A Wall To Protect The Heathen
Tampa Tribune
STEVE OTTO
Mar 7, 2002
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGAGYFD1IYC.html

It always seemed to me that if you were interested in politics in America you had two options.

One was to join your school PTA. The other, if you were really keen on getting down and dirty, was to get involved in the politics of your church.

Politics in your local church may not be a microcosm of the troubles in Northern Ireland or the mayhem in the Middle East, but it can be brutal.

Most of us can tell stories about congregations splitting over a preacher's sermons, or getting more incensed over fundraising for a new organ than saving souls.

Unfortunately, although most religions worship a higher power, they are usually run by mortals, even if those people believe they are holier than thou or me.

And today's churches seem to be having more than the usual problems of a fallen pastor or two.

Much of the publicity is tied to the tragedy unfolding in the Roman Catholic Church, where allegations of sexual abuse of children and a coverup by the church are growing. This week it was reported that dioceses across the country have sold land and buildings for years to pay off multimillion-dollar settlements.

The Catholics are far from being the only church with problems, but theirs seem to be coming in bulk mail.

Here in Tampa most gossip is centered on St. Mary's Episcopal Church, where a popular priest has been banned from his church while an investigation continues.

The charges are secret, and the area bishop has suggested that the case could ultimately end up in something called an Ecclesiastical Trial Court.

I called the bishop, who assured me it wasn't as medieval as it sounds.

A Bad Decision

A couple of weeks ago the firestorm wrapped around Metropolitan Ministries when it was revealed that the Methodist-based charity had a policy saying only "professed Christians" could be on its board, which did not sit well with many supporters who are Jewish.

Antisemitism is one of the cockroaches difficult to eradicate, as was evident this week when newly released Nixon White House tapes contained some bigoted statements by the Rev. Billy Graham.

The evangelist's comments about Jews having a "stranglehold" on the American media that needed to be broken was especially sad considering that when he said those things he was not the frail person he is today.

Unless he was lying to appease President Nixon, this was a different Billy Graham.

Tampa has been something of a mecca for storefront religions that have had problems with the law. And across Tampa Bay in Clearwater, the Church of Scientology, which dominates downtown, is an endless controversy.

Putting Up A Wall

Two hundred years ago, Jan. 1, 1802, to be exact, President Jefferson wrote to the Danbury, Conn., Baptist Association, responding to the association's concern about his views on the separation of church and state.

Jefferson replied, in part, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State."

The wall has worked well for both sides. In fact, these days I'm not sure which side is better protected from the other.

Columnist Steve Otto can be reached at (813) 259-7809.

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