Niraj Warikoo
Religion Reporter
Detroit Free Press
nwarikoo@gmail.com
nwarikoo@freepress.com
313-223-4792, work
734-355-5306, cell
Entry for RNA Religion Reporter of the Year—Metropolitan
Newspapers (circ. 150,001–300,000)
Note: In case the PDFs below of my stories are too small to view, I have provided
text printouts of the stories right after them that might be easier to read.
Note: Stories that appear on the front page (1a) of the Detroit Free Press are
“containables,” meaning they are very short stories that contain to the front.
These containables are connected to stories that run inside the paper with
separate headlines. And so, the two stories are tied together.
Story #1 – Use of federal informants concerns Muslim-Americans; Free Press
reveals how FBI penetrated a Detroit mosque whose leader was killed by agents.
Page 1a, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010
Headline:
DEADLY FBI RAID OF DETROIT MOSQUE PROMPTS CONCERN
OVER INFORMANTS
Subhead:
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
1/17/2010
PubDate:
Sunday, 1/17/2010
Text:
He called himself Jabril. Two years ago, a white man who
claimed he was an ex-con and convert to Islam started
attending a predominantly African-American mosque on a
run-down street in Detroit.
He touted his Islamic ways while offering poor members of
the mosque cash for odd jobs at an auto shop on the city's
west side. He told tales of sick family members and brought a
young boy to the mosque who he said was his son.
Jabril soon became a brother in faith and a confidante of the
mosque's fiery leader, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, who was
killed in a shootout during an Oct. 28 raid by FBI agents to
arrest men suspected of dealing in stolen goods.
Members now believe Jabril was an FBI informant who
infiltrated their mosque.
"He built up trust in the community, " said Omar Regan, 34,
one of Abdullah's sons.
The case - one of several in the past year involving informants
in Muslim-American communities - has prompted growing
concern among Muslims and civil rights advocates about
undercover surveillance in religious institutions.
Federal officials say they don't send informants into
congregations without reason. But last week, U.S. Rep. John
Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, called upon the U.S. Justice
Department to review its policies on using informants in
houses of worship.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are seeking a protective
order to shield the identities of three informants used in the
case.
Headline: INFORMANTS AMID THE FAITHFUL
Subhead:
Muslims, civil rights advocates decry tactic
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
1/17/2010
PubDate: Sunday, 1/17/2010
Text: With tattoos on his neck and a full beard, the newcomer arrived at the
Detroit mosque in 2007 with stories of turning to Islam while in prison.
"He had this hard-life story, " recalled Omar Regan, 34, a son of the
mosque's imam, Luqman Ameen Abdullah.
For two years, the man known as Jabril to many at Masjid Al-Haqq
ingratiated himself with members of the mosque, according to Abdullah's
followers. They accepted him as a brother in Islam.
On Oct. 28, Regan said Jabril asked mosque members to help him move
some goods in a Dearborn warehouse. Authorities said the men were there
to deal in stolen items.
Once inside the warehouse, Jabril reportedly told the mosque members: "I'm
going to go get some water, a drink of water, " Regan said in an interview
with the Free Press.
Jabril then disappeared.
Moments later, federal agents stormed inside. Abdullah, 53, was shot dead
by FBI agents after an exchange of fire during the raid.
Jabril was never seen again by members of the mosque.
The story of Jabril's alleged infiltration offers a rare look into the use of FBI
informants in Muslim-American communities in the aftermath of Sept. 11,
2001. Members of the Detroit mosque say they believe Jabril was a key
undercover informant in helping the FBI build a case against Abdullah and
his followers.
Muslim advocates say there's a growing problem of improper use of
informants, particularly in houses of worship. Some accuse the informant of
luring Abdullah to his death in the fatal shooting, which has raised
questions about excessive force.
FBI agents' actions defended
But the FBI and federal prosecutors have said that agents acted
appropriately in trying to apprehend members of a criminal operation led by
Abdullah. They said the group preached violence and hatred against law
enforcement and non-Muslims.
