PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The president of Providence College, which is run by the Roman Catholic Dominican religious order, has banned a campus performance of “The Vagina Monologues” – a play about female sexuality and violence, saying the work contradicts church teaching.

Written by Eve Ensler, the play debuted a decade ago and is based on the author’s interviews with more than 200 women. College officials had permitted performances of the play for four years, while limiting promotion of the show last year, said senior Erica Rioux, who was coordinating this year’s production.

Another prominent Catholic school, the University of Notre Dame, also has placed restrictions on the play’s performance.

The new school president at Providence, the Rev. Brian Shanley, wrote in a Jan. 18 letter to students that he particularly objected to one tale that uses religious language to describe a sexual encounter between a woman and a teenage girl.

While the teen narrator describes the episode as “a kind of heaven,” Shanley said it’s “abusive, exploitative and morally wrong.” The church teaches that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered.”

Shanley also objected to a description of the work as a “new bible” for women, which he said gave the impression that the play attacks “the traditional biblical views that inspires the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.”

“Artistic freedom on a Catholic campus cannot mean the complete license to perform or display any work of art regardless of its intellectual or moral content,” he said.

Separately, the new president of Notre Dame said Wednesday that the school will scale back its production of “The Vagina Monologues” and a Queer Film Festival held on campus this year. He is also considering whether to cancel the events in the future.

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, who took over July 1, said he would allow “The Vagina Monologues” to be performed on campus this year, but only in a classroom setting and not as a fundraiser. Last year’s event raised about $15,000 for a women’s shelter and other programs.

The three-year-old film festival will continue, but under a new name: Gay & Lesbian Film: Filmmakers, Narratives, Spectatorships. Jenkins said the name change should help clear up any perception that the event is meant to “celebrate and promote homosexual activity.”

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Oregon archbishop defends bankruptcy filing

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Archbishop John Vlazny is defending his decision to seek bankruptcy protection for the Archdiocese of Portland following a judge’s ruling that individual parishes could potentially be sold to satisfy claims by clergy sex abuse victims.

In a Jan. 19 column in the archdiocesan newspaper, Vlazny said some have suggested he received bad legal advice and “foolishly” accepted it. But he said the archdiocesan finance council and consulters unanimously supported the bankruptcy filing.

“In the face of two pending trials, we realized that negative verdicts could possibly consume the limited financial resources then available and leave nearly 70 other plaintiffs empty-handed, given the diminished availability of archdiocesan assets,” he wrote.

“Chapter 11 bankruptcy has been established by our government precisely to aid folks like ourselves who could not meet the demands of their creditors but who have every intention of continuing their operations and need help.”

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris ruled Dec. 30 that the archdiocese, not its parishes, owns church assets. Her decision means that parish and Catholic school real estate in the archdiocese could be considered in any tally of how much the claimants should be paid.

A similar court ruling by a bankruptcy judge in Spokane, Wash., where the diocese there also sought bankruptcy protection from abuse claims, is being appealed. The third diocese that sought bankruptcy protection, in Tucson, Ariz., reached a settlement with victims last year.

Vlazny said the archdiocese sought to resolve the claims without going to bankruptcy court, but “banks and other friends were unwilling to loan us the money we needed.” He also said insurers were not covering claims.

Vlazny said the archdiocese was “making every effort” to balance the needs of victims and the church for a fair settlement, but he could not accept the judge’s recent ruling.

“Common sense suggests that no fair solution will be reached by my unethical confiscation of parish property for the purpose of selling it without appropriate discovery and giving plaintiffs whatever they want,” he wrote.

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http://www.sentinel.org/articles/2006-3/14420.html

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Nigeria executive to introduce legislation banning gay sex, marriage

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) – The executive branch plans to introduce legislation in Nigeria’s parliament that would outlaw gay sex and same-sex marriages while making it a criminal offense for churches and mosques to sanction any such relationship.

Justice Minister Bayo Ojo said Jan. 18 that the bill, which proposes up to five years’ imprisonment for homosexual sex, was approved during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo and would be forwarded to lawmakers for a vote. Ojo said the law, if approved, would also forbid associations of homosexuals and lesbians.

Public hostility to homosexuality is widespread in the largely conservative country of more than 130 million people, split between a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south. Obasanjo’s governing People’s Democratic Party has an overwhelming majority in the legislature.

Nigeria is home to Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola, who represents 17 million congregants and has been an outspoken critic of the decision by the U.S. Episcopal Church, to consecrate its first openly gay bishop. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. province of the global Anglican Communion.

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Senate Democrats propose Bible class for Georgia public schools

ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia public school students would be allowed to study the Bible under a plan proposed by Democrats in the state Senate.

The bill would authorize the state school board to approve an optional course in grades 9-12 that would teach about the Bible’s influence on literature, art, culture and politics.

The bill, introduced Jan. 18 by Sen. Tim Golden, chairman of the Senate Democratic caucus, would allow for “nonsectarian, nonreligious academic study” of the Bible and would require it “be taught in an objective and nondevotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students as to either the truth or falsity of the biblical materials.”

Republicans, who have a majority in the Senate, said the Democratic bill appears aimed at garnering voter approval in advance of this year’s legislative elections.

“I’m concerned about their timing,” said Senate Republican Leader Tommie Williams. “If they were really interested in passing a Bible curriculum bill, I proposed one six years ago.”

Williams said he introduced another Bible class bill last year, but was assured by the state Department of Education that current law already allows the classes.

Dana Tofig, a spokesman for the state schools superintendent, said local schools can create classes studying the Bible or other religious texts without permission from the state school board or the Legislature. “There is nothing that stops them, except the separation of church and state – you can’t be proselytizing,” he said.

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North Carolina community prays for jobs

LENOIR, N.C. (AP) – After years of layoffs at furniture plants, the county with North Carolina’s highest unemployment rate held a day of prayer hoping it would help end tough economic times.

About 200 people gathered at the Caldwell County Fairgrounds last Sunday to seek divine intervention for a community coping with a 13.1 percent jobless rate.

“People are down and out,” said the Rev. Rodney Raby, who organized the event. “They need some help. They need support.”

Raby, pastor of Nazareth Advent Christian Church in Lenoir, was laid off in April from the Broyhill Furniture Harper Plant where he’d worked for 19 years. Raby found a management job at Bernhardt Furniture later that month, but he knows many aren’t so lucky.

Raby gave a few opening remarks before the group stood to sing “Amazing Grace.” Among the attendees was Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who led a prayer.

“It’s a rarity for folks to have a steady job,” said Kevin Matheson, pastor of The Church of His Holy Spirit in Lenoir. “Some people have just given up here.”

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