Washington, DC ... Steve Allen, television personality, author, comedian and an advocate for morality in media, died from an apparent heart attack on Monday, October 30 2000. He was 78.

Upon hearing of Mr. Allen's passing, Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski remarked, "Not only was Steve Allen a superb entertainer, but in his latter years, he worked to restore decency and morality to television broadcasting, an industry he dearly loved and helped shape from its early beginnings."

Mr. Allen worked diligently with the Parents Television Council, based in Los Angeles, CA. Cooperating with Senators Sam Brownback (R – KA) and Joseph Leiberman (D – CT), Mr. Allen endeavored to halt, as he said, "TV [from] leading children down a moral sewer."

"Steve Allen contributed much to America," said Joseph K. Grieboski. "He was television's Conscience. He will be missed, but never forgotten."

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Washington, DC ... The Institute on Religion and Public Policy congratulates WAAF-FM radio for removing disc jockeys Tom Birdsey and "Rocko" after they refused to stop airing what they said were secretly taped confessions from a Catholic church.

Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski remarked, "The sacramental seal of confession is the strict and inviolable obligation of keeping secret whatever has been related to the confessor to obtain absolution. The DJs violated, even in jest, the most sacred elements of the act of Penance. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out, 'the secret of the sacrament of reconciliation is sacred, and cannot be violated under any pretext.'"

The "confessions" were phony and station management was in on the joke. When the disc jockeys refused to stop playing the confessions, they were taken off the air 90 minutes before their 3-7 p.m. shift ended.

According to the Canon Law Society of America, in 1988 the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with specific papal authorization decreed a latae sententiae excommunication for anyone deliberately using technical instruments to record anything said in sacramental confession by the confessor or the penitent, real or feigned.

Mr. Grieboski added. "Despite the fact that the 'confessions' were not real, these persons mocked the very sacred elements of the sacrament of confession. Further, in this day and age, such an act raises specters in the minds of Catholics who may have heard these 'confessions.' This act may have hindered someone in desperate need of the graces of the sacrament of reconciliation from approaching the confessional. The pastoral damage is potentially great."

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October 18, 2000

His Excellency, Phan Van Khai
Prime Minister
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Vietnam

Your Excellency:

On behalf of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, I am writing to express our concern regarding the government requisition of a large part of the lands managed by the Benedictine monks of the Thien An Monastery.

The government's decision to requisition the land used by the monks for their subsistence in order to build an amusement park comes as a great shock, particularly since your government has been quite effective in restoring large segments of property.

Until now the monks had never been denied the right to use this land. Since 1940, when the monastery was opened, the land has been registered at the Thua Thien-Hue land-office. Now the decision of your government refers to the area as if it were uncultivated land, whereas the local town council of Thuy Bang recognized the monastery as the legal manager of this land as recently as 1996.

The requisition of this land worked by contemplative monks to provide their subsistence, with no previous warning as is required by the present law regarding the use of land, robs authentic workers of a farm which they have created with their own hands.

Prime Minister, this government action can be interpreted as an attack on the Catholic community in Vietnam, and a violation of monastic life. I implore you and your government to rescind the order confiscating the land and to return management and use of the land to the Benedictine monks of Thien An Monastery.

With cordial personal regards and hopes for a positive resolution to this situation, I am,

Sincerely,

Joseph K. Grieboski
President

October 16, 2000

The Honorable Richard Danzig
Secretary of the Navy
Washington, DC 20350-1000

Dear Secretary Danzig:

On behalf of the Directors, Advisors, and Staff of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, please allow me to offer our deepest condolences, best wishes, and prayers for the crew, family, and friends of the USS Cole.

Each and every day young men and women from across our great land put their lives at risk to guarantee that America is the home of the free. Their service, dedication, and sacrifice makes it possible for us to sleep comfortably at night knowing that we will not suffer the ravages of war.

A cowardly attack of terrorism, state-sponsored or otherwise, such as that committed against the USS Cole is yet another indication that the United States must remain ardent and vigilant in its mission to spread democracy and peace throughout the world.

Secretary Danzig, at this difficult time, know that our thoughts and prayers are with the crew, family, and the entire United States Navy.

