Faith Digest

Posted: 11/30/07

Faith Digest

Christian groups commit to cooperation. More than 240 Christian leaders said they left an international summit in Kenya committed to building closer ties among the world’s Christian denominations. The Global Christian Forum, meeting near Nairobi, brought together Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Pentecostal and charismatic Christian leaders. It also assembled groups that had sometimes been at odds, including the World Council of Churches and the more conservative World Evangelical Alliance.

Oral Roberts University president resigns. The embattled president of Oral Roberts University resigned amid intense scrutiny over allegations of financial, political and other wrongdoing at the charismatic Christian university in Tulsa, Okla. Richard Roberts, son of the university’s namesake founder, submitted a resignation letter to ORU’s board of regents Nov. 23. The resignation came just days before the board was scheduled to hear the results of an outside investigation of allegations against him and his wife, Lindsay. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Oral Roberts Ministries, had placed himself on an indefinite leave of absence Oct. 17 as university president. But he had said he expected to return to the post in “God’s timing.” He was the second president in the 42-year history of the 4,000-student university, succeeding his father, Oral Roberts, in 1993. The allegations that sparked the turmoil over Richard Roberts’ presidency were raised in a lawsuit filed Oct. 2 by three former ORU professors who claim efforts to act as whistleblowers cost them their jobs. The lawsuit in Tulsa County District Court alleges illegal political activity and lavish, unchecked spending by Richard Roberts and his family.

Family sues over snake-handling death. The family of a woman who died from a snakebite during a religious service last year has filed suit against a Kentucky hospital, alleging that poor care contributed to her death, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. Linda Long, who died Nov. 5, 2006, was rushed to Marymount Medical Center in London, Ky., after receiving a bite from a rattlesnake she was handling during a service at East London Holiness Church. The lawsuit states the hospital did not adhere to proper standards of care in Long’s case, which contributed to her death. The Herald-Leader also reported that “the complaint … says the unprofessional comments about Long’s religious beliefs were discriminatory and caused her and her family emotional pain and humiliation.”

Pope plans U.S. visit next year. Pope Benedict XVI will make his first papal visit to the United States next spring, stopping at the United Nations in New York and the White House in Washington. Vatican Ambassador Archbishop Pietro Sambi, addressing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Benedict’s visit is scheduled April 15-20. Benedict’s visit is timed to mark the establishment of the first dioceses in the United States nearly 200 years ago, Sambi said. In addition to celebrating Masses at New York’s Yankee Stadium and the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark, currently under construction, Benedict will visit Ground Zero in New York, with the families of people who were killed there Sept. 11, 2001.