Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and his wife, Beth, will be featured speakers Wednesday for the United Methodist Wesley Foundation’s “Faith of Our Leaders” series.

The Walkups will speak at 6:30 p.m. in the social hall of First United Methodist Church, 915 E. Fourth Street, on the University of Arizona campus.

“Faith of Our Leaders” is hosted by Rev. Dee Dee Azhikakath, campus minister for the Wesley Foundation.

She started the series so leaders in the Tucson community could discuss with young people how their faith guides their decisions.

For more information, call 623 7575 Ext. 15.

RENÉE SCHAFER HORTON

rshorton@tucsoncitizen.com

RENÉE SCHAFER HORTON

rshorton@tucsoncitizen.com

Many teenagers reject organized religion because they see it as nothing but a bunch of “thou shalt not” rules.

Steubenville West, a weekend Catholic youth conference which meets at the University of Arizona, aims to change that.

The conference is in its 12th year at UA, and organizers say more than 1,800 teenagers will descend upon the campus Friday to begin a weekend of learning more about living as men and women of God.

“This is really about showing the next generation of Catholics that it’s not just rules, terminology and rituals, but there is relevance,” said Mark Hart, executive vice president for Life Teen, which co-hosts the conference. “Teens want to be truly Catholic, but you can’t expect reverence from them if you don’t give them relevance.”

The Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio launched its first high school youth conference in the mid-1980s as an outgrowth of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement.

The movement stressed fidelity to the Catholic church, works of mercy and an openness to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including healing and praying in tongues.

Since then, Catholic dioceses and groups such as Life Teen – founded in 1985 at St. Timothy’s Parish in Mesa and the largest program for Catholic teens in the U.S.- have paired with the Franciscan university to host regional conferences. There are now 19 different sites around the country, said Tobi Wedig, Life Teen events coordinator.

Steubenville West is open to freshmen in high school through graduated high school seniors, although Wedig said a handful of incoming freshmen usually attend with sponsors or older siblings.

It is no longer advertised as a charismatic conference, but Wedig said the mission, bringing teens closer to Jesus Christ, has not changed.

“At Life Teen, we definitely promote an openness to the Holy Spirit, but we don’t advertise it as a charismatic conference,” she said. “But it doesn’t need to be a charismatic conference for God to show up.”

The three days include group sessions ranging from topics on sex to living the Catholic faith at school, speaker presentations, social activities, worship services and lots of music.

Sam Zelinski, 19, who just completed his freshman year at UA, attended a Steubenville West conference while in high school and said he would recommend it to any teenager.

“It is an amazing experience,” Zelinski said. “You get to get away from everyday life, you stay there in the dorms and basically it is a three-day rock concert where you’re hanging out with thousands of other teens of the same faith. The talks are always good, about living your faith in the real world . . . about how everybody sins and faith is about working toward a better future following God’s path.”

Wedig said teens are coming from seven states forthis year’s conference and that attendance will be up about 400 over last year.

Registration is open until 5 p.m. Monday. The $165 fee covers all conference materials, workshop sessions, meals and lodging in UA dorms.

Hart said the conference has not been marred by the controversy over Life Teen’s founder, the Rev. Dale Fushek, who is credited with revitalizing youth ministry in the Catholic Church and was revered as a religious “rock star” by youth ministers nationwide.

Fushek was placed on administrative leave by Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted in December 2005 after Fushek was accused in a lawsuit of sexual misconduct with minors.

Although expressly forbidden by the Phoenix Diocese from conducting public ministry, Fushek started holding his own non-denominational worship services at the Mesa Convention Center in 2007.

“We at Life Teen have made it very clear that we are a movement of the Holy Spirit and not a ministry of Father Dale,” said Hart. “We stand with the Diocese of Phoenix and in obedience with the Church. And I think it is a real testament that Life Teen is a movement of the Holy Spirit because the conferences keep growing. It didn’t belong to him or it would have died.”

Fushek’s trial is scheduled for October, Hart said.

DID YOU KNOW?

