Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 4

AMERICAN 4 A Saturday, December 28, 1985 Hattiesburg AMERICAN hurch, state in separate irema school students are sufficiently mature to make the same distinctions we all do between neutrality and endorsement." The case involved a four-year-old dispute at Williamport, Area High School, where about 45 students had formed a religious club. The students won their first round in federal court, but an appeals court decision in 1984 held that the club violated the doctrine of separating church and state. Debates over the church's proper role in political issues were dramatized by the trial in Arizona of 11 people involved in the sanctuary movement. The defendants, whose trial continued in December, were accused of conspiring to smuggle Salvadorans and Guatemalans into this country, regarding them as refugees from political oppression. The government contends the Central Americans were merely looking for better to conduct classes in parochial schools.

Education Secretary William J. Bennett criticized the court at the end of its term in July for a "fastidious disdain for religion. However, Burt Neuborne, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said: "In a world beset by religious fanaticism, the court's refusal to bend the constitutional rules to permit the state to advance religion is welcome." The issue did not, by any means, go away. In October, the court heard arguments in a suit challenging the Equal Access Act of 1984, in which Congress required high schools that receive federal money to permit student religious groups to meet on campus, on the same basis as any other extra-curricular activity. The Reagan administration defended the law, arguing in court that "Congress has concluded that high jobs.

The division between church and state could become a key issue in the 1988 Republican primaries if evangelist Pat Robertson decides to seek the presidential nomination. Robertson, 55, who owns the Christian Broadcasting Network and emcees its "700 Club" program, said he was waiting for divine guidance on whether to run. Meanwhile, he went ahead with plans to form a political action committee to get involved in the 1986 Congressional campaigns. The year's most prominent gathering of religious leaders was the synod which brought 165 Roman Catholic bishops to Rome to review the impact of the Second Vatican Council. Steering a middle course, the bishops concluded a two-week session by recommending vigorous actions to deal with problems ranging from abuses in liturgy and kidnapped in Lebanon.

Waite, a 6-foot-7 bear of man, earlier this year won the release of four Britons held captive in Libya. "I think the most important thing is being able to listen to the other person's point of view," Waite said. "I don't condone hostage-taking and I don't condone terrorism. But there are reasons why people do these things and I think we have got to try to understand them." The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, was released in August after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence for federal tax evasion.

The Episcopal Church elected Hawaii's Texas-born Bishop Ed-mond Lee Browning as presiding bishop to serve for the next 12 years. Roman Catholic bishops continued work on their major pastoral letter on the U.S. economy, while United Methodist bishops were refining a letter on the nuclear arms. theology to the church's commitment to social justice. Fundamentalists were in control at a stormy, divisive Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas in June, but both sides expressed hopes for calmer, friendlier times ahead in the nation's largest Protestant denomination through a newly established "peace committee." The Rev.

Charles Stanley, a fundamentalist from Atlanta, was reelected president of the convention. "If I have offended anyone in any way, I ask forgiveness," he said at the end of a convention in which some frustrated moderates had accused him of dictatorship in overruling several challenges from the floor. Religion entered the world of diplomacy in the person of Terry Waite, special envoy for Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, who was attempting at year's end to negotiate freedom for Americans peligion in Brief it i By ROBERT BARR AssocialM Prasi WMm Barriers between church and state remained largely in place in 1983, notably in the Supreme Court's decision to strike down an Alabama law requiring a "moment of silence" at the beginning of the school day. And churches held their own in terms of membership, with about 60 percent of Americans on church rolls, according to the National Council of Churches. In the Alabama case, the Supreme Court said it had nothing against silence, but ruled that the state had gone too far by encouraging students to occupy the silence with prayer.

