Briefly

ASU dedicates religious institute
PHOENIX — A $20 million religious institute has opened at Arizona State University after more than a year of construction.

Among those who dedicated the Tempe Institute of Religion at a ceremony were Gov. Janet Napolitano, ASU President Michael Crow and officials from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We’re not just here dedicating a building,” Crow said. “We’re here dedicating a central principle of the United States — freedom of religion.”

The institute, which replaces a building that had served the LDS Church since 1964, is nearly double the size of the old one at 44,000 square feet. It has two chapels, a gym and nine classrooms.

Although students do not have to be members of the LDS church to take classes, the vast majority who do are.

Classes taken at the institute do not count toward a degree, but are taken by students who want to further their religious education.

“It’s going to be like a home away from home for people who are going to ASU to come and relax,” said Dennis Barney, president of the Tempe Arizona University Stake, a geographical area that contains eight wards serving about 2,000 people.

Catholic Church to sell convent to pay settlement
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles is selling a convent that has housed an order of nuns for more than four decades to help pay for a record-breaking sex abuse settlement.

Three nuns from the Sisters of Bethany order have until Dec. 31 to move out, though an earlier departure “would be acceptable as well,” the archdiocese’s vicar general said in a letter to the nuns.

“We’re just so hurt by this,” said Sister Angela Escalera, the order’s local superior. “And what hurts the most is what the money will be used for, to help pay for the pedophile priests. We have to sacrifice our home for that?”

In July, the archdiocese announced a record $660 million settlement with clergy abuse victims. Of that, as much as $373 million will be paid by the archdiocese, with the rest coming from insurers and various religious orders.

To help cover the bill the archdiocese plans to sell up to 50 non-parish properties, including its administrative headquarters. The convent is the first property outside of those central offices to be identified as among those to be sold.

The decision to sell the convent was difficult but necessary, said Tod M. Tamberg, spokesman for the archdiocese.

“The pain is being spread around,” Tamberg said. “We’re losing our headquarters here, and none of the employees got a pay raise this year. This is just part of making it right with the victims, and we all have to share in the process even though none of us — the nuns, myself — harmed anybody.”

The Santa Barbara County assessor’s office lists the convent property’s value at $97,746, though it will likely sell for more. Smaller, older homes nearby start at about $700,000, according to the local real estate Web sites.

Escalera said the sisters have been overwhelmed by offers of help, including temporary housing.

Religious group sues university over funding
MADISON, Wis. — A Catholic student group has sued the University of Wisconsin-Madison, saying the school is illegally refusing to allow student fees to pay for certain religious activities.

The Roman Catholic Foundation, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, is asking a federal judge to force the university to pay for things like printing Lenten booklets and hosting spiritual retreats.

Top Presbyterian officer announces retirement
LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick will retire when his term as the top official of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) expires next year.

Kirkpatrick has been elected three times since 1996 as stated clerk, the top church officer for the 2.3 million-member denomination.

He plans to spend more time with family and as president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which includes more than 200 Protestant denominations.