Religion Briefs
Pittsburgh to overturn manger parking waiver
PITTSBURGH >> City officials said they would ask a private group, the Christian Leaders Fellowship, to remove signs permitting 10-minute parking near a downtown replica of the Vatican's manger scene. A lawyer complained police violated the U.S. Constitution by granting the parking waiver.The creche has been on display the last four years.
Lawyer Jon Pushinsky raised an objection on grounds of church-state separation, and local American Civil Liberties Union Director Witold Walczak said he would contact officials if the signs were not removed.
Catholic faculty wants birth control coverage
ERIE, Pa. >> Faculty members and employees at Gannon University, a Roman Catholic school, criticized the administration for removing birth control coverage from their health plan.Eighty employees signed a protest letter charging that the university is coercing staff on private moral decisions, the Erie Times-News reported. Besides sterilizations and oral contraceptives, the school eliminated coverage for Viagra prescriptions.
The Roman Catholic Church opposes sterilization and artificial birth control methods, but not all employees at the diocesan school are Catholic.
A Nov. 6 university memo said a review discovered the coverage for "certain procedures and prescriptions that are not consistent with Gannon's mission."
Gannon said other Catholic universities sponsored by dioceses have similar policies.
The school's former provider allowed no choices on which drugs and procedures were included, officials said, and coverage mistakenly continued after a 2000 switch to a provider that allows options.
$76.8 million given to church colleges
INDIANAPOLIS >> The Lilly Endowment is granting $76.8 million to 39 church-related U.S. colleges, Protestant and Catholic, to help overcome growing clergy shortages.The grants support campus programs that encourage students to consider clergy careers or related forms of service. Over three years, Lilly has granted $171.3 million to 88 schools.
The foundation aims to attract " a new generation of talented ministers for congrega- tions," said Lilly's vice president for religion, Craig Dykstra.
Religion major sues over scholarship loss
LOUISVILLE, Ky. >> A college junior who lost a Kentucky merit scholarship when he decided to major in religion is suing the state, claiming it discriminates against students wanting to obtain degrees in religious studies by denying them funding.According to the lawsuit, Cumberland College junior Michael Nash was awarded $2,900 under the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship program in his freshman and sophomore years.
The lottery-funded scholarships, administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, go to high school students in the state as a reward for good grades and college-board scores. In October, when Nash declared philosophy-religion as his major, the private college notified him that the scholarship funding would be cut off starting next semester, the suit said.
The lawsuit is seeking to strike down regulations for the program that prevent the state from awarding the scholarships to students seeking degrees in theology, divinity or religious education, the suit said.
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