Abdullah and his followers were not charged with any acts of terrorism. The
charges against the 11 men arrested include dealing in stolen goods such as
laptops and fur coats, firearms violations and tampering with vehicle
identification numbers. The criminal complaint, however, highlights the
radical views of the group. "America must fall, " Abdullah once said,
according to the complaint.
While some Muslim leaders have expressed concern about civil rights,
federal officials say informants are vitally needed, especially with the recent
surge in domestic terrorism.
The FBI would not comment on whether Jabril was one of the three
informants in the case. But the recollections of Jabril by mosque members
interviewed by the Free Press match parts of the 43-page criminal complaint
filed against Abdullah and 10 others. Mosque members say, for example,
that the complaint's descriptions of car trips to Virginia and Chicago with an
informant named S-3 jibe with their memories of rides they and Abdullah
took with Jabril.
Mosque members said they believe S-3 is Jabril, though the criminal
complaint only identifies S-3 as "an FBI confidential source who has proven
to be reliable and credible in the past."
Last week, federal prosecutors filed a motion in which they expressed
concern about the safety of the informants used by federal agents in the
investigation. Prosecutors appeared particularly worried about S-3, saying
the defendants have discovered his identity.
They are seeking a protective order barring the defense from releasing
undercover audio and video because they are worried about S-3's safety.
Prosecutors note that the criminal complaint includes references to threats
by Abdullah - reported by S-3 - that he would kill any informants.
According to the complaint, Abdullah told S-3 in June 2009 that he
suspected there was an informant in his mosque, saying "that if somebody is
trying to gather information on him, he would kill them himself or have
them killed."
Muslims, and some civil rights advocates, such as the American Civil
Liberties Union, have raised concern that using informants in mosques
infringes on the constitutional right to free assembly and worship.
Other cases involving informants in Muslim communities in California,
Ohio and New York have surfaced over the past year, alarming some who
say mosques are supposed to be safe places where people can be free to
speak their minds.
Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the Detroit FBI office, said his
agency doesn't target anyone based on religion.
"Without predication, without reason, we cannot send informants into a
religious institution just to see what is going on, " Arena said. "That is
illegal. On the flip side, if there are individuals involved in criminal activity,
and they are trying to hide behind a religious institution, that's not going to
fly."
He said informants are used in a wide range of investigations including
"mortgage fraud, gangs and public corruption - and counterterrorism is no
different."
Human intelligence
In recent years, the FBI has increasingly used human intelligence in the
United States. After Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI told all of its field offices
across the U.S. to increase its use of informants as it made terrorism its No.
1 priority. Keeping an eye on Islamic extremism became a priority and
remains so - as highlighted by the Dec. 25 failed bombing attempt suspected
to have been carried out by a Muslim man on a Detroit-bound airplane.
The increase in reported cases of informants comes after the Justice
Department gave the FBI more leeway a year ago on when the agency could
use undercover sources in terrorism cases. The new rules allow the FBI for
the first time to use informants and undercover agents in preliminary
investigations and to spy on suspects without clear evidence of wrongdoing.
In July, the ACLU said in a report that the use of informants has had a
"chilling effect on congregants' rights to association, speech and religion."
And last week, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat and chairman
of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder asking that he review the policy of using informants
inside mosques, saying that "our traditions, and our constitution, simply do
not permit undercover fishing expeditions in our nation's houses of
worship."
But some terrorism and legal experts disagree.
"Radicalization and recruitment to terrorism does take place here, " and so
using informants can be helpful and legitimate, said Brian Jenkins, a senior
adviser at the Rand Corp. who studies terrorism. But he said it needs to
remain under tight controls.
Ultimately, an open court system must be used to let a judge and jury decide
whether any informants were used legitimately in particular cases, he said.
Some legal experts say the use of informants in mosques doesn't violate the
Constitution.
"There is nothing in the … First Amendment that would preclude the FBI
from using informants at a mosque, " said Robert Sedler, distinguished
professor of law at Wayne State University who teaches constitutional
issues. "A true informant is not going to have any chilling effect, so there is
no constitutional objection to the FBI using informants within a religious
organization because it doesn't interfere with the religious practices of the
people. The service at the mosque goes on even when you have the FBI"
informant listening.
