Burnhams Spotted and Videotaped As the 'Good Guys' Take Hostages of Their Own

Video of Burnhams is old, says New Tribes Mission Good news: a video of Martin and Gracia Burnham made by their Muslim captors shows the American missionaries looking healthy. Bad news: No one believes the claim it was made in mid-January—it was probably made taped months ago. “They don’t look as worn out as the last time we saw them,” says Oreta Burnham, Martin’s mother. “I don’t see how their health could improve since then.” In fact, as the tape makes no mention of the global war on terrorism, it was probably made even before September 11.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Philippine military has a pretty good idea of where the Burnhams and their captors are. More serious action could happen “in the next few days,” says Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan. “We have a good idea of the general location of the Burnhams. We’re now awaiting the results of our latest initiatives.”

Reuters reports that the Burnhams have already been spotted. “They were in good condition, under the circumstances, when they were seen last week by my informants,” says Mayor Sakib Salajin of Maluso.

Maluso made news earlier this week by taking a rather questionable approach to freeing the Burnhams: kidnapping. Eight relatives of Abu Sayyaf rebels were taken captive as bargaining chips. “Our target now is we want to rescue the hostages,” says Salajin. “If we don’t get them now, they will just grow stronger.” Oreta Burnham isn’t pleased. “We don’t feel like this was the right way to go,” she told the Associated Press. “In fact, we’re a little worried, at this point, that this could be a hindrance to Martin and Gracia’s release.” New Tribes Mission spokesman Scott Ross agrees. “I’m not sure it’s worth doing something that’s wrong in itself to correct another situation,” he said.

New Tribes Mission has designated Tuesday, March 12, as a special day of prayer for the hostages. Missionaries around the world will gather in special prayer services.

USA Todayon unchurched America:

Charting the unchurched in America | Survey: Number of unchurched Americans has nearly doubled. (USA Today)
‘Amen’ to a church-free lifestyle | Washington is America’s most unchurched state (USA Today)
State-by-state breakdown of religious backgrounds (USA Today)

Nazareth’s mosque:

In shift, Israel bars building of a mosque near a church (The New York Times)
Religious freedom in Nazareth | Those who decided that a gigantic mosque must be built next to Nazareth’s main church, or that the entire Temple Mount must be transformed into an enormous mosque, do not believe in religious freedom but in religious conquest. (Editorial, The Jerusalem Post)
Nazareth Islamic leader: Mosque decision ‘declaration of war’ (The Jerusalem Post)
Israel halts mosque construction (Associated Press)

Colorado Senate prayer:

Prayer on abortion raises brows | Assembly of God minister’s invocation asks God’s help to outlaw abortion and “stop the killing and murder” (Rocky Mountain News)
Also: Lawmakers protest prayer in Colorado Senate (Associated Press)
Also: No place for politics | Meek’s prayer may be totally appropriate in his Greeley church, but he failed utterly to take into account that not everybody in the Senate is a Pentecostal Christian (Editorial, The Denver Post)

Abortion:

Voters defeat Ireland abortion bill | Voters defeat referendum to amend Ireland’s abortion laws, signaling a victory for abortion rights (Associated Press)
Lawyer argues state’s abortion notification law violates privacy | Florida law was blocked shortly after enactment (Associated Press)
Pope orders bishop to obey abortion order | Franz Kamphaus may step down after criticism of his providing abortion counseling (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Justices hear teen abortion case | The right of minors to get an abortion without their parents’ knowledge now lies with Florida’s highest court (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Stem cell research and cloning:

Dozens of human embryos cloned in China | Their intention is not to copy human beings, but create genetically matched cells to make tissues for transplant patients and for research (NewScientist.com)
Stem cell research under the microscope | The US Congress has already approved legislation that would ban all stem cell research and the bill goes before the Senate next month – meanwhile stem cell research has been given the go-ahead in Britain. (BBC)
Human embryonic stem cell research begins in U.K. | Licenses follow approval of research by House of Lords (New Scientist)
Pro-lifers’ bid to stop research on human embryos (The Scotsman)
Sacred mysteries | To make the right decision about whether to experiment on embryos, there is no need first to hammer out an agreed ethical system (Christopher Howse, The Daily Telegraph)
Australian Anglicans support stem-cell research | Panel opposes human cloning (The Canberra Times)
TV ads stoke Senate cloning debate | Research advocates gear up to fight claims of plans for ’embryo farms’ (The Washington Post)

Other life ethics issues:

