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vey by the Public Religion Research Institute. Men are more willing than women to tolerate sexual misbehav- ior in their elected officials. More than 9 in 10 Americans say it’s an “extremely” or “very serious” moral problem for a public official to take a bribe, and more than 8 in 10 say the same for a politician who cheats on taxes. But less than 7 in 10 Ameri- cans say it’s a serious moral problem for a public official to have sex with a prostitute. The poll also showed that Americans resent politicians lying about sexual behavior more than the behavior itself.


Evangelicals abroad optimistic


Fifty-eight percent of evangeli- cal Protestant leaders in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and most


of Asia say they’ve gained influ- ence on life in their countries. But 66 percent of evangelical leaders in Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zea- land and North America—including 82 percent of U.S. evangelical lead- ers—say they are losing influence. The Pew Research Center surveyed 2,196 evangelical leaders from 166 countries and territories at the Octo- ber 2010 Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa.


Pray with Taliban


Lutheran pastor Margot Kaessmann, leader of Germany’s Protestant com- munity before she stepped down after a drunk-driving offense, criticized NATO military actions in Afghani- stan and Libya. Praying with the Tali-


ban by candlelight is “a much better idea than bombing water tank lorries in Kunduz,” she said during a Bible study at the Kirchentag, a June gath- ering of about 120,000 German Prot- estants. “There is no just war, only a just peace,” she said. “This requires creativity, time and money.”


Law feels like ‘meanness’ William Willimon, a United Meth- odist bishop and head of the North Alabama Conference, said Ala- bama’s new immigration law “feels like intimidation and meanness.” He added, “One of the most nefari- ous aspects of this law is it appears to criminalize Alabamians in the act of being helpful and compassionate.” The law makes it illegal to employ an undocumented immigrant or to give that person a ride.


Eco-friendly popemobile When Pope Benedict XVI returns to Germany this September he will see the country in a new hybrid pope- mobile from Mercedes. The Vatican contracted with Mercedes for the first-ever hybrid popemobile, accord- ing to a report by business magazine Wirtschaftswoche. It will be powered by both battery and gasoline, since security threats require the pope to have an option for a quick getaway. Mercedes has provided vehicles for the Vatican for eight decades.


Pack your snorkel, campers Brent Seaks, director of Badland Ministries, an ELCA camp along the Little


BRENT SEAKS


Correction


Missouri River south of Medora, N.D., recognizes that “being in the midst of God’s creation certainly comes with challenges.” It did this summer in sev- eral places, including Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in Colorado, where fires caused an evacuation. Badlands Ministries (shown here) held camp as sched- uled despite flooding. Seaks said, “When the floodwaters overtook the roads and all of the buildings were islands, camp staff and volunteers came in by rowboat and kayaks to work 12-hour shifts nonstop for an entire week [and] run sump pumps and shop vacs ....”


Luke Paquin, serving in the Jerusa- lem/West Bank area with the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission pro- gram (July, page 28), is from Grand Rapids, Minn.


For more news, visit www.thelutheran.org/feature/ august


August 2011 11


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