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Saturday, June 22, 2002

By Ann Rodgers-Melnick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Meeting in marathon sessions, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) addressed problems from the most personal to the most political, recommending a plan for peace in the Middle East, defining when late-term abortions are acceptable and calling for a boycott of Taco Bell.

Along the way the commissioners called for a year of prayer with and for church members with whom they disagree on the sexuality issues that have nearly fractured the denomination. Also, they called for full civil rights for gay people and declined to endorse an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would define marriage as "the union of a man and a woman."

The call to boycott the Mexican-inspired fast-food chain Taco Bell was in response to complaints that a corporate farm in Florida subjects its tomato pickers to "inhumane" conditions. Taco Bell "could double the picking rate, which would result in a living wage for the farm workers, by agreeing to pay one penny more per pound for the tomatoes it buys," the documentation for the boycott said. It passed 297-156.

By a vote of 464-45, the commissioners representing the 2.5 million-member denomination late Thursday night called for a "sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians." They urged full Arab recognition of Israel, Israel's withdrawal from the occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza; Israel's cooperation in establishing a Palestinian state; and an international peace-keeping force for the region.

Yesterday the commissioners responded to Sept. 11 with a comprehensive statement of sympathy for all those who died on that day "and in subsequent terrorist incidents and military conflicts." It acknowledged that other nations have grievances against the United States that the U.S. needs to address but condemned "any attacks directed at innocent civilians as inappropriate means to remedy grievances." It called for building constructive relationships with Muslims.

In a separate move, the commissioners voted 353-124 to ask the U.S. government to "exercise restraint" in contemplation of military action against Iraq.

Although it has been overshadowed by debates about homosexuality for the past decade, abortion resurfaced as one of the most contentious issues within the Presbyterian Church (USA). The denomination supports access to legal abortion but maintains that it should be the option of last resort. Yesterday the assembly adopted a list of conditions under which abortion could be acceptable after the fetus was capable of living outside the womb, and also approved a plan to develop pastoral resources for women who had undergone abortion.

With regard to abortions performed after a fetus is capable of surviving outside the womb with medical support, the commissioners declared, "The ending of a pregnancy after the point of fetal viability is a matter of grave moral concern to us all, and may be undertaken only in the rarest of circumstances and after prayer and/or pastoral care, when necessary to save the life of the woman, to preserve the woman's health in circumstances of a serious risk to the woman's health, to avoid fetal suffering as a result of untreatable life-threatening medical anomalies or in cases of incest or rape."

Michael Gehrling, a youth delegate from Pittsburgh Presbytery, cited a Bible verse in which God declares that he knew the prophet Jeremiah before Jeremiah's birth.

"It's easy for some of us to justify killing the unborn. We never see the unborn. They have no name. We don't know them. But God knows them," Gehrling said.

The broader list of exceptions passed 394-112.

The Rev. James Mead, pastor to Pittsburgh Presbytery, said afterward that he did not believe that definition responded to the "huge preponderance of people who are really concerned about the implications of late term abortions."

However, he said. "The good news is that one strength of the Presbyterian church is that we are able to wrestle in depth with the toughest issues in our society, and keep at it. These issues don't resolve quickly with people of passion and conviction on both sides."

The commissioners also addressed the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and church professionals by urging all church officers to report allegations to the civil authorities; to refuse to make confidential settlements that keep cases secret; and to make known any such agreements that were made in the past. It advised church courts of the Presbyterian Church (USA) that in cases of known abuse, "the only appropriate censure is removal from office."