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Episode no. 1148

TIM O’BRIEN, guest anchor: Coming up – hundreds of Anglican bishops from around the world gather in England, divided by issues like the consecration of openly gay American bishop Gene Robinson.

Bishop GENE ROBINSON (Diocese of New Hampshire): In every one of their congregations, whether they know it or not, there are gay and lesbian people, and we are here to remind them that we’re not going to go away.

O’BRIEN: And how a practitioner of Christian Science treats her patients, without medication or medical procedure.

Plus, a rabbi who recovers and restores Torah scrolls that survived the Holocaust.

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TIM O’BRIEN: Welcome. I’m Tim O’Brien, sitting in for Bob Abernethy. Good to have you with us.

The Olympics will begin in Beijing this week, and with it loud protests against China’s human rights abuses. Amnesty International accused the Chinese of breaking promises to reform before the games. Religious leaders and activists called on President Bush and other world leaders to publicly condemn China’s restrictions on rights and religious freedom.

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TIM O’BRIEN: Meanwhile, President Bush signed legislation tripling – to $50 billion over five years – the U.S. commitment to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. The initiative has won the administration praise from some of its sharpest critics, but it took months of compromise. Democrats succeeded in removing a provision requiring that a third of the money be spent on promoting abstinence. Conservatives, on the other hand, won assurances that religious groups would not be forced to participate in programs they find morally offensive.

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TIM O’BRIEN: In Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a measure allowing gay couples throughout the U.S. to marry in that state. Previously, a couple could not marry in Massachusetts if their union would not be recognized in their home state. While gay and lesbian groups hailed the new legislation, opponents said it reaffirms the need for a federal constitutional amendment against gay marriage.

In addition to the political, social and moral implications, there’s also an economic incentive. According to one study, the additional hotel bookings, banquets and wedding cakes over the next three years could pump more than $100 million into the Massachusetts economy.

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TIM O’BRIEN: Same-sex unions, as well as the consecration of gay bishops, are among the most contentious issues facing the worldwide Anglican Communion at the Lambeth Conference in England this week. With 77-million-members, the Communion is the third largest Christian denomination in the world. Anglicans have been threatened with schism because of deep divisions over homosexual issues and Scriptural interpretation. At their once-a-decade meeting, Anglican bishops are not expected to resolve the crisis, but they hope the gathering will ease tensions. Kim Lawton has our report from Canterbury, England.

KIM LAWTON: They came from all over the world and walked into the historic Canterbury cathedral together, a visible celebration of their common Anglican heritage. But there’s sharp disagreement about what it means to be an Anglican today. And the more than 650 bishops at this Lambeth Conference struggled to find a way to hold the Anglican Communion together despite b divisions about homosexuality and the interpretation of Scripture.

Bishop EUGENE SUTTON (Diocese of Maryland): Our children and children’s children will judge us by what we’ve done today. People may be tired of talking, but when we’re tired of talking about these issues, we are no longer being faithful.

LAWTON: Anglican bishops meet for the Lambeth Conference once every 10 years. In contrast to previous years, organizers of this meeting decided not to hold any policy votes.

Bishop MARC ANDRUS (Diocese of California): Legislation, report writing, voting – all those things, if you will, are things that we can use to avoid encountering one another.

LAWTON: Instead they held a series of discussions, many in small groups and Bible studies as a way to promote dialogue. Tensions were still high. Nearly all the sessions were private, with heavy security all around the circus tent where the main events occurred.

In one speech inside the tent that the media was not allowed to record, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams challenged both liberals and conservatives to work harder at finding resolutions. He said, quote, “At the moment, we seem often threatening death to each other, not offering life.”

The Anglican Communion is made up of 38 regional bodies or provinces, including the Episcopal Church in the U.S. All those provinces are all autonomous. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the Communion, but doesn’t have the authority to dictate what happens inside the regional churches. Relationships have been severely strained since the U.S. Episcopal Church consecrated an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and local parishes began blessing same-sex unions. Leaders of more conservative Anglican churches in Africa, Asia and South America accused the Episcopal Church of violating Scripture and disregarding centuries of church teachings. About 230 of those leaders boycotted this Lambeth meeting. Mark Lawrence is a conservative Episcopal bishop from South Carolina.

Bishop MARK LAWRENCE (Diocese of South Carolina): I wish Nigeria was here, Uganda was here, Kenya was here, Rwanda was here. But in a way they are. Their silence speaks volumes if we’ll only quiet ourselves long enough to recognize their voices here in their absence.

LAWTON: Bishop Gene Robinson was also absent from the official sessions; he wasn’t invited because of the controversy. Nonetheless, he came here to participate in non-official meetings.

Bishop GENE ROBINSON (Diocese of New Hampshire): Actually, being excluded from the conference has been harder than I expected. I thought I was going to be emotionally and spiritually prepared for it. But it’s been harder than I thought to be separated, especially from my own house of bishops.

LAWTON: Robinson was discussed at numerous points during the meeting, and one Sudanese bishop urged that he resign. Still, Robinson said he was able to quietly meet with several international bishops to introduce himself and tell his story.

Bishop ROBINSON: We’re all here for one purpose, which is to remind the bishops who are meeting that in every one of their congregations, whether they know it or not, there are gay and lesbian people. And we are here to remind them that we’re not going to go away.

LAWTON: This was the first Lambeth conference where gays and lesbians had a visible presence in events surrounding the meeting, such as this demonstration of traditional African dancing.

This was the first Lambeth meeting for another controversial American figure, Katharine Jefferts Schori, who attended not only as a bishop, but as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Only four of the 38 provinces consecrate female bishops.

Bishop SUTTON: Her presence, of course, is pushing the edge for a number of people. They are in societies and cultures where women do not take leadership. I think it’s a marvelous work of the Holy Spirit.

LAWTON: Even with the boycott, the growing influence of leaders from Africa, Asia and South America was clear. Some of the largest and most vibrant Anglican churches are in these so-called Global South regions. American conservatives welcomed their support.

Bishop LAWRENCE: In the United States, I’m in the extreme minority when I gather in the House of Bishops. But here among bishops from all over the world, I’m in that odd position of being in the majority opinion and that’s different for me. And I kind of like it actually.

LAWTON: The bishops discussed a variety of topics and did agree a lot. Last week, they marched through the streets of London urging that global poverty be cut in half by the year 2015. They saved the topics of gender, sexuality and the Bible for the end of the conference when there was intense debate yet again over how to respond to the Episcopal Church’s actions.

Bishop PETER BECKWITH (Diocese of Springfield, IL): The American Church has gone ahead on its own with the idea that that, “We’re going to go ahead with this because we think it’s appropriate and if you have a problem with it, that’s your problem.” That doesn’t sound like communion to me.

LAWTON: An official crisis working group released a proposal renewing previous calls for a ban on more gay bishops and same-sex blessings. It also called for an end to cross-jurisdictional relationships where conservative U.S. parishes are affiliating with Anglican churches in places like Africa and South America.

Bishop CLIVE HANDFORD (Anglican Communion, speaking at press conference): To pull back, to draw breath, take stock and the better dialogue together as we go forward from here.

LAWTON: The proposal won’t be voted on until 2009, but people on both sides have already said it won’t work. Bishop Marc Andrus from the San Francisco area told the bishops he would not stop blessing same-sex unions.

Bishop ANDRUS: I wanted them to know that while I have sought to be transparent, that if they didn’t understand that we were continuing to do blessings in the diocese of California, that is the fact and will continue to be the fact, and that I was available to them to tell them why I consider that essential and that it would continue to go on.

LAWTON: Conservatives expect the cross-jurisdictional relationships to continue as well.

Bishop BECKWITH: There’s precedence in the Church to cross geographical boundaries when theological boundaries are being crossed. And theological boundaries are being crossed.

LAWTON: There was also intense debate about changing some of the ways the Communion operates. Some bishops are pushing for a broad statement of agreement that would help define who Anglicans are.

Bishop LAWRENCE: There is a limit as to what diversity can allow for in the midst of a family, a community that has to trust one another.

LAWTON: Many bishops are increasingly frustrated by the seeming stalemate. And not surprisingly, there are differing opinions about whether schism can ultimately be avoided.

Bishop BECKWITH: If we don’t change, is that Communion going to continue? That remains to be seen. But I would say it’s very questionable.

Bishop TOM SHAW (Diocese of Massachusetts): On some days I have really significant conversations with individual bishops and in groups. And I get a sense that we really are listening to one another and trying to find a path forward. And then on other days, it doesn’t seem like we’re really talking to one another and it’s hard for me to see how we’ll be able to go forward.

Bishop ANDRUS: There will be a Communion. It may look different than the Communion we have today. I think most of the people here will stick with each other.

LAWTON: Organizers hope this Lambeth conference has helped the bishops build the relationships needed to hold the Communion together. Many here say they will also need some “divine intervention” to make that happen.

I’m Kim Lawton in Canterbury, England.

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TIM O’BRIEN: In other news, Paraguay’s new president has received an extremely rare papal dispensation. Fernando Lugo has been allowed to give up his status as a Roman Catholic bishop so that he can take office later this month. Pope Benedict had opposed Lugo’s political aspirations because the church discourages clergy from holding political office. The church has allowed many priests to become laymen, but Lugo is the first former bishop.

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TIM O’BRIEN: The Christian Science Church, founded in the 19th century, teaches that physical affliction can be healed through spiritual means rather than medical procedures. Membership in the Church has declined in recent decades, but some “Christian Science practitioners,” as they are known, still treat large numbers of people, through spiritual healing. Judy Valente reports.

JUDY VALENTE: It’s a no-frills Sunday service: one that hasn’t changed significantly since the Christian Science Church was founded more than a hundred years ago.

FIRST READER: Let us join in silent prayer, and follow that by praying together “The Lord’s Prayer,” which I will intersperse with its spiritual interpretation as found in the Christian Science textbook: “Our Father which art in heaven . . .”

SECOND READER AND CONGREGATION: Our father, mother, God – all harmonious.

VALENTE: There’s no religious imagery. No clergy – only “Readers” in Christian Science churches. Scripture passages and the writings of Church founder Mary Baker Eddy have the status of a pastor.

The basic Christian Science teaching hasn’t changed: that human beings made in God’s image are not matter, but spirit. Therefore, illness, physical injuries, even mental suffering are not considered real and can be overcome through prayer.

SHIRLEY PAULSON (Christian Science Practitioner): I deal with physical problems and emotional problems and finance problems and marriage problems. And everything I think that hits the human condition comes into this office.

VALENTE: Shirley Paulson is what’s called a Christian Science “practitioner” – someone who tries to heal the health problems of others without medication or medical procedures. She has a Masters degree in divinity from a seminary, and completed special classes within her church.

Ms. PAULSON: Christian Science treatment is really helping the patient to turn away from fear or their belief in the thing that’s troubling them – to have more confidence and more belief and more understanding in what God is doing for them.

LOIS CARLSON (Patient and Christian Science Practitioner): My skis flipped out underneath me and I landed full force on my knee. And there was no way that I could get up. It was very painful.

VALENTE: Paulson treats hundreds of patients a year. Most are Christian Scientists like Lois Carlson, a fellow practitioner, although a growing number are from a variety of other faiths.

Ms. PAULSON (in session with Ms. Carlson): I was also thinking about some Bible verses that frequently come to me in support of this kind of prayer. And, for example, I can think of one right now that reminded me of this kind of confidence I have in God’s lover for you: in “Jeremiah” where God says, “Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt.”

VALENTE: There’s no laying on of hands. Paulson simply listens to, and prays with, her patients.

Ms. PAULSON: I listen to them and then at an appropriate time in the conversation, I’ll gently guide them away from their sorrow or pain, or whatever is going on, to that place where they can feel close to God.

VALENTE: She says practitioners don’t give advice on whether or not a patient should seek conventional medical care.

Ms. CARLSON (speaking to Ms. Paulson): I wondered, actually, if I needed some surgery, some corrective surgery?

Ms. PAULSON: The decision as to what you’re going to do next has to be your own. There’s no church policy about that and I’m not gong to give you an opinion about that. One of the things I have learned to love so much about Mary Baker Eddy’s writings and studies of Jesus and his healings, is that Jesus would not put up with things that weren’t complete. All the healings that Jesus did were complete, and he never taught managing pain or trying to get along.

VALENTE: But sometimes relying only on spiritual care results in tragedy. This Web site tracks the deaths of children whose parents chose spiritual treatments over medical help. There haven’t been any recent cases in the press of Christian Science children dying from lack of treatment. Christian Scientists say their church doesn’t prohibit them from seeking medical care.

Ms. PAULSON: There isn’t any theology or policy that would make a Christian Scientist feel like their religion is above the life and safety of their child. The child comes first no matter what.

VALENTE: What do you say to someone who has stage four cancer and they’re not necessarily going to get better?

Ms. PAULSON: Well, I have seen healings from almost death itself rise up and be healed. So I wouldn’t say that there’s any particular point at which you say, “You’re helpless.” I think that this idea of having to die in order to see God is where Christian Science has a different take on the typical orthodox Christian view of this. Death is not the marking point where you see God.

VALENTE: As a young woman in the mid-19th century, Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy suffered from a variety of illnesses. She found inspiration in Bible passages where Jesus cures the sick. In her words, she set about to revive Christianity’s “lost element of healing.”

Eddy’s book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” has sold 10 million copies since it was first published in 1875.

Jane Bailey is a fourth generation Christian Scientist.

JANE BAILEY: I’ve really learned that prayer and turning to God for help brings answers to every aspect of my life.

VALENTE: Membership in the church has steadily declined since the 1930s. Mrs. Eddy forbade her followers from keeping an official membership tally. The Church estimates it has about 400,000 members worldwide. But independent studies put membership at around 100,000. In the U.S., the number of churches has dwindled from about 1,500 10 years ago, to 1,100 today.

