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"An integral part of CEF's evangelical mission is to locate children who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior," the school district's attorneys say in court documents. "Requiring teachers to force students to accept and distribute CEF's materials would result in the unconstitutional coercion of the students to proselytize on CEF's behalf."

Baloney, says the U.S. Department of Justice. "Through its Good News Clubs, CEF strives to foster self-esteem in youth and to instill morals and character in children while providing a positive recreational experience. … That CEF does these things from a religious viewpoint does not change the fact that its activities meet the [school] board's criteria for inclusion in the take-home folders."

"U.S. courts have generally ruled that if a school district provides an open forum for many different groups, religious organizations must be allowed to use it," notes The Washington Post. It's absolutely right: the only way to bar Good News from sending home flyers is to bar everyone from sending home flyers. Unfortunately, according to the Montgomery County Gazette, the PTA is willing to take that extreme action.

Church of England debate over gay bishop:

• Synod keeps gay debate off the agenda | The Church of England's bureaucrats have drawn up an agenda for the forthcoming general synod meeting in York without finding space for any mention of the debate on homosexual clergy raging through the Anglican communion (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Dissent over gay bishop spreads around globe | Bishops from Nigeria, Australia, and elsewhere oppose recent actions (The Independent, South Africa)
  
  
• Church of Uganda joins fight against gay bishop in London | Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyoyo says church will wait and see what happens before taking next step (The Monitor, Kampala, Uganda)
  
  
• Sydney bishop does a U-turn on ban | Given the Archbishop of Canterbury's failure over the past 24 hours to condemn the appointment of a gay priest to the Church of England's episcopacy, blacklisting him from the Sydney diocese would be the logical thing to do, said Sydney's Anglican archbishop—but later said it won't be done for the sake of unity (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• Church in danger of double split over bishop | Anglo-Catholic priests might leave Church of England if gay theologian Jeffrey John is not appointed as bishop (The Times, London)
  
  
• Anglican unity under threat around world | There seems little common ground between the two camps, and the risk of a profound and lasting schism in the Anglican Church, with Sydney playing a leading role, is now real (Editorial, The Australian)
  
  

More sexual ethics and marriage issues:

• Don't legalize gay marriage | The unique sanctity of the heterosexual family is not only the bedrock of American culture — it is the first principle of all human societies (Editorial, The Washington Times)
  
  
• Massachusetts weighing same-sex marriages | The Supreme Judicial Court could rule by July 12 (The Hartford Courant, Conn.)
  
  
• Church leaders mount last effort to halt prostitution bill | Labour MP Tim Barnett has accused them of church leaders of arrogance and ignorance (Stuff, New Zealand)
  
  
• Church vows to stay inclusive | Their minister may have been removed from the pulpit, but the congregation of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church plans to carry on with its history of challenging traditions (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
  
  

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June (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47