In other religious issues of 1985 The court also struck down a "shared time" program in Grand Rapids, in which public school teachers taught some courses in parochial schools, and it ruled New York City could not use federal money to pay public school teachers Decaying brings on demolition BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) For nearly 100 years it was church and social center for a hard-working community of German-Americans. But people have fled the area in recent years and almost a century of the ravages of Buffalo weather have taken toll on the parish church of St. Mary of Sorrows. The last Mass was celebrated in the downtown church Dec.

6, and after Christmas the diocese will seek bids on the expected $250,000 demolition job, church officials said. "You can't just mothball it," said the Rev. Jerome Sullivan, the parish priest. "Just leaving it standing was not viable. There were insurance costs and a building that was shown not to be safe could not be left." Before the wrecker's ball begins its work, the diocese will auction off St.

Mary's pews, the magnificent stained-glass windows and other treasures of the Rhenish Romanesque church that was a recreation in America of the beloved European churches remembered by early parishioners. "This was not an easy decision. It's taken us a year and a half to come to this decision," said Johnstone Reid director of diocesan buildings and properties. "From an economical, physical point of view, the church itself is extremely expensive to maintain," he said. "It was built to hold 1,600 people, but now there are under 200 families there, so from a functional standpoint the church itself is well over design for the size of the parish." German immigrants borrowed $150,000 on Jan.

23, 1886, to build St. Mary's. The building was finished in --We- -At i i 3 i i mm ft Christian or not, was centered on the church. It was your whole activity, your social life, your religious activity," said former parishioner Paul Becker. As a boy of five in 1947, he watched the church burn in a blaze that caused $300,000 damage.

He made his first communion there, served with scores of other altar boys from the parish's 2,000 predominantly German families and married his sweetheart there. But Becker, who now lives in Boston, is illustrative of the changing pattern of the neighborhood around St. Mary's. At the church's peak in the 1950s, THE REV. JEROME Sullivan, pastor of St.

Mary ing. The church is due for demolition soon of Sorrows Church, stands at the altar looking out because parishioners cannot afford the $1 million at an empty Rhenish Romanesque church build- it will take to make exterior repairs. Youths to gather for conference CLINTON "Metamorphosis" is the theme for the annual Mississippi Baptist Youth Evangelism Conference Dec. 30-31 at the Mississippi College Coliseum. Keynote speaker will be Emory Gadd of Youth Ministries Imperative of Houston, Tex.

Youth pastor for the event will be Edward Cooper, pastor of First Baptist Church, Oxford. Contemporary Christian recording artist Kenny Marks of Nashville, Tenn. will present a concert, and Aggie Mae (Sylvia Hamey) of Louisville, Kent, will be spotlighted in a special feature. Also on the program will be musician Joe Shelton of Tupelo and Bruce Fields, minister of youth at First Baptist Church, Biloxi. Rich Malone, minister of youth at Calvary Baptist Churh, Tupelo, will lead in group activities.

Special music for services will be presented by Redemption, an interchurch group from Gulfport under the direction of Carol Mabry, New Generation from First Baptist Church, Pontotoc, under the direction of David Prevost and The Third Day from First Baptist Church, Quitman, under the direction of Wayne Baggett. Door registration will begin at 1 p.m. Dec. 30, and programs will conclude at 3:30 p.m. the next day.

SL-100 to air Christian rock show LAUREL Hattiesburg-Laurel-Meridian radio station WNSL will air a new Christian rock music show beginning Sunday, Jan. 5. The show, hosted by DJ Rick Lee, will hit the airwaves from 11 a.m. to noon, said station program director Dave Lyons. "I don't really expect a lot of Christians to be listening because that's when they go to church," Lee said.

"But I do expect to reach those people who are not Christians." Lee, a former DJ with now-defunct WKOJ radio, said the format for the new show will be "a little harder than most." "We won't be playing much Sandi Patti and that kind of music. It'll be a cut above contemporary." Artists featured on the one-hour slot will include such Christian performers as Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart, Russ Taff, David and the Giants and Petra. Children of God cult enters China SHANGHAI, China China watchers have received reports that members of the Children of God cult have entered the People's Republic of China as English teachers. According to a recent issue of Christianity Today, cult members reportedly have found a ready market among young Chinese citizens who are eager to mix with foreigners and learn English. The Children of God itself reported that the son of founder David Berg last year led a rally in Shanghai that attracted 500 young people.

