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citizens needed to propose a constitu- tional change. Liberia is 85.5 percent Christian and 12.2 percent Muslim.
Lutherans want answers After 350 prisoners died in a Febru- ary fire at Honduras’ Comayagua jail, the Christian Lutheran Church of Honduras called for an investiga- tion, continued international human rights advocacy and prayers from global partners. “Once again, the prisons of Honduras have become the scene of a tragedy. … We are overcome by a feeling of panic and indignation to learn of the unsafe conditions in which our country’s prison populations lives,” said José Martin Girón, the church’s president.
Finnish church apologizes The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church apologized to the Lappish Sami community for anthropologi- cal research carried out in the 1930s. Bishop Samuel Salmi of the Oulu Diocese said the church is ashamed of ethnic research that entailed the opening of Sami graves.
‘God’ gone from logo
Some members of Congress are upset that the Air Force removed the Latin word for God from the patch logo of its Rapid Capabilities Office. In February, 35 lawmakers sent a letter objecting to the change. The logo was removed after objections by the Military Association of Athe- ists and Freethinkers, whose presi- dent, Jason Torpy, said the word God had no place on the logo because not all members of the military are religious.
Deported for killings
A U.S. immigration judge cleared the way in February for the deportation of Eugenio Vides Casanova, a former
defense minister of El Salvador. He is charged with torture and murder, including the 1980 deaths of four U.S. Roman Catholic churchwomen. Five military members under his command were convicted of carrying out the murders. The Center for Jus- tice & Accountability, a human rights group involved in the case, said it is the “first time [in the U.S.] a statute enacted to facilitate the removal of human rights abusers has been used successfully against a nation’s top military official.”
Innkeepers to pay Britain’s Court of Appeal ordered Christian innkeepers to pay $5,800 in damages to a gay couple. The three- judge panel rejected an appeal by the husband and wife, who told the men they could not share a double room. The innkeepers had argued that they weren’t discriminating against the gay men, but permitting the couple to share a bedroom went against their
Lenten reminders Dan Dahl, pastor
of Shades Valley Lutheran Church, Bir- mingham, Ala., holds spike-shaped nails that members carry beginning on Ash Wednesday. Then on Good Friday, mem- bers listen silently as each person ham- mers their nail into an 8-foot wooden cross, made by parishioner Barry Luther. For Eas- ter worship, leaders attach wire mesh to the nails and fill the holes with flowers. “It reminds us that it was a costly grace,” Dahl told The Birmingham News.
Appealing to voters along reli- gious lines is divisive. It is con- trary to the American ideal of including all Americans in the political process, regardless of whether they are members of large and powerful religious groups, religious minorities or subscribe to no faith tradition.
From an interfaith statement of principles
released by a coalition of religious groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Interfaith Alliance.
belief that sex outside marriage was a sin.
Religious ID change
Beginning in January 2013, Indo- nesians can opt to leave the religion column on their national electronic ID card blank. Currently, religious minorities are required to carry a card identifying their religion. Scholar 12
PHOTO COURTESY THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
April 2012 11
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