The University of Arizona rents out space for conferences throughout the summer, beginning May 26 and ending Aug. 6, according to Teresa Klinger, program coordinator for UA Conference Services.

This summer, there are 90 different conferences scheduled for about 12,000 guests. Income generated averages about $750,000, Klinger said, and goes to the Residence Life operating budget.

Conference participants stay in UA residence halls and the only requirement for a conference to be held at UA is that it helps match the educational mission of the university.

Klinger said that meant the conferences had to offer classes or workshops or participate in research. The Steubenville West Conference, although religious in nature, meets these criteria because the teens attend a variety of workshops during the weekend, she said.

REGISTRATION

Deadline to register for the Steubenville West conference is 5 p.m. Monday.

To register, call 480-820-7001.

Government monitoring of what is preached in houses of worship is a greater threat to religious freedom than pastors endorsing politicians or parties.

Pastor Wiley Drake got the all-clear from the Internal Revenue Service last month – and that means his congregation at the First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., will keep its tax-exempt status.

The pastor’s IRS problem began last summer when he used the church’s letterhead and his Internet radio show to announce his support for then-Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State demanded an IRS investigation – and the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, rushed to Drake’s defense.

In a May 12 letter, the IRS ruled that Drake acted as an individual and not as a representative of the church when he endorsed Huckabee.

Drake’s run-in with the IRS is just the latest round in the long-running fight over tax-code regulations prohibiting nonprofits, including houses of worship, from endorsing candidates or political parties.

In the 2004 election cycle, some 60 religious groups were investigated – and that number is expected to be higher this time around.

Cut through the gobbledygook of IRS regulations and the bottom line is this: Preachers are free to use the pulpit to speak out on public-policy issues – but are required to stop short of endorsing particular candidates or parties in church publications or at official functions.

As individuals, however, religious leaders may get involved in campaigns and endorse candidates. According to the IRS, Drake’s endorsement of Huckabee was personal, not institutional.

In this year of the Political Pastor, IRS line-drawing on this question is a confused attempt to make a distinction without a difference.

Wiley Drake, Jeremiah Wright, John Hagee, Ron Parsley, Michael Pfleger and many other pastors have made it perfectly clear this election season how they want the faithful to vote – even as they claim to speak as “individuals” and not for their churches.

Let’s call it the wink-wink rule: “In my sermon this morning, I’m not going to tell you how to vote – but, wink-wink, his initials are (candidate name here).”

The Alliance Defense Fund argues that the IRS rules should be modified to lift restrictions on what can be said from the pulpit.

Sept. 28 – just weeks before the presidential election – ADF is promoting “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” to encourage pastors to “openly discuss the positions of political candidates.”

Advocates on both sides invoke the First Amendment to make the case for and against the IRS rule prohibiting political endorsements from the pulpit.

Some proponents of strict church-state separation warn that partisan preaching from the pulpit undermines the establishment clause. On the other side, many Christian conservatives argue that restricting pulpit sermons is a denial of freedom of speech and religion.

It isn’t clear to me, however, why banning partisan politics from the pulpit is required by the First Amendment.

The establishment clause, after all, limits government – not religious groups. In fact, it could be argued that government monitoring of what is preached in houses of worship is a greater threat to religious freedom, including the separation of church and state, than pastors endorsing politicians or parties.

Whether church (or mosque or synagogue) involvement in partisan politics is good for religion or society is an important issue – one for congregations themselves to debate – but it isn’t an establishment-clause question. The First Amendment fully protects the right of religious organizations to participate in politics.

But it’s also debatable to what degree this is about “free speech.”

Tax exemption is a government benefit with strings attached. All charitable groups recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are subject to a ban on electioneering. If churches don’t want restrictions, they can forgo exemptions.

It’s good public policy to require that charities, including religious groups, refrain from partisan politics in exchange for a tax benefit designed to serve the common good.

But it may be time to jettison the wink-wink rule and let pastors say what they want from the pulpit, as long as they speak for themselves.

Given the choice, I’ll take partisan politics from the pulpit over speech police in the pews.

