Brittany Murphy (originally aired November 16, 2002)
- Hanukah Song (an estimated 1.3 percent of the adult U.S. population identifies itself as adhering to the Jewish religion according to a 2001 survey)
- Donahue : Is Liberalism Dead? (Republicans now control both the executive and legislative branches with the 2002 elections; about 0.47 percent of the U.S. population was in state or federal prison at the end of 2001)
- Weekend Update (the United States plans to invade Iraq if it fails to comply fully with a U.N. Security Council resolution)
- Religetables (allusions to Catholic Church scandal concerning sex abuse)
Religious Profile: Population (last updated November 17, 2002) (back to top)
According to a 2001 survey by researchers at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, about 77 percent of the U.S. adult population identified their religious affiliation as Christian, 14 percent as not subscribing to any religious identification, 1.3 percent as Jewish, 0.5 percent as Muslim, and 0.5 percent as Buddhist. Another 5 percent refused to answer.
Based on the survey, the researchers estimated that there were about 5.3 million adults in the Jewish population, including those who are adherents of Judaism and those who are of Jewish parentage or were raised Jewish or considered themselves Jewish for another reason. Of this total, an estimated 2.8 million are adherents of Judaism, 1.1 million are adherents of no religion, and 1.4 million are adherents of a religion other than Judaism.
Federal law bars the U.S. Census from asking about the religious identity of the American population, which means that any religious profile has to be calculated and estimated from other sources, such as academics, institutions, and other groups.
For more on religion issues, go here.
Sources: Barry A. Kosmin, Egon Mayer, and Ariela Keysar, American Religious Identification Survey 2001, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Barry A. Kosmin, Egon Mayer, and Ariela Keysar, Profile of the US Muslim Population, ARIS Report No. 2 (October 2001), available on-line here.
Control of Congress (last updated November 16, 2002) (back to top)
The Republican Party re-gained control of the Senate and solidified its control of the House in the Nov. 5, 2002 mid-term elections, thus placing the legislative and executive branches fully in the control of one party for the first time in years. The Republicans took control of the House in 1995 and the Senate in 1997, but lost control of the Senate in June 2001 when Sen. Jeffrey Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party to become a Democrat-affiliated independent.
The shift in power gives President George W. Bush – who campaigned extensively in the days preceding the election – and the Republican Party greater control of the legislative agenda. The majority party in the Senate gets to lead the Senate committees and thus can push their actions, such as making permanent the Bush tax cut of 2001, the creation of a homeland security department, and the confirmation of conservative federal judges. However, the narrow majority in the Senate still means that the Democrats are needed to pass some Senate actions and that they can use procedural devices such as filibusters to prevent some actions from coming up for a vote, and that the Senate could easily shift again with the 2004 elections.
Going into the 2002 elections, the Democrats had 50 seats in the Senate as well as the support of Sen. Jeffords, and the Republicans had 49 seats. With a Louisiana election still in dispute a few days after the elections, the Republicans had at least 51 seats in the new Senate and the Democrats had no more than 48 seats plus Jeffords' support.
The following charts show how strong the majority party's control of the Senate has been and how party divisions have changed in recent years.
Sources: The Senate has information about party divisions on-line here.
Prison Statistics (last updated November 17, 2002) (back to top)
There were 1.4 million prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction at the end of 2001, comprising about 0.47 percent of the U.S. population. Another 630,000 were in local jails, 730,000 were on parole, and 3.9 million were on probation.
Black men have higher rates of incarceration than other racial-gender groups. About 3.5 percent of all black men were in prison at the end of 2001, compared to 1.2 percent of all Hispanic men and 0.5 percent of all white men. Black men aged 25-29 in particular have high rates of incarceration; 10.0 percent of all black men aged 25-29 were in prison at the end of 2001, compared to 2.9 percent of similarly-aged Hispanic men and 1.2 percent of similarly-aged white men.
Sources: The Bureau of Justice Statistics regularly published bulletins twice a year about the correctional populations. The most recent report covers the end of 2001, was published in July 2002, and is on-line here.
Iraq (last updated November 16, 2002) (back to top)
Ruled by Saddam Hussein since 1979, Iraq has seen its relationship with the United States change from that of Cold War ally to Gulf War enemy to possible target in the United States' self-declared war against terrorism. Faced with possible military action by the United States and a growing international consensus against it, Iraq agreed on Nov. 13 to provide a full accounting of any weapons of mass destruction and to allow international inspectors access for the first time since 1998.
