RNSdigest_05_05

RNS Digest
c. 2010 Religion News Service

Poll: US Catholics unsatisfied with abuse response

By Daniel Burke

(RNS) — Nearly three-quarters of US Catholics believe the Vatican tried to cover up clergy sex abuse, and a majority says Pope Benedict XVI has handled recent reports of past abuse poorly, according to a new poll, but less than 10 per cent have considered leaving the Catholic Church over the issue.

The Vatican has been besieged by criticism in recent months that top officials, including the future pope, mishandled cases of clergy sex abuse, allowing abusers to work in parishes with children, or stalling for years before defrocking serial molesters.

More than half of US Catholics — 58 per cent — say the Vatican did a “poor job,” of handing those reports, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll published on Tuesday (May 4). Less than one in three gave the Vatican good marks on the scandal, and 74 per cent said the Vatican tried to cover up the problem in the past.

Still, nearly seven in 10 Catholics say the scandal has had no effect on their views of the church; a plurality — 42 per cent — holds a favourable view of church leaders. One in four is undecided and 22 per cent have an unfavourable view.

Only 17 per cent view Benedict unfavourably, with 42 per cent holding a favourable view. Eighty per cent of American Catholics say their financial contributions to the church have stayed the same.

As for the scandal’s causes, less than one in three said mandatory celibacy for priests was a major factor — 28 per cent said it was a minor factor, and 35 per cent say it was not a factor at all. The issue of homosexuality among priests elicited nearly identical responses.

The poll was based on telephone interviews with 412 Catholics conducted April 28-May 2. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Tanzania Lutherans reject aid from ‘pro-gay marriage’ churches

By Fredrick Nzwili and Kevin Eckstrom

NAIROBI (RNS/ENI) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania says it will not accept money or help from groups that allow or support the legalization of same-sex marriages.

“Those in same-sex marriages, and those who support the legitimacy of such marriage, shall not be invited to work in the ELCT,” says a statement posted to the church’s website on April 29. “We further reject their influence in any form, as well as their money and their support.”

Church officials referred Ecumenical News International to the presiding bishop of the church, Rev. Alex Malasusa, but neither he nor the ELCT general secretary Brighton Kilewa could be reached.

The statement comes in advance of the 70-million strong Lutheran World Federation assembly in Stuttgart, Germany, from July 20-27, where homosexuality is expected to be a divisive issue.

“This church affirms that love is the essence of a relationship between two people who live, or who want to live, together in marriage,” the church statement said. “But, with regard to married spouses, this is the love between two people of the opposite sex.”

The Tanzanian church is the world’s second-largest Lutheran body after the Church of Sweden, which last October deeply angered Lutherans in Africa by allowing the celebration of same-sex marriages.

Last summer, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America lifted restrictions on non-celibate gay clergy, and approved a broad local option for congregations that want to bless same-sex relationships.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, said he expects to have “honest and open conversations” when he hosts Malasusa at ELCA headquarters in Chicago on May 18. Hanson said the “the ELCA’s shared commitment ... to be engaged in God’s mission for the sake of the world” remains unchanged.

Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director of the ELCA’s Global Mission department, told ELCA News Service that the ELCA has promised sister churches that it will “continue to be respectful of local policies and practices” when assigning U.S. missionaries overseas.

Globe reporters take abuse probe to silver screen

By Daniel Burke

(RNS) — Boston Globe reporters have inked a deal with film producers to bring an account of how they broke the Catholic sex abuse scandal to the silver screen.

Film producers Nicole Rocklin and Blye Faust have acquired the rights to the story of Globe reporters’ year-long investigation into child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston.

The investigation uncovered widespread abuse, won the paper a Pulitzer Prize in 2003, and led to a cascade of similar stories nationwide and widespread changes in how US Catholic bishops protect children and deal with abuse allegations.

According to the website Deadline.com, the film producers imagine the movie will be similar to All the President’s Men, the 1976 film starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman about how Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate story that felled President Richard Nixon.

Globe editor Martin Baron could not be immediately reached for comment.

Survey: Faith communities, moms shape giving choices

By Eleanor Goldberg

WASHINGTON (RNS) — If your mom says “you shouldn’t have” when you give her flowers on Mother’s Day, a new poll suggests you should thank her for teaching lessons on giving.

Nearly one in five Americans (17 per cent) surveyed said their mothers had the most impact on their giving tendencies, second only to faith communities (22 per cent), according to a poll commissioned by Thrivent Financial-Kiplinger Survey of Family Finances.

“When it comes to shaping our giving attitudes, who better to provide guidance than faith communities and moms?” said Thrivent Financial Director Patrick Egan in a statement. “Our survey suggests that both groups have opportunities to offer personal, powerful examples of selfless giving that shape our lives.”

One in 10 people cited their spouse as most influential, and mothers were more than three times as likely as fathers (22 per cent versus 6 per cent) to shape attitudes. Other factors included friends and extended family, at three per cent each. One in four Americans said they were unsure about their giving influences.

Age was one clear factor in determining who influences personal giving: 34 per cent of adults ages 18-24, and 21 per cent of those ages 25-34, picked mom. Almost a third of seniors, however, went with religion.

The poll of 1,000 US adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.