Faith across the nation

Sexual orientation outreach program gets new sponsor

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DENVER --- A conservative Christian group will sponsor a school outreach program to talk about sexual orientation, it announced Thursday.

Focus on the Family, of Colorado Springs, will take over sponsorship of the former "Day of Truth," which has been co-sponsored since 2005 by Exodus International, a Christian group in Orlando, Fla. It renamed the April observance "Day of Dialogue" and is promoting it as a day to talk about homosexuality in schools, not to decry gays.

Exodus International announced last month that it would drop sponsorship because it was "perceived in an adversarial manner," according to a statement.

The "Day of Dialogue" is a counter to the "Day of Silence," a gay-rights promotion asking students to remain silent for a day in protest of anti-gay bullying.

Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger said the sponsorship won't cost much because there aren't plans to advertise. Instead, Focus will give advice on how to adopt the program to interested teens.

"There's really a minimal cost," he said. "The event itself is student-driven. We're there as a provider of information and resources and maybe some guidance about how to engage in that dialogue."

The new name indicated a new emphasis on not bullying gay students.

"Christian students in particular should be bold in speaking up to oppose that kind of behavior because it goes completely against the model Christ gave us," says a Focus Web site promoting the "Day of Dialogue."

The Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian attorneys, remains the other co-sponsor.

Catholics want more clergy with knowledge of exorcism

NEW YORK --- Citing a shortage of priests who can perform the rite, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops are sponsoring a conference on how to conduct exorcisms.

The two-day training, which started Friday in Baltimore, is to outline the scriptural basis of evil, instruct clergy on evaluating whether a person is truly possessed and review the prayers and rituals that comprise an exorcism. Among the speakers will be Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston.

"Learning the liturgical rite is not difficult," DiNardo said in a phone interview. "The problem is the discernment that the exorcist needs before he would ever attempt the rite."

More than 50 bishops and 60 priests signed up to attend, according to Catholic News Service. The conference was scheduled just ahead of the fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which starts Monday in Baltimore.

Despite strong interest in the training, skepticism about the rite persists. Organizers of the event are keenly aware of the ridicule that can accompany the subject. Exorcists in U.S. dioceses keep a very low profile. The practice is much more accepted by Catholics in parts of Europe and elsewhere overseas.