In its Nov. 8 resolution, the U.N. Security Council gave Iraq a "final opportunity" to comply with its disarmament obligations. Iraq must accept the terms of the resolution by Nov. 15 and make a "full, accurate and complete" declaration of all its weapons of mass destruction by Dec. 8 in order to avoid further U.N. action and "serious consequences." If Iraq does comply, weapon inspectors must restart their work by Dec. 23, be given unfettered access to Iraqi facilities and officials, and must report to the U.N. Security Council by Feb. 21, 2003.
Denying that it had developed any weapons of mass destruction since 1998, Iraq announced in a Nov. 13 letter signed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Naji Sabri that it would "deal with" the U.N. resolution and allow inspectors into the country, despite the resolution's "iniquitous contents" and the "bad faith" of the United States and Britain in seeking it. Iraq did not explicitly say it would grant inspectors full access, and indicated that it would supervise inspectors' conduct to ensure that it would be "lawful and professional."
U.N. weapons inspectors have said they will be ready to start looking at possible weapons sites by Nov. 27, 10 days before Iraq's declaration is due. The United States has said it will consider a false declaration justification for going to war.
Bush's campaign to rally support for military action against Iraq began in early 2002 (shortly after military operations in Afghanistan succeeded in largely dismantling al-Qaeda) with a Jan. 29 State of the Union address in which he described Iraq as one of several states constituting an "axis of evil" because of its search for weapons of mass destruction (see text here). He then took his case to the United Nations in a Sept. 12 speech demanding compliance with weapon inspections and other policy changes.
Within days, Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that Iraq would allow the return of U.N. weapons inspectors "without conditions," according to a Sept. 16 letter addressed to and publicly released by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. Iraq's government "based its decision concerning the return of inspectors on its desire to complete the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction," Minister Naji Sabri wrote.
The Bush administration cast doubt on the validity of Iraq's decision, saying that Iraq was merely seeking further delay, and continued to push for Congressional authorization to use force, which it received with a resolution approved on October 10 and 11. Under that resolution, Bush was given authorization to use force as he deems "necessary and appropriate" to defend the United States and to enforce U.N. resolutions calling for Iraq's disarmament. The Bush administration also continued to push for a stronger U.N. resolution.
The U.N. Security Council resolution thus approved on Nov. 8 was the result of negotiations between the United States and several other countries such as France. During these negotiations, the United States dropped its insistence of calling for "all necessary means" to enforce the terms, and agreed to the two-stage process in which the Security Council would meet to decide what to do if Iraq does not comply with the resolution.
United Nations weapons inspectors began seeking access in 1991, faced difficulties throughout the 1990s, and were forced out of the country in 1998 and have not been allowed access since then. Inspectors have reported that Iraq had a biological weapons program (which Iraq says was destroyed in 1991), chemical weapons, and long-range ballistic missiles. The International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors have reported that Iraq had a clandestine nuclear program as of late 1998, but that the program had not produced a nuclear weapon at that time. For more on Iraq's weapons, go here.
Iraq's most recent wars have been over territorial boundaries. From 1980 to 1988, Iraq and neighboring Iran were at war over territorial boundaries. In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait but were ousted by a US-led coalition acting under UN resolutions in early 1991. Since then, the United States and the United Nations have taken various measures to limit Hussein's power and, ideally, to bring about an internal change in regime.
First, the international community has imposed economic sanctions and taken military actions (most recently with Operation Desert Fox in December 1998) for Iraq's lack of cooperation with UN weapons inspectors. Even with the limited access provided by Iraq, inspectors have issued reports concluding that Iraq has been developing chemical and biological weapons, and that it has made major steps towards building a nuclear weapon though it had not done so by December 1998. Aside from the inspections, the embargo and sanctions have been controversial, with many critics, especially in the Middle East, blaming such measures for ruining the Iraqi economy and creating a massive public health crisis; US officials put the blame instead on Iraq, noting that there is no embargo on food or medicines. For more on weapons inspections, go here. For more on sanctions, go here.
