COVERTJohn R. CovertFri Apr 25 1997 20:5117
Today, meeting in Emergency Session, the United Nations General Assembly
has again passed a resolution calling on Israel to stop its illegal
construction activities in occupied East Jerusalem and in other occupied
territories.

Passing 134 to 3 with 11 abstentions, the resolution demands "immediate and
full cessation of the construction ... and of all other Israeli settlement
activities."

Voting against were Israel, the United States, and Micronesia.

All of the EU countries voted in favor of the resolution except for
Germany, which abstained.

WHEN WILL ISRAEL CEASE ITS ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES?

/john