With warmest personal regards and best wishes, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Joseph K. Grieboski
President

Washington, DC ... In an attempt to elicit from presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush the importance of human rights and religious liberty in their respective administrations, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy has drafted and developed a questionnaire on religious freedom to be sent to the respective campaigns. Signed by religious and human rights leaders from across the country, this questionnaire will gauge the candidates on their positions regarding religious freedom and human rights.

"This questionnaire will attempt to ascertain how important human rights and religious liberty will be in a Gore or Bush Administration," remarked Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski. "We are immensely pleased with the leadership displayed by the numerous signatories to the questionnaire letter thus far. Human rights and religious liberty are important issues to the American people and have tremendous effects on America's overall foreign policy."

The Presidential Candidates Questionnaire on International Religious Freedom consists of eight questions to determine the policies and practices of a Gore or Bush Administration with regard to international religious freedom. The questionnaire will be sent to the respective campaigns this week. The Institute will publish the responses from the campaigns upon receipt.

Mr. Grieboski observed, "Both candidates must be ready to demonstrate leadership and commitment to protecting the rights of all people to express their faith and religious beliefs as they so wish, immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others within due limits. Thus far neither candidate has discussed human rights and religious freedom in the course of the campaign or during the debates. It is about time that both candidates make their positions known."

For more information on the questionnaire, contact the Institute via e-mail at Grieboski@religionandpolicy.org, or by calling (202) 835-8760.

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October 13, 2000

Dear Vice President Gore/Governor Bush:

Congratulations on your nomination as the Democratic/Republican candidate for President of the United States. As a coalition of religious leaders, religious freedom and human rights activists, and concerned Americans, we are interested in your answers to several questions regarding international religious freedom.

In October 1998 the United States Congress unanimously passed the International Religious Freedom Act. The Act created an Office of International Religious Freedom at the State Department headed by an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Dr. Robert Seiple was the first to fill this position. The ambassador-at-large also serves as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an entity created by the IRFA to monitor violations of religious freedom abroad and give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom was established as an independent legislative agency. The Commission is composed of an Ambassador at Large, serving as an ex officio and nonvoting member, and nine other appointed members, three of whom are appointed by the President, three by the President pro tempore of the Senate, and three by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Current commissioners were selected for their knowledge and experience in fields relevant to the issue of international religious freedom, including foreign affairs, direct experience abroad, human rights, and international law. Meetings are held monthly, as are teleconferences between meetings.

Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Robert Seiple recently submitted his resignation from that post effective in September. Ambassador Seiple's resignation leaves a vacuum in the positive steps taken by the United States Government within the past several years to alleviate the suffering of persecuted, discriminated, and harassed religious minorities. If elected, you will be responsible for appointing his successor in office.

Answers to the following sets of questions will allow the American community of faith to understand the priority religious freedom will have in your administration and the extent of emphasis your administration will place on protecting our co-religionists globally.

Mr. Gore/Bush, your careful consideration of these questions will allow the American community of faith and those of us dedicated to defending the rights of all peoples to practice as they wish an opportunity to study and inform ourselves on your positions and policies. Understanding that the freedom of expression, especially religious expression, is the core value that has enabled the success and prosperity of the American experiment, we support the United States Government in its actions to resist oppression of religious liberty around the world, calling on the strength of leaders of faith and good conscience in the United States and abroad.

With gratitude and appreciation in advance for your timely response, we are,

Sincerely yours,

Joseph K. Grieboski
President
Institute on Religion and Public Policy

Rabbi Irving Greenberg
President
Jewish Life Network

Nina Shea
Director
Center for Religious Freedom
Freedom House

Commissioner John Busby
National Commander
The Salvation Army

Richard D. Land, Ph.D.
President
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

Jim Wallis
Editor in Chief
Sojourners Magazine

Dean Jones
Actor
President, Christian Rescue Committee

E. Brandt Gustavson, L.L.D.
President
National Religious Broadcasters

Dr. Derek H. Davis
Director, J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, Baylor University
Editor, Journal of Church and State

Very Reverend Raul Rendon, O.SS.T.
Minister Provincial
US Province
Order of the Most Holy Trinity

Lauren B. Homer, Esq.
Attorney, Pranschke & Holderle, LC
President, Law and Liberty Trust

Reverend Rob Schenck
President
National Clergy Council

William Donohue
President
Catholic League for Civil and Political Rights

Reverend Tony Campolo
Professor of Sociology
Eastern College

Reverend Thomas R. Betz, O.F.M., Cap.
Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Bruce Casino
President
International Coalition on Religious Freedom