Problems over inspections loomed large in 1998, which ended with US and UK military strikes against Iraq. Over the course of 1998, Iraq and the UNSCOM had many conflicts, with Iraq denying full access to monitors. In August 1998, UNSCOM inspector Scott Ritter resigned in protest, saying that the US and UK were putting pressure on UNSCOM to abandon planned inspections so as to avoid new confrontations with Iraq. By October 1998, Iraq refused to provide full cooperation until the embargo was lifted. Finally, UN inspectors left the country in December, and then on December 16, 1998, the United States and Britain initiated four days of air strikes against Iraq (Operation Desert Fox). According to the US Department of Defense, the 100 sites attacked were military targets, with only one economic target, a pumping station used in illegal oil exports.
Second, a UN coalition led by the United States and Britain has maintained no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq. These operations were initially justified as ways to protect Iraqi minorities such as the Kurds from attack by the regime, and have also been used to monitor the regime's activities. The UN also maintains a no-drive zone in southern Iraq to prevent a military build-up that could again invade Kuwait. For more on no-fly zones, go here.
Sources: The U.N. Security Council resolution approved on Nov. 8, 2002 is on-line here. The CIA's World Factbook entry on Iraq is on-line here. The State Department's December 2001 country background note on Iraq is available via the State Department's website, located here. President Bush's Sept. 12, 2002 speech to the United Nations is available on-line here. Michael R. Gordon and David E. Sanger, Powell says US is weighing ways to topple Hussein, New York Times, February 13, 2002. Thom Shanker and David E. Sanger, U.S. envisions blueprint on Iraq including big invasion next year, New York Times, April 28, 2002. Steven R. Weisman, How Powell lined up votes, starting with his President's, New York Times, Nov. 8, 2002.
The Catholic Church and Sex Abuse Against Minors (last updated November 5, 2002) (back to top)
Claims of clergy sexual abuse against minors has been a topic of concern since at least the mid-1980s and especially in recent months. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the foremost organization for Catholic leaders, has made efforts on the problem since the mid-1980s, but the scandal reached new levels in early 2002 with the public admissions that various church leaders kept allegations secret and may have reassigned perpetrators to other ministries where children were present.
The Conference adopted at its June 2002 meeting of bishops two documents : a charter that admitted the Church's mistakes in handling allegations in the past and a set of "essential norms" for policies that would require dioceses to cooperate more with civil authorities and to remove priests accused of abuse from ministerial duties. Vatican officials in Rome expressed concerns about some of the "essential norms" in mid-October 2002, and a mixed commission of Conference and Vatican officials met at the end of October to reconcile the "essential norms" with the Church's existing procedures for removing a cleric.
Some of the revised "essential norms" stemming from that late October 2002 meeting include:
- Investigation of priests accused of sexual abuse before temporary removal from ministerial duties. Dioceses will investigate "promptly and objectively" when an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor is reported, and when there is sufficient evidence of abuse, officials may remove the accused from the ministry or impose restrictions. Under the Conference's June 2002 policy, dioceses would relieve accused priests from any ecclesiastical ministry or function whenever a "credible" accusation was made, and an investigation would then follow.
- Punishment for a single act of sexual abuse. A priest or deacon who commits "even a single act of sexual abuse" will be removed permanently from ecclesiastical ministry "if the case so warrants." The Conference's June 2002 policy did not include the "escape-valve" final clause.
- Disclosure to civil authorities. Dioceses will comply with applicable civil law in reporting allegations to civil authorities. Dioceses would have been required to go even further under the the Conference's June 2002 policy, in which they would be required to report "any allegation (unless canonically privileged) of sexual abuse of a person who is a currently a minor" and to cooperate with reporting cases when the person is no longer a minor.
- Limited civilian review. Lay people will comprise the majority of a review board for each diocese that will advise diocesan officials in assessing allegations of sexual abuse. In the Conference's July 2002 policy, this review board would make its own assessment of sexual abuse allegations and would report this assessment to the victim and accused, and an appellate review board comprised mostly of lay people would also have offered advice to diocesan officials.
- Definition of sexual abuse. The revised policy defines sexual abuse of a minor as "sexual molestation or sexual exploitation of a minor and other behavior by which an adult uses a minor as an object of sexual gratification." Dioceses will apply this standard not based on any civil law, but in whether the conduct violates the sixth commandment. The Conference's June 2002 policy did not define sexual abuse.
The revised "essential norms" will become particular law in the United States if they are approved by the Conference and receive the recognition of the Holy See. Two years after the norms receive such recognition, the Conference's plenary assembly will re-evaluate the norms.
