FIRST CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL TO BE RESTORED AS TREASURE
Associated PressBALTIMORE -- The nation's first Roman Catholic cathedral is to be restored and promoted as a national treasure.
"It should be the symbol of religious freedom in our land and our world, just as the U.S. Capitol is a symbol of political freedom in our land and our world," said Cardinal William H. Keeler, who is leading the restoration effort for the Basilica of the Assumption.
The Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust plans to promote the cathedral as a national treasure -- the "mother church" of Catholicism in the United States. It was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol.
Beyer Blinder Belle of New York, which restored Grand Central Terminal and part of Ellis Island, and John G. Waite Associates of Albany, N.Y., which restored Mount Vernon and Monticello, are the architects. Target date for completion is 2006, in time for the cathedral's bicentennial.
ISRAELIS ACCUSED OF TRYING TO 'JUDAIZE' JERUSALEM
GENEVA -- A senior Christian official of the Palestine Liberation Organization has strongly criticised Israeli policy toward Jerusalem, accusing the Israeli authorities of trying to "Judaize the city."
Emil Jarjoui, head of the PLO's higher ministerial commission for church affairs, was speaking to journalists Wednesday after talks in Geneva with senior officials of the World Council of Churches, which has as members more than 330 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches around the world.
Jarjoui, an Orthodox Christian born in Jerusalem, said: "The Israelis have declared that (Jerusalem) is their eternal capital. They are trying to Judaize the city, to change its geography and demography, cutting it off from the rest of the (territory administered by the) Palestinian government" -- a reference to the building of Jewish settlements around Jerusalem.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues to be dealt with as part of the Oslo peace accords signed by Israel and the PLO in 1993.
ADVENTIST CHIEF CREDITS QUICK RISE FOR BRINGING CALM
Ecumenical News International
NEW YORK -- Jan Paulsen, the newly elected president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, believes his swift ascent to the church's top position has "gone a long way" in resolving any uncertainty about the church after the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Robert Folkenberg.
Folkenberg resigned Feb. 8 over allegations related to fraudulent land dealings. On March 1, Paulsen -- a native of Norway and a former vice president of the church -- was named in his place, becoming the first European and only the second non-North American to head the 10 million-member church, whose general conference headquarters are based in the United States, although most of its members reside outside North America.
Folkenberg, once acclaimed as a dynamic church leader, had been the subject of a lawsuit by James Moore, a Californian businessman who alleged that Folkenberg had defrauded him of $8 million. The church had also been named in the legal action. Folkenberg resigned after an advisory panel of Adventist church leaders criticized him for what it said were questionable business practices and conflicts of interest.
DENVER CHURCH AGREES TO SANCTION GAY MARRIAGES
Associated Press
DENVER -- After two years of debate, First Plymouth Congregational Church has agreed to sanction same-sex marriages and to form a support group for homosexuals. It also undertakes not to discriminate against gays in church employment.
With 1,400 members, First Plymouth is one of the largest in the United Church of Christ to take such action.
"We've taken a big step down the road of compassion and justice," said the Rev. Scott Landis, the church's senior minister.
The United Church of Christ allows its regional units to determine whether their churches can ordain gays and whether ministers can officiate at same sex unions. Nationally, 273 of its 6,100 congregations have voted affirmatively.