NATION

National Catholic Reporter, March 30, 2001 by Gill Donovan

The museum will be open by appointment only for educational and human rights groups. An opening date has not been announced.

Appeals court OKs God reference in state motto

A full Ohio federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of the Ohio state motto, which states that "With God All Things Are Possible," reversing a ruling from a three-judge panel last spring. "The motto is merely a broadly worded expression of a religious/philosophical sentiment that happens to be widely shared by the citizens of Ohio," wrote Judge David A. Nelson in the majority opinion for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 9-4 ruling handed down March 16 overturned a 2-1 ruling last April by a panel of the appeals court that found the motto expresses "a uniquely Christian thought" and its use by the state amounted to government endorsement of Christianity.

Nelson, who was the lone dissenter on that panel, had said at the time that he found the 41-year-old state motto no more offensive than the phrase "In God We Trust" printed on U.S. coins.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Presbyterian minister Matthew Peterson. The civil rights organization had argued that the phrase is inseparable from its biblical context.

The American Center for Law and Justice welcomed the appellate court's decision as "an important victory for freedom and a sound defeat for those who want to strip our nation of its religious heritage."

Episcopal bishops acknowledge divisions, promise leadership

In a vaguely worded pastoral letter to their 2.3 million-member flock, bishops of the Episcopal church acknowledged the deep divisions within the church but did not provide specific steps to bridge the divide between liberals and conservatives. Wrapping up their meeting at a North Carolina conference center, the bishops said they were "humbled" by the task of bringing unity to the divided church.

"Our unity does not mean we are in agreement about all of the difficult and complex questions before us," the bishops wrote in a letter to be read in all churches on April 1. "It means we have claimed our oneness in Christ."

The Episcopal church is divided on the issue of homosexuality. Liberals want the church to bless same-sex unions, a step it was unwilling to take at last year's General Convention. Conservatives want an end to the "local option" policy that allows some liberal bishops to permit such blessings.

The bishops' meeting followed a summit of the world's Anglican leaders in North Carolina. The 38 leaders, or primates, deferred a proposal that would have censured the U.S. church for its liberal-leaning policies.

Like the primates, the bishops did not directly endorse the idea of having alternative oversight for conservatives at odds with their bishops.