Saturday, June 30, 2012
Poll: Mormons excited about Romney’s rise, but wary of media - Articles
Friday, June 29, 2012
Presbyterians to tackle gay marriage, divestment - Articles
(RNS) The Presbyterian Church (USA) will return to two issues that have dominated church life for the past decade, with debates scheduled over gay clergy and whether to pull church investments from companies that are involved in Israeli actions against Palestinians.
Show Caption | Details Delegates at the 2010 Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly in Minneapolis vote by a show of hands. Delegates voted to lift a ban on gay and lesbian clergy, which was affirmed on May 10 by a majority of the church's 183 regional presbyteries. Credit: RNS file photo courtesy Danny Bolin/Presbyterian News Service The church's 220th General Assembly in Pittsburgh from June 30 - July 7 will reopen several contentious issues that many in the church thought -- or wished -- had been settled.
When the 2 million-member church last met in 2010, delegates approved a change to the church's Book of Order that allows for the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy; the change was ratified by a majority of regional presbyteries in 2011.
The church's new language sidesteps the issue of sexuality, and specifies that ordination standards should “reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.” Regional presbyteries, which preside over ordinations, are only required to base decisions on common questions asked of all candidates.
Opponents will try this year to undo that change, and revert back to a 1996 standard that required “fidelity in the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” for all clergy.
Same-sex marriage will also be debated, with four presbyteries petitioning for a modification to the church's constitution from its current definition of marriage as “a civil contract between a woman and a man” to a union of “two people.”
Constitutional changes require the approval of the General Assembly plus ratification by a majority of presbyteries. Opponents will seek to reaffirm the current definition of marriage, and change the ratification to two-thirds of regional presbyteries rather than a simple majority.
Hoping to avoid a lengthy ratification process, five presbyteries are seeking an “Authoritative Interpretation,” or declarative ruling, from the assembly that would allow clergy to officiate at same-gender marriages in states where it is legal. Such a ruling would not need to be ratified.
The move to change the definition of marriage follows similar efforts in other denominations to allow clergy to officiate in same-sex civil marriages: "Some states are already ahead of the church in moving the legal definition of marriage beyond gender," reads a proposed resolution from the Hudson River Presbytery in New York.
The assembly is set to consider several overtures regarding Middle East relations and investment. A recommendation from the PC(USA)’s Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) calls on the the PC(USA) to divest itself of stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions, which it says are engaged in “non-peaceful pursuits” in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In 2004, the PCUSA became the first major denomination to approve a process of "phased, selective divestment," but the move was scaled back in 2006 after Jewish groups complained that the move was impractical, biased and one-sided against Israel. Other churches have been largely reluctant to join the divestment cause.
The MRTI is also seeking a renewal of the call to corporations doing business in Israel to “confine their business activity solely to peaceful pursuits, and refrain from allowing their products or services to support or facilitate violent acts by Israelis or Palestinians against innocent civilians.''
Supporters of divestment say Caterpillar machinery and Hewlett-Packard and Motorola technology are used to build barriers against the Palestinians or expand Israeli settlements into Palestinian areas. In the past, Caterpillar has said it has no control over how its equipment is used.
Other proposed resolutions go further, calling Israeli policies the equivalent of "apartheid" -- a comparison to the former South African regime that Jewish groups find deeply offensive.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs has collected nearly 20,000 signatures ahead of the anticipated debate on divestment, condemning what it sees as political motivation and historically anti-Semitic overtones in divestment.
“Divestment, and the specious Apartheid terminology that frequently accompanies it, polarizes people and communities so that the policy of divestment, and not peace, becomes the central issue,” the letter reads. “Divestment will undermine the ability of many Israelis to imagine peace.”
Additionally, the General Assembly will debate issues of denominational funding, special offering apportionment, the viability of geographically independent presbyteries and the addition of the South African Belhar Confession to the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Monday’s Religion News Roundup: Gay Mormons marry, Vatican taps Fox News, school prayer ruling at 50 - Blog: Sacred and Profane
While we wait the Supreme Court’s verdicts on health care and immigration, let us ponder other questions. Such as:
Should gay Mormons marry women? Some say it’s an option. Others, not so much.
An Islamist from the Muslim Brotherhood has won Egypt’s first free presidential election, but Mohamed Morsi will have his work cut out for him after decades of authoritarian rule, and with an assertive military.