The Conference's June charter and its now-revised policies stem from a meeting between United States bishops and the Vatican in late April 2002. The Pope, who reportedly initially treated the scandal as a local problem confined largely to the United States, became involved in the spring of 2002. In mid-March, the Pope referred to the scandal but only in veiled terms. He then took a more dramatic step on April 15 by summoning all cardinals in the United States for talks the following week. The April 23-24 meetings resulted in a papal statement of sympathy and with plans for new procedures to dismiss priests who have sexually abused children or pose a threat.
Various federal surveys have tried to measure the extent of child sex abuse and the characteristics of perpetrators. A Bureau of Justice Statistics survey published in July 2000 shows that most offenders in cases reported to law-enforcement authorities know the victims and are usually acquaintances. In reported cases involving juveniles aged 0-17, 58.7 percent of perpetrators are acquaintances (which presumably could include a priest), 34.2 percent are family members, and 7 percent are strangers.
While recent national attention has focused on boys as victims, girls are many times more likely to be the victims of sexual abuse and assaults, according to federal surveys. About 4 out of every 10,000 male children and about 16 out of every 10,000 female children are the victim of sexual abuse by a caretaker, according to the Child Maltreatment 1999 report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The definition of "caretaker" focuses mostly on parents and on people such as daycare workers, but is not consistent across jurisdictions.
For years, people have raised charges that they were the victims of sex abuse by priests. Not all these charges have been substantiated as true, but Catholic leaders in the United States have tried responding to the overall problem.
In the early 1990s, for example, an ad hoc committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops surveyed the nation's dioceses for their policies on sex abuse. About three-quarters of the dioceses had policies covering sex abuse of minors. Such policies generally urge cooperation with civil and criminal proceedings though allowing the Church to defend itself, compassion for the victim, and ensuring that priests who have offended against children never return to a ministry that includes minors.
In recent months, however, the scandal has focused on whether archdioceses have properly handled allegations of sex abuse and whether their policies have been adequate. In one particular example, Cardinal Bernard Law of the Archdiocese of Boston has admitted mishandling the situation and overemphasizing secrecy over helping victims.
"Looking back, I see that we were too focused on the individual components of each case, when we should have been more focused on the protection of children," Cardinal Law wrote in an April 12, 2002 letter to other priests. "This would have changed our emphasis on secrecy as a part of legal settlements. While this focus was inspired by a desire to protect the privacy of the victim, to avoid scandal to faithful, and to preserve the reputation of the priest, we now realize both within the Church and in society at large that secrecy often inhibits healing and places others at risk."
Cardinal Law also noted in his April 12 letter that the case of one priest in particular "has brought home with painful clarity how inadequate our record keeping has been. A continual institutional memory concerning allegations and cases of abuse of children was lacking."
The Vatican reportedly wanted to treat the issue as a local one, which could be dealt with by American bishops. The Pope referred to the growing scandal only vaguely in his traditional Holy Thursday letter of March 17, in which he expressed the disappointment that the new millennium had not coincided with a new era of peace and that even priests had succumbed to the mystery of evil in the world.
"At this time too, as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of Ordination in succumbing even to the most grievous forms of the mysterium iniquitatis at work in the world. Grave scandal is caused, with the result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice," the Pope wrote.
"We know that the human heart has always been attracted to evil, and that man will be able to radiate peace and love to those around him only if he meets Christ and allows himself to be ‘overtaken' by him. As ministers of the Eucharist and of sacramental Reconciliation, we in particular have the task of communicating hope, goodness and peace to the world."
A month later, the Vatican reversed direction and called for talks that occurred on April 23-24 between the Cardinals of the United States, the leadership of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, and Vatican leaders. At these meetings, participants promised to devise the new procedures described above and re-affirmed that sexual abuse of minors was an "appalling sin in the eyes of God, above all when it is perpetrated by priests and religious whose vocation is to help people lead holy lives." They also upheld the value of priestly celibacy, explaining that there was no proven link between celibacy and pedophilia.
In welcoming the participants to the Vatican on April 23, the Pope gave a programmatic address at which he said that he expressed his "profound sense of solidarity and concern" to the victims and thanked the participants for establishing "more reliable criteria" and more knowledge to prevent future incidents. While acknowledging the "power of Christian conversion" to change a person's soul, he told participants that "people need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young."
Sources: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is on-line here and has collected documents such as those from the April 23-24 conference here. The Child Maltreatment 1999 report is on-line here, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement, by Howard N. Snyder (July 2000) is available on-line here. Cardinal Bernard Law's April 12, 2002 letter is on-line here.
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