"It doesn't affect what the imam is saying."
Informant prodded violence
Tensions over the use of informants in Muslim communities came to a head
last year after reports that the FBI had used an informant in Orange County,
Calif., who had acted as an agent provocateur by trying to get Muslims to
wage violent attacks against Western targets. In Michigan, Muslim leaders
said in April that agents were pushing some local Muslims to act as spies
inside their mosques.
"It's brought paranoia in the community, " said Dawud Walid, head of the
Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Some are
now wary of coming to the mosque."
The controversy over Abdullah's death has been heightened because his
autopsy results have not been released by Wayne County, which says that
Dearborn police have requested a delay pending their investigation.
Authorities maintain that Abdullah opened fire on federal agents, and he
was killed when they returned fire. The family contends he was shot 18
times.
A close friend of Abdullah, Akil Fahd, 40, said he remembers the imam as
peaceful and focused "on calling people to Allah."
‘Stuck out like a sore thumb'
When Jabril showed up in 2007, Masjid Al-Haqq sat on a rough stretch of
Joy Road in Detroit. It has since relocated to Clairmount.
Most of its members are African American, some of them former convicts
looking to improve their lives through Islam. Because of their felony
records, some had problems finding steady employment.
So, Jabril's job offers made him popular despite the fact that he "he stuck
out like a sore thumb, a white guy among all these black people, " said
Abdullah's son, Mujahid Carswell, 30. Carswell is among the 11 indicted in
the case.
"When he started offering the brothers jobs, that's when he got close to my
dad, " Regan said.
But the federal complaint suggests that it was S-3's offer of cash through
criminal activities that drew him close to Abdullah. The criminal complaint,
for example, shows Abdullah and S-3 talking multiple times about how to
deal with a stolen Dodge truck.
In the nearly three months since the imam's death, talk about Jabril has
swirled throughout parts of the African-American Muslim community.
Those who met him say they never suspected Jabril.
One of them, Mikail Stewart, 34, of Detroit remembers Jabril as a cordial
man who always shook his hands and said "As-salamu Alaykum, " the
traditional Muslim greeting that means "Peace be upon you."
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO: 313-223-4792 or warikoo@freepress.com
CALLS FOR
SURVEILLANCE
RISE WITH JUMP
IN U.S.
TERRORISM
CASES
Subhead:
Internet lets radical leaders quickly galvanize young extremists
Byline/Affiliation: 0 By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
1/17/2010
PubDate: Sunday, 1/17/2010
Text: A spike in terrorist attacks or plots last year involving Muslims in the U.S.
is drawing concern about the growing problem of radicalization among
young extremists who use the Internet to connect with radicals. And so
some are calling for increased efforts to step up domestic surveillance including the use of informants - to track extremist groups and individuals.
There were 12 terrorism cases last year involving Muslims living in the
U.S., the highest number in a single year since Sept. 11, 2001. And the
failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound plane on Dec. 25 - suspected to
have been by a Nigerian man influenced by a Yemeni cleric popular on the
Internet - has spotlighted the problem.
President Barack Obama announced Jan. 7 that he had ordered national
security officials to develop a plan "that addresses the unique challenges
posed by lone recruits, " a reference to Muslim individuals who become
extremists but aren't formal members of any group.
While some civil rights advocates express concerns about domestic
surveillance, others say that the FBI must rely on human intelligence in
Muslim communities to discover extremist plots that could harm
Americans.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the FBI was faulted by some for doing an
inadequate job of using intelligence from informants to monitor Islamic
extremism inside the U.S. prior to the attacks.
In many of the recent cases, terrorism suspects used the Internet to reach
out to radical Muslim leaders and groups in the Middle East and Pakistan,
say terrorism experts. As a result, the U.S. government has stepped up its
efforts to monitor Internet communications of terrorism suspects.
"Bonds can form faster on the Internet, " said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross,
director of the Center for Terrorism Research at the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies. "It can create connections that were much more
difficult to create before."
That was seen in the case last month of five Virginia men who contacted
extremist groups in Pakistan via the Internet to wage jihad against U.S.
troops in Pakistan. The men said they wanted to help their cause.
