National Notes
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Ministers may re-enter Social Security. Congress has opened a temporary window to allow ministers who previously opted out of Social Security back into the system. Priests, rabbis and other ministers may exempt themselves from paying Social Security taxes if they object to the program on religious grounds. Once a minister decides to opt out, however, it is irrevocable. Before adjourning for the year, U.S. lawmakers enacted a measure allowing ministers who previously objected to participating in the Social Security system a two-year window to enroll in the retirement plan. To qualify, ministers must apply by April 15, 2002.
___ FBI reports on hate crimes. Racial prejudice was the motive in more than half of "hate crimes" reported to the FBI last year, according to bureau statistics. The FBI said 55 percent of reported hate crimes in 1998--4,321 of 7,755 total incidents--were motivated by race. Blacks suffered the greatest number of racially motivated hate crimes, 3,573. Intimidation was the most frequently reported hate crime. Of 1,390 reported religiously motivated hate crimes, 1,081 were against Jews. Sixty-one were committed against Catholics and 59 against Protestants.
___ Nelson to buy stake in treatment centers. Thomas Nelson, a Nashville, Tenn.-based Christian publishing firm, has announced plans to purchase 60 percent of New Life Treatment Centers, a group known most for its popular Christian women's conferences. New Life, based in Laguna Beach, Calif., sponsors Women of Faith conferences, which were held at 25 sites this year and attracted more than 375,000 participants.
___ Abortion laws blocked. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has temporarily barred Illinois and Wisconsin from enforcing laws that ban some late-term abortions. Stevens' order, issued Nov. 30, will remain in effect while abortion providers prepare to seek a Supreme Court review of a federal appeals court decision upholding both laws. Both laws ban a procedure known by its opponents as "partial birth abortion."
___ Protestant Reformation millennium's top story. The Protestant Reformation was selected as the top religion story of the second Christian millennium by members of the Religion Newswriters Association, who also voted the Holocaust the 20th century's leading news event. The millennium's second most important story was the widespread dissemination of the Bible and other religious literature. RNA members voted the Great Schism of 1054 the third most important story of the millennium. The schism resulted in the first major split in Christianity and its division into Eastern and Western churches.
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