In the last three years, the Church has increased its efforts to keep and attract members. It has begun holding annual youth summits in large American cities, like this one recently in Los Angeles, hoping to interest 20-somethings like Adam Olszeski.

ADAM OLSZESKI: It gives you understanding. It gives you a way to deal with problems that arise. It helps you overcome challenges. It gives you a peaceful way, a positive solution, to what the world has to offer.

VALENTE: Christian Scientists are heavily involved in the current health care debate. The Church has lobbyists, like Roger Gates of Illinois, in every state. Their goal is to insure that any plan for universal health care will cover the services of practitioners. Patients currently pay practitioners out of pocket anywhere from $25 to $50 dollars a treatment.

Christian Science practices remain controversial in many circles. But with a growing number of Americans seeking alternative medical treatments, Christian Scientists see the possibility for renewed interest in their teachings.

Ms. PAULSON: I am confident the faith is going to go on, because I see so much evidence of the vitality of this idea of Christian healing. And it’s a natural thing to trust God with all your heart and soul.

VALENTE: That enduring trust in God’s healing power is what has kept alive Mary Baker Eddy’s 100-year-old teachings.

For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, I’m Judy Valente in Chicago.

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TIM O’BRIEN: Finally, a story about Menachem Youlus, a Torah scribe who has been called the “Indiana Jones of Rabbis” because he has traveled to dangerous places all over the world in his mission to find, rescue and recover sacred Torah scrolls. He has delivered more than 1,000 repaired scrolls to Jewish communities, many through his “Save a Torah” organization. He spoke with us as he put the finishing touches on a scroll that had been buried in a cemetery near Auschwitz. The scroll was welcomed at its new home, Central Synagogue in New York City, during Holocaust Remembrance Day services this past spring.

Rabbi MENACHEM YOULUS (Save a Torah): When we began, I thought, “How many scrolls could’ve possibly survived the Holocaust? Five, 10, a hundred?” Now I know it’s thousands.

I thought I would find them in old synagogues that were burnt, or places like that. Now I found out that some of them are in museums, in warehouses, churches all over the world.

So we’re taking Torahs which have been desecrated, which have been left for dead, and rejuvenating them and giving them hope in different communities that are just reviving or just starting out. And our goal is that everybody should have a Torah to pray with.

A Jewish scribe is called a Sofer. A quill has to come from a kosher bird. Turkey is what’s mostly used. Parchment that we use comes mostly from cow or calf.

There’re really three major fonts that we work with. But even within those three major fonts, there are a lot of dialects. On some of them, you could get a letter within a letter – all kinds of nuances.

What makes you a terrific scribe is not necessarily your handwriting. The most important thing is your total focus, your total intent – that what it is that you’re doing is only for God’s sake. If you have any other, literally anything else going on in your head, you could make that piece or that Torah not kosher.

You know, if you took an exam or one of your children took an exam, and they got a 99.99 on the exam, you’d be ecstatic. For me, I bring that home it’s a failure. It’s either perfect or it’s not.

The scroll that we’re talking about right now, the Auschwitz Torah, we had to repair over 52 percent of the lettering. It’s an arduous process.

When you do God’s work, it’s not about you and it’s not about what you can do; it’s what has to be done.

CONGREGATION (Central Synagogue, New York City, praying in Hebrew during Yom Hashoah service)

Rabbi YOULUS: It’s the 613th commandment: that every man, woman and child should write their own Torah scroll. If somebody fills in a letter in a Torah, it’s as if they wrote the entire Torah by themselves.

Rabbi PETER J. RUBINSTEIN (Central Synagogue, New York City): The fact that we’re in New York, in one of the great communities and certainly one of the great cities, that we will make it possible for people to view the scroll, to learn the story.

Rabbi YOULUS (Central Synagogue, New York City, speaking during Yom Hashoah service): We are here today to dedicate a Torah that was once used in a Jewish community that thrived for five centuries, was buried in the city of Auschwitz for nearly 60 years and survived the Holocaust.

Rabbi RUBINSTEIN (Central Synagogue, New York City, speaking during Yom Hashoah service): Reborn from the earth, from ashes to life, please rise and let us greet to its new home, the Torah from Auschwitz.

DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN (Torah Scroll Donor, Central Synagogue, New York City, speaking during Yom Hashoah service): The Jews, when they were rounded up and put into concentration camps, many of them just took their clothes with them. But some of them took parts of Torahs, and this was the most important thing in their life. And when many of these concentration camps were liberated, the only thing that the people in the concentration camps had to give to the liberators – the American soldiers in many cases – were pieces of the Torah because, to them, this was the most valuable thing that existed for them.

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TIM O’BRIEN: That’s our program for now. I’m Tim O’Brien.

There’s much more on our Web site, including more on religion and politics on our “One Nation” page. Audio and video podcasts of the program are also available. Join us at pbs.org.

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Listen to this episode now:
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TRANSCRIPT:
Episode no. 1147

DEBORAH POTTER, guest anchor: Coming up — American medical teams in Africa — they could make more money at home, but this program has a different payoff.

Dr. FITZHUGH MULLAN (Project Hope): And sending doctors abroad, sending nurses abroad, is partly a statement of what we are beyond Coca-Cola.

POTTER: And, a bride, a groom, and two faith traditions — the challenges to a wedding planner.

SONAL SHAH (Interfaith Wedding Planner, Save the Date Event Consultants): Out of the 25 or 30 weddings we do in a year, right now about half of them, if not more than half, are interfaith marriages.

# # #

DEBORAH POTTER: Welcome. I’m Deborah Potter sitting in for Bob Abernethy. It’s good to have you with us.

A visit to Israel was the centerpiece of Barack Obama’s first overseas trip since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. In Jerusalem, he stopped at the Western Wall and left behind a prayer. He also visited the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem. Both stops were designed to show his commitment to the Jewish state and to appeal to its supporters back home.

In Washington, a pro-Israel group got a similar message from a prominent backer of Republican John McCain. The candidate himself rejected the endorsement of the group’s controversial founder, Pastor John Hagee, earlier this year. But Senator Joseph Lieberman told the group Christians United for Israel that he stands with them against common enemies.

Senator JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT): I don’t agree with everything Pastor Hagee has done or said, and I can safely say that the good pastor doesn’t agree with everything that I’ve ever done or said. But there is so much more important than that that we agree on.

POTTER: As for Hagee, he said he’ll never again endorse a presidential candidate.

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DEBORAH POTTER: But another evangelical leader may be ready to support McCain. Kim Lawton joins me now to talk about religion and politics, and what sounds like a major change of heart for James Dobson. What’s going on?

KIM LAWTON (Managing Editor, RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY): Well, over the past year, James Dobson has said several times that he would not and could not bring himself to vote for John McCain as a matter of conscience. Now he’s indicating that he might do that because he thinks Barack Obama is so bad and would be so bad for America. He says because he disagrees so strongly with Barack Obama, especially on issues like abortion, gay rights — that he feels that he may indeed have to bring himself to vote for John McCain. It’s sort of interesting because it shows some of the frustration among evangelicals. They’re just really not rallying around John McCain and he’s frankly not courting them that aggressively either. He’s scheduling meetings with the Dalai Lama, but not with them.

POTTER: But, he will get a chance to court them a little bit later in the summer when he goes to Rick Warren’s church. He’s going to host some kind of — maybe it’s a first — a campaign event?

Ms. LAWTON: This will be on August 16 — it will be the first time that Barack Obama and John McCain have appeared together this campaign season — they’re coming together at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. I think it is a way that they’re trying to reach out to evangelicals. Warren says he’s not just going to talk about the usual issues of abortion and gay rights. He wants to talk about poverty; he wants to talk about AIDS; human rights; the environment. And again, it gets back to evangelicals fighting among themselves even about what are the most important issues that they should be voting on. So, that will be interesting — that was announced just this week that it will happen on August 16.

POTTER: Now, one of the issues that evangelicals may be voting on could be the vice-presidential selection, particularly when McCain makes his decision. How are they breaking on that right now?

Ms. LAWTON: Well, it’s really interesting because this year it’s taking on a new importance. And many evangelicals are telling me that depending on who McCain picks for the ticket would help decide whether or not they’re going to be really working for his campaign and really actively trying to get him elected.

POTTER: And who do they like?

Ms. LAWTON: They like Mike Huckabee, actually, which is interesting because they didn’t support him wholeheartedly early on in the primary season, but they are supporting him. On the Democratic side, it seems like it would be a little less of a factor for Barack Obama. But, one recent poll that I saw showed that there’s a lot of negatives for Hillary Clinton among religious voters, as well as a lot of positives. So — so that’s sort of up in the air.

POTTER: What are the poll numbers that we’ve been seeing this past week that indicate some change in sort of faith-based voting?

Ms. LAWTON: Well, there are still a large number of undecided evangelicals and that’s what’s driving some of the social conservatives like James Dobson a little crazy. They feel like all Barack Obama’s God-talk has made some real inroads. I mean, Obama’s got some problems in the religious community too. There are a large number of undecided Catholics — that’s going to be a really important swing vote for him. So, both of the candidates are trying to reach out.

POTTER: Thank you so much Kim. And, Kim, of course, has a lot more about religion and politics on the “One Nation” page of our Web site at pbs.org.

# # #
DEBORAH POTTER: In Italy, Pope Benedict met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The two discussed the plight of Iraq’s vulnerable Christian community. Maliki also invited the pope to visit Iraq. The prime minister said it would help efforts toward reconciliation.

# # #

DEBORAH POTTER: More than 650 bishops from the worldwide Anglican Communion marched through London demanding more action to end global poverty. The bishops are in England for their once-every-decade Lambeth Conference.

But more than 200 other bishops, mainly from Africa, are boycotting the meeting because of divisions over homosexuality and interpretation of Scripture. Organizers said they wanted the march to draw attention to the issues that Anglicans are united on, such as fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS.

# # #

DEBORAH POTTER: Southern Africa has more cases of HIV/AIDS than any other region of the world, and one challenge these countries face in fighting the disease is a shortage of health professionals. Their home-grown doctors are often lured away by higher salaries in developed countries like the United States, where one out of every four new doctors graduated from medical school overseas. From Malawi, Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on an effort to reverse the trend.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: In Malawi, one out of every four children dies before reaching the age of five. Famine is chronic and AIDS has left tens of thousands of orphans, often in the care of struggling grandparents, like Robin Nangwandu. Many children, like his grandson Mcanthony, are HIV positive.

ROBIN NANAGWANDU (through translator): I will continue working until I die. I don’t have enough food stocks — just enough money to buy day to day. It’s not easy to care for a kid who is HIV positive; not easy to shuttle him back and forth to hospital.

DE SAM LAZARO: Until recently, there were just two pediatricians to care for the entire public health system. Dr. Peter Kazembe was one.

(to Dr. Kazembe): How many children in this country, approximately are HIV positive?

Dr. PETER KAZEMBE: Well, it’s estimated at 83,000 children now.

DE SAM LAZARO: Eighty-three thousand children and to serve all of them you have two pediatricians?

Dr. KAZEMBE: Two pediatricians, yes.

DE SAM LAZARO: Malawi has just one medical school and Kazembe says most of its graduates leave for more prosperous countries, like neighboring Botswana, Britain or the United States.

Dr. KAZEMBE: The issues are the same in all the countries in southern Africa certainly — you know, salaries, poor salaries, poor working conditions. There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing what you need to do but not having the resources to do it.

DE SAM LAZARO: Dr. Kazembe is in charge of one effort to bring health care resources to Malawi. Its center is a modern, American-style clinic, complete with 11 American doctors. They are typically in their first job after residency and will spend at least one year rotating through this busy clinic and also in some Malawian public health facilities. The Pediatric AIDS Corps Program is the brainchild of a physician at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Dr. MARK KLINE (Baylor College of Medicine): You know, obviously a number of long-term solutions have to be put in place to encourage African doctors to remain in Africa and to bring back African doctors who have immigrated to the developed world. But while those fixes are being put in place, we can’t afford to lose a generation of children to this epidemic.

DE SAM LAZARO: With a grant from the drug giant Bristol Myers Squibb, Kline designed a program that pays the doctors a stipend of $40,000 dollars-a-year. It’s a fraction of what they could earn at home, but the program also pays down up to $40,000 in student loan debt for each year of service.

Dr. KLINE: Half of the doctors that we have in the program could not have participated were it not for the student loan debt repayment provision because they simply couldn’t afford to do so.

DE SAM LAZARO: Three years after it began, about 60 physicians have been placed in 11 African countries. Their mission is to treat patients, but more importantly, to train local providers on the front lines, like nurses and clinical officers. In addition to training, Baylor’s own clinic offers model conditions not found in Malawi’s crowded public health care system, such as working equipment, hygienic facilities and drugs. That was enough to bring Dr. Portia Kamthunzi home from the U.K, despite a big pay cut.

Dr. PORTIA KAMTHUNZI: It’s not just the money for me, it is the job satisfaction as well. Working with HIV positive children I feel like I can relate to them better than other people that are coming from other countries because in a way I know the culture. I know the type of background they are coming from.

DE SAM LAZARO: It may be a modern clinic for Malawi, and it does offer the once prohibitive anti retroviral or ARV drugs for AIDS. But for the visitors, this is a culture of severe limits compared to the “do-whatever-it-takes” American system they trained in.

Dr. CHRIS BUCK: I have one patient I can think of in particular that’s a 17-year-old boy. He’s pretty severely immune suppressed. He’s been on ARVs for a long time and he has a gastric tumor. And it’s just kind of slowly killing him unfortunately. And I can think of so many things that I could do for him in the States to improve his prognosis, from diagnostic tests to different medicines. And here I’m really hampered and limited. I really find that to be distressing.

Dr. OMALARA THOMAS: I think every day you wonder and you say to yourself when you’re prescribing these medicines, “But what difference really is this going to make?” You know, really what they need is food.