The Internet also played a role in the case of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan - the
American Muslim who shot dead 13 and wounded 30 at the Ft. Hood,
Texas, military base in November. Hasan had contacted Anwar al-Awlaki,
an extremist cleric who once lived in the U.S. but now is in Yemen.
Al-Awlaki, who has condoned violence against Americans, also reportedly
met with the Nigerian man suspected of attempting to bomb the Detroit
plane, according to the Yemeni government.
In October, a Muslim man from Chicago was arrested after flying back
from Pakistan for allegedly meeting with extremist groups such as Lashkare-Taiba and helping plan the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed
173.
"The radicalization process is a journey … and for many of them, the
journey begins on the Internet, " said Brian Jenkins, a senior adviser at the
Rand Corp. who studies terrorism.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of extremist Web sites has
multiplied, including those in English - such as al-Awlaki's Web site.
Radical clerics like al-Awlaki and extremist mosques pose a challenge, said
Gartenstein-Ross. Another concern, he said, is that countries like Saudi
Arabia have financed extremist literature and Quran interpretations that
have been placed in American mosques.
---------------------------------Note: This is a box that accompanied the above stories.
Byline/Affiliation: 0 By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
1/17/2010
PubDate:
Sunday, 1/17/2010
Text:
Excerpts from FBI criminal complaint
Parts of the FBI criminal complaint against Muslim leader
Luqman Ameen Abdullah and his followers talk about an
undercover source named only as S-3. Two of his sons say the
references match their recollections of the man who called
himself Jabril.
•Criminal complaint says: "On March 21, 2008, S-3, Luqman
Abdullah, Mohammad Abdul Bassir, and Mujahid Carswell
(aka Mujahid Abdullah, who is Luqman Abdullah's biological
son) drove to Herndon, Va. Bassir and Carswell were there to
provide security for Luqman Abdullah."
Carswell, 30, said the man who called himself Jabril took that
trip to Virginia with his father.
•Criminal complaint talks about Carswell's work with
children. It says that "S-3 has observed Mujahid Carswell
training children as young as 7 years old in martial arts."
Carswell said S-3 did observe him when he was teaching
children, but it was basketball, not martial arts.
•Criminal complaint talks about a trip that S-3 took with
Abdullah to Chicago and later to Flint.
"On February 12, 2009, S-3 and Luqman Abdullah drove to
Chicago, Ill., together, " it reads.
Omar Regan, 34, another of Abdullah's sons, recalls speaking
to his father about taking a trip together to Chicago; Regan
said he was unable to make the trip.
He said Jabril then offered to drive to Chicago with Abdullah.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Story #2: Men in Church: Concerned about a lack of men, churches try
different ways to attract and retain them.
Page 1a, Sunday, March 21, 2010
Headline:
METRO DETROIT CHURCHES AIM TO RETURN MEN INTO THE
FOLD
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
3/21/2010
PubDate:
Sunday, 3/21/2010
Text:
Growing up the son of a Detroit pastor in the 1970s, Bishop
Charles Ellis III says he remembers sitting in pews where
there was a fairly even mix of men and women.
But today, the head of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit looks
out over his flock on Sunday mornings and gazes at a scene
where women outnumber men about 2-1. The demographic
shift worries him and other Christians looking for ways to
draw men back to church.
Nationwide, 61% of those who attend church are women,
while 39% are men, according to the U.S. Congregational Life
Survey in 2009. The divide is even greater in some AfricanAmerican and mainline Protestant congregations.
To bridge the gap, churches are developing nontraditional
programs to reach out to men - from sponsoring hunting trips
and car clubs to holding annual men's conferences. Some
have toughened their messages to emphasize power, using
masculine imagery in their services.
"It's a challenge" to get men in the church, Ellis said. "God
wired men differently than He wired women. With men, you
have to change things up. Men need activities … and
something to rally around."
Headline:
HUNTING, FISHING AND WORSHIPING
Subhead:
Churches get creative to add male members
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
3/21/2010
PubDate: Sunday, 3/21/2010
Text: Pacing a packed hall inside a Detroit church, the minister preached his
message to a men-only crowd.
