WASHINGTON – Nearly two-dozen conservative Christian leaders have signed a letter to the Senate Finance Committee questioning an investigation into six large ministries that preach a gospel of prosperity.
The letter argues that the six-month-old inquiry sets a dangerous precedent. It also suggests that the ministries were targeted for sharing “the same branch of evangelicalism” and promoting “socially conservative public policy positions such as support for the traditional definition of marriage.”
Although the ministries under scrutiny are conservative theologically, they are not at the forefront of the culture-wars issues championed by the leaders rallying to their side.
The most prominent figures who signed the letter are Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich, American Family Association chairman Don Wildmon and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
The group repeats an argument by some of the targeted ministries – that the investigation falls short of the high bar the Internal Revenue Service has for justifying a church investigation.
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, sent letters to the six ministries in November seeking answers about spending on private planes, ocean-side mansions and board oversight.
The six ministries – led by Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer and Paula and Randy White – have denied wrongdoing. Some have pledged full cooperation and others have either refused or provided limited information.
– Associated Press
Archbishop stays out of Communion issue
WASHINGTON – Washington Roman Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl, responding to questions about the pro-abortion-rights Catholic politicians who accepted Holy Communion during Pope Benedict XVI's American visit, said any decision about denying the sacrament to those politicians should be made in their home dioceses.
Wuerl wrote in his archdiocesan newspaper column that he does not believe the Washington Archdiocese should intervene when such a public figure is taking Communion in the nation's capital. He suggested that doing so would supersede the authority of those politicians' bishops in their home districts.
Wuerl's comments came after New York Cardinal Edward Egan issued a statement saying former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an abortion-rights supporter, had broken “an understanding” the two shared by accepting Communion at a papal Mass in New York.
In Washington, a number of Catholic lawmakers who support abortion rights, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. John Kerry, a former Democratic presidential candidate, attended a papal Mass at Nationals Park. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, took Communion from a priest far from the papal altar.
– Associated Press
Orthodox Jews have new top leader
Rabbi Steven Weil of Beverly Hills has been tapped as the next top leader of the nation's Orthodox Jews.
Weil, 42, has been the spiritual leader of Beth Jacob Congregation, the largest Orthodox congregation in the U.S. outside greater New York, for eight years. He will become executive vice president of the Orthodox Union on July 1, 2009.
Weil succeeds Rabbi Tsvi Hersh Weinreb, who has held the job since 2002. Weinreb said he plans to continue working for the union as the “public face” of the movement at conferences, speeches and in the media.
Weil was ordained at Yeshiva University in New York and holds an MBA in finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He and his wife have seven children.
– Religion News Service
Vatican addresses posthumous baptisms
SALT LAKE CITY – The Vatican has ordered Roman Catholic dioceses worldwide to withhold member registries from Mormons who perform posthumous baptisms.
The order, first reported by Catholic News Service, was issued by the Vatican Congregation for Clergy. Officials said the step was taken to prevent members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from baptizing by proxy their Catholic ancestors.
Posthumous baptism is a rite practiced in Mormon church temples for the purpose of offering membership in the church to the deceased. Church members are encouraged to conduct family genealogy research and forward their ancestors' names for proxy baptism.
In 1995, Jewish and Mormon leaders signed an agreement aimed at preventing the names of Holocaust victims from being added to the church genealogical index. Since then, the names of several hundred thousand Holocaust victims had been removed from the database, church officials have said.
– Associated Press