Dr. SAEED AHMED: I worked at a very high acuity care hospital in New York at Columbia. And if one patient died or two patients died in a week or a month, it would be a big deal. Then we come here and during our time on the wards we might have three or four patients die a day. And coming to terms with that and coming to terms with there being limits to what we can do for kids was shocking and hard.

DE SAM LAZARO: One prominent advocate says programs like Baylor’s are a payback to poor countries who’ve long helped fill the doctor and nurse shortages in rich nations.

Dr. FITZHUGH MULLAN (Project Hope): The Baylor AIDS Corps is a spectacular example of non-governmental commitment to a contribution to certain poor countries in a specific area –pediatric AIDS — that really is part and ought to be part of a larger contribution that we as a country make back to countries that have been generous to us in spite of the economic inequalities between us.

DE SAM LAZARO: Dr. Mullan has long advocated a much larger federal program like Baylor’s. It’s right, not just morally he says, but strategically.

Dr. MULLAN: There are battles for hearts and minds going on in Africa. China is very present. And sending doctors abroad, sending nurses abroad, is partly a statement of what we are beyond Coca-Cola and other commercial enterprises.

DE SAM LAZARO: There’s no shortage of doctors who want to go. For every one chosen, Baylor has to turn away two.

Dr. KLINE: I think most of them do it because they feel that AIDS in Africa is the challenge of this generation. This is a very highly idealistic group of young physicians, by and large, and they want to do something very meaningful. Straight out of their training, they want to have an immediate impact.

DE SAM LAZARO: The doctors say their Africa stint has been profoundly formative�and likely not their last. New Yorker Omalara Thomas is bringing it full circle in her family. Her parents are Nigerian immigrants to America.

Dr. THOMAS: I’ve been involved with trying to develop, hopefully, a program with Nigerian, I guess you can say, expatriates to the U.S. and physicians there who at some point do want to come back to Nigeria and do want to work.

Dr. AMY SIMS: I’m actually going back for, for specialist training in a couple months in the States. And specialists are something that are kind of few and far between here, here in Africa. And so I plan to use that to train African health workers and kind of pass on that knowledge. And so I always see myself coming back to Africa.

DE SAM LAZARO: Amid all the poverty and suffering, they say, are great rewards like sharing good news with young Mcanthony’s grandfather.

Dr. BUCK: He looks fantastic! You’re doing a really great job taking care of him.

DE SAM LAZARO: Or watching the teen club on the clinic grounds knowing that without this clinic, few of these young patients would still be alive.

For RELIGION &smp; ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, this is Fred De Sam Lazaro in Lilongwe, Malawi.

# # #
DEBORAH POTTER: A New York church destroyed in the September 11 attacks is getting a new start. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church stood in the shadow of the World Trade Center. The congregation has not been able to rebuild because of bureaucratic and financial hurdles. But local officials have now agreed to finance a $20 million reconstruction. The new church will be a few blocks from the original site.

# # #
DEBORAH POTTER: Interfaith marriage has become commonplace in this country. But, for a long time, couples chose to celebrate their weddings in one of their faith traditions — or none at all. Today, interfaith couples are often embracing both their religions. Betty Rollin tells us how couples include the rituals of their two distinct traditions.

BETTY ROLLIN: Sunitha Mani is an Indian Hindu, born in America. Her mother calls her a “modern girl.” Even so, as she prepares for her marriage, she is going the traditional route — and then some. It begins with her getting painted with henna, a process called “mehndi.” Sanjana, the marital makeup chief, explains.

SANJANA PURSNANI (Makeup Director, Sona Salon): When it dries up and it starts flaking it gives you that mahogany — like a red burgundy color. So, in India the bridal colors are red. We usually wear red, maroon, burgundy — so they say that the bride’s hand shouldn’t show color of her skin.

ROLLIN: Sunitha met her husband-to-be, Ronjit Sandhu, who is a Sikh, at college eight years ago.

SUNITHA MANI (Bride): The henna artists told me yesterday the darker the henna the more your husband and your in-laws love you — so my hands are dark, but not down here so much.

ROLLIN: The groom’s mandate on the wedding night is to find his name hidden in the design.

RONJIT SANDHU (Groom): The night of the wedding, I’m supposed to find — I’m supposed to search for my name in the henna. And then if I can’t find it, basically I’m not allowed to consummate our marriage.

ROLLIN: The next pre-marriage ritual, performed is the puja, where the bride’s family’s Hindu Pandit prays before a sacred fire.

Pandit BALU DIXIT (Hindu Temple, Albany, NY): We pray to Lord Ganesha asking for his blessings, so that everything goes very smoothly without any obstacles.

ROLLIN: When Sunitha’s parents married, not only were they required to be of the same faith, but they were expected to marry the person their parents chose.

KANTHI MANI (Mother of Bride): We got married — what 36 years ago — I think it was through communication between my parents and his parents. And they looked at the horoscope and once it was agreed, he came to visit me and that’s it. I hardly knew him until I got married.

ROLLIN: And how do the Manis feel about their daughter marrying outside their faith?

Dr. SRINIVASAN MANI (Father of Bride): Whatever makes our daughter happy and secure in the future, that’s what matters, rather than our discomfort.

ROLLIN: The groom’s father, now a widower, and his aunt, also have had some concerns.

SURJIT SINGH SANDHU (Father of Groom): Not having the same culture and the language, sometimes it’s hard to interact.

SATWANT KAUR BANGA (Aunt of Groom): I think that as soon as you hear of a child marrying into a different religion, even though Sikhism absolutely tells there’s only one God and all people are equal, the cultural differences — they creep in after the children come in.

Mr. S. SANDHU: Ideally, you know, you want your kids to be raised as Sikhs, but then again once you are out of India, you know, our kids now are raised in this culture. So in this culture, their culture is the same.

ROLLIN: Ronjit has his own ideas about what his childrens’ religion will be.

Mr. R. SANDHU: I think they’ll definitely be raised under both religions. You know, they are going to go to temple, they are going to go to Gurdwara, the Sikh version of a temple. They will essentially learn, you know, about the histories behind both of the religions. Her parents are very religious so whether we wanted them or not, they will probably share everything they know. They share it with me openly, so I’m sure they will definitely do it with our grandkids.

ROLLIN: The couple decided there was one obvious way to smooth over the religious differences. Two weddings! One Sikh, one Hindu.

The Sikh wedding came first, with the groom making his entrance on a white horse named Max. The procession is called a “baraat.” The bride’s extended Hindu family awaits his arrival.

The families greet each other with an elaborate garland exchange.

And here comes the bride.

And three hours later, here comes the bride again.

Two weddings — one in Sanskrit, one in Punjabi — countless rituals; two receptions; decorations involving hundreds of yards of fabric; banquets; music of two cultures; 400 guests and a costumed horse: putting this together takes a commander-in-chief, otherwise known as a wedding planner.

That would be Sonal Shah and her small army of lieutenants.

SONAL SHAH (Interfaith Wedding Planner, Save the Date Event Consultants): Don’t forget to tell everyone to take their shoes off, cover their head.

When she began her profession one religion was the norm — not anymore.

Ms. SHAH: In the last five years since I started doing wedding planning, interfaith marriages have just skyrocketed. Out of the 25 or 30 weddings we do in a year, right now, about half of them, if not more than half are interfaith marriages.

One of the biggest problems that we face is the whole meat, non-meat issue. So, you know, we did a wedding last year where the groom was Irish and the bride was Gradrati Indian and her family, you know, strict Jains — no meat, no potatoes. And his side of the family is Irish so obviously they want those things. We really just try to come to a consensus.

(to Ms. Shah): What did you do?

Ms. SHAH: We ended up going with the non-meat. But, obviously they weren’t happy about it because their guest list consisted of everybody that, you know, ate meat and potatoes!

ROLLIN: At the Mani-Sandhu wedding there was also a meat issue since Hindus are vegetarians, but meat won out.

And then there is the animal issue. At a recent wedding, Sonal supervised in Washington, D.C., a Hindu groom wanted to make his entrance on an elephant.

Ms. SHAH: It definitely posed a lot of challenges. But yes, we found an elephant. We had the elephant brought over on a semi to downtown Washington, D.C. on Pennsylvania Avenue. So, it was very exciting. But, it was, literally the last six months of the wedding, all we were worried about was this elephant.

ROLLIN: Back at the Mani-Sandhu wedding, Sonal has made sure that the two weddings faithfully represent the two religions.

At the Sikh wedding, men and women sit separately on the floor — shoes off, heads covered. The service centers around the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.

Ms. BANGA: The bride and the groom, they go around the guru, keeping in mind that the guru or God is the center. All their life, because of this way, they will be very easily able to mend their differences if that’s what they keep in mind.

ROLLIN: At the Hindu wedding, the bride groom also do a walk-around.

Pandit DIXIT: So that completion of the seven rounds around the fire signifies that they are married and that concludes with the ceremony where the groom offers a necklace — ties a necklace to the bride and usually they put a little dot, like a kumkum a sindur of the forehead of the bride and that means she’s a married woman from then on.

ROLLIN: At the end of the Hindu service, the Sikh elders were invited to join in blessing the bride and groom, showering them with rice, flowers and spices for fertility, happiness and peace.

Mr. S. SANDHU: As long as, you know, they will respect each other, not only as an individual but also respect each other’s customs and religion. You know, let the kids learn the better of both sides. And, I think they will be stronger.

ROLLIN (to Mr. S. Sandhu): Did it take you awhile to come to this?

Mr. S. SANDHU: Yes. You know, your initial reaction is — you know, you would rather have things, you know, go your way, let it be simple. But reality is not always simple.

ROLLIN: This three-day celebration does come to an end. And Ronjit and Sunitha will be off to Hawaii for their honeymoon, knowing that they have the blessings and acceptance of both families.

For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, I’m Betty Rollin in Utica, New York.

# # #

DEBORAH POTTER: That’s our program for now. I’m Deborah Potter. There’s much more on our Web site, including more on religion and politics on our “One Nation” page. Audio and video podcasts of the program are also available. Join us at pbs.org.

And as we leave you, more celebrations from the Mani-Sandhu wedding in Utica, New York.

© 2008 WNET-TV. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Prepared by Burrelle’s Information Services, which takes sole responsibility for accuracy of transcription. No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research. User may not reproduce any copy of the material except for user’s personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be reproduced, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any manner that may infringe upon WNET-TV’s copyright or proprietary interests in the material.

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TRANSCRIPT:
Episode no. 1146

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Coming up — Anglican bishops gather in England for their once-in-a-decade meeting. But they’re still a long way from agreement on the issues that threaten their unity.

And a small-town police chief diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Plus, members of a Chinese family as they make offerings to the spirits of their ancestors.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: Welcome. I’m Bob Abernethy. It’s good to have you with us.

Pope Benedict XVI is in Australia for World Youth Day, presiding over religious events that have drawn 250,000 young Catholics. The 81-year-old pope also spent time with some of the country’s native animals. In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of environmental stewardship.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: In Spain, hundreds of religious leaders gathered for an interfaith summit organized by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. The Muslim king opened the three-day summit that included Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu leaders. He called on the world’s religions to embrace reconciliation and reject fanaticism. Observers noted that Abdullah could not convene the meeting in Saudi Arabia because of his kingdom’s restrictions on non-Muslim faiths. Still, many said his outreach was an extraordinary step toward religious harmony.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: Faith leaders are reacting with cautious optimism to the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. The court’s prosecutor has charged Bashir with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for instigating atrocities against the people of Darfur. Bashir has rejected the court’s authority and staged protests against the indictment. More than 200,000 lives are believed to have been lost in Darfur since violence broke out in 2003.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: Six-hundred-and-fifty bishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion assembled in Canterbury, England this week for the Lambeth Conference, a three-week-long meeting that’s held just once every decade. But more than 200 other bishops are boycotting the event. The 77-million-member Communion has been threatened with schism because of longstanding divisions over homosexuality and the interpretation of Scripture. But organizers acknowledge that this Lambeth conference is not likely to end the crisis.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, and parishes here continue to wrestle with the issues on the table at Lambeth. Kim Lawton has our look at three very distinct congregations.

KIM LAWTON: Anglicans have been a contentious crowd since the tradition was founded under King Henry VIII nearly 500 years ago. Anglicanism has long stressed unity in the midst of diversity. But now, diversity may be stretching the Anglican Communion to a breaking point.

At one end of the spectrum is All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, which has been at the forefront of advocacy for more inclusion of gays and lesbians.

Reverend ED BACON (All Saints Episcopal Church, at wedding): Dearly beloved, we are gathered together by the grace of God . . .

LAWTON: When California legalized gay marriage earlier this year, congregational leaders at All Saints immediately voted to offer the rite of marriage to same-sex couples.

Rev. BACON: We believe that God’s love is not discriminatory. It’s not bigoted. There are no second class citizens. And so the graces of the church should extend to everyone, regardless of who they are.

(at wedding): If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now or forever, or else forever, hold your peace.

LAWTON: Many Anglican churches around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and South America, are strongly opposed to gay rights. The last Lambeth Conference in 1998 approved a resolution asserting that homosexual practice is quote “incompatible with Scripture.” International Anglican leaders had asked the U.S. Episcopal Church to exercise caution in moving ahead with gay issues. But Bacon says, as a priest, he must minister to the people in his pews.

Rev. BACON: By the authority of the Holy Spirit, and the state of California I pronounce that you are married.

So we have a responsibility here on the ground, at the grassroots level to move forward with justice, inclusion, love and compassion. And the bishops can talk about it, but we think the bishops will come around and see that we are exercising great pastoral responsibility.

LAWTON: All Saints also actively supports Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. Robinson’s 2003 consecration in the Diocese of New Hampshire set off a firestorm of controversy across the Global Communion. Because of the turmoil, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Communion, asked Robinson not to attend the Lambeth meeting. But Robinson has gone to Canterbury anyway to advocate for gay issues outside the official meeting.

Bishop GENE ROBINSON (Diocese of New Hampshire): I go with a greater sense of focus on gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people around the world. In an odd sort of way, not being included in the official meetings gives me that greater opportunity to focus on that.