"The sisters have been leading long enough, " Shelby Hunter declared after
a breakfast of chicken and waffles at Greater Grace Temple. "We're not
tired of the sisters. We love them. But it's time for the men - the mighty men
of God - to step up."
His exhortation on a recent Saturday morning was met with applause and
cries of "Amen" from the crowd - eager to make 2010 the year men get
more active in their church.
The effort at Greater Grace can be seen in congregations across metro
Detroit and the country where there is concern about a lack of male
participation. To draw in men, some churches are coming up with original
programs.
At Kensington Community Church in Troy, men can now join the Field and
Stream Team, which sponsors hunting trips, fishing tournaments and
shooting meets; gearheads can join Full Throttle, a group for auto buffs. In
Lake Orion, a Catholic parish has formed a group called Bravehearts to
reach out to men.
In Canton, Connection Church uses a host of men's programs along with
strong visuals and masculine imagery to keep men in church. In Detroit,
churches are aggressively promoting their men's outreach programs to stem
a gender gap that has soared past 65% in some urban congregations.
Some efforts are succeeding.
Herb James, 50, of Novi was once lukewarm about his Catholic faith,
turned off by the routine of Sunday mass every week.
"It was like, ‘I punched in a clock to get in, punched to get out, ' " he said.
But that changed after he attended a men's-only retreat last May in his
parish called Men on Fire, which featured three days of intense praying in
small groups. Now, he's active in his church as never before.
The retreat gave him a new perspective on his faith "that opened up my
mind and my ears, " James said of his religious transformation. Instead of
hanging at the bar with his friends, he now spends his time after work
helping the church.
"My whole priorities changed, " he said.
At Connection Church, Ken Brancart, 52, of Canton appreciated the
church's recent Sunday service comparing Superman with Samson. "Every
man can relate to strength and power, " he said.
Men are also drawn to congregations where they can form social bonds
outside church doors.
Traditional churches "are so out of date" with their dry speakers and lack of
men's programs, said Kevin Karwowicz of Macomb Township. As a result:
"I'm turning 40, and it's rare to see men my age or younger in church unless
they're there for their kids' confirmations, " Karwowicz said.
He had left his Catholic parish to attend nondenominational Kensington, a
place that attracts men with its high-energy services and wide array of men's
activities.
"They have fun, " Karwowicz said. He now attends a Catholic parish in
Roscommon with an energetic pastor, but wishes it had sports teams.
In Greater Grace, the men's ministry tries to make church relevant.
"We have to expand the conversation beyond strictly church matters and
talk about things that are going in our homes, at our jobs, in our
communities, " said Capree Edwards, 31, of Westland. "We have to teach
how to apply the Bible to everyday life."
Men don't feel they belong
To some men, church has become a place where they feel like they don't
belong.
"There's an attitude among men that church is women's territory, even
though there's a man in the pulpit, " said David Murrow, a former elder in
the Presbyterian Church and author of the book "Why Men Hate Going to
Church."
It starts with the décor.
The inside of churches often looks like "Grandma's parlor, dressed up with
flowers, boxes of Kleenex and lace, " he said.
That sets the backdrop for a theological softness that some some
conservative Christians say has crept into churches.
In recent years, for example, the idea of having a warm, personal
relationship with Jesus has gained hold. That idea may appeal to some
women, Murrow said, but it can repel men looking for a strong Christ.
"There has been a feminization of the church that has marginalized
masculinity, " said Michael Voris, head of Real Catholic TV, a Ferndalebased media outlet aimed at conservative Catholics.
Voris cites the increasing use of altar girls - approved in the mid-1990s by
Pope John Paul II - during services. The use of girls now means that "14year-old boys do not want to be seen doing what is seen as a girly thing, "
he said, "so they stop being altar boys."
In addition, as more women take leadership roles in churches, backlash may
also be a factor, according to Murrow.
The Episcopal Church, for example, has a female head and promotes gender
equality - and according to a National Congregations Study, it has the
highest percentage of churches with a significant lack of male attendance.
In contrast, the churches that do succeed in attracting men - such as
nondenominational churches and mega-churches - tend to preach a theology
with this idea: Power and God go together.
