View from the Pew
A look inside Hawaii's houses of worshipBy Mary Adamski
This may be "glad tidings" time, but negative news was again the theme as the people who cover religion in the secular print and broadcast media chose the top 10 stories of 2002.
Named the top religion newsmaker was Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned last week as head of the Boston archdiocese, which has been the epicenter of the scandal within the Catholic Church over priests' sexual abuse of youngsters.
The scandal accounted for four of the 10 national stories selected by participants in the Religion Newswriters Association year-end poll completed Monday.
AP Photo/Ken Lambert
Bernard Law: Chosen as top religion newsmaker over his resignation as head of the Boston archdiocese
Law succeeds Osama bin Laden for the dubious distinction. The entire American Catholic hierarchy was spotlighted as "winner" of the Into the Darkness Award, which is given occasionally to individuals or organizations that attempt to hide information from the public and the media.
There have been Hawaii chapters of the top story. Bishop Francis DiLorenzo removed a Maui pastor from duty after two people leveled sexual abuse accusations, and lawsuits were filed alleging past incidents and naming priests who no longer serve here.
The list selected by participants in the poll conducted electronically from Dec. 11 to last Monday included these national stories:
1. The clergy sexual abuse scandal rocked the Catholic Church. Starting with charges against a Boston priest early this year, the accusations of abuse victims were accelerated by disclosures that bishops in several places transferred offenders from parish to parish or made secret settlements to keep allegations from becoming public.
2. Law resigned after protests mounted about his handling of abusive priests. The Boston diocese is considering bankruptcy action as the number of victims' lawsuits has climbed to more than 400.
3. In the aftermath of last year's top story about Islamic terrorists, Christian evangelists such as Franklin Graham and Jerry Vine, of the Southern Baptist Convention, spark controversy by attacking Islam, Muslims and Muhammad. The Bush administration has attempted to distance itself from things such as Graham's characterization of Islam as "evil and wicked."
4. The American Catholic bishops adopted a "one strike and you're out" policy for abusive priests at their summer conference in Dallas. Five months later, at Vatican insistence, the bishops' conference provided for tribunals to hear cases of priests who proclaim their innocence.
5. The clergy sexual abuse scandal gave rise to new groups seeking a greater role for laity in Catholic Church decision-making. One group, Voice of the Faithful, drew 5,000 people to its first convention in Boston.
6. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of federal support for children attending religious schools through the school voucher program.
7. A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judge ruled that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional. In the ensuing furor, the judge stayed his ruling to allow for an appeal.
STAR-BULLETIN / 2002
Waimalu Elementary students said the Pledge of Allegiance during a visit to Hickam Air Force Base in February. The pledge caused a stir when a federal appeals judge ruled that the words "under God" were unconstitutional.
8. The growing possibility of a U.S. invasion of Iraq stimulates opposition from church groups including the National Council of Churches and the United Church of Christ and the American Catholic Bishops Conference, which questioned whether a pre-emptive strike can be morally legitimate under the traditional philosophy of a just war.
9. The Israeli military conducted a 39-day siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem after Palestinian gunmen took refuge there. Suicide bombings, killings and other violence continue in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
10. Scholars are debating the significance of a 2,000-year-old burial box which may contain the first archeological evidence of Jesus. The Biblical Archeological Review reported last month on the find in a private Jerusalem collection of a stone box inscribed with "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." It is both hailed as an archeological find and attacked as a hoax.
RELIGION CALENDAR
Mary Adamski covers religion for the Star-Bulletin.
Email her at madamski@starbulletin.com.