Rev. BACON: The entire New Testament is about inclusion, about bringing more and more people in and understanding that there’s nothing God created which is inherently evil. And so the Bible itself moves toward inclusion.

LAWTON: But at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, Florida, Reverend Eric Dudley reads the Bible very differently. Dudley had been rector at nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church for 10 years, but was upset at what he saw as the increasingly liberal theological direction of the national denomination, especially on gay issues.

Reverend ERIC DUDLEY (St. Peter’s Anglican Church): When we moved to the place that it was no longer the occasional priest, bishop here or there, but it became the official stance of the Church itself under whose umbrella I stand as a priest, then I couldn’t do it anymore.

LAWTON: In 2005, Dudley announced he was leaving the Episcopal Church to start a new Anglican congregation. Rather than launching a lawsuit to keep the historic building, Dudley acquired an unused church building from another denomination. On the first Sunday, 800 people showed up. St. Peter’s still averages about 650 people every week and gets the help of local police for traffic and crowd control. They have numerous thriving programs, such as Vacation Bible School.

Rev. DUDLEY: I’d much rather pour my energies out into building some strong new church that’s still faithful to Anglicanism, but that’s strongly unapologetically orthodox. A church where I don’t have to be continually fighting battles for things that I think should be givens.

LAWTON: Because Dudley wanted to stay within the Anglican Communion, he placed St. Peter’s under the authority of the Anglican Church of Uganda.

Rev. DUDLEY: I think it’s wonderfully ironic that you’ve got a bunch of wealthy, white, mostly Americans who’ve found their salvation, so to speak, in a bunch of poor Africans. I mean, you know God smiles at that.

LAWTON: The Episcopal Church sees the Ugandan role as an unethical incursion into its jurisdiction. St. Peter’s bishop is John Guernsey, an American who was consecrated as a bishop for the Anglican Church of Uganda.

Archbishop HENRY OROMBI (Anglican Church of Uganda): John Guernsey has been duly consecrated as a bishop.

LAWTON: Guernsey and other American bishops for African churches have also been excluded from Lambeth, just like Gene Robinson.

LAWTON: Uganda’s Archbishop Henry Orombi and more than 200 other conservative bishops are boycotting Lambeth. They held their own gathering in Jerusalem last month and called for a new North American church body that would officially be part of the Anglican Communion, but would not be affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

Rev. DUDLEY: They’re seeking to create a fellowship of confessing Anglicans — that is those who want to be clear in their commitments to orthodox faith.

Reverend SAMUEL COLLEY-TOOTHAKER (Episcopal Church of the Epiphany): My brothers and sisters, the Lord be with you

CONGREGATION: And also with you.

Rev. COLLEY TOOTHAKER: Let us pray . . .

LAWTON: In Danville, Virginia, leaders at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany say they’ve been trying hard not to let church battles interfere with their local ministry.

Rev. COLLEY-TOOTHAKER: My personal opinions about the theological matters, which are currently plaguing the Episcopal Church, really are not so much of import if I keep my eye on the ball, which is to lead this congregation in the work that Christ is calling us to.

LAWTON: Epiphany has been in Danville since the 1800s and claims that Confederate leader Jefferson Davis is among those who’ve worshipped there. The church has struggled to maintain a strong Episcopal witness in a community hard hit by the demise of tobacco and textile industries.

Rev. COLLEY-TOOTHAKER: Mission is actually doing the work that Christ gives us to do. Because the parish is endowed and has resources, we would be able to establish an Episcopal school that is not geared solely to those privileged few who can afford the tuition. And nobody will be priced out of the education that we’re able to give here.

LAWTON: Although many mainline churches have been losing members, Epiphany has been growing.

Rev. COLLEY-TOOTHAKER: We decided that if we were going to be able to grow this church and continue to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we needed to get people into the door however we could get them through the door.

LAWTON: The pastor says many members deeply value Anglicanism’s balance between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Rev. COLLEY-TOOTHAKER: We really do try to find the middle way in that we really are a bridge between the Roman tradition and sort of the more evangelical reform tradition.

LAWTON: The congregation tries to accommodate all people, including gays and lesbians. But Colley-Toothaker admits there might be some limits.

Rev. COLLEY-TOOTHAKER: If the Episcopal Church of the United States decided that it was going to tell us that we needed to begin to bless same sex unions using the sacrament of marriage, that might be a line that I would draw in the sand.

LAWTON: Anglicans around the world hope the bishops meeting under the shadow of Canterbury’s historic cathedral will find a way to hold all these disparate points of view together. But the structure of this year’s Lambeth conference makes decisive solutions unlikely.

Bishop KATHARINE JEFFERTS SCHORI (Episcopal Presiding Bishop at press conference): It’s a global conversation. It’s not going to legislate. It’s not going to make final decisions about anything.

LAWTON: Still, even as they move forward with their own local ministries, U.S. churches recognize those Lambeth conversations could have important implications for their futures.

Rev. BACON: My message for the bishops who are meeting in Lambeth is to open the depths of their being to the movement of the Holy Spirit that leads them into all truth, and then to have the courage of the convictions that come from listening to the Holy Spirit.

Rev. DUDLEY: The overwhelming majority of Anglicans stand where I do on these issues. Go back and look through the last several hundred years of Anglicanism and where we stand is where they stood.

Rev. COLLEY-TOOTHAKER: Throughout the history of the Church, we have always found something to fight about, and those fights generally become so raucous that they lead to schism. I believe that is not in keeping in the teaching and the modeling of ministry of Jesus Christ himself gave to us.”

LAWTON: The question for the bishops at Lambeth is whether it is still possible to hold all that diversity together. I’m Kim Lawton reporting.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: In Colorado, there’s going to be a proposal on the ballot in November to define a fertilized egg as a person. If approved, the so-called Human Life Amendment would change the state constitution to say that a fertilized egg should have full legal rights and protections. Analysts say the change would have profound repercussions on abortion rights, embryonic research and access to contraception.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: In Washington, religious leaders joined conservative politicians to call for government action to lower the price of fuel. Bishop Harry Jackson, an evangelical megachurch pastor, said the rising fuel prices have hit the poor especially hard and that Congress has a moral responsibility to help. The group called for policy changes, including more domestic oil drilling.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: We have a very personal story today about what happened to a man, when, at the height of his powers he discovered that he was sick: what happened to his work, his faith and his town’s faith in him. Judy Valente reports on the police chief of Lexington, Illinois.

JUDY VALENTE: For 18 years, Spencer Johansen has been the popular police chief of rural Lexington, Illinois: population, 1900.

Chief SPENCER JOHANSEN (Lexington Police Department, on patrol in car): I look around to see if anything’s out of the ordinary. You know, you grow up here all your life, you know all these streets and houses and stuff.

VALENTE: Johansen thought he’d retire here as police chief. But then …

Chief JOHANSEN: I missed a couple of court dates, nothing major, they were just minor traffic cases. But I missed them and that wasn’t like me. And then I just started having a problem with my concentration.

VALENTE: A maternal aunt of his had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her late 30s and an uncle had died of the disease in his 50s. The chief decided to undergo a series of physical and neurological tests.

Dr. SAMUEL STEFFEN (during examination): Well Spencer, how is everything going?

Chief JOHANSEN: Every doctor that I initially saw told me not to worry about it. They thought it was stress.

VALENTE: With tears in his eyes, Johansen’s family physician, Dr. Samuel Steffen, delivered the diagnosis: mild cognitive impairment. In layman’s terms: the early onset of Alzheimer’s.

About five million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. An estimated six to 10 percent are under the age of 60. Chief Johansen was only 49 at the time of his diagnosis. He was determined to continue to live a productive life.

Johansen notified town officials immediately. They decided to keep him on the job for as long as doctors say he’s still capable of performing his duties.

Mayor JOHN MOHR (Lexington, IL): There’s been no criticism of keeping Spencer on the job. There’s been a little bit of concern about carrying the gun with him and things like that. But we’re high on Spencer’s judgment and that of his doctors to tell us when he has to change the responsibilities that he’s able to perform.

Dr. DOUGLAS GRANT (Neuropsychologist, Carle Clinic) : He doesn’t meet the criteria for dementia, meaning he’s still able to work, he’s still able to drive, he’s still able to manage his finances, he’s still able to really live independently. And there hasn’t been a significant change in his general intellectual abilities.

VALENTE: From the first days after his diagnosis, Johansen began keeping what he calls a “spiritual journal,” a frank portrayal of his struggle to accept his diagnosis and hold on to his faith.

Chief JOHANSEN (reading from journal): July 18, 2007: Been really out of it lately. Don’t seem to care about much; little things getting on my nerves. I’d like to spend more time by myself — not good.

I’ve had every minister of every church in Lexington approach me and offer assistance and I turned it all away. I wanted to be angry with somebody, you know. It’s not as if I smoked four packs of cigarettes a day to get this. It was nothing that I did. And I think I took my anger out on God.

VALENTE: Johansen, who converted to Catholicism 25 years ago, quit going to Mass on Sunday. He fell into a deep depression.

Chief JOHANSEN (reading from journal): April 22, 2007: Feeling sorry for myself. Think it’s getting bad again. Wish I could end it in a way not to be a coward.

VALENTE: Trying to make sense of her father’s depression, Johansen’s 17-year-old daughter, Maggie, poured her own feelings into a poem.

MAGGIE JOHANSEN (reading poem): I don’t know how to say this: The doctor said to him, “Alzheimer’s was detected. It’s a battle we’ll try to win.” Alzheimer’s is uncommon for a man of 49. What about the other people who are starting to lose their mind? His journey is slowly ending. “I love you” is all they say. His family means the world to him. It was the saddest day.

Chief JOHANSEN: There were some times during and after Christmas that I probably thought about doing something foolish. There were times when I thought about suicide. And it got to the point where I just wanted to — I didn’t want to put my wife and kids through this. It was then that I realized that this couldn’t go on. I needed to do something.

Everyday you know, I parked in front of the Lutheran church in town. This is where I sit every morning to make sure the kids get into school safely and this is where I saw the sign, “When All Else Fails, Trust God.” It finally dawned on me that that message may be meant for me.

I got to thinking about everybody who’s tried to help me, that’s approached me about my faith –every minister in town who has said, you know, has offered to help. So many people tried to help me in their own way and I shut them out. And suddenly those faces kind of started appearing to me that morning. One would come from this direction, another from another direction.

(reading from journal): Whatever happened to me at 2:30 in the morning on January 16, 2008 changed my life. I believe in my heart that God touched me and has given me the strength to face all my fears.

VALENTE: Every day now, Johansen spends some quiet time, alone, at his parish church.

Chief JOHANSEN: I pray for a cure for this disease. But I don’t pray that I get cured, I guess. I don’t know if that makes sense. I just pray for the strength to go through for the rest of the day. And that’s been my attitude lately — I need to get through one day at a time.

Dr. GRANT (during examination): What day of the week is it?

Chief JOHANSEN: Monday.

VALENTE: Once a month, he travels to Carle Clinic in Urbana, Illinois, to undergo a series of pet scans and neurological tests that measure his mental acuity.

Dr. GRANT (during examination): Okay, now I am going to read you a list of words and when I’m finished I’d like you to tell me all the words you can remember. Hammer, screwdriver, darts, notebook, ice cream, nail, volleyball. . .

Chief JOHANSEN: Volleyball, nail, hammer, ice cream.

Dr. GRANT: These temporal regions are the first areas to be affected, so they’re going to be the first areas that start to go down.

Chief JOHANSEN: We don’t know how fast? I mean, what the next one is going to show? There’s no way to tell?

Dr GRANT: Right.

VALENTE: Doctors say it is a good sign that he is still able to work, nearly two years after his initial diagnosis.

Chief JOHANSEN: I’ve come to the conclusion now that I have to trust God. And if I don’t trust Him now you know when I’m on my deathbed it’s going to be too late to ask for His trust then.

(reading from journal): January 16, 2008: One of my fears is how I am going to die. I had a dream or a vision the next night. I was lying in bed. And I just took a deep breath and I was at peace. No pain. Just peace. I hope this was God’s way of showing me again not to worry.

VALENTE: Doctors can’t say how long it will be before Johansen’s condition worsens. But for as long as he can, Johansen intends to keep writing his journal and doing his job.

Chief JOHANSEN: (talking to restaurant owners): Okay, see you guys later. Bye.

VALENTE: For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, I’m Judy Valente in Lexington, Illinois.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: Finally, “Belief and Practice.” We had a chance early this past spring to visit members of a Chinese family as they honored their ancestors at their graves. It is the belief of many Chinese that there is an ongoing spiritual connection between them and their forebears. They venerate them, pray to them and take gifts to their graves. Our guide was Jan Lee, a third-generation resident of Chinatown in New York.

JAN LEE: Chinatown has been described oftentimes as a village within the city. There’s a certain pride in passing on the culture and every tradition possible so that the younger generation understands where they came from. The Chinese have a belief that you don’t exist on your own, that there is this continuum.

We observe certain traditions within our household, and that includes making sure that my grandfather’s altar, and now my father’s altar in my mother’s house, has food during the holidays, for instance during the Chinese New Year.

We’ve been observing for many, many, many decades this tradition of going to the graveside and sweeping the graves and planting flowers and bringing offerings of food.

When my grandfather was planning for the future of the Lee family, he had the foresight to purchase a large family plot in Evergreen Cemetery. It had all the benefits of being not only a beautiful site, but a great place for cosmic energy — “feng shui.”

Once the candles are lit, it really signifies the connection between us as mortals and our ancestors’ spirits, and that we’re opening sort of a gateway to communicate with them. And when we light incense, we pray. It’s the time when they get to join in the feast that we bring to the cemetery. And that includes offering them wine. And that includes burning money so that they have money to spend. It’s all the idea that, by burning it, you’re bringing it to them.

