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Hundreds protest shrouding of Commandments
About 350 protesters went to the Chester County, Pennsylvania, courthouse Monday to protest a court-ordered covering of a Ten Commandments plaque. (The Associated Press puts the number at "more than 100.") "You can't cover the truth!" they shouted. Four of the protesters were taken away by the police but not arrested, says The Philadelphia Inquirer. One was 22-year-old Michael Marcavage, who declared, "This is God's law, and no man can remove it." Others swore to maintain a vigil at the courthouse until the cover was removed. The plaque has been on the courthouse wall for 82 years.

Sally Flynn, who is suing for complete removal of the plaque, says she stayed away in fear. "The protesters do not realize that they are denying my civil rights," she told the paper. "We want to keep God out of government." Hmm. Weblog thought that protesting was an exercise of civil rights. Thanks for the civics lesson!

Meanwhile, another Inquirer article notes, a massive painting of Moses chiseling the stone tablets continues to stand above the chief justice's bench in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. "The painting is part of a larger mural with other references, some of them historical. Therefore you put it in a different context," explains the executive director of the ACLU's Philadelphia office. "In Chester County, a specific religious group supported and paid for the plaque's installation. Clearly it was religious; it was not historic or artistic."

Talk about a megachurch
Check out this photo of the Easter service at L.A.'s Faithful Central Bible Church, which now owns the Great Western Forum. About 13,000 worshipers attended the three-hour service (and that doesn't include the long walk from the car). The New York Times Magazine notes that the church continues to rent the coliseum out during the week. "The principle I try to teach is this: This place becomes a church when we come in here," Gerard McCallum, a church member who helps rent the space, tells the paper. "It's only a place of worship when we worship in it." But some of the church members aren't buying it. "Every week I get calls: 'Incubus is coming? Green Day?'" he said. "Everyone objects to everything."

"Faithful Central may have started a trend," reports the Times' Nancy Updike. "A church in Houston recently signed a 30-year lease for the Compaq Center, starting when the Rockets move to their new arena in 2003."

Church abuse:

• Pope offers apology to victims of sex abuse by priests | But he sent conflicting signals on a proposed zero-tolerance policy for priests who abused minors. (The New York Times)
  
  
• Pope condemns sex abuse, but cites redemption (The Washington Post)
  
  
• 'No place' for abusers in priesthood, Pope says | John Paul II calls molestation a civil crime and a sin, but it is not clear if he supports a "zero tolerance" policy. (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• 'An appalling sin,' Pope says | Vatican session with cardinals on sex abuse also opens debate on homosexuality in priesthood (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• Sex scandals rock trust in all religions' leaders | All clergy members, both the innocent and the guilty, are responsible for rebuilding confidence instead of simply retreating into defensive strategies. (Gerald L. Zelizer, USA Today)
  
  
• Church scandal getting full media treatment | Is it ClergyGate yet? (Jennifer Harper, The Washington Times)
  
  
• Bush adviser optimistic that scandal can be overcome | "The Lord is pruning the branches," says Jim Towey, President Bush's adviser on faith-based issues (The Boston Globe)
  
  

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April (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46