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Church and state debate partnerships

15 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from 1st Corinthians, Saint Paul mentions that he tries "to please everyone in every way." After his announcement late last week that he was creating a White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, President Barack Obama will have to walk a delicate line on the issue of church-state separation if he expects to please everyone involved. The president outlined the plan for the new office at the annual National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, emphasizing his intention to treat religious and secular groups fairly and to preserve church-state separation laws that critics of the Bush Administration's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives felt were blurred in the past eight years. "The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another-or even religious groups over secular groups," Obama said at the breakfast. "It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state." Since the election, Obama aides have met with dozens of groups with a stake in faith-based initiatives, including traditional social service providers such as Catholic Charities USA, progressive faith-based coalitions, and Bush White House veterans like Stanley Carlson-Thies, who helped design faith-based initiatives for Bush. The team also heard from opponents of faith-based initiatives, including Jewish groups worried about state-supported Christianity. The biggest question for Obama is how he'll handle Bush's policy of allowing faith-based groups to use religious background as a factor in hiring for government-funded positions. In announcing his faith-based office, Obama delayed a decision on the matter until further legal review. Advocates of church-state separation and liberal backers of faith-based initiatives view the Bush policy, which exempts religious groups from federal nondiscrimination rules attached to government funds, as illegal, while some religious groups and those on the right see it as an essential safeguard for faith-based organizations' rights to exercise religious convictions. Source: Articles by Anne Stopper for PBS.org Online NewsHour, Dan Gilgoff for U.S. News & World Report, and Ecumenical News International

barack obama nondiscrimination national prayer breakfast religion and state church and state religious freedom

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Italians are cross with crucifix ruling

08 Nov 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Christ came to take away sin by his sacrifice on the cross, the Sunday reading from the Letter to the Hebrews tells us. In a decision that has angered many Italians, a European court Tuesday ruled that displaying crucifixes in the country's schools violated the principle of secular education. The European Court of Human Rights said Italy's practice of displaying crucifixes in classrooms "restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions, and the right of children to believe or not to believe." The court ordered the Italian state to pay damages to a woman who had lodged a complaint with the court in 2006, alleging the display of crucifixes had prevented her from raising her children according to secular values. The court didn't order Italy to take crucifixes off the walls, but the decision, if upheld, would be binding on Italy as one of 47 countries that have signed the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. In recent years a divide has opened in Europe between countries that strictly interpret the separation between church and state and those where Christian traditions still hold considerable sway. Generations of Italian children have grown up studying in classrooms with crucifixes on the wall. Many public schools continue to offer the "religion hour," an optional course on Catholic teachings. Italy has changed in the past two decades, however, from a country that exported migrants to one that has accepted about 4.5 million economic refugees and asylum seekers from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia, raising tensions with regard to questions of religious diversity. "The presence of the crucifix could be . . . disturbing for pupils who practiced other religions or were atheists, particularly if they belonged to religious minorities," the court said. Italian officials said they will appeal the ruling. "You can't build a united Europe by eliminating the traditions of individual countries," said Mariastella Gelmini, Italy's education minister. "The crucifix represents Italy and defending its presence in schools means defending our tradition." Gelmini, a member of the conservative government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said that "no one, and certainly not an ideological European court, will succeed in erasing our identity." The Vatican said it wanted to study the exact wording of the ruling before issuing a response. Source: Articles by Stacy Meichtry for the Wall Street Journal and Nick Squires for the Christian Science Monitor

church and state italy schools religious minorities crucifixes

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Desert cross at center of court fight is stolen

16 May 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's second reading, John hears the voice of one who is coming soon with "the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds." Rewards totaling $35,000 have been offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for stealing a war memorial shaped like a cross that was at the center of a recent Supreme Court judgment. The cross was torn from its moorings in a remote California desert last weekend and carried off by vandals. The Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Liberty Institute, the legal organization that represented the veterans groups in the Supreme Court case, offered the reward. "This is an outrage, akin to desecrating people's graves," said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of Liberty Institute. "It's a disgraceful attack on the selfless sacrifice of our veterans. We will not rest until this memorial is re-installed." The cross was first erected in 1934 by a local VFW unit to honor war dead. It has been rebuilt several times over the years and Easter services are held annually at the remote desert site. The site is on national park land. The high court on April 28 ruled the cross did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state. "It is reasonable to interpret the congressional designation as giving recognition to the historical meaning that the cross had attained," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy. "The Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion's role in society." Source: An article by Bill Mears for CNN

cross church and state supreme court kelly shackelford liberty institute veterans of foreign wars

