| Christian missionaries mark year in captivity
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Despite the efforts of some 5,000 troops assigned to the Southern Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the presence of some 1,000 U.S. troops — part of the "second front" in the U.S.-led war on terrorism — Martin and Gracia Burnham appear no closer to freedom today than the day they were captured.
"There is no nine-tenths of the way," Brig. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of U.S. troops in the southern Philippines, told reporters earlier this month. "It's either you know where they are and you're acting on it, or you don't know where they are and you're looking for them. And we're looking for them." |
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| Two PCUSA bodies speak out against per-capita overture |
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Both the Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Committee of the Office of the General Assembly have called for defeat or radical revision of Overture 02-15 from the Presbytery of San Joaquin in California, which would nullify a 1999 interpretation by the General Assembly that required presbyteries "to pay out of their own funds any amount of per capita not paid by a session … as long as funds are available within the presbytery."
Instead, the Advisory Committee on the Constitution wants GA to make per-capita mandatory for the sessions.
In the 1992 Session of Central Presbyterian Church vs. Presbytery of Long Island case, the GAPJC ruled that per-capita payments by local sessions are voluntary and that sessions cannot be punished for not paying them.
Related link: Overture 02-15
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| PC(USA) Board of Pensions praises housing allowance bill |
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The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has issued a statement praising legislation signed by President George W. Bush May 20 that preserves the clergy housing allowance, about which we reported earlier. |
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Polity Learnings: Note 1
Special Administrative Review |
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On the new PCUSA Polity Learnings web site. Occasionally, usually after a cluster of calls or questions on a particular area of the Polity, Constitutional Services will release a "Polity Learning" on this new web site.
See the introduction to this site.
We will notify you when a new note is posted (but doesn't that go without saying?!). |
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Presbyterian Coalition
May Newsletter has been posted |
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Bill Giles has retired as Executive Coordinator • The new Executive Director is Rev. Carmen Fowler • Several articles on current court cases • The board urges more giving for missions to make up for cuts. |
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Chicago Presbytery abuse case needs a public resolution
By James R. Tony |
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The presbytery's insurance company might opt for an out-of-court settlement, without a finding of truth that can be made public. That could put more children at risk, and that is not acceptable. |
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| Announcing: Coalition Gathering |
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Main speaker: Bill Hybels, Willow Creek |
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Abandoned property
Depriving Palestinians of their livelihood |
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The lives of Palestinians under occupation have long since been considered cheap, and their dignity has long since been trampled, but now Israel regards their private property as abandoned. This isn't a new phenomenon, but it has recently been made much worse.
It is very difficult to justify large-scale destruction of private property outside the combat zones.
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| Planet's future at stake, U.N. report says |
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In 30 years, the Earth could look like a desert-strewn wasteland of urban slums, lose almost a quarter of its mammal species and leave people inhabiting large regions perishing from thirst and water-borne disease.
According to a massive United Nations environmental study released Tuesday, the planet is poised on a precipice, and time is running out for making tough political and economic choices that can pull it back from disaster.
With emphasis on untrammelled economic growth, the report said, 3 per cent of the Earth's surface will have been absorbed into cities within 30 years, with a disastrous effect on wildlife and biodiversity. |
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That old-time religion
A cautionary tale of how bunkum artists exploit true believers |
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It's an old and sad story: Investors let down their guard when they get a pitch from a self-proclaimed fellow follower of God.
With help from the Internet, religious-based scams hauled in $1 billion last year, estimates Joseph Borg, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association. |
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| Gay clergy and the Catholic Church
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With some blaming gays for the crisis, the debate over whether
homosexuals should continue to serve has gained urgency.
Vatican officials soon will be visiting U.S. seminaries in a review mandated during last month's church leaders' summit in Rome, and seminaries' admission of gays will be among the topics. |
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AP's weekly religion news in brief |
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• NCC urges open houses for Muslims
• Presbyterian tribunal dismisses cases protesting lesbian's ordination
• Russia's lower house rejects bid to restrict Russia's Roman Catholics
• Canadian Anglicans pick archbishop through first electronic election
• Federal appeals court asked to hear Ten Commandments case
• Four branches of Judaism unite for Israel aid |
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| Vatican cross at stars' crucifixes
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Model Naomi Campbell, Friends star Jennifer Aniston and actress Catherine Zeta Jones were all criticised for turning jewel-encrusted crosses into "the mania of the moment". The comments came from a Vatican news agency, which said that the crucifix was a sacred symbol and described the fashion as "incomprehensible" |
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Keep religion out of schools
By former Broncos player Reggie Rivers |
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"...This isn't about stripping God from the lives of students. It's not about denigrating religion and saying that it has no place in people's life. It's about making sure that every student and every teacher is free to practice his own religion without having the government push one on him..." |
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Springtime for theology? |
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Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the British Commonwealth, has proposed a new paradigm to forestall a global clash of civilizations. His paradigm addressing the unexpected return of religion "as an exceptionally powerful and indeed shaping force" is based on a very ancient text -- the Genesis narrative of the Bible.
As Sacks explained it Tuesday in a lecture sponsored by the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, his model reverses the previous order of priorities by first stressing "that every human being is in the image of God" (cf., Genesis 1:26).
This, he said, places the Bible in contrast to the ancient world where just the rulers were made in the likeness of God. |
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| Anti-Catholic views common, poll shows
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The survey of 550 non-Catholic Americans, conducted in March, found that 73 percent believed that Catholics "do what the pope and the bishops tell them to do," with 52 percent saying that Catholics "really are not permitted to think for themselves."
83 percent said that instead of worshiping only God, Catholics also worship Mary and the saints, while 57 percent believed the statues and images in Catholic churches are idols. |
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A tale of two churches
By Bill O'Reilly |
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When it comes to alleviating the suffering of the poor, no organization on this earth has been more effective than the Roman Catholic Church. From the disease-ridden streets of Calcutta, India, to the chaos of Africa, to the child-selling villages of Thailand, Catholic clergy and lay volunteers have shown up and are doing good...
Pope John Paul II is so ill that he is almost entirely out of the decision-making process. Instead, there are a few powerful "little popes" who surround the pontiff and issue orders in his name. And the orders right now to American bishops have come down to one thing: Stonewall...
The Vatican is basically saying that civil authorities and parents have no right to know about a priest who assaulted children in the past... |
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Letters from readers |
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George F. Lenz "...weren't the opponents of keeping G-6.0106.b saying that [it] effectively prohibited homosexuals from being members of the Presbyterian Church... Why is it that... its opponents are now saying it really makes no difference..." |
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Karl S. Landstrom responding to Tim Cahn: "How a candidate who is unmarried, who has self-acknowledged living in a "lifelong, loving, committed partnership," and who, therefore, is not "single," can properly be viewed as meeting the standard [of G-6.0106b] is a mystery to me..." |
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Robert Campbell responding to George Hunsinger, Tim Cahn and others: "...If the words "chastity in singleness" do not mean avoiding... any sexual intercourse with another person, then we twist the English language and grammar to mean things it cannot mean..." |
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Paul C. von Wedel in response to Tim Cahn's letter: "... The Scriptures are so abundantly clear regarding homosexuality that supporters of the LGBT position are forced to focus solely on the Book of Order text and splitting hairs concerning the true meaning of chastity, which by the way, is pure or virginal according to my dictionary." |
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George Hunsinger "Sooner or later, I suspect, "old-guard traditionalists" (like Rev. Richardson) are going to have to face reality: G-6.0106b is very poorly drafted..." |
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