Spain, Secularism and the Pope

Pope to Confront Growing Secularism During Trip to Spain

Pope Benedict XVI travels to Spain next week to celebrate the fifth annual World Meeting of Families. As RNS's Vatican correspondent Stacy Meichtry reports in this week's full text article (linked above), there's a lot at stake.

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Since the election of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in 2004, the Spanish government has overhauled laws affecting nearly every hot-button issue in the country. Gay marriage and adoption have been legalized. Laws on divorce, in vitro fertilization, embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia have been loosened. State subsidies to the church have been questioned, as has the place of religious instruction in public schools.

The changes have left local church leaders staggering and caused alarm among officials at the Vatican, including the pope himself.

Moving remains

Quote of the Day: Sister Mary de Paul

"We've always felt very connected in a sense to our founders' mother and father. Taking care of the deceased is an act of mercy, and it's an act of our faith."

-- Sister Mary de Paul of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, explaining why her order paid to move the remains of poet Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife, Sofia, and his daughter, Una, from London to Hawthorne's grave in Concord, Mass., after 142 years. The order of nuns was founded by Hawthorne's other daughter, Rose. She was quoted by The New York Times.

Benedict going to Spain; Archbishop of Canterbury looks forward; Missionaries and witch doctors join to fight AIDS

In Tuesday's RNS report Vatican correspondent Stacy Meichtry writes an advance on Pope Benedict's upcoming trip to Spain, during which the pontiff will confront growing secularism there: Barely a year has passed since Pope Benedict XVI, in a famous speech prior to his election, called his church to arms against a rising tide of moral indifference in Western culture -- a phenomenon he likened to a "dictatorship of relativism." Next week, he will travel to the front lines of that battle when he visits Valencia, Spain, to celebrate the fifth annual Meeting of Families. The country, once a European stronghold of Roman Catholic teaching, has seen the church's influence dramatically give way in recent years. Gay marriage and abortion have been legalized. Laws on divorce, in vitro fertilization, embryonic stem cell research and euthanasia have been loosened. The changes have left local church leaders staggering and caused alarm among officials at the Vatican, including the pope himself.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has laid out a two-tier membership for Anglicans, reports National Correspondent Daniel Burke: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, said Tuesday (June 27) that "the best way forward" for the embattled worldwide body is to adopt a communion-wide covenant and a two-tiered membership system. Churches that agree to the covenant would be "constituent" churches, while those that don't would be "churches in association." Williams' proposal comes in the wake of the Episcopal Church's General Convention, at which Episcopalians fiercely debated their church's independence versus their obligations to the communion. It is unclear, however, whether Williams' proposal will ease tensions among the world's 77 million Anglicans or lead to bitter fights about church property and policy.

Jason Kane report from Fish Hoek, South Africa, on missionaries and witch doctors who are teaming up to battle AIDS: When it comes to fighting ailments from witches to the common cold, many black residents of this windswept fishing village have long trusted the medical expertise of the traditional healer Nkonjani Themba. But when AIDS descended on South Africa and the herbs of the ancestors failed, Themba and 14 other healers turned for modern medical advice to the nearby Living Hope Community Centre. The Baptist-based AIDS workers at Living Hope jumped at the chance to align with the powerful healers and, in a controversial move, designed an eight-week course for the healers to simultaneously spread the Gospel and AIDS awareness. The resulting partnership represents a marriage of convenience between evangelical and "witch doctor" that has rapidly bolstered the influence of both.

Talk About Natural Family Planning ...

Ayesha Akram's article on gay Muslims who seek lesbian Muslims for "marriages of convenience" is getting lots of chatter in the blogosphere ...

FBI Director talks religion

Quote of the Day: FBI Director Robert S. Mueller

"I think, in terms of a religion, it's not the religion that is the terrorist."

-- FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, speaking in Cleveland on June 23, a day after the arrest of an alleged terrorist cell in Miami. According to news reports, the individuals are Muslims, although some Muslim groups dispute that claim. Mueller was quoted by Congressional Quarterly.