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Romney’s religion called a cult

16 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Despite being an outsider to those of the Jewish faith, the Persian king Cyrus is called to a leading role by the Lord, this Sunday’s first reading reveals. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is running to lead the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential race, and injecting a potentially explosive issue into the campaign last weekend, a prominent Texas pastor said Romney is “not a Christian” and called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a “cult” at a major conference of Christian conservatives. Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress introduced Rick Perry as a "genuine follower of Jesus Christ” at the “Values Voter Summit” Friday in Washington, D.C. and made his comments about Romney’s faith later when questioned by reporters. In the past Jeffress has also criticized other faith traditions, including Catholicism, which last year he called “that cult-like pagan religion.” The comments about Mormonism raised immediate suspicions that the attack might have been a way for surrogates or supporters of Perry, the Texas governor who has stumbled in recent weeks, to gain ground by raising religious concerns about Romney. The Perry campaign sought to put some distance between Perry and Jeffress, stating that the governor “does not believe Mormonism is a cult.” When Romney addressed the same summit Saturday, he never uttered the word “Mormon.” He spoke of the nation’s “heritage of religious faith and tolerance” but not of his own faith. Romney did, however, feel compelled to amend his prepared remarks by denouncing religious bigotry and taking on those who introduce what he called “poisonous language” into the political arena. The psalmist this Sunday encourages listeners to “worship the Lord” and to “give the Lord glory and honor.” When Romney sought the Republican nomination for president in 2008 and his faith became an issue, he assured people that he worshipped Jesus as Lord, but failed to persuade many evangelicals. The Catholic Church does not refer to Mormonism as a cult, but in 2001 the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded in the affirmative to a query about whether Mormons entering the Catholic Church needed to be baptized again, stating that baptisms performed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are to be considered invalid by Catholics because the faith traditions are so distinct. Sources: Articles by Whit Johnson for CBS News, Richard A. Oppel, Jr. and Erik Eckholm for the New York Times,Philip Rucker for the Washington Post, Alonso Gaskill for the Neil A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarshipat Brigham Young University, and Religion News Service

church and state church of jesus christ of latter-day saints mormons mitt romney values voter summit rick perry robert jeffress

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Honduran bishop seeks active retirement--as president

16 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

If God unexpectedly used a Persian king to lead his people, as we read in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah, could God also call on a retiring Catholic bishop? That will be the question before Hondurans in their next presidential election if retiring bishop Luis Santos Villeda of Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras gets permission from the pope to join the race. Santos celebrates his 75th birthday in November and plans to immediately submit his resignation to the Vatican as required by canon law. Once his resignation is accepted and he is freed from the responsibilities of bishop, Santos said he would like to run for president as a candidate of a progressive faction of the Liberal Party, whose last president, Manuel Zelaya, was deposed in a 2009 coup. "Now that I'm retiring as bishop, I hope to speak with the pope and get his permission. I would no longer be bishop or have any church office, but would remain a priest. I could celebrate Mass privately in the morning before showing up in the presidential office at 8 a.m.," Santos said. Some in Honduras believe the church should remain completely independent of political affiliation. But Santos rejects the notion. "It's very convenient for the rich that the church remains outside of politics, because that way they can mistreat and steal from the poor without the church protesting. They're happy because no priest will complain. And if one does, they label him a communist," Santos said. Sources: Articles by Paul Jeffries for Catholic News Service and National Catholic Reporter

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Thou shalt not, rules Oklahoma Supreme Court

02 Aug 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Moses the lawgiver, famous for delivering the Ten Commandments, plays a central role in the Exodus saga referenced in several readings this Sunday. Despite their historical significance, a stone monument of the Ten Commandments must be removed from the Oklahoma state capital, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday. The justices denied a request by the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission to rethink the court’s June 30 decision that the statue’s placement violates the state constitution’s ban on the use of state property for the benefit of religion. Homily hint: The issue of separation of church and state can be looked at from many angles, and certainly the state must remain impartial when it comes to religious background. At the same time, there are certain bedrock cultural icons that deserve a special place in our heritage, without denying the value of other heritages. Let’s work to find the right balance. For more on the Ten Commandments decision, see: Oklahoma top court agrees Ten Commandments stone at Capitol must go

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