E-mail Charles C. Haynes of the First Amendment Center (firstamendmentcenter.org) at chaynes@freedomforum.org.

About 28,000 people are expected to show up for the annual Jehovah’s Witnesses convention this month.

This year’s theme, “Guided by God’s Spirit,” focuses on ways people can benefit from God’s holy spirit, said Gerry Wilhelm, news service coordinator for the event. The focus will be using the Bible and applying to it to everyday life.

There will be four sessions: Friday to Sunday; June 13 to 15; June 20 to 22; and June 27 to 29. All sessions start at 9:20 a.m. All sessions will be at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

A Spanish language version of the convention will be in July and August, he said.

Admission to the event is free and nonmembers are welcome to attend.

For more information, call 390-1027.

FAYANA RICHARDS

fayana@tucsoncitizen.com

Texas officials are trying hard to keep the focus on child abuse – and away from religion – in the custody battle involving 437 children seized from a polygamist religious sect this month.

If only it were so simple.

Like it or not, this conflict is about far more than the issue of older men having sex with underage girls in violation of Texas law. It’s also about religion – specifically the religious culture of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Defenders of the church argue that the raid was an overreaction to one telephone call (that may have been a hoax) and was motivated by longstanding hostility toward the FLDS community. The state counters that dramatic measures are justified when evidence points to children trapped in a religious culture that promotes child abuse.

The only way to sort out the truth, and determine the fate of the children, will be to put the FLDS way of life on trial.

Polygamists get little public sympathy, despite the positive spin on HBO’s “Big Love.” But polygamy and underage marriage are only part of a larger public concern about the psychological and physical harm children may suffer from being raised in what appears to be an insular, authoritarian environment.

Ordinarily, I bristle when someone labels a religious group a “cult” – a term that, in popular parlance, is often used to describe “a religion I don’t like.” Adherents of faiths considered mainstream today – Catholics and Mormons, among others – were derided as “cult members” in the 19th century.

FLDS, however, has all of the marks of a more academic definition of cult: isolated from the world, secretive and beholden to a charismatic leader who exercises absolute power and authority.

Under the First Amendment, of course, cults, sects and a wide range of religious movements, new and old, are protected in the practice of their faith, no matter how unpopular or isolated from society. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld some limits on religious practice (starting with polygamy in 1878), such cases are rare.

But religious freedom ends when child abuse begins. Adults, for example, may have a right to refuse lifesaving health care, including blood transfusions, for themselves, but not for their children.

Defining “abuse,” however, is itself subject to abuse, sometimes creating a slippery legal slope that gives people license to persecute unpopular religious groups.

In the early 1800s, the presence of children in Shaker communities led some states to pass laws restricting the rights of Shaker parents, including giving the state power to “rescue” children by awarding custody to a non-Shaker parent.

More recently, in the 1960s, law enforcement sometimes looked the other way when “deprogrammers” snatched young people from new religious movements at the instigation of fearful parents.

Today, Texas officials are employing a sweeping definition of “child abuse” by removing 437 children from their FLDS families. Now the state must justify its actions by arguing that all of the children were harmed or potentially harmed by life in the church culture. As Tom Vick of the Texas Bar Association (who is rounding up lawyers for the children) puts it: “If it’s a dangerous situation for one child, it’s a dangerous situation for all.”

This is a high bar, far more difficult than a limited investigation into specific allegations of underage marriage. A victory for the state could mean that none of the children can be safely returned to the church. That could well spell the end of the FLDS community, at least above ground.

That’s why Texas should proceed with caution from here on. The outcome of this case could create new grounds for intervention when the government decides an unpopular religious group is inherently detrimental to child welfare.

Temporarily removing the children may have been justified in this case – that’s what the courts will need to determine. But the ultimate decision about the children’s fate should be based on whether there is clear evidence of systematic sexual abuse rather than on general condemnation of the beliefs of FLDS followers or prejudice against their way of life.

Barring such abuse, these children belong with their parents. Being raised in an unconventional religious system may appall or offend outsiders, but it is not by definition abusive. As much as Texas officials may not want to deal with it, this case is not only about child welfare – it’s also about religious freedom.