A God by any other name ...

Quote of the Day: Southern Baptist Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr.

"The Christian faith is based exclusively in the understanding that God alone has the right to name himself. ... He does not invite his creatures to experiment in worship by naming him according to their own desires."

-- Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr., commenting on the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s new report that encourages alternatives to traditional references to the Trinity. Mohler, of Louisville, Ky., made his comments in a column on his Web site.

God on the go; and Indonesia's Wahid on Islam

Kristen Campbellwrites in Monday's RNS report about alternatives for those who can't make it to worship at church: Maybe you're vacationing on a desert island. Perhaps you have to travel at an inopportune time. Perchance the dog ate your alarm clock. Bottom line: You can't make it to congregational worship. What's a believer to do? For starters, some say, don't sweat it. "The Sabbath was, as Jesus said, made for us to rest, and that includes going on vacation," said the Rev. Bruce Hanson, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Mobile, Ala. "You can take God with you wherever you go."

Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid is calling for a cleansing of Islam, reports Peter Sachs: Indonesia's first elected president on Monday (June 26) called for a "spiritual regeneration" within Islam to counteract extremists who have given Muslims a bad reputation in the world. "The world today faces a crisis of understanding that threatens all of humanity," Abdurrahman Wahid said. "The crisis afflicts Muslims and non-Muslims alike with tragic consequences." The first democratically elected president in Indonesia, Wahid loosened restrictions on press freedoms, decentralized the national government and eliminated discriminatory laws during his term from 1999 to 2001 before being impeached and removed from office amid charges of corruption.

A good God

Quote of the Day: Humorist Art Buchwald

"I believe there is a God, but he's not the one all the religions claim. The Christian religion, the Jewish religion, the Muslim religion -- if you believe in their God, other people will say you're an infidel. There's a God out there, but not the one that causes all the trouble in the world."

-- Humorist Art Buchwald, in an interview with Time magazine.

JustFaith; and Newark's new Episcopal bishop

In Friday's RNS report Matt Vande Bunte writes about JustFaith, a group that works to open people's eyes to injustice and spur them into action: If she wanted, Mary Crowley could live an insulated life in her Hudsonville home. She could go to church, go to work and do other things embedded in the fabric of suburban West Michigan culture. Three years ago, the schoolteacher's eyes were opened to the broader world and her place in it. Now, Crowley serves a meal once each month at Hard Times Cafe and devotes a portion of her tithe to area hunger organizations. She also teaches English as a second language to Hispanic immigrants and is learning Spanish to facilitate the process. "It's looking at justice through Christ's eyes and what he would do. I keep asking myself that question," she said. Where would a 50-something Catholic get a conscience like that? From JustFaith, the growing nationwide effort awakening people of faith to social injustice -- and helping them do something about it.

Jeff Diamant reports on the choices Newark faces as it gets ready to elect a new bishop: Back in 1998, a half-decade before Gene Robinson of New Hampshire became the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church and an international figure, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark considered him as a candidate. That year, Robinson made a nominating committee's short list for bishop of Newark. He lost, finishing third. Now, as Newark's Bishop John Croneberger prepares to retire, people around the diocese are wondering if any of the candidates for his successor will be gay. Newark is considered among the country's most liberal Episcopal dioceses, and has many people who clearly would welcome a gay candidate. But the landscape in the Episcopal church changed Wednesday, when a vote at the national Episcopal Church's triennial convention asked church leaders to "exercise restraint" when considering whether to approve gays for the bishopric.

Presbyterians: All Politics Are Local?

In Seismic Shift, Presbyterians Make Room for Gay Clergy

RNS' David E. Anderson reports from Birmingham, Alabama in this week's full-text article, linked above.

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The nation's largest Presbyterian denomination, in a seismic shift on the role of gays and lesbians in the church, voted on Tuesday (June 20) to allow local and regional bodies to ordain gays to the church's ministries.

God or Chicken?

Quote of the Day: United Methodist Pastor Dr. Scott Morris

"The church ought to lead the way, not bring up the rear. If the church has to serve fried chicken in order to draw a crowd, then there is something wrong with the message."