Inmates' children get holiday gifts WASHINGTON (AP) About 30,000 children of prisoners received Christmas gifts this year through a program in 200 American cities conducted by Prison Fellowship. The project was tripled in size from last year, with children of inmates in about 400 prisons involved. About 1,000 churches participated this year. "Due to family separation and economic hardship, Christmas for the children of prisoners can be a lonely and empty day," said Charles W. Colson, chairman of the fellowship, which works to improve conditions for prisoners.

"In a sense, these children are some of the saddest victims of crime in our society." Catholic priest dies in Burundi jail BURUNDI Amnesty International, a London-based human rights group, says a number of Christians have died in Burundi jails during the past few months. The rights group says a Catholic priest was among the victims. According to a recent issue of Christianity Today, several priests have been arrested for celebrating Mass outside the state-authorized hours for such activities. In March, Burundi's interior ministry banned church-related activities before 5 p.m. The government said such activities were interfering with the country's economic progress.

However, sources both inside and outside Burundi have said the move was meant to minimize the influence of Western churches. I j. AP photo 7,000 people called themselves regular parishioners, forming one of Buffalo's largest congregations, said Sullivan. In the spring of 1983, the diocese discovered problems with the limestone exterior and consulting engineers determined it would cost between $850,000 and $1.4 million to replace about 12 percent of the exterior stone, Sullivan said. Reid said an inspection in May 1985 by the Pittsburgh company of Roth Associates determined that the church suffered from "overall general decay." Roth determined the church was a victim of the city's "freeze-thaw cycle," and acid rain.

telecasts worldwide. They are Nairobi, Kenya; Manila, the Philippines; Mexico City; West Berlin, Germany; San Bernardino, Seoul, South Korea and the Limehouse Studios in London, communications hub and anchor room for the conferences. The scores of other conference sites sites are scattered around the world, including a dozen U.S. cities; Paris; Dublin, Ireland; Jakarta, Indonesia; Lucknow, India; Singapore and many others. Sponsors said the "Explo" telecasts from the widespread sites are to be carried live or on delayed tapes in this country on approximately 30 Christian television stations and about 1,250 local cable systems.

Twenty years ago the infant probably would have been baptized and the parents admonished to attend church, he said. "For the past 10 or 15 years, and to an increasing extent, dioceses are waiting to see some evidence of Catholic life before administering a sacrament in an attempt to keep the sacraments from being thought of as something you do as a ticket to God," Sloyan said. The Rev. Ronald Krisman, associate director of liturgy for the U.S. Catholic Conference in Washington, agreed that the standoff at Mother of Sorrows church in this Rochester suburb is one that is becoming more frequent.

The days of someone being baptized, married and buried in one place are over, Krisman said. Priests recognize the changes in society and family life for in i Explo exploding on satellite links 1905 and its four bells, each the size of a man, were installed in 1911. Architectural historian John Con-lin has asked the Buffalo Landmark and Preservation Board to declare the building a landmark and seek other uses for it, but the board has no authority to deny demolition. "Its extraordinary bell tower is one of the highest in the city and this tower, together with its many other rare architectural features, makes the building (a) most prominent architectural landmark beyond downtown," Conlin said in the application. "Your whole life, our lives, the lives of everyone in the whole area.

and forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ to every person in every community in every country of the world." The four-day network of simultaneous conferences runs today through next Tuesday, with daily, two-hour, worldwide television broadcasts via satellite from the various meetings. Technologically, it is being billed as unprecedented in scope and complexity, longer and involving more cities, countries, languages and locations than ever before, more involved than telecasts of the 1984 Olympics. Michael Clifford, president of Victory Communications International of Scottsdale, and technical coordinator for the event said it will be "the largest closed-circuit satellite video-conference in history to the baptism: Father fights for baby date." He said more than 20,000 people are involved just in the technical side of the operation. Retained as field coordinator is Lou Falcigno, head of Momentum Enterprises, of New York, known for putting together international closed-circuit telecasts of ring fights in Africa and the Philippines. Of his new task, the blunt, fast-talking Falcigno said, "I've been credited with having done the largest telecasts, both domestic and international ever, but nothing this size not even remotely this size." He brought British Telecom of London, an international communications agency, into the operation as communications manager.

Seven cities on different continents are to serve as "uplinks," equipped both to receive as well as feed the Rochester, which serves 1.4 million people in a 12-county region, and began talking about ways to settle the dispute. There is a growing reluctance by Roman Catholic priests to administer the sacraments when people are just going through the motions. "We believe it's an encounter with God and if people are going to be flippant then we don't believe they're ready," said the Rev. Thomas Mull, director of liturgy for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. "That is fairly standard response in the 1980s," said the Rev.

Gerard Sloyan, chairman of the Department of Religion at Temple University and a spokesman for the Philadelphia-based Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church. By GEORGE W. CORNELL AP Religion Writer Young Christians are gathering at about 95 different places around the world for evangelism conferences through this weekend, linked in an international closed-circuit TV hookup termed the biggest ever. More than 500,000 people of 55 countries are expected to participate at sites ranging from Nairobi to Mexico City and from West Berlin to Manila in refining ways and commitment to expand faith in Christ. The effort is being stretched technologically "in ways never stretched before," says Bill Bright of San Bernardino, founder and president of Campus Crusade for Christ International, sponsor of the event.

"It will be a worldwide call to spiritual revolution, equipping and motivating people to take the love Battle of By RANDOLPH PICHT Associated Press Writer GREECE, N.Y. Jim See spent two recent Sundays standing in front of a church holding a sign that read, "Help My Son Receive Baptism." He said he didn't know what else to do after receiving word from the Rev. Thomas R. Statt that his infant son's baptism was being delayed because of questions about whether See and his girlfriend were committed to Catholicism. That stance has become more frequent within the church, which is resisting what Statt calls "jiffy baptisms." "That's his personal feeling and who left him in charge to say whether we're good Catholics anyway?" said See, who admits he doesn't go to church Bible says, 'Judge not, lest ye be rf RECORDING ARTIST PAT Knotts Hayes will be in concert at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 29, at Hattiesburg's New Life Fellowship. The Revs. George and Janette Lee are pastors, and the public is invited to attend. For more information, call 544-8485.

7 The couple, both divorced Roman Catholics, have lived together for about five years and plan to marry next year, said the 45-year-old See. "That's not the issue here," See said. "The issue is a kid suffering because of a personal judgment." Statt and diocese officials said the baptism hasn't been delayed simply because See and Michelle King, 40, are not married or that they're both divorced and Ms. King hasn't received a "declaration of nullity" from the church for her first marriage. They said babies born out of wedlock and babies born to remarried couples have been baptized, despite the church's opposition to premarital sex and remarriage after divorce.

They insist that each baptism is a unique case. Last week, See met with officials from the Roman Catholic Diocese of stance, four out of 10 U.S. Catholics are divorced and are putting more emphasis on commitment, he said. There are no checklists from the bishops or the Vatican for who can and can't be baptized, said Krisman. "It's a local decision." For See (pronounced Say) and Ms.

King, that's been the problem since October when they inquired baptizing 2-month-old Kevin Michael See. See said he and Ms. King had gone to a pre-baptismal class and set the date for the baptism when Statt informed them he was "deferring" it. It was the first time they had met the priest. "That kind of got me going, and I guess this whole thing was kind of a challenge," See said.

"I told him I was going to go public and he said go ahead." He said Ms. King was against the idea of pleading their case publicly..