Pope Tells Roman Catholics to Combat Protestant Sects. Maybe.

Pope goes on another tirade against the number seven Okay, so Pope John Paul II probably didn’t really attack the digit. But that’s what it looked like when Weblog tried to translate a potentially controversial homily. As frequent readers know, Weblog is skeptical of many news reports summarizing statements by Roman Catholic leaders—especially when the statements aren’t in English. So an Associated Press story reporting that John Paul II “renewed his appeal to the faithful Sunday to combat competition from evangelical sects” caught Weblog’s attention—and suspicion. As the AP notes, the pope rarely harangues against “evangelical sects” unless he’s in Latin America. In Rome, he’s usually all about unity. So Weblog tried to translate the homily, delivered in Italian, using the Babelfish translator. Not so good. What the Associated Press had as the big controversial sentence, “In your neighborhood, in fact, the challenge of sects isn’t absent,” came out as “In your quarter, in fact, the challenge of the seven is not absent.” And that’s even one of the most understandable sentences Babelfish produced. Yikes. The Vatican has translated the homily into Spanish and French, both of which fare better through Babelfish, but why doesn’t the Vatican offer an English translation itself? Of course, maybe the Pope just lost a bunch of Vatican money at a craps table lately, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Italy threatens to cut power to Vatican Radio:

Stations of the Cross | Italy accuses Vatican Radio of emitting dangerous radiation (Time Europe)
Vatican, Italy battle over emissions (Associated Press)
Italy threatens to silence Vatican (BBC)
Threat to pull plug on radio angers Vatican (The Daily Telegraph, London)

More stories about Catholicism:

Licentious clergy shaking Catholics’ faith | It seems that the Church has yet again given its enemies a stick with which to beat it, handling this matter with an eye more toward protecting its reputation and its own bad priests than seeking justice for those upon whom the rogue clerics preyed. (Rod Dreher, New York Post)
Trinidad priests angry over appointment of U.S.-born archbishop | One resigns, calling move “re-colonisation American-style” (Reuters)
Throwing their red hats into the ring | The highly subtle contest to succeed the Pope is under way (Time)
A potentially historic choice | Cardinal Francis Arinze shares John Paul’s conservatism, but he is also a champion of ‘inculturation,’ or incorporating African culture into Catholic worship. (Los Angeles Times)
Russian Orthodox Patriarch says Pope’s Ukraine visit is a danger to relations (AFP)
Greek priests revolt as church backs Pope’s visit (The Guardian, London)
Pope John Paul II visiting Greece | It’s official: journey to heavily Orthodox country will begin May 4. (Associated Press)
Vatican exhumes Pope John XXIII | Face has reportedly not decomposed since his death 37 years ago (CNN)

Brigham Young University suspends gay students—but without allegations of sex The Mormon school suspended two students last week for “homosexual conduct”—but not for gay sex. A sophomore was reportedly suspended for visiting gay-oriented chat rooms online, going on three “dates” with men, and embracing another man on campus (he disputes the allegations). A senior, meanwhile, says all he did was hold hands with another man (though his suspension reportedly also was based on charges of kissing). But at least one of the students thought the school’s prohibition on homosexual conduct referred only to sex. The school won’t elaborate on “how far is too far.” “The Honor Code is not a laundry list of do’s and don’ts,” BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins told The Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s not going to go through and spell out everything involved. Students have the maturity to decipher that and listen to what church leaders are telling us.” ( The Deseret News also has an article on the suspensions.) The suspension raises questions for other religious schools that have similarly vague prohibitions on homosexual conduct, and for Christians who believe that homosexual Christians should remain celibate. How far is too far?

More stories about the Mormon Church:

Mormons intensify missionary effort in Utah | Young Mormons missionaries are being called back to the center of the Mormon world: Utah. The idea is to spread the groups message among the many newcomers to the state. (The New York Times)
Judges hear Utah’s census plea | One of three judges says counting missionaries would be “wildly” unfair to other Americans abroad. (Associated Press)
Mormon church asks congregation leaders not to put up Web sites (San Jose Mercury News)

More stories about higher education:

Jewish Baylor prof welcomed, yet despised | By all accounts, the Baylor University community has welcomed with open arms Marc Ellis as head of the Center for American and Jewish Studies. The same cannot be said for Waco’s tiny Jewish community of 400 people. (Houston Chronicle)
Baptist group visits Harvard | Divinity School explores ties with Baylor U. (The Boston Globe)
Wisconsin student fee distribution still unconstitutional, judge finds | Judge suggests student government shouldn’t have as much power over allocations (Associated Press/Freedom Forum)
Tyndale seminary fights state regulations | Fort Worth seminary was fined $170,000 for issuing degrees without accreditation or authority from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Also: Caesar’s reach | Should Texas authorities tell a seminary what kind of degrees it may award? (World)

James Kopp, suspected of murdering abortionist, captured in Paris Those concerns that prolife Republican John Ashcroft wouldn’t do his job as attorney general are looking pretty silly now. The French police, acting on information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, arrested fugitive James Kopp yesterday for the murder of a New York abortionist and the wounding of three Canadian abortionists. A New York couple was arrested for harboring him. And Ashcroft is committed to prosecuting both. “Enforcing the law doesn’t pose challenges for me,” he said at a press conference yesterday. “These charges are charges of violence that ended in the tragic death of an individual. If these charges are proved properly, they reflect a very serious breach in the law. I am totally committed to enforcing the law in settings like this, or any time the law is infringed.”

In other life ethics news, President Bush on Wednesday signed, as promised, a special memorandum barring U.S. foreign aid to family planning groups involved in abortion.

Other articles of interest:

Great minds reflect on how God fits into the equation | The curiosity that makes technologists shine puts faith to the test (USA Today)
Priest brings schoolchildren into the fold | Church offers rare opportunity for children in rural Russia to get a religious education (Associated Press/The Moscow Times)
Lutheran bishop charged with theft | Tanzanian accused of misappropriating 64 million shillings (US$75,000) from car rental company (Panafrican News Agency)
Mary Magdalene changing her image | Reputation as a reformed prostitute isn’t supported by biblical evidence, say scholars (Amarillo Globe-News)
Harvard survey: Religiously active more trustworthy (Religion News Service/The Charlotte Observer)
Churches must update creeds | But this writer’s alternative is just plain ridiculous. (Tom Harpur, The Toronto Star)

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