-- Dr. Scott Morris, physician and associate pastor at St. John's United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tenn., commenting to United Methodist News Service. Morris is the director of the Church Health Center in Memphis.

Clinton on "Interreligious Understanding"

Quote of the Day: Former President Bill Clinton

"For people in America who are a part of my political tradition, our great sin has often been ignoring religion or denying its power or refusing to engage it because it seemed hostile to us. For ... the so-called Christian right and its allies, their great sin has been believing they were in full possession of the truth."

-- Former President Bill Clinton, speaking as he accepted an award from the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding on Thursday (June 15) in New York. He was quoted by the Associated Press.

Lock up, peace is coming

Quote of the Day: Farmer Bryce Wiehl of Smith Center, Kan.

"Some people call them a cult, and some little old ladies are locking their doors. You're in the Bible Belt, and this is a Hindu-based religion. People don't like that idea."

-- Bryce Wiehl, 50, a farmer in Smith Center, Kan., talking about reaction in his town to plans by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to build a "World Capital of Peace" just outside the town. He was quoted by USA Today.

Episcopalians meet; Presbyterians meet; Baptists meet; and gay Muslims who seek marriages of convenience

In Thursday's RNS report, National Correspondent Daniel Burke reports from Columbus, Ohio, where Episcopalians are meeting in an effort to hold the church together: The packed hearing room overflowed with Episcopalians of every stripe on Wednesday (June 14) as delegates to the denomination's General Convention debated how to hold the fragile American church together. In language by turns intensely spiritual and parliamentarian, myriad speakers on Wednesday, including a number of bishops, testified to the momentous decisions that face the church at its 75th General Convention in Ohio June 13-21. "How wonderful it was that everyone was at the table," the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, bishop of New Hampshire, said in an interview Thursday morning. Robinson is openly gay, and his election to bishop sent threats of schism shivering through the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church, as well as the worldwide Anglican Communion of which it is part. "Reconciliation isn't possible unless there is contact and communion. And I intend to stay at the table until I drop," Robinson said.

Burke also reports on how Episcopalians are preparing to elect a new top leader: With so much attention focused on how the Episcopal Church will deal with schism and sexuality at its General Convention in Ohio this week, it almost seems an afterthought that the denomination will also choose a new presiding bishop. Elected for a nine-year tenure, one of seven candidates will succeed the Most Rev. Frank Griswold and become the American church's 26th presiding bishop. In addition to becoming the public face of the Episcopal Church, the presiding bishop combines the roles of "chief operating officer" as well as "chief pastor" to the nation's 2.3 million Episcopalians.

Presbyterians have also kicked off their General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala., reports Greg Garrison: Thousands of Presbyterians converged on Birmingham Thursday (June 15) to kick off an eight-day national meeting, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It will be a series of business sessions and worship services for the nation's largest Presbyterian body, which has 2.4 million adult members and 3.1 million including children, making it one of the 10 largest U.S. denominations. More than 500 voting commissioners will debate such thorny issues as how to deal with churches that want to ordain openly gay clergy, and a controversial proposal to divest church holdings in companies that do business with Israel as a way of promoting peace in the Middle East.

And Adelle Banks in Greensboro, N.C., reports that Baptists vow a `godly influence' on public schools: Southern Baptists overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday (June 14) that calls on churches to exert "godly influence" upon the nation's public schools, sidestepping a proposal that called for an "exit strategy" from the schools. "We realized that we simply cannot abandon the public schools," said Tommy French, chairman of the resolutions committee and pastor of Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, La. The adopted resolution affirmed the "hundreds of thousands of Christian men and women who teach in our public schools" and urged Southern Baptist churches to encourage members to run for local school boards. It also stated that "public schools continue to adopt and implement curricula and policies teaching that the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable."

