Missionary Pilot Reportedly Off the Hook in Investigation of Peru Plane Shooting

Peruvian air force blamed for missionary shoot-down CNN is reporting that an investigation into the April shooting of a Peruvian missionary plane mostly blames the Peruvian air force. Senior Bush administration officials say the report found repeated violations of the U.S.-Peru drug interception program, and that the air force skipped almost all of the safeguards intended to avoid such an accident. The CIA-contracted flight crew tracking the missionary plane was also partly blamed for the incident. “There is some comment as to whether additional steps, over and above the procedures set in place, that the crew could have taken when they saw clearly that the Peruvian air force was acting precipitously,” says an unnamed official. Missionary pilot Kevin Donaldson is given a “very light touch” by the investigation’s report, which involved the Peruvian government and all U.S. agencies involved in the interception program, including the State Department, the Pentagon and the CIA. American Baptists for World Evangelization, the missionaries’ agency, issued a press release responding to the CNN report, disagreeing with statements that Donaldson “was flying in a zone it shouldn’t have been,” and that he “did not file a customary return flight plan.” The agency also lamented, “Despite initial assurances that ABWE could review and comment on the factual portion of the report before its release, no one from ABWE—including its missionaries involved in the tragedy—has seen a copy. “

Is your church van safe? Colorado has seen three major accidents involving church groups in as many weeks. On June 30, a bus carrying 46 Young Life teens and staff from Minnesota overturned as it passed through the Rocky Mountains, injuring most on board. On July 9, five members of a Denver-area Hmong church were killed when their van overturned in Idaho. And on Tuesday, a van carrying Methodist youth from Wichita ran off a mountain road and hit a tree, injuring 15. The Denver Post has been running repeated stories warning of the risks of 15-passenger vans, noting a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study. The National Council of Churches has also sent out a press release notifying churches of the problem.

More on the faith-based initiative bill Apparently the House’s approval of H.R.7, also known as the Community Solutions Act, happened too late yesterday for the major papers to do much analysis or commentary. For the most part, press reports focus on what was said during the floor debate. Most conclude that the bill will have a rough time in the Senate, where majority leader Tom Daschle responded to the legislation by saying, “I can’t imagine that we could pass any bill that would tolerate slipping back into a level of tolerance that would be unacceptable in today’s society.” He has promised to bring the legislation up for a vote, but maybe not until next year. USA Today does the best job of getting quotes outside the House. Gary Bauer damns the legislation with faint praise, saying “The germ of a good idea is still there, but it’s gotten mangled up a lot.” And John DiIulio, head of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, tells the paper he thinks the Senate will pass the legislation: “I just have a great deal of faith, no pun intended.” Other articles are available from The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Times, and Salon.com. (See how your representative voted here or here.)

The War for Narnia: A truce?USA Todayreported yesterday on the continuing clash over reports of the “secularization” of C.S. Lewis and his Narnia series. If the article is accurate, it seems the participants are battle-weary. Phyllis Tickle of Publisher’s Weekly tells the paper that Christian booksellers at CBA last week have tired of the rumors “just want to get on with the business of making the 20th century’s most revered Christian apologist more available to more people.” (If you voted in Christianity Today‘s recent online poll on the matter, you’re “quoted,” too.) Meanwhile, The Horn Book, an influential publication in the children’s book publishing industry, editorializes less on secularizing Lewis and more on the wisdom of publishing new Narnia books at all. “It’s not as if the world has been holding its breath for a new chronicle of Narnia,” writes editor-in-chief Roger Sutton. “The Narnia chronicles are finished and self-contained, as Lewis intended. … The best books don’t need sequels; their immortality is achieved by giving readers the desire and the resources to continue the story in their own imaginations. Here’s a piece of advice that may not be in the best interest of publishers but is very much in yours: if you really enjoyed a book, read it again.”

Church and State:

Man wins Sabbath lawsuit | Jury concludes FAA failed to accommodate beliefs (The Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
Also: Air traffic controller awarded $2M (Associated Press)
Judge must weigh conflicting rights in play | Residents, lawmakers attempting to stop university’s production of Corpus Christi (The Indianapolis Star)
Also: Play depicting Christ-like gay figure riles Ft. Wayne (Chicago Tribune)
Also: On stage: a drunken Christ; at issue: taxpayers’ dollars (Los Angeles Times)
N.C. Senate endorses Ten Commandments displays in schools | Bill would allow school systems to decide whether to post religious codes and other historical documents (Associated Press)
Federal judge rules for Pennsylvania synagogue in zoning dispute | Court says Philadelphia suburb violated congregation’s First Amendment rights by not allowing it to purchase former convent for worship services (Freedom Forum)
Churches’ high bids stall playground program | But some say Cincinnati’s recreation department is trying to undermine pilot program (The Cincinnati Post)
Judge lifts ban on prayer meetings | A judge’s order lifting a ban on family prayer meetings at home has plunged officials into secret sessions to restore the restrictions. (The Washington Times)

