Archbishop Says Crash Was Assassination Attempt

Anglican Archbishop of Kenya says government is trying to kill him as he retires After a potentially deadly car crash with a police cruiser, the Anglican Archbishop of Kenya says the national government is trying to kill him. “I am now asking President Moi to say who wants me dead. It is only through the grace of God that I am alive today,” David Gitari said during a Nairobi church service Sunday. “I will not be cowed by anyone.”

Gitari, who retires later this month, has been very critical of the national government, especially President Daniel arap Moi. He was also the victim of an apparent assassination attempt in 1989 — and the government inquiry into the attack was never made public.

However, Gitari also suspects that it may have been an issue of local revenge: the police car hit him at the same spot where he had earlier busted police officers for taking bribes from motorists.

The description of the accident by Gitari’s driver makes it sound deliberate: “I was in the inner lane and the police car was on the outer one. The police car was a few meters ahead and the driver suddenly swerved into my lane without flashing the indicator.”

And indeed, there have been other recent troubles in the country. Anglican pastor Francis Keya Mukhwana was shot dead by police officers last Wednesday in a reported drug raid gone bad.

But Friday’s accident could have been merely another of the country’s tragic traffic mishaps. Attendees of a convention by the Anglican Mothers’ Union last month, for example, experienced two serious collisions. In one, six women were killed.

Police Commissioner Philemon Abong’o says the police officer driving the car was to blame, but that the accident wasn’t part of any plot against Gitari.

Ohio landlord has right to deny housing to unmarried couple The Ohio Civil Rights Commission has overturned an earlier ruling, and now says that landlord David Grey was within his rights to deny housing to Danielle Levingston and Todd Roberts, an unmarried couple with four children. “There’s nothing wrong in using your religion to make a decision,” Grey told The Beacon Journal of Akron. “What good is religion if you can’t apply it?”

Connie Higgins, spokeswoman for the Civil Rights Commission, told the paper that the full five-member commission reversals of regional decisions are extremely rare. She put it at about 3 percent, but had earlier said it was less than 1 percent.

Grey explained that says he acted out of love, not hatred. “When [Levingston] approached me to rent the property, she said she was concerned about the environment her children had been living in,” he told The Beacon-Journal. “I thought perhaps that she may very well be passing on some wrong values to her children, so out of a heart for her, I started to tell her what the Scriptures have to say about impurity.”

An encouraging postscript: Levingston and Roberts are now married.

Church school attacked in South Korea A mentally disturbed man attacked a church school cafeteria today, injuring 10 children as they ate lunch. At least one is in critical condition from the 30-minute attack. “In my dreams, I heard a voice saying that my wish will be fulfilled and I will live only if I kill many people,” the 53-year-old attacker, identified only as Hwang, said. “I kept hearing the voice even when I was awake.” Reuters has disturbing photos and video.

Crime and violence:

Transient charged in nun’s death | Attack and rape of two nuns did not appear to be motivated by religious animosity, says D.A. (The Seattle Times)
Also: Man charged with sexually assaulting two nuns, killing one (Associated Press)
Also: Nun’s rosary beads were used to kill her, Oregon authorities say (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Holy Cross leaders stay mum on murder | They were questioned about slaying of nun (The Miami Herald)
Long live the nun-killer! | This is an outrageous headline given recent, horrible slayings of nuns. It’s actually about Leon Trotsky and Martin Amis (Paul Foot, The Guardian)
St. Pat’s ‘sex’ man faces jail in Va., too | Brian Florence was on probation when he and Harper were arrested on lewdness and obscenity charges inside of the church on Aug. 15 (New York Post)
Vandals rock church | Topple 7-foot statue of saint in Queens (New York Daily News)
Peru cardinal denies allegations | Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani defended himself during a Mass Friday from allegations he knew about a 1992 massacre by a paramilitary death squad before it became generally known but remained silent (Associated Press)

Islam:

Islam’s anguish | Working to blunt the power of Muslim fundamentalism requires knowledge of Islamic traditions and teachings (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
Critics of Muslims, Qu’ran showing their ignorance | Being a Muslim does not make you a terrorist or an enemy any more than being a Christian makes you a good person or an ally (Cary Ichter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Interest in Islam mounts after hijacking atrocity | From Islamic bookshops and university comparative religion courses to the dusty corridors of Whitehall, non-Muslims in Britain are rushing to find out more about the beliefs of Islam and the life of the Prophet Mohammed (The Observer, London)
U.S. Muslims respond to criticism | They say their condemnation of attacks have gone unnoticed by detractors (Associated Press)
Islam’s dilemma | Extremist terror overshadows the tenet of compassion (David Crumm, Detroit Free Press)