Banks also reports on young Baptists who see a `new day' in the church's life: On the eve of this year's annual meeting of Southern Baptists, Micah Fries spoke of how he, as a 27-year-old pastor, often feels left out of the nation's largest Protestant denomination. But with the presidential election of Frank Page, a self-described "normal" pastor, Fries and other young pastors and bloggers say they have greater hopes for inclusion. The election of the 53-year-old pastor of First Baptist Church of Taylors, S.C., is giving young leaders hope about their recent influence and their future involvement in the 16.2-million-member denomination.

Ayesha Akram writes about gay and lesbian Muslims who seek out "marriages of convenience" in order to keep up appearances: On a Web site for gay South Asians, 27-year-old Syed Mansoor uploaded the following testimony during the summer of 2005. "Hi, I am looking for a lesbian girl for marriage. I am gay but I would like to get married because of pressure from parents and society. I would like this marriage to be a `normal' marriage except for the sex part, please don't expect any sexual relationship from me." With a click of his computer mouse, Mansoor dispatched this plea from his family home in India into the hinterland of cyber-world. Across the globe and especially in America, hundreds of other gay Muslims have started to pursue marriages of convenience -- in which gay men marry lesbian women -- in an attempt to keep up appearances.

Boston priest attends gay pride festivities

Quote of the Day: Boston priest Walter Cuenin

"I told a friend of mine ... that I was going to be here today, speaking at a gay pride interfaith service, and she said to me, `What's a Catholic priest doing at a gay pride service?' My response was, `Why wouldn't a Catholic priest be here?' In the tradition of my own Christian faith, it seems to me, as I read it, that Jesus was always with those who were often the target of hatred and persecution."

-- The Rev. Walter Cuenin, speaking June 11 at an interfaith prayer service that was part of Boston's gay pride festivities. He was quoted by The Boston Globe.

Inside the Mind of bin Laden

Reading Group Studies Bin Laden for Understanding

A group of Vanderbilt University professors meets regularly to ponder and debate the statements of Osama bin Laden, as reported in this week's full-RNS article, linked above.

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The rhetoric is reasoned and well informed, not irrational. In addition to Scripture, he draws from current events and even respected scholars and war theory to justify his belligerence. But the rhetoric is weak theologically, [Richard McGregor, an assistant professor of Islamic studies] said.

"It does not have deep roots in the Quran or deep roots in Islamic law," he said. "Yes, he quotes the Quran once in a while. But within the Islamic religion itself, this is very extreme. This is really on the edge."

SBC convention; Bin Laden study groups; Faith and Politics Institute

In Tuesday's RNS report Senior Correspondent Adelle M. Banks reports from the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, N.C.: Southern Baptists opened their two-day annual meeting Tuesday (June 13), prepared to elect their next president in a contested race that reflects other divides within the nation's largest Protestant denomination. Controlled by conservatives for more than two decades, the religious body is now wrestling with internal problems, reflected in suggestions from the convention floor about management of its mission boards. SBC Executive Committee President Morris Chapman urged his fellow Baptists to not let minor divisions keep them from a focus on evangelism. "We have to ask ourselves: Are we unprepared to saturate the Earth with the gospel? ... I appeal to every Southern Baptist pastor: Major on the major in our churches."

Amy Green reports on professors who have formed study groups focused on efforts to understand Osama bin Laden: For nearly a year at Vanderbilt University, a group of professors of religion, politics and history have gathered as a critical audience to Osama bin Laden, a man who looms larger than perhaps any other in our country and yet who remains a mystery to many Americans. The professors emphasize they do not sympathize with the al-Qaida leader, nor do they want to add academic weight to his teachings. They merely want to understand the man, his purpose and the source of his influence and hatred. "It's not like you can turn on the television and hear a 10-minute press release from al-Qaida," said Richard McGregor, an Islamic studies assistant professor who helped start the group.

Piet Levy looks at a group that says the travel it funds for congressmen is agenda-free: Despite perceptions, not all of the congressmen traveling at the expense of private interest groups get treated to rounds of golf and bottles of champagne. Take the approach of the Faith and Politics Institute, a self-described nonpartisan, interfaith organization that helps "public officials stay in touch with their faith and deeper values as they shape public policy." Since 1991, the institute has offered prayer retreats and occasions for reflection for politicians of both parties, primarily on visits to historical sites of racial reconciliation like Birmingham, Ala., and Farmville, Va. The institute insists no specific policy is pushed.

Rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina

Quote of the Day: New Orleans Pastor and Activist Michael Jacques

"We've had senators, we've had representatives, congressmen come in. We've had the president come down 12 times. And I say to myself, what part don't you get? Why aren't you releasing money?"

-- The Rev. Michael Jacques, pastor of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in New Orleans and a leader in All Congregations Together, a member of the PICO National Network that is encouraging Congress not to limit emergency spending legislation that will help rebuild housing after Hurricane Katrina.

Congressional candidate Keith Ellison

Quote of the Day: Congressional candidate Keith Ellison of Minnesota

"Perhaps it would be good for somebody who is Muslim to be in Congress, so that Muslims would feel like they are part of the body politic and that other Americans would know that we're here to make a contribution to this country."

-- Congressional candidate Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who, if elected, would be the first Muslim in the U.S. Congress, according to several national Muslim groups. He was quoted by The Hill newspaper.

Rev. Jack Hayford; the CRC debate on women

In Monday's RNS report: The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel recently held its annual convention in the nation's capital. The Pentecostal denomination has about 300,000 members in the United States and 5 million worldwide. Religion News Service Senior Correspondent Adelle M. Banks interviewed the Rev. Jack Hayford, 71, president of the Los Angeles-based church body about the state of Pentecostalism, his denomination's stand on women's leadership and the church's intersection with culture.

Charles Honey reports on the Christian Reformed Church Synod's return to a contentious debate on women: As 188 delegates gather this week to begin the Christian Reformed Church Synod, Karen Norris wishes she were one of them. But Norris cannot be part of the annual CRC conference because she is not yet ordained -- and because she is a woman. That could change if delegates decide to allow women to serve as synod delegates and to serve as ministers in any church. The same proposals were turned away last year. However, this year brings a new element: the support of the denomination's Board of Trustees, which is advising the synod to "speak clearly for the change."

Rev. Bob Edgar commenting on the AIDS crisis

Quote of the Day: National Council of Churches General Secretary Bob Edgar

"Let us learn the lessons of silence. Let us learn the sin of omission can contribute to the deaths of our sisters and brothers. Let us commit to stopping this killer disease for the sake of God's world, God's creation and God's people."

-- The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, commenting on the AIDS crisis at the time of the United Nations special session on AIDS, which concluded June 2.

Looking for good to come out of evil

Quote of the Day: Wedgwood Baptist Church Pastor Al Meredith

"Fort Worth's greatest crime scene is also the site of one of her greatest miracles. The Darkness sought to shut us down, but the Light shines ever brigher and ever stronger and will not be extinguished."

-- Al Meredith, senior pastor of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, writing in that city's Star-Telegram in reaction to an online survey that chose the 1999 "Wedgwood Baptist Church Massacre" as the No. 1 Tarrant County crime in the past century. He said hundreds of people have become Christians and millions of dollars have been raised for mission causes since the shooting that killed seven people.

The Hard Line

Vigorous Campaign Helps Catholic Church Defeat Abuse Laws

The Catholic Church has taken "a more hard-line approach" to fighting states' attempts to extend the statute of limitations in abuse case, according to this week's RNS full-text article, linked above.

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According to church lobbyists, a more aggressive stance -- along with assistance from the insurance industry and school board associations -- has been key to their victories across the country.

Soul Sanctuary

Photographer Captures 'Soulfulness' of Black Churches

RNS' Adelle M. Banks interviews photographer Jason Miccolo Johnson, whose book "Soul Sanctuary" is filled with images he photographed of African-American congregational life. The full article is lionked above.

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He especially relished his time at Jake's Chapel, a small church in Greenville with about 100 in attendance.

"I hit the mother lode," he said. "Jake's Chapel is the prototype of the old school, whooping-style preaching and the ecstatic congregants and rousing guitars and drums. They had it all."