We bow three times because there’s a belief that the spirit actually splits. In the Chinese belief, one of your souls will go to heaven or hell depending on your past deeds. And one is interred. But there’s also a part of the spirit that stays among us, and that’s the spirit that we call on when we need help.

Once the candles are finished, it signifies that the spirits have finished their meal and we can partake of the food that we brought.

I think everyone in my family still believes that my father’s with us. That belief comes from starting when we were very young going to cemetery and having a family altar in my family home. The connection to the ancestors is something that I think we all feel important to us, so it’s never been an idea of obligation. It’s our choice.

# # #
BOB ABERNETHY: That’s our program for now. I’m Bob Abernethy.

There’s much more on our Web site, including more on religion and politics on our “One Nation” page. Audio and video podcasts of the program are also available. Join us at pbs.org.

As we leave you, more scenes from the Pope’s visit to Australia.

Back to Article Finder: Stories by Week

© 2008 WNET-TV. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Prepared by Burrelle’s Information Services, which takes sole responsibility for accuracy of transcription. No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research. User may not reproduce any copy of the material except for user’s personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be reproduced, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any manner that may infringe upon WNET-TV’s copyright or proprietary interests in the material.

Listen to this episode now:
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TRANSCRIPT:
Episode no. 1145

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Coming up — Lourdes — a village in southern France, where millions of pilgrims come each year, and where many believe a peasant girl saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary 150 years ago.

Father JIM MARTIN (Author, “Lourdes Diary”): People are drawn here for many reasons — for physical healings, but also just to get closer to go in a place with a great community of believers.

ABERNETHY: And the Karmapa Lama, the young leader who may be the next international voice of Buddhism.

DZOGCHEN PONLOP RINPOCHE (Narlanda West Buddhist Center): He is like a spiritual king. You know, naturally, he has that presence, he has that command.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Welcome. I’m Bob Abernethy. It’s good to have you with us.

Leaders of the world’s top industrialized nations, known as the “Group of Eight,” met this week in Japan with the world food crisis on the agenda. But while expressing concern about the rising cost of food and fuel, they did not agree on immediate action.

The consequences of the crisis range from staggering to simple. The World Bank has said it’s received new requests for help that total almost $400 million. The evangelical group Mission Aviation Fellowship said the high price of oil has forced it to cut back on missionary and aid operations.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: And in the U.S., the school lunch program has also been hit by the higher food costs. The government-funded program provides subsidized meals to children. Officials told Congress they are now struggling to meet the demand.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: On the campaign trail, John McCain and Barack Obama continued to compete for the votes of religious believers. In a video address to the National Right to Life Convention, McCain emphasized his opposition to abortion. Meanwhile, a group of 90 prominent conservative evangelicals said they will support McCain, even though they don’t like everything about him.

Also, Obama’s campaign sent out e-mails asking supporters to be part of a telephone interfaith prayer circle and to consider hosting house parties to talk about values.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics around the world to pray for his trip to Australia this week, where he will preside over World Youth Day. The Pope arrives in Australia just as that country is reeling from its own clergy sex abuse scandal. Many Catholics there are hoping Benedict will address the issue as he did when he visited the U.S. in April.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: We have a special report today on Lourdes. For Catholics, it’s the most popular pilgrimage site in the world, after the Holy Land. Sick people go to Lourdes hoping for miraculous cures. But the attraction goes beyond physical healing. All those we talked with — the sick and the well — said they had a profound spiritual experience. Our correspondent is Don Kladstrup.

DON KLADSTRUP: It is, in many ways, a spectacle: a spectacle of faith, of devotion, a place of suffering — and of hope. Father Jim Martin:

Father JAMES MARTIN (Author, “The Lourdes Diary”): People are drawn here for many reasons — for physical healings, but also just to get closer to God, in a place with a great community of believers.

Sister NOREEN FALCONE (President, Order of Malta, Washington, D.C.): This is a pilgrimage. We are on a pilgrimage here for a week. But our whole life is a pilgrimage to someone of faith.

(Video from film “The Song of Bernadette”)

KLADSTRUP: On a winter day in 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous was gathering firewood near a grotto when she saw an apparition. Afterwards, Bernadette would describe what she saw as simply “a lady in white.” Within a short time, a local woman claimed the waters cured her of paralysis. Pilgrimages to Lourdes would soon begin. People today associate Lourdes with miracles, where healings occur and illnesses are overcome. But over the last 150 years, during which time more than 200 million people have come to Lourdes, only 67 miracles have been confirmed by the Catholic Church.

Fr. MARTIN: Well, you could say only 67 or as many as 67. I think that, you know, people have been drawn to Lourdes not only for the miracles but also because it’s a place of great faith.

KLADSTRUP: Thousands of people have claimed to be cured here. But the Catholic Church does not certify a miracle unless the affliction was incurable and the cure was both unexplainable and permanent.

Every day, 30,000 gallons of water flow from the spring. The water goes into a system of nearby spigots where visitors drink from it, wash with it and carry it home. It’s described as a symbol of devotion. Although chemical analysis ascribes no special properties to it, some people aren’t so sure.

NICOLE DIGKMAN: I had a car accident a few months ago. And I have a whiplash. And yeah, I’m hoping it will be — it will get better.

KLADSTRUP: The seriously ill who come here are known as the “malades” — French for “the sick.” A Catholic humanitarian group, the Order of Malta, brings malades here for a week every year, along with companions and helpers. Noreen Falcone is president of its Washington, D.C. association.

Sr. FALCONE: They are hoping that they’re going to have a miracle — that they’re going to be miraculously cured by going to the waters and to the grotto and asking the Blessed Mother for a miracle to make them well again. Our mission is more to give them support and to hope that they come to terms with their illness.

KLADSTRUP: The domain of Lourdes, as it’s called, covers a large area adjacent to the town. There are 22 places of worship, the centerpiece being the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Another basilica — this one underground — seats 25,000. Volunteers escort the malades through the sprawling grounds in carts in order to conserve their strength. Matt Coles is 24. Though never a smoker, he has stage four lung cancer.

MATT COLES: It’s such a blessing to be here, especially with my wife and son.

LUCY COLES: It’s just such a peaceful place, and to be able to come here with Matt, and be part of this and have a healing experience whether it’s spiritual or physical.

KLADSTRUP: Ray Troup came with his 12-year-old son Joe. Troup lives in constant pain due to nerve damage in his lower back. He can’t stand, or sit, for any length of time without severe muscle spasms.

RAY TROUP: I came here to ask God for healing so that I can better support my family. And if it not be his will, then I’m just asking for the grace to get through each day.

KLADSTRUP: Stacy Persichetti is a Georgia woman with two small children. A year and a half ago, she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

STACY PERSICHETTI: One day you think that you’re just fine and everything’s going along and then the next day, you know, I was told that I had, you know, a level — a grade three cancer and that I’d have 12 months to live.

KLADSTRUP: After lengthy treatment, the cancer was gone. For Stacy, this is a pilgrimage of thanksgiving — and of hope that the cancer won’t return.

Lourdes is a town of 17,000 people, nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees, near the Spanish border. Six million people come here every year. Hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shops line the narrow streets. The souvenir stores specialize in statuettes, rosaries and containers for the spring water. They are not allowed inside the domain, which is only a few steps away. Here, the atmosphere is one of reverence. People line up to pass through the grotto where the apparition took place. Noreen Falcone:

Sr.FALCONE: When you go over to the grotto and you look at the faces of the people who have come here, you see faith so strong in the eyes of these people.

KLADSTRUP: The stone, touched by hopeful hands for 150 years, worn to a shine. Father Jim Martin . . .

Fr. MARTIN: There’s a sense of holiness, of not only being in a place where something important happened, but also being in a place where 150 years of pilgrims have come and run their hands over that same place.

Ms. PERSICHETI: It was such a powerful moment — the fact that a year and a half later I have no cancer when one doctor had told me that I was going to be dead by this point. Such a miracle to me. And there’s been so many miracles, not only physical but also spiritual miracles that have occurred here.

KLADSTRUP: After passing through the grotto, Ray Troup knelt in prayer with his son.

Mr. TROUP: It’s tangible. All my concerns, all my worries — everything just left. You could just pray so intensely and so easily. It was such a wonderful experience.

UNIDENTIFIED PRIEST (saying prayer): So, as we begin this pilgrimage let us pray, asking the Lord, “Lord bless this candle, which is the sign of faith, of light in our hearts. When we are discouraged, give us light. Help us to see the light of the eternal life that you promised us.”

KLADSTRUP: The words of the apparition to Bernadette, “Go to the spring and bathe there,” are followed by many thousands of those who come here.

Sr.FALCONE: People that come here believe if they bathe in the waters, they’re going to, that’s where the miracle would begin. It has happened. It doesn’t happen every time. It is a cleansing, but it’s a cleansing of your mind as well.

KLADSTRUP: There are 11 pools for women, six for men. Photography inside is strictly forbidden.

(to visitor Patricia Walker): How did it feel to be there?

PATRICIA WALKER: It felt — well it was exciting.

KLADSTRUP: Was it what you expected?

Ms. WALKER: I didn’t know what to expect. But it was pleasant and it was cold.

D. J. CAREY: It was moving, very moving, very spiritual, enlightening and just kind of euphoric.

KLADSTRUP: Bernadette said the apparition told her, “Have the people come here in procession.”

Fr. MARTIN: In Catholic theology, after the celebration of the mass, they reserve what’s called the Eucharistic host, which we consider the real presence of Jesus. And so that’s processed through the street as a way of people coming into contact with Jesus in that way. And it’s a very ancient tradition that goes back to medieval times. And it’s really very popular in Lourdes.

KLADSTRUP: At a special mass during their pilgrimage, the malades and others are anointed. The anointing of the sick is a sacrament in the Catholic Church.

Fr. MARTIN: Through symbols like oil and the laying on of hands, we communicate what the Apostles asked us to do, which is to pass on Christ’s healing power.

KLADSTRUP: Ray Troup:

Mr. TROUP: During the sacrament of the sick, right after the anointing, all of a sudden I was just filled with joy. Since I’ve been here I’ve grown in prayer, patience, peace. I’ve already received a miracle as far as I’m concerned.

Mr.COLE: It’s quite possible that I’ll have cancer for the rest of my life . . .

Ms.COLE: I think the miracle . . .

Mr.COLE: . . . and that’s OK.

Ms.COLE: . . . has already happened, and just allowing us to come here. And I think our faith will only be strengthened by the presence of all these people — by the presence of Mary having come here. And I don’t think that we could — we could ask for anything more.

KLADSTRUP: As night falls on the domain at Lourdes, the torchlight procession begins. Father Jim Martin describes it as an expression of popular devotion.

Fr. MARTIN: People say the rosary all together, in a procession with the malades and their companions and visitors. And they sing Marian songs and hold candles, not only as a way of illuminating the darkness, but also as a symbol of their faith. In most of the world, the people who are poor and sick are ignored. In Lourdes, they are number one.

KLADSTRUP: Noreen Falcone has been to Lourdes 12 times.

Sr.FALCONE: It never gets old. It never gets old. Wellness of body is not really what our life here on this earth is about. It’s really about wellness of mind, wellness of heart, wellness of soul.

KLADSTRUP: Stacy Persichetti

Ms. PERSICHETTI: When you experience Lourdes, even if you never came for a physical healing, I don’t think that you can come away from it without being a changed person.

KLADSTRUP: For RELIGION ↦ ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, this is Don Kladstrup, at Lourdes.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In other news, Chinese officials announced they will print and distribute thousands of copies of the Bible during the Olympics. The books will be free and bilingual, with the English translation based on the English Standard Version. At the same time, the Chinese government is allowing Olympics visitors to bring in Bibles, but only for their personal use.

Meanwhile, the Chinese also renewed their warnings to the Dalai Lama not to, quote, “sabotage the Olympic Games” by rallying protests against China’s occupation of Tibet.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: The Dalai Lama is now here in the U.S. for nearly a month of teaching across the country. He is the world’s best-known representative of Tibetan Buddhism, perhaps of all Buddhism. But now another potential Buddhist leader is emerging.

The Dalai Lama, who turned 73 last Sunday, leads one of the four schools, or denominations within Tibetan Buddhism. The 23-year-old Karmapa Lama, leads another. His supporters believe he may one day succeed the older man as Buddhism’s leading international voice. Recently the Karmapa visited the U.S. for the first time, and Kim Lawton talked with him.

KIM LAWTON: They call him “a reincarnation of the living Buddha,” and this young spiritual leader is already on his way to international superstar status. His name is Ogyen Trinley Dorje. His title is the 17th Karmapa Lama, and after the Dalai Lama, he’s now Tibetan Buddhism’s second-highest ranking spiritual leader. During a recent visit to the U.S. — his first introduction to the West — thousands came out to venues from New York to Seattle to see the 23-year-old Buddhist master.

DZOCHEN PONLOP RINPOCHE (Narlanda West Buddhist Center): The young Kamarpa is the most powerful Buddhist meditation teacher. His scholarship is excellent, and also his youth and his presence makes a profound impact.

LAWTON: The term karmapa literally means “the embodiment of all the activities of the Buddhas.” For the last nearly 1,000 years, a karmapa lama has led the Kagyu tradition within Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhists believe enlightened spiritual masters can choose to be reincarnated in order to come back and help others achieve enlightenment.

This karmapa’s followers see him as part of an unbroken line of Buddhist wisdom.

LAMA SURYA DAS (Western Buddhist Teachers Network): He feels very close to us from the last life and through all of our good aspirations and good things that we have been trying to do together to help bring peace and sanity and wisdom and love into this very volatile modern world.

LAWTON: In an exclusive American television interview, the Karmapa told me he’s pleased with how Buddhism has taken hold in the U.S.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (through translator): Americans have taken a great interest in Buddhism and many Americans have put forth a lot of energy in order to propagate the teachings of Buddhism. And I think they have achieved excellent results within this short period of time.