The right-to-die debate | A paralyzed woman fighting for the right to die has taken her case to the High Court claiming she has almost no chance of her condition improving (BBC)
Also: Woman pleads for right to die (BBC)
A cruel choice | A woman decides to have a child knowing that she’s about to descend into dementia. That’s morally indefensible. (Jennifer Foote Sweeney, Salon.com)

Ten Commandments:

Religious plaque on courthouse wall violates the Constitution, judge says | Emotions run high on 10 Commandments ruling (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Also: Ten Commandments plaque barred | Federal judge says display is unconstitutional (Associated Press)
Commandments monument ruled to be legal in Indiana (The Washington Times)
Judge settles Ten Commandments dispute | Ten Commandments approved if it stands with four other historical monuments (Fox News)
Ten Commandments to stay after suit is dropped | ACLU feared loss would lead to more such monuments (The Denver Post)
Commandments take a hit in courts | The city in which the Supreme Nine sits abounds in tokens of our affinity for the Divine Ten (Don Feder, Boston Herald)
No. 11: Thou shalt argue over the 10 | A plaque on the courthouse in West Chester has led to another U.S. court case (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Persecution:

Religious message gets short shrift | In emotional and patriotic tributes, members of the media have referred to Danny Pearl as their “brother.” But what of Martin and Gracia Burnham? (Michelle Malkin, The Hartford Courant)
U.S. condemns global rights abuses (BBC)
China calls for tighter controls on religion | Just one day after the United States denounced an intensified crackdown on some religious groups in China, Premier Zhu Rongji called for stronger management of religious affairs and urged religious groups to adapt to socialist society (Reuters)
China punishes a Christian home for the aged | Alarmed by unauthorized church services, officials in a northern suburb of Beijing have cut off the electricity for a small Christian-run home for the aged and are threatening to shut off the water supply unless the home is disbanded. (The New York Times)
China cracks down on growing faiths | The paradox is that the steady decline in government control during the past two decades means far greater personal liberties for the majority in China – but zero tolerance for a growing number of unorthodox groups that the regime fears are taking those freedoms too far (The Boston Globe)
Chinese leaders mull religion role | Religion is already under intense debate in top Communist circles (AFP)
Sudan jihad forces Islam on Christians | Women refusing to convert gang-raped, mutilated, says relief worker (WorldNetDaily)
Catholic priests assaulted | Politically motivated attackers struck after priests met with American Embassy workers (The Daily News, Harare, Zimababwe)
Witness to genocide | Leaders of North Korean camps reportedly so impressed with captives’ Christianity that they’re converting (UPI)
Moscow victory for Salvation Army | Russia’s Constitutional Court overturns earlier verdict banning church as a “paramilitary grouping” (BBC)

Abuse and crime:

Two pastors held over abduction | Rev Sam Dick Bikaise and Pastor James Okello of Christian Evangelical Missionary were arrested on Tuesday after being found with 144 children aged between 3 and 15 (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
Massachusetts attorney general’s office asks to monitor priests | Issues raised of church-state relationships (The Boston Globe)
Booty and the priest | Does abstinence make the church grow fondlers? (William Saletan, Slate.com)
We must not leave God out of important moral debates | Evil done by religious believers is no product of religion, though it may arise from false religious beliefs—an argument for improving the quality of religious education and debate, not for abandoning religion. (Denis Hart, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
A crime, whoever does iIt | There’s a name for a priest who molests a child: criminal (Editorial, Los Angeles Times)
Geoghan rape charges are too late, judge rules (The Boston Globe)
Also: Judge rules it as too late to charge priest with rapes (The New York Times)
Also: Rape charges against priest dismissed (Associated Press)
Also: Boston judge throws out rape charges against priest (Reuters)
Second accusation to be factor in decision on priests in Maine (The New York Times)
Dismissed priest is facing new abuse allegation | A former altar boy, now 38, files a complaint with the Diocese of Orange against cleric ousted this week over an incident 19 years ago. (Los Angeles Times)
Bishop defends priest accused of molestations | He says Alpena pastor erred, but poses no harm to children (Detroit Free Press)
Church sex scandal spurs call to change law | A bill would end the statute of limitations on child-sex abuse. (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Bishop vows strong stand on abuse by priests | The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says bishops will take “a strong position” on sexual abuse of children by priests, but the group’s control over dioceses is limited (Chicago Tribune)
No excuse for priestly abuse, but believer sees chance for grace | But the church also has much work to do in repairing its credibility (Dana Parsons, Los Angeles Times)
Bishop warns against ‘exorcists’ touching people | Fakes are touching people’s breasts and genitals. (Ananova)