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World Council nudges Israel on Arab lands
AMMAN, Jordan—A Geneva-based church body said this week it would launch a global initiative to have churches worldwide rally for an end to Israel’s occupation of Arab lands seized in the 1967 Mideast war.

The World Council of Churches said in a statement that it designated Jordan as a venue for its initiative, which would enlist support from religious groups worldwide.

“The initiative aims at calling on all churches to work seriously for putting an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands,” the statement said.

The World Council of Churches, founded in 1948, groups 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing over 560 million Christians in more than 110 countries.

The council also will create an advocacy initiative, the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum, meant to improve cooperation among churches worldwide advocating for Mideast peace.

The council’s call came during the opening of a three-day meeting gathering 130 member churches and related organizations from around the world.

Nun quits in dispute over her standing
SCRANTON, Pa.—A Roman Catholic nun quit her teaching job rather than comply with an “insulting” demand for a letter declaring her a Catholic in good standing.

The Diocese of Scranton is laying off about 100 teachers as it closes several elementary and high schools in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties due in part to declining enrollment.

The diocese is basing its retention decisions on teacher qualifications, seniority and proof of good standing in the church in the form of the letters from pastors.

But Sister Regina Werntz, who has taught the past nine years at Bishop Hoban High School, said that “most of the 10 sisters at Bishop Hoban ... viewed this as personally demeaning and also insulting to our religious congregations.”

Dan Gallagher, a diocesan spokesman, said nuns were guaranteed teaching positions after the consolidation if they applied. “There were many other sisters who apparently had no problem with the letter and submitted it without any problems,” Gallagher said.

Werntz plans to teach at an all-girls school in New Jersey this fall. She said she protested the letter to set an example for her students “to question or protest injustice.”

Jewish author honored for book on pope friendship
PHILADELPHIA—Roman Catholic leaders gathered for ceremonies to honor a Jewish author’s friendship with the late Pope John Paul II and her ability to touch others’ lives.

Lena Allen-Shore of Philadelphia, an adjunct professor at Gratz College, began a close acquaintance with the pope when he responded to a letter she wrote in 1979, weeks after his election as the first Polish pope. They met several times, and she wrote “Building Bridges,” about their childhoods outside Krakow, Poland, and their different paths, which did not cross until old age.

The June 13 gathering at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., marked the release of the third edition of “Building Bridges.”

The new edition of “Building Bridges” includes a note John Paul wrote when the first edition was published, saying, “Thank you for seeing deep into my thoughts and understanding the intentions guiding my actions.”