LAWTON: The Karmapa’s international acclaim is enhanced by the dramatic story that surrounds him. He was born in 1985 to a family of nomads in eastern Tibet. When he was eight years old, he was identified as fulfilling the prophecy left by the previous karmapa who had died in 1981. The Dalai Lama had a dream which confirmed the recognition of the new karmapa and Dorje was taken to live in a monastery. Although some rivals support a different karmapa, Dorje is the only high lama to have been officially recognized by both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government.

But China keeps a tight reign on Buddhism in Tibet, and when he was 14, Dorje snuck out of his monastery and made a secret escape across the Himalayas by foot, horseback, taxi and train. Eight days later, he arrived in Dharamsala, India, headquarters of the Dalai Lama, where he has spent the past several years in study and meditation.

As the heads of two different streams within Tibetan Buddhism, karmapas and dalai lamas have historically been rivals. That has now changed.

SURYA DAS: This Kamarpa 17th is very close to the Dalai Lama and lives in Dharamsala and they’re like this. So there is no sectarian rivalry or anything. They’re very much close together.

LAWTON: That closeness has led many to suggest that the Dalai Lama, now 73, is grooming the Karmapa as his spiritual heir and the next international voice of Buddhism. It’s a suggestion the Karmapa doesn’t shy away from.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (through translator): I have no special plans to take over any specific role after whenever it is that His Holiness, the Dali Lama, passes away. However, I would be delighted to serve in accordance with the level of confidence and trust the people had in me. It does seem to be the case that I am receiving more and more recognition in the world. And my main aspiration is that I use this recognition for a beneficial purpose.

LAWTON: Because the Dalai Lama heads the Tibetan-government-in exile, there is much speculation about the Karmapa’s potential role in China-Tibet politics as well. He avoided such sensitive topics during his visit to the U.S., and steered questions about politics back to the practice of Buddhism in Tibet.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (teaching, through translator): It’s important to understand that cherishing sentient beings, loving sentient beings, is the root of compassion.

LAWTON: As his public role now expands, expectations about his future leadership are high. With his trip to the U.S., the teachings he once gave to private audiences at his monastery are being sold on DVDs and posted on the Internet.

PONLOP RINPOCHE: I’m not talking politics but from spiritual point of view. You know, he is like a spiritual king. Naturally he has that presence, he has that command.

LAWTON: The Karmapa is learning English, although not yet confident enough to teach or give an interview in the language. But a few words trickle through.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (speaking English): I need a dictionary.

LAWTON: He can come across as uncomfortable, reserved, even stern. Yet there are flashes of humor, too.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (speaking English): I forget the translator.

LAWTON: It’s easy to forget he’s only 23. During one Seattle appearance, he mentioned that he used to like reading “X-Men” comic books, but then people stopped giving them to him. So we got him one. In many ways, he’s been isolated, his responsibilities pressed upon him since he was a small child.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (teaching, through a translator): And I would think thoughts like, why are my attendants who are disciples of the Karmapa making my life so miserable? Why are they locking me in a box and putting on the lid?

LAWTON: Followers say this karmapa is well aware that technology has made the world a smaller place, and that Buddhism must stay relevant.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (through translator): Because of the Internet, we live in an age in which information can travel very rapidly to different places. Before, it used to be the case that just having a karmapa alive was good enough for everyone. People didn’t need a lot of information about who the karmapa was or what the karmapa was doing.

SURYA DAS: He has continuously talked about not holding on to things just because they’re old, but to adapt, and keep the essence, but to adapt to new times and places.

LAWTON: This karmapa believes that Eastern Buddhists and Western Buddhists can learn from one another.

GYALWANG KARMAPA (through translator): The essential points of Buddhism are beyond culture and beyond traditions.

LAWTON: Given the level of devotion he’s already cultivating in the West, his followers say this karmapa lama may well be the future face of Buddhism around the world.

I’m Kim Lawton in Seattle.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: There’s a renewed dispute over who first wrote the popular Serenity Prayer, which says, in part, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.” It’s long been credited to the late theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, but now a Yale historian has found several references to the prayer before the theologian is said to have written it. The historian said perhaps Niebuhr had unconsciously heard the earlier versions and blended them into one of his sermons. But Niebuhr’s daughter and one of his biographers insist the prayer was Niebuhr’s.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Finally, John Templeton died this past week at the age of 95. He made a fortune in mutual funds and then turned to philanthropy, supporting research into the relationship between science and religion. The annual Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion is the world’s largest financial award to any one person. Templeton believed there’s truth to be learned in all religions. He once said he was funding humility, adding, “You shouldn’t believe you know it all.”

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: That’s our program for now. I’m Bob Abernethy. There’s much more on our Web Site, including more on religion and politics on our “One Nation” page. Audio and video podcasts of the program are also available. Join us at pbs.org.

As we leave you, music from the torchlight procession at Lourdes.

Back to Article Finder: Stories by Week

© 2008 WNET-TV. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Prepared by Burrelle’s Information Services, which takes sole responsibility for accuracy of transcription. No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research. User may not reproduce any copy of the material except for user’s personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be reproduced, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any manner that may infringe upon WNET-TV’s copyright or proprietary interests in the material.

Listen to this episode now:
[powerpress]
TRANSCRIPT:
Episode no. 1143

BOB ABERNETHY, Coming up — California religious leaders grapple with gay weddings.

And the latest evidence that a big majority of American believers say salvation can come through many faiths.

Plus, Tibetan Buddhists — when can the nonviolent condone violence?

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Welcome. I’m Bob Abernethy. It’s good to have you with us.

A new national survey released this week confirms a dramatic change in religious attitudes. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 70 percent of American believers say many faiths, not just their own, can lead to salvation. And breaking that down, that’s the view of 79 percent of Catholics and 57 percent of evangelicals. We have an analysis coming up later in the program.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Religious groups are calling for help for the victims of political violence in Zimbabwe. The World Council of Churches is urging the United Nations and African leaders to focus on humanitarian needs. Zimbabwe has endured great suffering since a disputed election in March. The World Council cited widespread human rights abuses and reports of brutal crackdowns on religious gatherings.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In Jerusalem, hundreds of conservative Anglican clergy gathered to discuss whether they’ll remain aligned with the worldwide Communion. Several of the leaders at the Global Anglican Future Conference condemned the more liberal churches’ stances on homosexuality and scriptural interpretation. The Jerusalem meeting comes a month before the Anglican Communion holds its once-a-decade Lambeth conference in England.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: There was passionate debate at the San Jose meeting about whether to allow gay marriage and the ordination of gays and lesbians.

PCUSA members, like those in other mainline traditions, are sharply divided, especially in light of the California Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow same-sex marriage. Kim Lawton reports.

UNIDENTIFIED MINISTER (performing marriage ceremony): Today we celebrate the first legal marriage of two women at All Saints.

KIM LAWTON: Susan Craig and Bear Ride have been partners for 12 years. They’re both ordained Presbyterian ministers, and when California legalized same-sex marriage they knew they wanted a church wedding.

Reverend SUSAN CRAIG: It means everything to be here under the watchful eyes of God and the saints above, the community all around us in this very special community for us.

LAWTON: They got married last week, not in a Presbyterian church, but at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena.

Reverend BEAR RIDE: At this point, it would be a chargeable offense for a Presbyterian minister to officiate at our wedding, a legal wedding, because in the church — the Church’s constitution — a marriage is a civil contract. It says, “between a man and a woman” and a covenant between two people who love each other. That’s archaic language now in California.

LAWTON: As California moves full steam ahead with gay marriage, clergy are being pressured to perform same-sex weddings and to perform them inside their houses of worship. This is generating new debates because many religious traditions explicitly define marriage as between a man and a woman. Some clergy, including Roman Catholics and evangelicals, have refused to be part of gay marriages. But others, especially mainline Protestants, are more conflicted.

Mary Holder Naegeli is a Presbyterian minister in San Francisco who agrees with her denomination’s opposition to gay marriage.

Reverend MARY HOLDER NAEGELI: Why would I, a representative of God, help people make permanent with a vow — I take marriage vows very seriously — but with a vow to make permanent then, seal something that God wouldn’t agree with? God wouldn’t bless that. That’s my basic conscience problem with the whole issue.

LAWTON: But she says it is a challenge to balance her beliefs with her state’s new marriage policy.

Rev. HOLDER NAEGELI: Sociologically, there is going to be more and more pressure to not only accept, or tolerate let’s say, something that is not of God’s design, but to promote it and to make it normative in the life of Californians, which you know when you hold a biblical position like I do, makes life really uncomfortable.

LAWTON: At the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly this week, held coincidentally in California, there was vigorous debate about whether the denomination should change its rules about marriage. Reverend Bruce Reyes-Chow, the church’s new moderator, acknowledged there are strong divisions.

Reverend BRUCE REYES-CHOW (Moderator, Presbyterian Church USA, speaking at General Assembly meeting): Can we agree to disagree on the issue of homosexuality? I think that is a question that we as a body have to really struggle with because it’s difficult to live out of both sides of that thought.

LAWTON: For many, it comes down to interpreting whether the Bible indeed says that marriage should only be for a man and a woman.

Rev. HOLDER NAEGELI: We have several instances from beginning to end of Scripture that make that point. There isn’t any wiggle room. There’s no softening of that position anywhere.

LAWTON: Reverend Ride disagrees.

Rev. RIDE: If you look through the Bible, there are all sorts of different types of marriage. You know, it’s very common to have multiple wives. Or concubines are fine. I think we’re picking and choosing the biblical concept of marriage.”

LAWTON: While clergy continue to debate whether or not to perform gay weddings, California voters will soon be weighing in as well. A measure to ban gay marriage is set to be on the ballot in November. I’m Kim Lawton in Pasadena.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In other news, the Supreme Court in a five-to-four decision outlawed executions of child rapists. Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion said the death penalty should be reserved for espionage, treason, and murder. He wrote that execution was not a proportional punishment or the crime of child rape. The ruling concerned a Louisiana case, but four other states also have laws that extend the possibility of capital punishment to criminals who raped a child.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Several prominent religious leaders have joined political activists calling for a presidential executive order banning torture. Members of the bipartisan and interfaith group criticized the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. They will ask President Bush to bar any interrogation tactics that the U.S. would not want used against Americans.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In Washington Thursday, President Bush spoke to hundreds of Hispanic religious leaders at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. The same day the President also addressed the annual conference on faith-based initiatives. That program provided $2.2 billion to religious philanthropic efforts last year. Bush reaffirmed his commitment to helping religious groups compete for federal grants.

President GEORGE BUSH: To me, it does not matter if there’s a crescent on your group’s wall, a rabbi on your group’s board, Christ in your group’s name. If your organization puts medicine in people’s hands, food in people’s mouths, or a roof over people’s heads, then you’re succeeding.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Meanwhile, the battle for religious voters in the presidential campaigns continues. This week, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson criticized Senator Barack Obama, charging he misreads the Bible. But the Democratic candidate was credited by another conservative religious leader for his outreach to faith communities. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said Obama has been successful in talking about faith and public policy. Regarding Senator John McCain, Perkins said the Republican should not take the evangelical vote for granted.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: We have an analysis now of the Pew Forum survey on American religious beliefs. As other surveys have also found, including one done by this program in 2002, Pew reported that 70 percent of American religious believers said many religious traditions — not just their own — can lead to eternal life. Scott Appleby is a professor of history and director of the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame. He joins us from San Diego.

Dr. Appleby welcome.

Dr. SCOTT APPLEBY (Professor of History and Director, Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame): Hello Bob.

ABERNETHY: Whatever happened to the conviction that “my way or your way” is the only way to salvation?

Dr. APPLEBY: Well, for one thing, Bob, we’re a more tolerant society in the last generation or so than we’ve been in the past. Part of that comes from familiarity. Foreign religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, even Judaism to some degree — used to be seen as exotic or foreign. Because of media and communications, they’re right next door. They’re part of our culture. They’re more familiar. That breeds tolerance, acceptance. We also have taught our children in the past generation that discrimination is wrong: racial discrimination, discrimination on the basis of gender, on sexual orientation. That’s a deep value in the culture. So for someone to come and say, “This way is the only way,” rubs against the grain of contemporary culture.

ABERNETHY: But for Christians — let me just speak about Christians for a minute — for Christians traditionally, there has been the very clear teaching that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. Now, this poll data seems to say that that doesn’t matter to 70 percent of believers anymore?

Dr. APPLEBY: And that’s very troubling to religious leaders. Pope Benedict XVI, for example, rails against what he calls “relativism” — precisely this attitude that things are relatively true, that there’s not one capital “T” truth at least that we can know with any definitive kind of knowledge. He thinks this a terrible trend for religion. And he’s not alone. Many evangelical Christians who believe Jesus is the only way, “the Truth, the Life,” are very troubled by anyone attempting to water it down or compare Christianity on an equal footing with other faiths.

ABERNETHY: But the trend has been continuing for many years and probably is going up?

Dr. APPLEBY: Yes. There are deep currents in our culture that I think can sometimes be a bit superficial. We’re familiar with these other traditions, but we trivialize them. We’ve got “Babu” on “The Simpsons. He’s the stock Hindu. We have stock Jews and Christians. They’re stereotyped. Also, our tolerance doesn’t necessarily mean that we engage the deep beliefs and convictions and arguments of these traditions. We accept them — live and let live. That leads to civil relations, which is a good thing. But it doesn’t necessarily lead to wisdom or truth or deep reflection and that troubles the religions.

ABERNETHY: Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame, many thanks.

Dr. APPLEBY: Thank you.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: We have a special report today on the plight and paradox of Tibetan Buddhists. They teach non-violence, but their demonstrations against the Chinese have sometimes become violent. How can they persuade the Chinese that they and the Dalai Lama are not a threat? Lucky Severson reports.

