RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Rev. Jerry Falwell violated campaign finance laws by endorsing President Bush and soliciting funds for a conservative political action committee on his ministries’ Web site, a watchdog group alleges in a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission. The Campaign Legal Center said in the complaint filed last week that Jerry Falwell Ministries and a lobbying organization affiliated with Falwell engaged in politicking earlier this month by endorsing Bush, which the suit says they are barred from doing as nonprofit corporations. The complaint follows a separate letter sent by a religious watchdog group to the Internal Revenue Service that accuses Falwell of violating his ministries’ tax-exempt status by publicly endorsing a political candidate. In an e-mail newsletter sent to followers on July 1, Falwell urged conservatives to vote for Bush and “flood Campaign for Working Families with financial help.” The Campaign for Working Families is run by Gary Bauer, a conservative activist who opposes abortion and gay marriage.

Vatican fears rights movements blur differences between men and women
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican denounced feminism, saying it was trying to blur differences between men and women and threatening the institution of the family based on a mother and a father. The drive for equality, the Vatican said, makes “homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent, in a new model of polymorphous sexuality.” The concerns, raised in a 37-page document written by one of Pope John Paul II’s closest aides and released Saturday, broke no new ground, maintaining the Catholic Church’s ban on women priests, for example. But some observers said they feared how the document might be used. Paul Lakeland, an expert on the Catholic Church, who is a professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, expressed concern that some of the document could be used by church conservatives to condemn any form of advocacy for women. The pamphlet by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican’s orthodoxy watchdog, was published during a campaign to protect “the Christian family.” Earlier salvos have blasted same-sex marriage, appealing to politicians, regardless of their religion, to block legal recognition for gay couples.

Fla. church choir director fired over pro-gay column
SEBRING, Fla. (AP) — A choir director was fired after church officials took issue with a newspaper opinion piece he wrote urging support of gay marriage. Dennis Adam Ray, who is gay, was sacked by the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) after a July 22 guest column in Highlands Today in which he claimed half of the church’s members believe in acceptance of gay people. Church officials, including Pastor Johan Van Der Merwe, said that while the church considers homosexuality a sin, Ray has the right to express his opinion. But he went too far when he publicly claimed that half the congregation shared his opinion. “He has a right to have his opinion and to believe what he believes, but he cannot represent the church because our bylaws state that the minister and committee do that,” Van Der Merwe said.

Ore. bishop requires lay people to affirm anti-gay church teachings
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As a lay liturgical minister and a cantor, Wilma Hens was a leader for years at her Roman Catholic parish in the central Oregon city of Bend. But then Bishop Robert F. Vasa issued a two-page “affirmation of faith.” It tells lay ministers and cantors that, if they want to continue in their roles on the altar, they must accept the church’s teachings opposing abortion, gay relationships and other issues. Hens couldn’t agree, so she quit — publicly. At St. Francis of Assisi Church last month, she told the congregation she was stepping down because she could not accept the bishop’s requirement. The affirmation singled out issues that many American Catholics have struggled with, such as the sinfulness of contraception and “the church’s teaching that any extramarital sexual relationships are gravely evil and that these include premarital relations, masturbation, fornication, the viewing of pornography and homosexual relations.” Hens, one of at least six lay ministers to quit due to the affirmation, said, “I happen to believe that many of the teachings on human sexuality are just plain faulty.”

Evangelical Lutherans ordain another openly gay pastor
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jay Wiesner has become the Twin Cities’ third openly gay pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, defying a denominational policy that is under review. Current ELCA policy forbids ordination of candidates in same-sex relationships but allows gay clergy who are committed to celibacy. According to Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries, Wiesner and his partner of five years, Timothy Anthony, “were formally married” May 1 at Bethany Lutheran Church, where he will be installed on the staff next month. Anthony was ordained Sunday at Bethany, though Minneapolis Synod Bishop Craig Johnson did not attend. He has previously declined to recognize a local lesbian pastor. Bethany’s pastor, Steven Benson, said Johnson could impose sanctions including removal of the Bethany congregation from ELCA rolls.

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