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Christian philosophy professor will be new Dutch prime minister
Christian Democrat leader Jan Peter Balkenende "is known for his sharp wit and conservative moral values about which he has written extensively," says The New York Times. And he's about to become the new Dutch prime minister as the Netherlands took a very conservative turn in yesterday's parliamentary elections.

The Washington Post notes that Balkenende "once headed a Christian broadcasting network and has expressed reservations about Holland's drug laws and euthanasia policy." However, notes the Associated Press, Balkenende's reservations won't necessarily translate to reversing those laws. "Although a majority of our party opposed the euthanasia and gay-marriage bills, Balkenende sees it as an irreversible fact," his spokesman, Hans van der Vlies, said.

One practice Balkenende probably will try to change, however, is the sale of marijuana in coffee shops. It's already illegal, but not enforced. "Associates describe Balkenende as a religious family man, but a dedicated worker who habitually makes do with six hours of sleep," says the AP. Christian Democrat official Cees van der Knaap calls him "a walking library."

He sounds great, but one wonders if American Christians will like him. After all, many have noted, he looks just like Harry Potter.

Man accused of shooting priest who allegedly molested him
"New Page In Clergy Scandal," says the Los Angeles Times' headline. But few are saying they're surprised. Dontee Stokes, 26, reportedly went to speak to Maurice Blackwell, a Baltimore priest he'd accused nine years ago of molesting him. Stokes's mother said all he wanted was an apology, but was turned away by Blackwell. Stokes then allegedly shot him three times. Blackwell remains hospitalized in fair condition; Stokes will undergo a mental evaluation, is on suicide watch, and is being held without bail.

"We live every day with the fear that something like this may happen," David Clohessy, director of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, tells the LA Times. "There is so much pent-up pain that just now is finally beginning to surface."

"Shooting a priest, even one who may be guilty of sex abuse, is an appalling thing," says Rod Dreher in National Review Online. "But another reality, one that hasn't gotten too many headlines, is this: Many victims of abusive priests turn the gun not on their abuser, but on themselves."

Abuse scandal:

• Beautiful buildings without a soul | With news accounts that the Catholic Church is turning predatory legal tactics loose on the victims of known priest/rapists, it is nakedly obvious that the church hierarchy has lost sense of its reason for existing. (Tony Blankley, The Washington Times)
  
  
• Once a model, panel on priests now is faulted | Some Catholics and church critics have questioned how vigorously the Archdiocese of Chicago's review board and its counterparts investigate reports of abuse. (The New York Times)
  
  
• Prosecutor puts church in the clear | Archdiocese passes check on old abuse cases (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• The abuse that knows no gender | Men aren't the only ones in the church abusing children (Nicole Brodeur, The Seattle Times)
  
  
• Gays defending faith and selves | Homosexuals fear 'witch hunt' in backlash of abuse scandal rocking Catholic Church. Some say they've been 'sacrificed' over sexual orientation (The Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio)
  
  
• Bay Area priests fear crackdown on gay seminarians (San Francisco Chronicle)
  
  
• Church of Scientology pays $8.7 million to ex-member | Lawrence Wollersheim said counseling treatments the Church of Scientology of California put him through caused him to develop bipolar disorder and pushed him to the brink of suicide. (Reuters)

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May (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46