Charles C. Haynes is senior scholar at the First Amendment Center (www.freedomforum.org). E-mail: chaynes@freedomforum.org

THE CHILDREN OF THE YEARNING FOR ZION RANCH

• Texas officials have taken all 463 children at the ranch, which is controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• Of the 53 girls ages 14 to 17 in custody, 31 – 60 percent – have either given birth or are expecting, Texas officials say.

• Under Texas law, children under age 17 generally cannot consent to sex with an adult.

• Church officials say at least 17 of the girls may actually be adults whom Texas officials have mistaken labeled as minors.

EMMETT COYNE

At the height of the potato famine, Queen Victoria of England made a state visit to Ireland. Facades were built in Dublin to prevent her from seeing the dire suffering of the people who lived along her route from ship to castle, where she was wined and dined. The wrenching issue of the famine was totally ignored.

As Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States, will he likewise be shielded from a scandal that has brought an unprecedented harvest of shame for the Roman church in America (and elsewhere)?

I am speaking, of course, of the plague of clerical sexual abuse. Or will he deal forthrightly with the matter, as needs to be done?

In 2004 a report commissioned by Catholic bishops was released, revealing 10,667 allegations of abuse against minors and accusing 4,392 of the nearly 110,000 priests who served in U.S. dioceses and religious orders from 1950 to 2002. This does not count the victims who never came forward.

More than $1.5 billion has been paid out, with more to come. Unprecedented numbers of dioceses have declared bankruptcy.

(The Diocese of Tucson filed for bankruptcy in 2004 after lawsuits were filed over the sexual misconduct allegations. In 2005, the diocese agreed to pay $22.3 million to more than 50 victims of sexual abuse by priests. The diocese has since emerged from bankruptcy protection.)

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has noted that while 31 percent of Americans were raised in the Catholic faith, today only 24 percent describe themselves as Catholics. The decline in vocations to a demoralized priesthood continues.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson of Australia, in his book, “Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church,” contends that the sexual abuse scandal is “one of the ugliest stories ever to emerge from the Catholic Church. It is hard to imagine a more total contradiction of everything Jesus Christ stood for, and it would be difficult to overestimate the pervasive harm it has done to the Church.”

His is a rare voice facing the issue publicly.

The Roman Church is steeped in symbolism. Benedict’s visit to America ought to be in purple, scarlet or black, penitential colors – not triumphal white or gold.

Robinson holds that the institution’s modus operandi is to manage the problem by not seriously re-examining underlying issues that contributed to its systemic presence and by only addressing it when forced to.

The pope’s agenda, emerging in the press, reveals no meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse. He washed the feet of 12 priests recently on Holy Thursday in the safe confines of St. Peter’s. Would he replicate this act by washing the feet of victims in public? This action could give real meaning to the ceremony. Otherwise it remains just a passé symbol.

This could be Benedict’s “Obama moment.” After news reports on the controversial remarks of his pastor, Barack Obama went public and faced the prickly issue of racism in America, rather than spinning it away. A true leader hits head-on, rather than ducking, vexing issues.

Americans, Catholic or not, are acutely aware of the clerical sexual abuse issue. More than a leader, will the pope be a true pastor, a shepherd who will walk into the wilderness to seek the hurting members?

The pope, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was the watchdog of orthodoxy, intent on sniffing out any deviation from doctrine.

Few people are led to the gospel by doctrine; many are led to it by practice.

The officials who invited Queen Victoria to Ireland conspired to protect her from the sight of the ravages of famine lest she experience it and be moved to intervene.

Will the pope pretend that the issue of sexual abuse by clergy doesn’t exist? Have the American bishops been co-conspirators who, unlike Bishop Robinson, ignore this great challenge to the Catholic Church in America?

Will Catholics here be enablers for those who would maintain a facade of normality, keeping the victims voiceless and invisible? Is this historic moment one for pageantry or penitence?

Emmett Coyne is a Roman Catholic priest. This article was distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service.

