Religious Relations

Here in the Mormon heartland, the Southern Baptist barrage is beginning. Billboards, airwaves and mailboxes are filling with the evangelical message of the Southern Baptists, who expect about 12,000 people at their annual convention Tuesday through Thursday and a host of other events before and after. "Our sole intention is to share the good news of Christ's love of people.

Decrying the combative "dark side" of their churches' relations in developing nations, a joint commission of Roman Catholic and Pentecostal theologians on Tuesday condemned as unethical efforts to lure away followers amid mockery of one another's beliefs.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, concluding it triennial meeting last week, has voted to criticize the ecumenical activities of other Lutheran bodies. Expressing profound disagreement, delegates to the national convention of the synod passed a resolution that criticized their spiritual siblings in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

A Vatican declaration that a century-old papal denunciation of Anglican ordinations is to be considered "infallible" has overturned three decades of efforts toward unity between the Roman Catholic Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion, a leading Anglican ecumenist has declared. Already at odds with Catholics over the ordination of women, which the Roman Catholic Church opposes, Anglican leaders viewed the latest Vatican declaration as driving another wedge between them and Rome.

Two of the nation's most aggressively evangelistic faith groups are gearing up for what could be a monumental case of tit-for-tat. Southern Baptists are heading to Utah, a place they view as a new mission field. Mormons, long the majority in that part of the country, hope the Baptists' visit will provide an opportunity to dispel what they view as a caricature of their church crafted in part by Baptists.

Charles C. Haynes tells of a public school class turned to chaos by a finger-pointing, angry exchange on who was going to hell. Finally, he said, the exasperated teacher threw up her hands and said, "You're all right," halting the debate. The story illustrates the flammability of religious topics, which has tempted many an educator to avoid all religious discussions and activities in the classroom.

In this once-upon-a-time home to the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church is being buffeted by an unprecedented series of attacks and scandals that have left many Austrians questioning their faith. Half a million Austrians signed a petition last month demanding radical reform in the church, including allowing priests to marry and women to become priests. And in a surge of disillusion, more than 35,000 people have abandoned the church in recent months.

If you think it's easy to say you're sorry, ask the Lutherans. Ever since the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America publicly apologized for founder Martin Luther's 16th-Century writing against the Jews, life has been uncomfortable. Since the formal statement, issued in April, 1994, loyal Lutherans have been humiliated. Recent converts to the church have felt betrayed. Some Jews have been slow to trust the apology, and some Lutherans have been angry and unsympathetic.

Sharing the altar with the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pope John Paul II made a passionate appeal this week for unity among the faiths after nearly a millennium apart. "We cannot remain separate," the pontiff said during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday to celebrate the feast day of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Patriarch Bartholomew I joined the Pope on the flower-ringed altar above the tomb of St. Peter.

Teresa Malof knew she wasn't in Kentucky anymore when a cleric issued a fatwa against her secret Santa gift exchange. Malof proposed the idea at the King Fahad National Guard Hospital, where she has worked for more than a decade.