Michael Horowitz
Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Director, Project for Civil Justice Reform
Director, Project for International Religious Liberty

Bernard Dobranski
Dean
Ave Maria School of Law

Reverend Will C. Harris
Associate Pastor
Loveland Church

Carl H. Esbeck
Director
Center for Law and Religious Freedom

Roger Winter
Executive Director
U.S. Committee for Refugees

Robert A. Destro
Dean
Columbus School of Law
The Catholic University of America

Archbishop Nicholas Lambrou
Archbishop-Primate, Archdiocese of the Americas
Autocephalous Holy Eastern Orthodox Church

Rabbi Harold White
Senior Jewish Chaplain
Georgetown University

Pastor Marvin Williams
Garden of Gethsemane Church

Dr. Charles Jacobs
President
American Anti-Slavery Group

Anne Greene, Ph.D.
Program Officer
Meridian International Center

C. Naseer Ahmad
Human Rights Committee
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA

Marshall Breger
Professor of Law
Columbus School of Law
The Catholic University of America

Diane K. Knippers
President
Institute on Religion and Democracy

Reverend N. J. L'Heureux, Jr.
Executive Director
Queens Federation of Churches
Moderator, Committee on Religious Liberty
National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA

The Reverend Canon Patrick P. Augustine
Chair
Companions for World Mission
Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia

Nagi A. Kheir, Spokesman
The American Coptic Association
Member of the International Coptic Congress
Director of Middle East Affairs, Advocates International

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Wingning Pang
Executive Director
Christian Leadership Exchange

1. Under Section 402(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 [22 U.S.C. § 6442(b)], the President "shall designate each country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated [severe violations] as a country of particular concern for religious freedom." The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan be listed as "countries of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The Commission further concluded that Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, Serbia, Sudan, and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan should be kept on the list. Within the guidelines provided by the International Religious Freedom Act, and within the context of overall American foreign policy, what steps will your administration take to deal with severe violations of religious freedom in those states designated "countries of particular concern"?

2. Given the recent resignation of Ambassador Robert Seiple, and the fact that the U.S. Government will be without an ambassador representing this crucial issue from September 2000 until at least January 2001, how soon into your administration will you nominate a new ambassador-at-large?

3. Ambassador Seiple and the nine sitting members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom each brings with them to the issue a particular religious perspective, as well as unique specialties in handling this issue. (a) What qualifications and characteristics will your administration seek in an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom? (b) What qualifications and characteristics will your administration's appointments to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom have?

4. One of the most important facets of the International Religious Freedom Act was the emphasis placed on the integration of religious freedom into overall United States foreign policy. What steps will your administration take to guarantee that discriminated, harassed, and persecuted religious groups will be protected?

5. The United States House of Representatives has recognized continuing atrocities committed in Sudan as genocide. The United States Holocaust Museum has labeled Sudan its first Country of Conscience, establishing an exhibit in the museum on the violence in Sudan. In the Sudan Peace Act of 2000, Congress condemned slavery and other human rights abuses in Sudan. The current administration has undertaken limited substantive action to curb the violence against Christians and Animists in the south of Sudan. Further, Sudan has engaged in acts of terrorism. Will you initiate a formal review by the State Department's genocide office to determine whether Sudan should be so designated? What steps will you take to ensure that the regime no longer exercises any veto power over u.s. food and humanitarian assistance distribution? Will you initiate a top to bottom policy review of U.S. policy towards Sudan within the first 30 days of the confirmation of your Secretary of State, and will the Secretary be specifically directed to consult with appropriate congressional leaders as Senators Bill Frist, Russell Feingold and Sam Brownback and Congressmen Donald Payne, Frank Wolf, Tom Tancredo and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton? What steps will you take to end the regime's current bombing campaigns against refugee camps, hospitals and churches? What steps will you take to end the Sudan-supported atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army? As president, will you appear at the Holocaust Museum exhibit on Sudan, now scheduled to open in mid-November? Will you as President use the bully pulpit of your office to denounce the genocidal policies and religious persecution being carried out by the government of Khartoum against the southern religious and racial minorities and will you work to gain the support and cooperation of our allies on this issue?