At Kensington, sports figures such as Detroit Lions players are brought in to
rally men around strong men.
At Greater Grace, the logo for the men's ministry - called Mighty Men of
God (MMG) - is a muscled man lifting weights above his head. Underneath,
it reads: "Destined to Conquer."
And at Connection Church, services started on a recent Sunday with the
blare of trumpets that led to the theme song from the movie "Superman."
On two huge screens, movie clips showed the caped hero crashing through
walls and hurtling through the air. The stage was decked out to look like the
planet Krypton, Superman's birthplace.
"Superman, " pastor Rocky Barra declared to the congregation, "was my
hero."
Barra then compared Superman and Samson, the focus of his sermons for
the next month. Behind him, a huge sign with Superman's logo read:
"Samson: Man or Superman?"
By linking a mighty comic-book hero to a powerful Biblical figure, the
pastor hoped to illustrate that power comes from following God. While the
Superman and Samson program was not geared specifically for men, its
masculine message resonates with them.
"When the truth is presented in a way that guys can understand, they take to
it, " Barra said.
Catholics concerned
Catholics, too, have growing concerns about the number of men in their
church. In the Archdiocese of Detroit, a six-county region that encompasses
1.3 million Catholics, worshipers in the pews on Sunday are between 60%
and 65% women, said Michael McCallion, coordinator for parish life and
services.
The problem is that "men are not feeling motivated or identifying with the
church and her message in the way they ought to, " said Paco Gavrilides,
the archdiocese's head of evangelization and men's ministry. Some men
need to hear a message that is preached "more clearly and forcefully from
the pulpit."
"They want to hear the truth of the Gospel speaking to the challenges facing
them in the modern world."
And so the archdiocese has created men's programs over the past decade. In
2002, it started an annual men's conference that has grown from about 750
men to up to 3,200. This year, the conference is to include all other Catholic
dioceses in Michigan in a conference that is to attract about 9,500 in
Ypsilanti.
Afterward, the men are encouraged to form small men's groups in or near
their parishes where they can connect on a regular basis with other men.
Such groups were around before the conferences started in 2002, but
afterward, "these really took off like a rocket, " said Tom Mitchell, 43, of
Dearborn, a devout Catholic who participates in men's groups in Plymouth
and Dearborn.
Greg Elliott, 54, of Livonia has been attending the men's conferences since
2004 with his son.
"You get the feeling of solidarity, " Elliott said.
Unless Catholics can attract young men, "you lose subsequent generations, "
Mitchell said. "Kids will stay with the faith if Dad practices his faith."
Worldly distractions
The world outside the church also plays a role in the decline of men in
church, say pastors and churchgoers.
Changes in the traditional family and workplace have upset traditional
structures, leading to Sunday services where single moms and their children
are in church without a father.
At Greater Grace, men are urged to lead at home and in their communities.
"We can't just sit back, " Edwards said after breakfast. "We have to take
responsibility."
Carlos Hall, 31, of Westland says church can give young men like him a
space to grow. "We have a genuine love for each other, " Hall said of the
men's ministry at Greater Grace. "We're here to build each other up, not to
tear each other down."
"We have a responsibility to reach out and be a surrogate to men who don't
have the same environment, " added Bishop Charles Ellis III of Greater
Grace. "I can't turn my back on a massive population of young men being
raised by mothers."
The outreach to men is backed by the women at Greater Grace, said Crisette
Ellis, wife of Ellis and head of the women's ministry, Powerful Women of
Purpose.
"It's so important to have men involved, " she said. "Strong men make a
strong church, and a strong church makes a stronger community. They go
hand in hand."
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO: 313-223-4792 or warikoo@freepress.com
Headline:
CONQUERING CHRISTIAN HEROES
Subhead:
Athletes' message of strength resonates with men
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
3/21/2010
PubDate:
Sunday, 3/21/2010
Text:
At 5 feet 11 and with 296 pounds of ripped muscle, Mike
Benson doesn't look like your typical preacher.