Can Fox fix what ails Vatican? The Holy See is hiring Fox News’s man in Rome, Greg Burke, to help with media relations. Oh, and he is a member of Opus Dei.
This move, a week after Pope Benedict’s No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Silvio Berlusconi (see comments), accused the media of trying "to imitate Dan Brown" in their coverage of the VatiLeaks scandal. (It was the work of the Devil, Bertone said. Same thing, no?)
Greg is a real pro, good man. But good luck, dude. You’ll need it.
Our own man in the Vatican separates fact from fiction in the leaks scandal.
The pope met with several of his cardinal over the weekend to “restore serenity and trust” in the Curia. He will continue to try to get on top of the crisis, says Edward Pentin.
Monsignor William Lynn was convicted in the landmark verdict in the Philadelphia clergy sex abuse trial, but the vaunted archdiocese has plenty of other problems to face.
Was the trial a watershed for American Catholicism?
Did the late Jesuit and ex-congressman Robert Drinan grope a 19-year-old woman who grew up to be Slate’s advice columnist?
Closing the SCOTUS loop: 50 years ago today the high court said prayer in public school was unconstitutional. Omens?
Finally, Lonesome George (pictured above) is dead after a long and apparently celibate life. He was the last of his kind. RIP.
David Gibson
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Photo of Lonesome George via The National Post.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Dalai Lama taps American to bridge East and West at Tibetan monastery - Articles
NEW YORK (RNS) The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland, director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 6, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position.
In making the appointment, the Dalai Lama told Vreeland, “Your special duty (is) to bridge Tibetan tradition and (the) Western world.”
Show Caption | | Details From left, Nicholas Vreeland, the Dalai Lama and Khyongla Rato Rinpoche. On July 6, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. Credit: RNS photo courtesy The Tibet Center “His Holiness wishes to bring Western ideas into the Tibetan Buddhist monastic system, and that comes from his recognition that it is essential … that there be new air brought into these institutions,” Vreeland told the PBS program “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.”
For many observers, the choice of an American for the role may be a surprising one, and perhaps even more surprising given the background of this particular American.
Vreeland had a privileged upbringing -- the son of a U.S. diplomat and the grandson of Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor of Vogue magazine during the 1960s. When he first encountered Tibetan Buddhism in his 20s, he was working as a photographer in some of the industry's top studios.
“What is it about Tibetan Buddhism that interested me? I think that it’s this very linear, very carefully organized, path to enlightenment that I liked,” Vreeland said.
Vreeland sees a linear progression in his own path into Buddhism. He was born in Switzerland and also lived in Germany and Morocco before his family returned to New York. They were Episcopalians and sent 13-year-old Nicky to a boys’ boarding school in Massachusetts. He was miserable there, until he discovered photography.
Show Caption | | Details The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland (pictured here), director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 6, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. Credit: RNS photo courtesy Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly “I don’t know what it was about it that caught me. I really don’t know, but it caught me,” he said.
Vreeland had a good relationship with his famous grandmother. “I went to NYU to study film, and at that time initially lived with her and became very close. She was a wonderful, enthusiastic friend,” he said.
She opened the door for him to work with prominent photographers Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. In 1977, Avedon’s son John introduced Vreeland to Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, founder of The Tibet Center. Under Rinpoche’s supervision, Vreeland began learning about Tibetan Buddhism.
In 1979, he went to work on a photography assignment in India. Because of his growing interest in Tibetan Buddhism, he included a stop in Dharamsala, the headquarters-in-exile of the Dalai Lama. Vreeland received permission to photograph the Tibetan leader, and the two men chatted as Vreeland packed up his equipment.
“I had been so moved by the way in which the Tibetan people had helped me … during my time in Dharamsala, and I asked His Holiness what I could do in return. And he said, “Study,” Vreeland recalled.
Vreeland took that advice to heart, and with the help of his teacher, explored the Tibetan Buddhist concept that logic can lead to developing compassion and attaining enlightenment.
In 1985, Vreeland decided to become a Buddhist monk. His grandmother was not happy about it.
“She was not a big proponent of following a spiritual life,” he said, adding that she eventually came to accept his decision.
Vreeland pursued his monastic studies at Rato monastery, the monastery he will now lead. Rato was established in Tibet in the late 14th century to preserve Buddhist teachings on logic and debate. After the Dalai Lama fled China in 1959, Rato was re-established in India.