6. We have sadly observed many former havens of freedom and expression becoming new and subtle arenas for religious discrimination. A bill passed by the French National Assembly on 22 June 2000 is a perfect example of this new and potentially dangerous trend, as is the recent arrest of Christian Indian national George Thomas by Saudi Arabian authorities on his return from a worship service. How firmly and to what extent will your administration deal with violations of human rights and religious freedom by our allies, particularly in Western Europe?

7. South Asia, in particular the Indian subcontinent, has received serious attention by the United States Government regarding nuclear development and proliferation. However, the United States Government has paid limited attention to egregious violations of human rights and religious freedom, fearing doing so would limit American influence on these other issues. Will your administration pay appropriate attention to human rights in South Asia, or will regional security issues once again be a greater priority to United States foreign policy than human rights and religious freedom?

8. While religious leaders from around the world were gathering in New York to discuss how religion can be used to stop violence and conflict, Chinese police arrested 130 people, including three Taiwan-born U.S. citizens, for their involvement in an evangelical Christian group. On 19 August 2000, Father Gao Yi Hua, an underground Roman Catholic priest, was arrested by approximately five Chinese police officers in the home of his friend after he celebrated a private Mass. With the passage of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China, the tremendous American business interests in China, China's refusal to discuss religious freedom issues with the United States Government, and China's deplorable record of human rights violations, define in detail what steps your administration will take to guarantee that human rights and religious freedom in China are respected as highly and cared for as deeply as American business interests.

Washington, DC ... Institute on Religion and Public Policy President Joseph K. Grieboski today released the following statement regarding the ongoing violence in the Middle East:

With deep anguish, grave concern and deepening dismay, The Institute on Religion and Public Policy has observed the escalating tension and cycles of violence underway in the Middle East, which have spared not even Holy Sites.

The Institute expresses its sincere sorrow over the loss of human life and offers its sincere condolences to the grieving families of those killed since demonstrations began in Jerusalem several days ago.

In the face of such climactic violence and suffering, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy can only entreat everyone to put an end to this escalating spiral of violence, without delay. We call on all parties to cease immediately any and all acts of violence and provocation to violence. We urge that the international community, acting singly or together, assist the parties in de-escalating their conflict and in finding alternative ways to address their increasingly bitter grievances with each other.

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy asks all believers to pray to God that the peoples and the leaders of this region will find a way to resume the process of dialogue, and to recognize one another as sons of the same God.

The Institute calls for an immediate end to all armed confrontations and use of force, a return to negotiations, and respect for the legitimate aspirations of the two peoples, and of the accords undertaken to date.

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October 10, 2000

Los Angeles Times
202 W. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Dear Editor:

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy is profoundly offended by the insensitive and incendiary Editorial Cartoon depicting two men praying at what is supposed to be the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It makes a mockery of a site sacred to the Jewish people; it attributes hate to all Jews who visit the site to pray; it offends all believers, whether Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. Ramirez's Editorial Cartoon is not only unhelpful in the current state of agitation and violence, it is untrue. He owes everyone an apology, particularly the Jewish people.

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy is profoundly shocked and offended by the Ramirez cartoon assailing the Western Wall, one of Judaism's central symbols, as a message of hate and the worshippers there as hatemongers. Whatever one may think of contemporary political issues, to so besmirch what is sacred to one religious tradition is to attack all religious traditions. The proper attitude of Christians and all decent persons toward such an ancient Holy Site was seen, rather, in Pope John Paul II's prayerful visit to the Wall.

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy calls on the Los Angeles Times to demand an apology from Michael Ramirez and that appropriate action be taken by the Los Angeles Times to account for such a travesty and attack.

Sincerely,

Joseph K. Grieboski
President

Washington, DC ... The Institute on Religion and Public Policy congratulates the Committee on International Relations of the United House of Representatives for its passage of House Resolution 588, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to violations in Western Europe of provisions of the Helsinki Final Act and other international agreements relating to the freedom of individuals to profess and practice religion or belief.

Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski remarked, "The International Relations Committee has been a voice on behalf of the rights of all citizens to express their faith and religious beliefs as they so wish, immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others within due limits."

The United State Congress made a clear and strong stand against the new trend of anti-religiosity moving across Western Europe and in favor of preservation of religious freedom around the globe. House Resolution 588 demonstrates to the American people, and to people all over the world, that the United States Congress stands for liberty, freedom, and the right to express one's faith without fear of discrimination or persecution.