CATHOLICS ON BEING CATHOLIC

February 2008 nationwide poll of 1,007 self-identified adult Catholics by Center for Applied Research. Margin of error plus-minus 1 percent.

How important are the following factors to your sense of what it means to be Catholic:

Helping those in need 83%

Receiving Holy Communion 79%

Sacrament of confirmation 74%

A life consistent with church teaching 73%

Devotion to Mary 68%

Attending Mass 68%

Having devotion to the saints 63%

Going to confession 58%

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY – In olden days, the deadly sins included lust, gluttony and greed. Now, the Catholic Church says pollution, mind-damaging drugs and genetic experiments are on its updated thou-shalt-not list.

In the Vatican’s latest update on how God’s law is being violated in today’s world, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, also cited the imbalance between the rich and the poor.

“If yesterday sin had a rather individualistic dimension, today it has a weight, a resonance, that’s especially social, rather than individual,” said Girotti, whose office deals with matters of conscience and grants absolution.

It’s not the first time the Vatican has sought to put a modern spin on sin. Last year, the Vatican took on the problem of highway accidents, issuing a kind of “Ten Commandments” for drivers against the sins of road rage, alcohol abuse and even rudeness behind the wheel.

Closer to home, Girotti was asked about the many “situations of scandal and sin within the church,” in what appeared to be a reference to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.

The monsignor acknowledged the “objective gravity” of the allegations, but contended that the heavy coverage by media of the scandals must also be denounced because it “discredits the church.”

JESSICA HUNT

jessicah@tucsoncitizen.com

More than 250 people from several religions gathered together Sunday for the Muslim-Jewish PeaceWalk.

“We are all praying and honoring the divine source,” said 48-year-old Bonnie Kneller, who is Jewish, embracing her Muslim friend Ismat Shafigullah, 64, who wore a white sari. “We create that connection across borders.”

The walk united not only Muslims and Jews, but also people of other religions.

“Every year is unique,” said Richard Wahl, 55, who is Jewish. “People are talking to others for the first time and learning new things.”

This year’s program began at 1 p.m. at the Islamic Center of Tucson with the recitation of an Islamic prayer, followed by a Jewish prayer for unity. An American Indian prayer and ritual and a welcome from state Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, followed.

The roughly three-mile walk ended at Ner Tamid at Water of Life Campus, 3269 N. Mountain Ave., just north of Fort Lowell Road.

The PeaceWalk, a nonprofit organization, was begun in April 2002 by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and Abdul Rauf Campos Marquetti, both of Albuquerque, N.M. It was a response to the aftermath of Sept. 11.

University of Arizona foreign exchange students Komang Subagia, 24, and Mohammad Syifa, 23, both from Indonesia, come from different religious backgrounds. Subagia is Hindu; Syifa is Muslim.

“All of the religions have different ways to worship God,” Subagia said, “but religion is like a small river and it has a big ocean as one place to worship.”

Subagia first heard about the walk from his American host family, which is Jewish. He said he looks forward to interacting with the participants and plans to keep in touch with those he meets.

Subagia said he first learned first about pluralism in Indonesia, where Christianity, Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism are practiced.

There is no similar event in Indonesia, but Syifa said he hopes to share the lessons he learned from the walk when he returns home.

“I would tell my people in Indonesia to program something like this,” Subagia said. “It’s a good recommendation for my country. There are a lot of differences.”

For Tucsonan Joseph Bongiovanni, 35, his first time at the walk and as a Universal Peace Federation member are just steps in his personal journey.

As a follower, Bongiovanni said, he would like to do peace work in Israel and help bring together people of different beliefs for discussion and ceremonies.

“It’s the Holy Land and where there’s so much trouble, and they need help,” he said.

The day ended with activities at Ner Tamid, including arts and crafts for children and a vegetarian dinner.

Without having joined in the walk over the years, Kneller said, she probably would not have met Shafigullah.

“If we start here (in Tucson), maybe we can expand it. That’s the hope,” Shafigullah said.

To get involved in next year’s PeaceWalk, call Dina Afek, one of the event co-founders, at 404-1988.