LUCKY SEVERSON: Chinese authorities called these protesters in San Francisco “Tibetan hooligans,” whose only purpose was to use violence to embarrass China in its moment of Olympic glory. Lhadon Tethong was there. She’s a Tibetan activist and leader of “Students for a Free Tibet.”

LHADON TETHONG (Students for a Free Tibet): There has to be tension. There has to be crisis. They have to feel the occupation is a problem for them whether they agree with us or not.

SEVERSON: The protests in San Francisco and around the world were mainly a reaction to demonstrations by Tibetan monks inside Tibet and China. The Chinese government mobilized troops. Many Tibetan monks and nuns were arrested when the initial demonstration began earlier this year in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

The Chinese placed the blame squarely on the leader of some six million Tibetan Buddhists — the Dalai Lama. Columbia Professor of Buddhist Studies, Robert Thurman says the charge is simply not true.

Professor ROBERT THURMAN (Department of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University): The Chinese are desperate now to try to claim that the Dalai Lama caused all this upset, which of course he totally did not. He was totally upset.

SEVERSON: The work of the protesters is raising questions among Tibetans themselves and people around the world. For instance, will the demonstrations actually force the Chinese to loosen control of Tibetan Buddhism? And, how can a religious philosophy built around peace and compassion continue to hold the high ground when the protests are resulting in so much violence?

Professor Thurman says the Tibetan devotion to non-violence goes to the core of their faith –the path to total enlightenment takes place over many, many lifetimes, many reincarnations and to commit violence threatens that path.

Prof. THURMAN: My life is my own evolutionary moment to progress. And I’m not going to do violence. So therefore, to cherish your own life, you don’t want to risk it for some sort of worldly aim. You want to develop your soul because that’s what your life is for.

SEVERSON: But, he says those who think protestors have violated the basic principle of non-violence don’t understand the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy of self-defense.

Prof. THURMAN: Buddhist ethics is intense about nonviolence, but it’s also pragmatic. There is one sutra where it’s stated if you are invaded by an enemy and you can successfully defend yourself and repel the enemy and the enemy while occupying you will cause tremendous violence; then you should defend yourself.

SEVERSON: Chinese History Professor Tu Weiming of Harvard believes at least part of the problem stems from a lack of understanding by the Chinese leadership of Tibetan Buddhism and the role of the Dalai Lama.

Professor TU WEIMING (Harvard University): The Chinese government is not at all informed about the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader. They always perceive him as a political leader interested in mobilizing anti-Chinese forces outside of China. My sense is that it’s a misperception that needs to be corrected.

SEVERSON: If any Westerner ought to understand the role of the Dalai Lama among Tibetans, it is Robert Thurman. Before choosing to be a professor, Thurman became the first Western Tibetan Buddhist monk under the tutelage of the Dalai Lama. He says the Dalai Lama is to Buddhism what Jesus is to Christianity.

Prof. THURMAN: If Jesus was constantly coming back, how would Christians feel about that person? You can get an idea of how the Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhists feel about the Dalai Lama.

SEVERSON: But Chinese officials say the looting, the beatings and destruction of property prove that the Tibetan people and their leader are hypocrites. The Chinese government maintains, and most of its citizens believe, that Tibet has always been a part of China. The Tibetans disagree saying their country didn’t become part of China until 1951 after it was forcefully occupied by Chinese troops. The Dalai Lama fled to his new home in exile in India in 1959.

Prof. THURMAN: For 30 years, from the �50s to the end of Mao, they did the most violent thing. You can’t even believe it. They killed a million people. Half of it was famine craziness and a lot of it was this class struggle thing, you know, “kill the landlords” and political things and eradicating the religion. You couldn’t even have a rosary — you’d go to work camp prison for life.

SEVERSON: Chinese authorities dispute these charges and say China has lifted Tibet into the 21st century.

Prof. WEIMING: China believes that in the last few decades the government has contributed significantly to Tibetan growth in terms of economic growth, in terms of building roads and so forth.

SEVERSON: But many Tibetans say the Chinese government is systematically diluting their culture and religion while encouraging millions of Chinese to move here. The Dalai Lama has called it “cultural genocide.” The Chinese dispute the genocide charge and accuse the protesters of purely anti-Chinese activity.

Many of today’s Chinese leaders come from engineering and science backgrounds. Professor Weiming says these leaders are most interested in generating wealth and modernization — that they have a deep skepticism of all religions especially if their leaders threaten authority.

Prof. WEIMING: Tibetans feel they are humiliated, they are ignored, they are marginalized because people don’t understand why they are so devoted to religion, to the Dalai Lama. Their devotion sometimes is wrongly perceived as a kind of superstition and that should be overcome by modernization.

SEVERSON: The Dalai Lama has always preached non-violence and never demanded independence from China.

DALAI LAMA (during U.S. visit): The whole world knows the Dalai Lama not seeking independence. Our approach is not separation, within the People’s Republic of China for full guarantee about our unique culture and heritage including our language.

SEVERSON: Arjia Rinpoche was a highly positioned Lama in Tibet before he defected to the U.S. 10 years ago. He supports the Dalai Lama’s approach to peace.

ARJIA RINPOCHE (Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center): Most of Tibetans like his Holiness idea. You know, the “Middle Way” works.

SEVERSON: The Middle Way, however, meaning more autonomy and more freedom, is not the ultimate goal of young Tibetans. They want full independence, their leader the Dalai Lama notwithstanding.

LHADON TETHONG: He is like a parent, a senior elder, respected member of the family whom you love and whom I can also disagree at times when I hear him saying something politically that I might not necessarily agree with or like. But that doesn’t change the nature of how much I respect or how much I love him.

SEVERSON: They may love him, but young Tibetans are growing impatient with the Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way,” and he’ may be feeling the pressure.

DALAI LAMA (during U.S. visit): If things become out of control then my only option is completely resign.

SEVERSON: Professor Thurman says if Chinese leaders were willing to meet with the Dalai Lama in person, the conflict could be resolved.

Prof. THURMAN: If I can get him a room with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, it would have a profound impact actually on the world. They would turn around, I think.

Prof. WEIMING: I was deeply worried when I was in China that not just the government officials, but some intellectuals believe that if the Dalai Lama fades from the scene, the problem will be resolved. If the Dalai Lama fades from the scene, the situation will be uncontrollable. I think the Chinese government should be critically aware of this.

SEVERSON: Even the most ardent followers of the Dalai Lama, like Arjia Rinpoche, appear to be losing hope that the Chinese government will come around.

Mr. RINPOCHE: When I escaped in 1998 then I thought, “Oh, in eight years I might return to home.” Ten years, I’m pretty sure. So today is exactly the 10 years now. So the situation is getting worse.

SEVERSON: For now, there is little indication that the Chinese will relax control of Tibet. Many Tibetans are counting on the next and more informed generation of Chinese leaders to realize they are not a threat.

For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, I’m Lucky Severson reporting.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: A new report on America’s charitable giving found that in 2007, contributions rose by about one percent to more than $300 billion. Though the percentage increase was slight, many analysts said any growth in the face of economic hardships is good news. The Giving USA survey found that, as in the past, the largest percentage of the contributions — 33 percent in 2007 — went to religious groups. That’s more than $100 billion.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: The dollar figures on charity do not begin to measure the hours and skills volunteers give. We have two glimpses today of both kinds of help, both from the Gulf Coast.

In D’Iberville, Mississippi, near Biloxi, almost three years after Katrina, volunteers from around the country celebrated the rebuilding of nearly a thousand homes. And in New Orleans, church members who had been helped after Katrina by volunteers from the Midwest began returning the help to those hit hard by the floods.

A group at the Church of the Annunciation packed up and headed for Quincy, Illinois, to help flood victims on Wednesday morning. The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy was one of their most generous supporters after Hurricane Katrina.

JEAN SELDERS (Church of the Annunciation): I helped with the Diocese of Quincy to make relief packets for the people of New Orleans. And, now I here making relief packets in New Orleans for the people of Quincy. So, I’ve come full circle.

ABERNETHY: The New Orleans church volunteers packed up care packages for people flooded out of their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER: Toothpaste, Band-Aids, shampoo, toothbrushes, Kleenex.

ABERNETHY: The church also plans to send groups of volunteers to Quincy to help repair flood damage.

Meanwhile, in D’Iberville, Mississippi, the D’Iberville Volunteer Foundation reached its goal of rebuilding almost 1,000 homes. This past weekend they said goodbye for the final time to volunteers from around the country who worked to rebuild their community.

Dr. ED CAKE (D’Iberville Volunteer Foundation, speaking to volunteers): Thank you for the love. Thank you for the prayers especially. Thank you for the support. And, we could not have done it without you all.

ABERNETHY: D’Iberville had 8,000 people before Katrina. After the storm, 2,000 fled but two college professors stayed, and they organized 7,000 volunteers, many of whom returned three times or more to put up rafters and install drywall and electricity.

Dr. IRENE MCINTOSH (D’Iberville Volunteer Foundation): There’s a grace to receiving that I think is more difficult than the grace of giving. And in that grace of receiving — and our citizens know how to do it better than most people — they love to reach out. They hug. They say “thank you” a million times.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: That’s our program for now. I’m Bob Abernethy. There’s much more on our Web site, including more on religion and politics on our “One Nation” page. Audio and video podcasts of the program are also available. Join us at pbs.org.

As we leave you, more from the volunteers in D’Iberville, Mississippi.

© 2008 WNET-TV. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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TRANSCRIPT:
Episode no. 1142

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Coming up — teeming — Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. The refugees want the right to return to Israel, but Israel fears that could challenge its security and identity.

And a Texas pastor, white and well-off, at an upscale church who got to know and admire an itinerant black pastor.

Pastor JOHN ROBBINS (Marvin United Methodist Church): He continues to have such a great faith and a willingness to have such passion for what he believes in, and I want to be like that.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Welcome. I’m Bob Abernethy. It’s good to have you with us.

Suddenly this week there were new steps toward peace in the Middle East. A truce between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, took effect Thursday. The two sides agreed to a cease fire, and Israel said it will eventually ease a blockade of food and fuel to Gaza. Leaders expressed hope that the fragile agreement will hold.

At the same time, Israel is negotiating with the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah for a prisoner exchange and has offered to begin direct peace talks with Lebanon. Turkey has also been mediating peace talks between Israel and Syria.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In the U.S., California became the second state after Massachusetts to legalize gay marriage. Gay couples wed in ceremonies throughout the state, and activists called it a major victory for civil rights. Some clergy agreed and even officiated at weddings. A UCLA study estimates that about 50,000 gay California couples will marry in the next three years and an additional 68,000 couples will travel to the state to marry. California does not have a residency requirement for marriage.

Meanwhile, opponents protested the state supreme court decision allowing same-sex marriage and urged support for a November ballot measure that would make gay marriage unconstitutional. Seven of the state’s Roman Catholic bishops released a joint statement saying marriage is the union of a man and a woman.

Marriage is both a legal matter, licensed by the state, and also traditionally, for many, a sacrament ordained by God. So where gay marriage is legal a gay couple can get a license and have a wedding with legal rights and benefits, just like a heterosexual couple. But gays may not be able to be married in a house of worship. When it comes to permitting a religious wedding ceremony or blessing, that’s up to each denomination. Thus, this week, a Methodist clergy woman in California lamented to The New York Times: “I can bless a car, and I have. I’ve been asked to bless animals, children, homes. But I can’t bless a gay or lesbian couple?”

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Meanwhile in the Midwest, religious groups have rushed to the aid of thousands of people left vulnerable by massive flooding. About two dozen people have died and tens of thousands forced from their homes as rivers overflowed in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. The United Methodist Committee on Relief and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance were among the groups sending volunteers and money. The Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for donations to help flood victims and to rebuild one of the country’s first mosques that was damaged, the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In Chicago, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, gave a Father’s Day sermon in which he said too many African-American fathers are not taking responsibility for their children.

Senator BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise the child that makes you a father.

ABERNETHY: Obama spoke at one of Chicago’s largest churches, the predominantly African-American Apostolic Church of God.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In Texas, the cost of the April raid on a polygamist compound is expected to exceed $14 million according to an analysis by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The raid led to one of the largest state custody cases in history when officials separated hundreds of children from their mothers. The state argued that the children were in danger of abuse if they remained among members of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Texas Supreme Court later said officials had overstepped their authority.

All of the children have since been returned to their mothers.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: In Zimbabwe, aid groups are protesting President Robert Mugabe’s decision to ban them from the country. Mugabe said humanitarian groups had conspired against his government. The country has been in crisis since March, when Mugabe refused to release the results of a presidential election. The UN says Zimbabwe is on the verge of a major food crisis. This week, the Nelson Mandela Foundation joined retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a call to end the violence and allow aid agencies back into the country.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: The UN said this week that the number of refugees worldwide rose for the second year in a row. More than 11 million people were living outside their home countries as refugees in 2007, many of them forced to flee violent conflicts. Officials said the increases could be the start of a pattern as countries also try to cope with climate change and dwindling resources.

Of all the world’s refugees, the plight of the Palestinians may be the most long-running, and dangerous. When the State of Israel was founded in 1948, 700,000 Palestinians chose to leave their homes, or were forced out. Now, that population has grown to four-and-a-half million, scattered throughout the Middle East, many of them in crowded refugee camps. We have a special report today from Kate Seelye in Lebanon.

KATE SEELYE: In a refugee camp in Lebanon, Palestinians demand the right of return to homes from which their ancestors fled or were expelled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

That was 60 years ago — a date that marks the anniversary of the founding of the Jewish State.

To the Palestinians it’s known as the “nakba,” which in Arabic translates as the “catastrophe.”

This 19-year-old says her family fled from Acre in what was once Palestine.

JAMAL SALHANI (Refugee): My dream is to return to my land, to my home. It’s my only dream. I want to achieve it.

SEELYE: For the past six decades, the story of the Palestinian exile has been passed down from generation to generation.

Parents teach their children about the birth of the refugee crisis — young people keep traditions, like this Debke dance, alive.