Show Caption | | Details The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland (pictured here far left), director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 6, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. Credit: RNS photo courtesy Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly When Vreeland arrived in 1985, there were 27 monks. Today, there are about 100 between the ages of 6 and 90. The monastery undertook a massive construction project, which was largely funded through the sale of Vreeland’s photographs. He raised $400,000 with a special series of photos documenting life in and around the monastery.
As abbot of Rato, Vreeland will have administrative and spiritual responsibility for the monastery and its monks. He’ll also interact with abbots of the other Tibetan monasteries -- and that's where the Dalai Lama has instructed him to help incorporate more Western ideas.
“These institutions, if they aren’t contemporary, won’t have any relevance. Now, of course one has to be very careful. If you go too far, you dilute what they do possess and you’ve lost everything,” Vreeland said.
Vreeland will divide his time between India and New York, where he’ll continue as director of The Tibet Center, which helps promote Tibetan Buddhism in the West.
Show Caption | | Details The Dalai Lama has given Nicholas Vreeland (pictured here), director of The Tibet Center in New York, a daunting new assignment. On July 6, Vreeland will be enthroned as the new abbot of Rato Monastery in southern India, one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. He will be the first Westerner to hold such a position. Credit: RNS photo courtesy Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly He admits he is not yet sure how he will be that bridge between East and West: “I am a human being, I’m a Buddhist monk, I am a Westerner, and how I will bring what I believe in? I think it’s by just living my life.”
(A version of this story was first broadcast on the PBS program “Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.”)
COMMENTARY: Ain’t no mountain high enough - Articles
(RNS) On Sunday morning our gospel choir sang an extraordinary song by Kurt Carr called "For Every Mountain."
When I watched a video of Carr's own choir performance, I felt too white and too stiff. But when I took my place in the bass section, stereotypes faded away. I knew that every one of us -- myself included -- had known trials and had to climb mountains of daunting height.
Every one of us had to trust in God's grace and mercy, in a strength and determination that were beyond ours. If we have known blessings, we didn't earn them. God loved us before we knew we needed loving.
I didn't know my part of the song as well as I would like. But I knew my history. I knew that when a Spirit-filled alto began to weep, she was weeping for all of us. When our soprano soloist soared higher and higher, she was carrying all our praises.
When I gave my best, it was my best, not a comparison with anyone else, just my best for the God who has "seen me through."
Shortly after we sang, more than 40 people from Park Avenue Christian Church took their places in the massive 2012 Pride March down Fifth Avenue. Again, stereotypes faded away. People weren't wondering who was gay and who was straight. They saw hands joined in a cry for freedom, justice, dignity and respect.
This march, like its counterparts in other cities, wasn't about sex, but about people with lives and loves, trials and triumphs -- in short, people whom God has chosen to love.
Seems to me that the horrendous ugliness of this year's political campaigns is a last-ditch effort to install hatred on the throne. The strategy: defend the negative stereotypes, defend the bad theology, defend the religious leaders who ought to know better and defend intolerance as a national cause -- all of it egged on by wealthy bigots whose goal, inevitably, is gaining more wealth.
I say it's last-ditch because times are changing. Younger citizens are emerging for whom homophobia is a bizarre perversion of reality. People are seeing beyond Fox News hysteria.
Whether the greedy can seize the throne in time to do one more looting of the nation remains to be seen. Hatred and bigotry might prevail in November and then do the damage to freedom, rights and justice that they fully intend to do.
But I sense the days of this darkness are numbered. Even conservative religionists realize they can't build a godly enterprise on bigotry and greed. Hating gays just isn't a cause that inspires. The good hearts and good souls that occupy most pews in America won't follow discredited Catholic hierarchs or venomous hard-core preachers down the path to demagoguery. New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan might be scoring points with a medieval pope by his alarmist screeds, but the immigrants who keep his church afloat have other concerns.
Do "sunny days" lie ahead? Not likely. But as culture wars are set aside, maybe we will have the energy and heart to tackle real issues, like unemployment, massive greed, religious extremism and a dangerous world.
From a faith perspective, this will happen because God simply isn't into hatred. God is love, and that love doesn't follow the dictates of human fears. God is about mercy, justice, forgiveness and oneness. In the end, so must creation follow God's lead.
Show Caption | | Details Tom Ehrich is an Episcopal priest, author and former Wall Street Journal reporter living in Winston-Salem, N.C. Credit: RNS photo (Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of "Just Wondering, Jesus" and founder of the Church Wellness Project. His website is www.morningwalkmedia.com. Follow Tom on Twitter @tomehrich.)