JESSICA HUNT

jessicah@tucsoncitizen.com

Open dialogue among Muslims, Jews and other religious groups remains the main objective of the annual Tucson Muslim-Jewish PeaceWalk, which celebrates its fifth year Sunday.

The walk helps educate participants, said 67-year-old Fayez Swailem, a University of Arizona radiology professor who was raised a Muslim and is one of the organizers.

Every year about 200 to 300 people from Tucson and throughout the state come here for the PeaceWalk.

“I feel very good. They know me, I know them. We are praying together for hope to solve problems,” Swailem said. “We are building bridges together.

“There are ways we can resolve issues with peace rather than using the military or force,” Swailem said.

The PeaceWalk, a nonprofit organization, arose from the Jewish-Muslim Interfaith PeaceWalk initiated in April 2002 by Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and Abdul Rauf Campos Marquetti, both of Albuquerque, N.M.. It was a response to the aftermath of 9/11.

Julius Gordon, 71, of Tucson, who is Jewish and a former walk organizer, said he and his wife, Grace, 51, saw Americans needed to pressure their government to do everything possible to improve conditions for Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East.

Senobar Tafazoli, 67, of Iran arrived in Tucson in 1978 and has been a Muslim since roughly 1980.

“It (PeaceWalk) is a nice gesture,” Tafazoli said. “And people – the Jews and Muslims and anyone else – can get along and work together.”

Each Friday, she attends the Mosque of Tucson, 250 W. Speedway Blvd.

Through the years, Tafazoli has worked with others to bring together the interfaith community.

About 14 years ago, she helped launch a soup kitchen and group at the Casas Adobes Congregational Church, which included volunteers from Tucson faith communities.

Tafazoli decided about three years ago to form a 10-person New Testament discussion group made up of Christians, Muslims and Jews.

“The Quran is very inclusive and I have tried to be very inclusive,” Tafazoli said.

She works with the Catholic charity organization St. Vincent de Paul Society and helps to bag food at a local Catholic church.

The walk is not limited to Muslims and Jews, said Tucsonan Dina Afek, 51, who was raised Jewish and is one of the PeaceWalk’s co-founders.

She said the event is open to the public and other faith communities.

She said that distinguishes the PeaceWalk from other interfaith walks.

“We can’t make peace in Israel and Palestine,” Afek said, “but we can show it is possible to get to know each other.”

IF YOU GO

• What: Fifth annual Muslim-Jewish PeaceWalk

• When: 1-6 p.m. Sunday

• Where: The event starts at 1 p.m. at the Islamic Center of Tucson, 901 E. First St., a block west of Park Avenue. It ends at 3 p.m. at Congregation Ner Tamid, the Water of Life campus, 3269 N. Mountain Ave., north of Fort Lowell Road.

• Activities: Children’s arts and crafts and adult and teen writing workshops and a post-walk vegetarian dinner are slated to begin about 3 p.m. at Ner Tamid.

• Price: free

• Info: www.PeaceWalkTucson.org; Dina Afek at 404-1988

The Arizona Republic

The Alliance Defense Fund is suing the Deer Valley Unified School District for not allowing a Christian student group to use the school’s PA system.

Mountain Ridge High School’s Common Cause Club wanted to invite students to a prayer meeting after school.

The organization said school officials prohibited the announcement because students wanted to say “prayer,” the ADF said.

A student representing the organization wanted to make an announcement Jan. 14 publicizing the group’s weekly prayer meeting. The prayer takes place at the school flagpole before school.

The following day, the assistant principal told the student she couldn’t make the announcement. When the student asked for her announcement back, the ADF said the assistant principal ripped it up in front of her before throwing it away.

The Fund said the club was treated unfairly because of its religious beliefs.

A Deer Valley spokesperson said district officials are not commenting on the lawsuit.

“I don’t believe we’re commenting on it. It’s been forwarded to our lawyers,” said Diane Drumwright, a district spokesperson. “Since our lawyers have it, we’re letting them handle it.”

The district’s lawyers don’t usually talk to the press about issues like this while in process, Drumwright said.