Money and business:

Sweet-tooth religion | Candymakers add a dollop of faith to latest products (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
A biblical lesson for business | Christian values can contribute to lasting business success (Phillip Pringle, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
Office phone messages need no enhancements | What if you called someone in a professional context at her place of business and got a “Jesus” message? (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times)
Religion taking on labor issues | Nearly 40 Twin Cities congregations invited union leaders into their worship services as part of the annual Labor in the Pulpit weekend (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
More employees seek time to worship God on the job | Companies that wear religion on their sleeves say a growing number of workers are looking for spiritual involvement on the job (The Wall Street Journal / Naples Daily News)

L.A. cathedral opens:

Cathedral to open for challenged church | Dedication offers time to reflect on demands of enormous, diverse population (Los Angeles Times)
Controversial cathedral opens in L.A. (CBS News)
Parking fee may pave way to forgiveness, even heaven | Heaven’s got a toll booth. (Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times)
L.A. cathedral is dedicated | During the four-hour service, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony calls the downtown church an ‘anchor for the ages’ (Los Angeles Times)
The long view of L.A. Cathedral | Spirituality and social justice activities are sustained over the long term when they are integrally tied to a worshipping community that has deep roots within a religious tradition, and this means that a certain degree of institutional form is necessary (Donald E. Miller, Los Angeles Times)
In our own image | The 8-foot statue of the Virgin Mary atop the new cathedral’s doors was crafted with today’s Angelenos in mind (Los Angeles Times)
Form follows values | José Rafael Moneo’s cathedral design echoes great churches of the past (Los Angeles Times)
Creating a timeless place in an ever-changing city | Jose Rafael Moneo sought to define what makes a space sacred (Los Angeles Times)
The hand of God and theirs | In building the cathedral, workers put their skills to the test. For some, it was faith that pulled them through (Los Angeles Times)
Cathedral embodies spiritual journey | Our Lady of the Angels reflects the city’s effort to find a communal identity (Los Angeles Times)
Opening their hearts to a new spiritual home | St. Vibiana’s was the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s cathedral center for 117 years before being severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake (Los Angeles Times)
To the lighthouse | What should a church look like today? One bold answer: Rafael Moneo’s L.A. cathedral (Time)
L.A. Cathedral tries to trump another | Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Dodge City, Kansas, feels overlooked (Associated Press)

Sex abuse scandal:

Man drops claim against two priests | Monsignor Michael Smith Foster, the archdiocese’s top canon lawyer, says he won’t countersue (The Boston Globe)
A false accusation | The clergy sexual abuse scandal, because it was kept hidden from view for so long, was bound to produce false accusations (The Boston Globe)
Rights of priests at issue in probes | Church is accused of overreacting (The Boston Globe)
Priests as plaintiffs | Some alleged abusers are fighting back (Editorial, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Judge reinstates two Geoghan charges | Question on statute of limitations to be decided by a jury (The Boston Globe)
Also: Charges reinstated against priest | Judge reverses decision in Geoghan proceeding (Associated Press)
Scandals hurt panhandle parishes | Eight priests in the Amarillo diocese have resigned after being accused of abuse (Associated Press)
Smearing a shrink | Paul McHugh’s selection is drawing fire from the activist wing of the recovered-memory lobby, who are accusing him — outrageously — of defending sexual abuse (Editorial, New York Post)
Zero tolerance, or forgiveness of sins | David Jaeger, a popular cleric who has risen through the ranks of the Seattle Archdiocese, may lose his ministry (The Seattle Times)
Q&A on zero-tolerance policy (The Seattle Times)
Anglicans unite on zero tolerance for child molesters | The move, which won unanimous support in the NSW Provincial Synod at the weekend, coincided with the publication of a scathing report from the chair of the church’s own national child protection committee on its handling of child sex abuse (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Lawyer: Church abuse deal reached | $10 million settlement to victims of John Geoghan (Associated Press)
Dismissed clergyman appeals | The Reverend Harry Brown’s license was taken away last September after he faced allegations of sexual harassment, intimidating behavior, mental abuse, and financial irregularities (BBC)
Pastors do penance for silence | Bishop punishes two who helped abusive priest stay hidden (The Hartford [Conn.] Courant)
School abuse suits may cost $1 billion | Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is outraged government is adding more lawyers to handle influx of lawsuits (The StarPhoenix, Saskatoon)