But the 37-year-old Grandville man has been reaching
thousands in recent years with a message that slams home a
point missing in some churches: Christianity is not for wimps.
During their church shows, Benson and his team of athletes
and body builders chop through 2-foot-wide slabs of concrete
and bend steel bars with their teeth. In one dramatic act, a
hulking man snaps a baseball bat in half and then places the
two pieces together in the shape of a cross as the crowd
roars.
They call themselves the Conquerors, a name that
emphasizes the power of Christ's message.
"The Bible paints a picture of the man as a warrior … with
character and integrity, " Benson said. "When people see us,
they see these big strong guys … who love God."
The athletes - most with pumped physiques like Benson's perform more than 200 times a year in churches and other
locations. The Grandville group has performed in Detroit,
Dearborn and Pontiac, among other cities, and is starting to
travel abroad. It went to Costa Rica last month.
The nondenominational shows are not aimed exclusively at
men, but often resonate with them.
"There's this stereotype that being a Christian means you
have to be meek and quiet, and you can't have fun, " said
Benson.
"They are amazing men who exude strength, but are also
humble servants of God, " said Chris Moon, pastor at
Resurrection Life church in Cadillac, which has hosted the
shows.
"The Bible paints a picture of the man as a warrior to fight for
people, be strong, and also act with character and integrity."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story #3 Catholic Church makes push for natural family planning, but can it
convince couples?
Page 1a, Monday, July 17, 2010
Headline:
CHURCH: FORGET CONTRACEPTIVES, GO NATURAL
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
7/19/2010
PubDate:
Monday, 7/19/2010
Text:
As the pill marks its 50th anniversary this year, the Catholic
Church is making renewed efforts to persuade the faithful to
practice natural family planning, arguing that artificial birth
control not only violates church doctrine, it harms women's
bodies and the environment.
But the church has an uphill battle, Catholic leaders say.
Polls show that Catholics overwhelmingly reject the Vatican's
views on birth control. And about half of American Catholics
who leave their faith cite their unhappiness with the church's
teachings on birth control as a reason they left, according to a
survey last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Still, natural family planning - which advocates abstinence
during a woman's fertile period - has won over some skeptics.
When Jenelle Ponkowski, a 25-year-old Catholic from West
Bloomfield, first heard about natural family planning, she said
she thought "like, no way, that doesn't work, " she recalled.
"I'm not doing that."
But after taking a required pre-marriage class through the
church with her future husband and researching it herself, she
changed her mind. It made medical sense to her - and it jibed
with her Catholic beliefs.
On Tuesday, a public conference promoting natural family
planning is to be held at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in
Detroit.
Headline:
CHURCH USES YOUNG MARRIEDS TO TEACH
Subhead:
Push is to fight contraception
Byline/Affiliation: By NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
7/19/2010
PubDate: Monday, 7/19/2010
Text: It's a warm Saturday morning inside a Catholic center in Dearborn as a
married couple tries to convince a group that abstaining from using artificial
birth control is the right thing to do.
"Why does the church do this?" Jenelle Ponkowski, 25, says to about 10
young couples taking a required pre-marriage class. "It wants us to have the
best life possible."
The pitch is part of a stepped-up effort by the Archdiocese of Detroit to tout
the benefits of natural family planning, which is based on avoiding sexual
intercourse during a woman's fertile period.
In the past, Catholic teachings on family planning might have brought to
mind images of stern priests and dowdy nuns hectoring youngsters on the
evils of the modern world. But today, the church has revamped its strategy
by putting forth scientific and environmental reasons - along with religious
and moral ones - for natural family planning. It says the new techniques are
based on sound science, unlike the rhythm method decades ago that had a
high failure rate.
Using images of attractive couples talking frankly about family planning,
the church produces Web videos and DVDs to get the word out. And there
are now 16 couples, up from six last year, who volunteer to teach natural
family planning in the six-county Archdiocese of Detroit, which
encompasses 1.3 million Catholics. On Tuesday, the Archdiocese is to host
a public conference on natural family planning aimed at encouraging
couples to practice it.
The sanctity of marriage
The church faces a challenge given that surveys say most Catholics oppose
the church's stance on birth control.