There are some four and a half million Palestinian refugees. Many live in the West Bank and Gaza. Others took refuge in Arab states. Some 300,000 are crammed into 12 refugee camps here in Lebanon. This is the Bourj al Barajneh Camp in a Beirut suburb, where Olfat Mahmoud grew up.

OLFAT MAHMOUD (Director, Women’s Humanitarian Organization): People never thought they would stay so long, for 60 years — always they hoped next year, next year. So, it’s overcrowded no privacy in the camp, no drinking water, no electricity.

SEELYE: That’s because the camps, established in the late 40s, weren’t meant to be permanent. So the Lebanese government bans any changes — building is illegal, but people build anyway — upwards. The government refuses to provide electricity, so refugees run their own network.

Ms. MAHMOUD: It’s a big prison with a little bit of freedom.

SEELYE: Mahmoud heads a woman’s charity here. It provides counseling, as well as home economic classes, like this one.

The community has become more religiously conservative with time, she says. More and more women are donning the headscarf. Depression is a big problem.

Ms. MAHMOUD: You go to people’s homes at 12 midday — people are asleep — sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. And this their way to run away from the reality.

SEELYE: And extremism is on the rise. Outside Mahmoud’s Center are posters celebrating suicide bombers and the fundamentalist Islamist group, Hamas. Mahmoud says the refugees are losing hope.

Ms. MAHMOUD: So, people have been really for many years waiting for a solution, and they have this hope, they live for this hope. But unfortunately, always they get disappointed. So I use now a term — it’s a funny term — I say, “My hopes are frozen.”

SEELYE: Solving the refugee question is key to any settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. There are many stumbling blocks. Among them, the future of Jerusalem and the final borders of a Palestinian state.

But the most emotional and arguably the most difficult issue may be the refugee question.

MURIEL ASSEBURG (Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Middle East Center): It’s so intricately linked to the Israeli, but also the Palestinian collective identity, the reading of history, the narrative, if you want.

SEELYE: Given the different narratives, it’s no surprise the refugee issue is so contested. Palestinians demand the implementation of UN Resolution 194, passed in 1948. It states Palestinians have a right to return to their homes if they are willing to live in peace with their neighbors. Israel views the resolution and the possibility that millions of refugees might return, as a threat to its existence.

Ms. ASSEBURG: And that’s what frightens the Israelis — the idea that the Israeli state is a state for the Jews. A Jewish state that will protect them, be a homeland to them, could be undermined — this is their reading — by a massive return of Palestinian refugees.

SEELYE: In the meantime, Palestinians in Lebanon face great hardship. Their camps still bear the scars of Lebanon’s long civil war and Israel’s invasion in 1982. While Israeli forces controlled the area, a Lebanese militia entered this camp, Shatila, and carried out a massacre.

Unlike some Arab countries, like Jordan, Lebanon won’t grant citizenship to its refugees. Lebanon is home to many different religious communities. There’s fear the delicate sectarian balance here could be threatened by naturalizing Palestinians, who are mainly Sunni Muslim. That’s according to this camp resident.

BASHIR MAHMOUD FAAR (through translator, Resident, Bourj al Barajneh Camp): The Lebanese are terrible to us. They don’t like us. As long as you have a Palestinian ID, you’ll never be accepted.

SEELYE: Palestinians have no legal status. They’re not allowed to own property or compete for jobs.

This refugee earns a little more than $200 a month giving private lessons at home.

IBRAHIM MAROUF (Shatila Resident): I have three certificates. This one is from the Beirut Professional Center and it’s for business accounting or chief accounting.

SEELYE: But like most men in Shatila Camp, Marouf can’t find decent work.

Mr. MAROUF: If me and you now began to count the jobs that I am not allowed to work with they are too much — seventy-three. I don’t have the right of a human — that mean that I’m not a human. Sometimes we feel that we are already dead but we don’t know that yet.

SEELYE: Unemployment is believed to be as high as 70 percent among the refugees. Making them highly dependent on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, established in 1950.

UNRWA runs schools, like this one in Shatila. It also provides social services, emergency aid and health care to Palestinian refugees throughout the region. But while the population has grown, UNRWA’s budget hasn’t kept pace. Clinics like these are overcrowded and UNRWA provides only limited hospital care.

WAFA ABDEL MALIK (UNRWA Nurse): Sometimes our doctors see more than 100 patients per day, too much patient. If one patient only says “Hi” for the doctor, time’s over.

SEELYE: According to UNRWA officials the international community has grown tired of giving.

RICHARD COOK (Director of UNRWA Affairs, Lebanon): The financial situation has been a chronic one — a chronic situation of underfunding for decades and — but particularly the last two decades, I would say.

SEELYE: This is the world’s longest running refugee crisis. And it’s racked up a big bill.

Mr. COOK: Roughly $10.5 billion dollars has been spent by UNRWA since its coming to being in 1950. Something should have been done in the last 60 years to resolve this issue. We’ve come very close, but not close enough.

SEELYE: The last major peace talks that promised a breakthrough were held in 2000 and 2001. The negotiating teams discussed several formulas and options for the refugees.

RAMI KHOURY (Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy, American University of Beirut): You have a limited return to Israel itself — their original homes in Palestine; compensation; monetary compensation; restitution of property; third-party resettlement; living in other countries Canada, Australia, whatever. The creation of a Palestinian state where you have your own Palestinian government — you can go to that country if you want, but if you live overseas you also get the protection of that government and its passport.

SEELYE: Khoury, who is of Palestinian origin, says the return of only a limited number of refugees would be acceptable if Israel recognized — at least in principle — the right of Palestinians to return. He says Israel must also admit its role in displacing them.

Mr. KHOURY: Acknowledgment is absolutely the linchpin of finding a resolution. Acknowledging what was done — what the Israelis — what they did in ’47 and ’48 has to be acknowledged because it is part of the essential rehumanization of an entire people who have been dehumanized and treated like animals.

SEELYE: But Muriel Asseburg says assigning guilt is a non-starter for the Israelis, who point to the 600,000 Jews who left or were forced to leave Arab countries. Laying blame won’t serve the refugees.

Ms. ASSEBURG: I think that it will indeed be very, very difficult to bridge the narratives but it will be feasible, however, to solve or to find a settlement for the practical questions. And the practical questions to my opinion are more important and that it is giving refugees a perspective, a horizon, a life in the future.

SEELYE: Back in Lebanon’s refugee camps, some say they are ready for practical solutions.

Mr. FAAR (through translator): If anyone you ask whether they would choose Palestine or Europe, they would choose Europe. Palestine is a dream we’re not going to see it. We want Europe. We want to wake up in the morning to the sound of birds, not to the sound of tomato vendors.

SEELYE: But it’s unlikely Palestinian leaders will give up a right — the right of return — which they say is backed by international law and Israelis are not likely to risk what they claim is at stake — Israel’s security and identity.

For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, I’m Kate Seelye in Beirut.

# # #

BOB ABERNETHY: Sometimes, the stories we tell on this program have a dramatic effect — as one did last summer about a struggling, itinerant black pastor in Louisiana, a modern-day circuit rider — driving his old car from one poor, little church to another, every Sunday. That story was seen by a white pastor in Texas with a large upscale congregation. And, Lucky Severson tells what happened.

LUCKY SEVERSON: David Brown a modern-day circuit rider, pastor of seven Baptist congregations in Mississippi and Louisiana. Every Sunday he visits at least three of them, driving hundreds of miles in his battered Chevrolet.

Pastor DAVID BROWN (preaching): I want Jesus, I want Jesus, I want Jesus, Aaaah, I want Jesus.

SEVERSON: What he earns is whatever goes into the collection plate. Pastor Brown has high blood pressure, diabetes — and no health insurance. He is dedicated to serving congregations that are too small to have a pastor of their own.

Pastor JOHN ROBBINS (Marvin United Methodist Church): Good evening, Marvin Church. . .

SEVERSON: Three hundred miles away, in Tyler, Texas, John Robbins is pastor of Marvin United Methodist Church, a mostly white congregation of 3,000 people.

Pastor ROBBINS (to congregation): Now I have a nice church with a steady salary, with insurance, a pension plan, a great staff. Pastor Brown doesn’t have those luxuries.

Pastor BROWN (preaching): Well, I got somebody, he takes me in his arms, he rocks me when I’m weary, he tells me that I’m his own. Oh he’s all right, he’s all right.

SEVERSON: Last summer, when we first reported on the ministry of Pastor Brown, Pastor Robbins was watching. And he says he has watched the segment over and over since then.

Pastor ROBBINS (to congregation): He said several things in there that absolutely changed me. I needed to get in touch with him. I needed to let him know that just watching him on television made a difference in my life.

SEVERSON: Pastor Robbins has a well-heeled congregation. A lot of doctors, lawyers, oil company executives. But he says they give generously of their time and money to charities and causes. The latest cause is Pastor David Brown.

Pastor ROBBINS (to Pastor Brown): I’m glad you guys made it. We’ve been waiting for you a long time now. Everybody in the church has been waiting for you.

SEVERSON: Robbins tracked him down, and after a series of phone conversations, invited Brown to come preach to his congregation.

Pastor ROBBINS (to Pastor Brown): And, I want to take you down to the sanctuary. I want you to see the beautiful sanctuary.

SEVERSON: He and his wife Gwendolyn arrived in a borrowed car because the transmission in his well-used Chevy finally gave out on him.

Pastor ROBBINS: Pastor Brown, Gwendolyn, what do you think? Beautiful, isn’t it?

GWENDOLYN BROWN: Ohh. Beautiful.

Pastor BROWN: Oh man.

Pastor ROBBINS: This is it, and the beautiful stained glass from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

Pastor BROWN : I’ve only seen stuff like this on television, in books and stuff.

Pastor ROBBINS (to Pastor Brown): Let me see how you look up there. You look like a preacher.

SEVERSON: Brown told us that coming here was one of the highlights of his life. And that his brand of preaching would be a new experience for a congregation like the one here.

Pastor BROWN : It’s going to be different, yeah it’s going to be different — because like I say I’m from a different era, so to speak — because I’m what they call — where I live — I’m what they call “old school.”

Pastor ROBBINS (to congregation): Please be seated.

SEVERSON: Robbins, on the other hand, is new school. He has a Doctorate in Theology from Southern Methodist University. But he found inspiration in the life and ministry of Pastor Brown. Robbins friends say he has found a mentor.

Pastor ROBBINS: I have a lot of stability in my life when it comes to those worldly kinds of things. And this is a man who lives from hand to mouth. This is a man who tries to find a way to get from one church to the next in a broken down, worn-out car that may or may not make it to the next stop. And yet he continues to have such a great faith and a willingness to have such passion for what he believes in. And I want to be like that.

SEVERSON (to Pastor Brown): You’re a black Baptist preacher from Louisiana preaching to a mostly white congregation. There’s something a little unusual about that picture.

Pastor BROWN : Yeah it is, it is — but they all have one thing in common. They have souls that need the Gospel and I’m here to deliver it.

Pastor ROBBINS (to congregation): It is truly, truly for me an honor and privilege to have you here, and for Pastor Brown, for you to stand in my pulpit.

Pastor ROBBINS: We have an obligation to interact with each other. We have an obligation to worship with each other because we all believe in the same God we know through Jesus Christ. We can feel comfortable in a restaurant with people who look different from us; we can go to school with kids who look different from us; we can even go to the mall and shop with people who are different from us; but on Sunday morning we still all believe, generally speaking, that we have to look alike.

Pastor BROWN (to congregation): What a mighty God we serve. He is good in His greatness and great in His goodness. And His mercy endures forever.

SEVERSON: Members here had already sent Pastor Brown several hundred dollars to help with his ministry. Pastor Robbins suggested they might want to be extra generous when the collection plates were passed around before the circuit preacher gave his sermon. And what a sermon it was.

Pastor BROWN (preaching): I want to see Jesus, yes I do. I want to see him. Yeeees, I want to see him tonight. If anybody here, if you want to see Jesus you ought to stand on your feet. I want to see Jesus. Oh that man. Ooooh that man, ooooh that man, ooooh that man, that man from Galilee. I want to see Jesus.

I’ve had people ask me, from the larger congregations, “Why do you preach so passionately to a few people, like you do when there’s a crowd of people?” I say, “Everybody’s just as important. There’s just more of them, that’s the only difference.”

(preaching) I heard that there was a strange man came to this big church. He went to sit in one place and he said, “No you can’t sit — that’s the Chairman of the Board’s place. You can’t sit there.” He moved again. He said, “Well, that’s the Chairman of the Finance Committee’s seat. Finally one of the member’s came over and said, “Stranger, what happened to you — you got holes in your hands, holes in your feet?” He said, “Over 2008 years ago, I took your place on a Roman cross.” What am I saying? He took our place. He died in our stead. And we ought to live for him. Alright? Praise the Lord. May God bless you.

SEVERSON: The members we spoke with were not disappointed — not with the message, not with the messenger.

PAT THOMAS: Did you feel how he energizes the place? I mean, he makes the Bible come alive. He made it come alive. And, he had no color.

MARY DALE THOMAS: This man is — we could call him a missionary to the Methodists.

JAN MCCAULEY: We can live in a very insular world if we’re not careful. And that the vast majority of the world, 99 percent of the world, is not our world.

SEVERSON: The offering on Pastor Brown’s behalf amounted to over $14,000. When he got back to Louisiana the pastor immediately got his transmission fixed — but then learned he needed a new engine. That may not be necessary because church members are now raising additional money to buy him a new car.

For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, I’m Lucky Severson reporting.

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BOB ABERNETHY: That’s our program for now. I’m Bob Abernethy. There’s much more on our Web site, including more on religion and politics, and a special story about memorial services to honor people who have donated their bodies to science. Audio and video podcasts of the program are also available. Join us at pbs.org.

As we leave you, a salute to Gospel music at the White House this week. The performers joined in a chorus of, “O Happy Day.”

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