Religion and politics:

Bloomberg mentions prayer, and his opponents pounce | Jewish candidate for mayor of New York City defends Lord’s Prayer (The New York Times)
Church, state fault Mexico’s Fox | Cardinal calls wedding a ‘situation of sin,’ as official sees irregularity (Associated Press)

Life ethics:

Bible guides Senate on stem cell studies | Debate on controversy focuses on when an embryo becomes a life. (Los Angeles Times)
Bush: Stem-cell issue transcends politics | Lobbying continues on both sides of debate (ABCNews.com)
Also: Bush delays stem-cell decision (The Washington Times)
Icon for abortion protesters is looking for a second act | Randall Terry is being ostracized by the very movement he helped create (The New York Times)
Federal ruling clears way for anti-abortion protests | City’s denial of a parade permit sought by the anti-abortion protesters violated their First Amendment rights, says judge (Associated Press)
Pro-life group to defy ad watchdog | UK LifeLeague was told by the Advertising Standards Authority not to suggest that a full-term baby can be aborted (BBC)

Sexuality:

Boy Scouts, gay activists reach agreement in Miami-Dade | Organization still holds to ban on homosexual leaders, but will include “sensitivity education” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Germany gives green light to gay marriages | Starting next month, lesbian and gay couples in Germany will be able to wed in registry offices and share a common surname. (Reuters)
Church convention airs differing views on gays | Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) latest denomination to face issue (Associated Press)

Popular culture:

The gospel according to television | How and why televised religious programs went from a place of prominence to a niche ghetto (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Religion portrayed in prime time rarely reflects reality | Television characters often come in one of two varieties: all-religious, all the time, or completely without religion in their lives (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Priest voted sexiest man on Italian television | Giovanni D’Ercole, 47, reads a daily sermon on TV (Ananova)
You can have faith in the man who has none | The BBC’s new head of religious programming may not be a dog-collared traditionalist but he does have a track record of producing award-winning BBC blockbusters (The Sunday Times, London)
Also: When conviction is missing | BBC’s appointment is indicative of a larger cultural trend (Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI)
M.C. Hammer hammers home The Word | Rap star opts for gospel over breakdancing (The Ottawa Citizen)
Throbbing hearts and thumping Bibles | Christian authors are staking their claim on pop culture’s steamiest preserve: Romance novels (Salon.com)
Apocalypse not | A new breed of Christian filmmakers chooses heart over hellfire (IndieWire)

Church life:

Books part ways on women pastors | Robert Saucy of Talbot School of Theology and Charisma editor J. Lee Grady offer differing evangelical points of view (Associated Press/Chicago Tribune)
Where are the young clergy? | With religious vocations among the young in steep decline, churches, synagogues, and seminaries are forced to confront their relevance. (The Christian Science Monitor)

Catholicism:

Roman Catholics rule on Mormons | Vatican recognizes most Christian baptisms, but Mormon converts to Catholicism must be rebaptized (Associated Press)
Plea to church on condoms | Leading Catholic newspaper in South Africa asks for relaxation on ban (BBC)
Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo may face excommunication | Aug. 20 deadline to leave his new wife, sever his ties with Unification Church, publicly promise to remain celibate, and “manifest his obedience to the Supreme Pontiff.” (Associated Press)

Race:

St. Sabina pulls out of sports league | Catholic school had protested decision to keep it out (Chicago Tribune)
Protesters allege racism in church-bombing trial | “Different standard for white folks than for black folks” alleged in mental competency case of Bobby Frank Cherry (Associated Press)

Other stories of interest:

Head of family program arrested for sex assault | Fatherhood Foundation president will fight charges (The Gazette, Colorado Springs)
Town divided over exodus of parishioners | Fears of losing children: ‘Doesn’t it sound like religious persecution? (The National Post, Canada)
Dog walks 16 miles to church every Sunday | Whenever worshipers stand up or sit down, Lisbon’s Preta does the same. (Reuters)
Violent video games are protected speech, companies say | Suit brought by families of Columbine victims (Associated Press)
Poll: Most Americans say they’re Christian | Varies greatly from the world at large (ABCNews.com)

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