According to a survey last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public
Life, that stance was the second most-cited reason by ex-Catholics for
leaving the faith, after the church's condemnation of abortion and
homosexuality. Allegations of child sexual abuse by priests haven't helped,
say local Catholic leaders.
"We've lost some of our moral credibility talking about sexuality because of
the scandals, " said the Rev. Jeff Day, a Catholic priest who has been the
point man in the Archdiocese to promote natural family planning for the
past six years. "But we should not let that stop us from encouraging
something which is true and good. There are some priests who are tempted
not to bring up anything to do with sexuality. But they should not be afraid
to share this good news."
The church's endorsement of natural family planning is rooted in beliefs
about the sanctity of marriage. God is considered an integral part of
marriage and so "each act of intercourse must be open to procreation,
because the whole meaning of marriage is expressed in each marital act, "
the U.S. Conference of Catholics Bishops said in a 59-page document on
marriage released in November.
The church believes that sex removed from procreation leads to immorality.
Acts of homosexuality and masturbation - and the use of contraceptives are not allowed under Catholic doctrine.
People who use natural family planning for religious reasons "respect the
baby-making power of sex by not treating fertility as some bodily defect
that must be corrected, " said Janet Smith, a professor who is chair of life
ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Smith and other Catholic leaders say they think the wide use of the pill has
led to a general decline in societal morality, as seen in higher rates of
divorce, abortion, pornography use and out-of-wedlock births.
Pill seen as harmful
The church also is pushing the idea that ingesting the chemicals in the pill is
harmful to women and the environment.
Dr. Daniel Greene, an ob-gyn from Rochester Hills, stopped giving patients
birth control pills five years ago after he became convinced the drugs could
lead to everything from headaches to cancer. His Catholic faith also played
a role.
"I feel closer to God since I made this decision, " said Greene, who is to
speak at Tuesday's conference. "And I feel I'm providing a better service for
my patients."
‘I don't think it's for us'
At the heart of natural family planning is the idea that God should be in
control, not people.
"God has a plan for each of you, " Dorothy Stapel, coordinator for natural
family planning in the Archdiocese, told the class last week.
"God does miracles, " her husband, Ben Stapel, chimed in. "He's not
bounded by finances."
Some are reluctant to accept such views.
Jason Day, 31, of Wolverine Lake said after class that he doesn't agree with
leaving up to God the number of children a couple have.
"You have to live within your means, " said Day, who is the brother of the
priest, Jeff Day. "The concepts they're using, they're stuck in the '50s and
'60s. This is 2010."
His fiancée, Emily Kraft, 25, of Wolverine Lake uses birth control pills, in
part for health reasons, but attended the Saturday class with Day because
they're getting married.
"I don't think it's for us personally, " Kraft said of natural family planning.
Kraft, who is Jewish, said she believes more in science rather than religion
to guide her actions.
At the same time, Jason Day said his views are "not set in stone" and he's
open to maybe later using natural family planning. "I learned that it's not
just a Catholic thing. This is something for any religion."
Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO: 313-223-4792 or nwarikoo@freepress.com
The following item is a box that accompanied the previous story on Catholic
family planning.
PubDate:
Monday, 7/19/2010
Text:
What is natural family planning?
Natural family planning is a plan for preventing or
encouraging conception based on biological signs of a
woman's fertility. This can include checking body temperature
and cervical mucus.
The Catholic Church promotes natural family planning,
teaching that contraception violates God's plan and the
dignity of couples and marriage.
To avoid pregnancy, the couple abstain from intercourse and
genital contact during a woman's fertile time, roughly 6 to 11
days. To achieve pregnancy, the couple have intercourse
during this time. Unlike the rhythm, or calendar, method
developed in the 1930s, natural family planning takes into
account that women's menstrual cycles can vary.
What is the failure rate? According to the church, the rate
ranges from 1% to 15%, depending on how closely couples
follow the guidelines. Planned Parenthood puts the rate at
between 5% and 25%.
For information on some natural family planning resources in
metro Detroit: www.nfponline.org or 313-237-4679.
Sources: Archdiocese of Detroit; U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops; Planned Parenthood