Priest resigns under pressure after officiating funeral Mass with Episcopal Priest

BALTIMORE (AP)- Under pressure from Baltimore’s new Roman Catholic archbishop, a priest resigned as pastor to three parishes and signed a statement apologizing for ``bringing scandal to the church’’ after offenses that included officiating at a funeral Mass with an Episcopal priest, a violation of canon law.

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien ordered the resignation of the Rev. Ray Martin, who has led the Catholic Community of South Baltimore for five years, triggering a debate about enforcing Catholic doctrine and the limits of ecumenical relations.

Martin said he led the Oct. 15 funeral Mass for local activist Ann Shirley Doda at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church with several clergy, including the Rev. Annette Chappell, pastor of the Episcopal Church of the Redemption.

Doda’s son, Victor, invited Chappell to participate in the service.

``I am sickened that they would treat our pastor this way,’’ he said. ``It doesn’t sound possible that the church would take such a petty thing and ruin a man’s career.’’

Sean Caine, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said this was one example of repeated administrative and liturgical offenses Martin had committed in more than a year, including not complying with hiring and screening policies.

``Father Martin’s received advice and counsel on numerous occasions from the archdiocese, and he has repeatedly violated church teaching,’’ Caine said.

Chappell read the Gospel at the service, Martin said. Only ordained Catholic priests and deacons may read the Gospel at Mass.

``I think that canon laws exist to protect the church from extremism,’’ Martin said. ``I don’t find that this is such an extreme situation.’’

Martin said he has been barred from celebrating Mass publicly and will go on an extended retreat at a monastery in Latrobe, Pa.

http://www.archbalt.org/

Lutheran Church program assists military chaplains, vets

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has launched a new program to help chaplains and soldiers adjust to returning home after military deployments.

The early focus of the program, called Operation Barnabus, is to provide support for pastors called to active duty as Reserve and National Guard chaplains. From there, the St. Louis-based denomination plans to place liaisons in its 35 districts to work with congregations and offer support to soldiers and their families by next summer or fall.

The program is named for the companion to St. Paul who assisted him on his first missionary journey, according to biblical accounts.

``Everyone changes in a deployment _ to deny that is to deny reality,’’ said Rev. Alexander Knowles, a chaplain and pastor from Lockport, N.Y., who is taking part in the program and preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. ``We all need help in learning how to deal with some of the issues that come up when people come back.’’

The 2.5 million-member church estimates it has 10,000 to 20,000 members who are active or reserve in the military, including about 100 of its pastors.

Delegates to last summer’s Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod asked the church to address the needs of military chaplains and other military personnel.

The denomination has not taken a position on the Iraq War. While other Christian denominations condemned plans to invade Iraq in 2003, church president the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick issued the statement: ``We hold up the biblical principles of just war for our people’s consideration. But our people have the freedom to form their own conclusions.’’

http://www.lcms.org/

United Methodist bishops elect new leader, call for Iraq withdrawal

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (AP) - Bishops of the United Methodist Church, gathered here for a semiannual meeting, elected an Iowa bishop to lead them and called on the United States and its allies to begin an immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

Iowa Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer, 53, was elected to lead the worldwide Council of Bishops of the 11 million-member church, the nation’s second largest Protestant denomination. A Philadelphia native, Palmer was ordained in 1981 and served six churches in Ohio before being elected bishop and appointed to the church’s Iowa conference.

Palmer will begin a two-year term as the council’s president in May, replacing Janice Riggle Huie of Houston.

``(Palmer) is widely respected across the council,’’ said Stephen Drachler, a church spokesman. ``He is bright and articulate and an all-around good guy. He will play a role in the direction of the work the council does and will be the voice of the council of bishops.’’

The resolution calling for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq also urges no permanent military bases in Iraq, increased support for military veterans and support for a reconstruction plan. President Bush is a member of the United Methodist Church.

two years ago the bishops called for a timeline for the withdrawal of troops.

About 125 active and retired bishops attended the meeting. Although best known as an American denomination, the church has expanded its global reach in recent years with a growing presence in Africa, Europe and the Philippines.

http://www.umc.org/

Catholic activist wins $1 million prize for work educating African refugees

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A Roman Catholic activist who has helped provide education to thousands of African refugees displaced by ethnic bloodshed has been awarded a $1 million prize recognizing unsung humanitarians.

The Opus Prize, which honors someone who ``combines a driving entrepreneurial spirit with an abiding faith to combat poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease and injustice,’’ was given to Brother Constant Goetschalckx.

A member of the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity, a Belgium-based religious order, Goetschalckx runs Ahadi, an education program based in refugee camps in Tanzania. He founded Ahadi, which translates roughly to ``promise’’ in Swahili, a decade ago when refugees fleeing violence in neighboring Rwanda, Congo and Burundi began flooding into Tanzania.

Goetschalckx ``is a man who is absolutely and totally committed to the poor of the world,’’ said the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, president of Catholic University, which administered this year’s Opus Prize.

The money for the award, now in its fourth year, comes from the Opus Group, a Minnesota real estate firm. The Opus Prize Foundation partners with a different Catholic university each year to administer the award.

Known as ``Brother Stan,’’ Goetschalckx recruited educated volunteers from the camps to start high school classes and arranged for distance-learning classes for those working toward college degrees.

http://www.opuscorp.com/

Houston museum raises millions for Islamic art collection

HOUSTON (AP) _ The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has raised more than $3.6 million for a project to establish the first collection of Islamic art in Texas and the South.

Museum director Peter C. Marzio said the goal is to raise $35 million in five years for a curator, exhibitions and acquisitions.

Most of the money raised during a recent gala at the museum was donated by Hushang Ansary, a former Iranian ambassador to the United States, and his wife, Shahla.

The Ansarys’ gift of $2.8 million allowed the purchase of a Quran from Morocco dating back to 1318; a Persian ceramic bowl from the 11th or 12th century; and a 13th-century bronze incense burner shaped like a lion.

Major U.S. collections of Islamic art include Harvard University’s Sackler Museum, which holds more than 2,500 objects, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, with approximately 1,700 Islamic works. Other collections are in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland and Brooklyn museums.

http://www.mfah.org/