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Home-schoolers kick some serious sphingine
They're queens (and kings) of the bees. Home-schoolers are dominating at spelling bees (where they're spelling , geographic bees, and other academic contests. Home-schooling advocates say such wins—by spelling phrontistery and sphingine—demonstrate that home-based education works wonders. Public school advocates say the parents of the winners are spending too much time with the dictionary and atlas. "Education is not The Weakest Link or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, tells the Chicago Tribune. "You're not an educated person because you can memorize pages of esoteric words. That's why you have spell check on your computer." That's write. Hew kneads spelling?

Church life:

• Church to sell antique silverware | 400-year-old communion cups are to be sold to pay for building repairs (The Daily Telegraph, London)
• Making music, finding God | A husband and wife who grew up in Communist China are now choir directors at Long Island churches (Newsday)
• Catholic priest has 3 kids! | Celibacy, an issue which has divided the Catholic Church in recent years, is causing ripples in Nigeria (The News, Lagos, Nigeria)
• Bishop declines to speak at Iliff | Students protest stand on gays in ministry (The Denver Post)
• Earlier: Gays protest commencement speaker at Iliff School of Theology | Episcopal Bishop Jerry Winterrowd says only celibate homosexuals can serve as priests in Colorado Episcopal churches. (The Denver Post)
• Orthodox bishops seeking unity | U.S., Canadian bishops take cautious approach to expanded cooperation (Associated Press)
• Also: Orthodox bishops seek greater unity, relevance in 21st century (Religion News Service)

Australia's archbishops:

• Anglican archbishop race heats up | With less than three weeks until Sydney Anglicans meet to choose their next archbishop, one nominee has pulled out of the election race and another is yet to make his decision public. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Gay scene exists in church, says Catholic Archbishop of Sydney | "A very, very small area of clerical life" (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
• Pell anxious that gay priests do not become an issue in Sydney | Homosexual priests "acting out" their sexuality is incompatible with remaining in priesthood, says archbishop (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Bishop's 'snub' could lead to an unholy row | Anglican leadership of Sydney did not send representative to installation of Pell has snubbed the new Catholic Archbishop, Dr George Pell, refusing to send an official representative to his installation last week. (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Pope John Paul II:

• Russia, Greece Church heads criticize Pope | John Paul II should have sought permission of Orthodox clergy before Ukraine visit next month, they say. (Reuters)
• Arabs accuse Pope of 'Jewish lobby' | Some in Syria find fault with church's attempt to make peace with Judaism (Associated Press)
• Pope chided for silence amid slurs on Jews | Anti-Defamation League says John Paul should have said something against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Catholic League says "Get real." (New York Daily News)
• Critics say pope's apologies go too far | Italian coauthor of Crossing the Threshold of Hope says latest trip "distorts the church's past, risks exposing it to humiliation, defers to its persecutors and understands ecumenism to be like a syncretism where one religion seems as worthy as another." (Religion News Service)

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May (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45