Facing growing backlash from religious groups over the administration’s birth control insurance plan, President Obama on Friday will unveil a new arrangement whereby insurers at religiously affiliated institutions — such as Catholic hospitals and universities — will not have to provide contraception coverage.

The new approach effectively removes faith-based organizations from any involvement in providing contraceptive coverage or even telling employees how to find such coverage. It also maintains Obama’s pledge to ensure that almost all women with health insurance will not have to pay for it.

“These religious institutions will not have to offer it [contraception coverage] to their employees and do not have to pay for it,” said a senior administration official about an hour before the president was to make the official announcement, which was expected at 12:15 pm.

Initial indications were that, against all odds, the administration may have found a solution that satisfies both sides in a debate that seemed destined to dog the president throughout the campaign season and to wind up alienating either women or Catholic voters – both key demographics in his bid for reelection.

Religious leaders like Sr. Carol Keehan, head the Catholic Health Association – the umbrella group for more than 600 Catholic hospitals and a key player in the health care debate – said Friday she is “very pleased with the White House announcement that a resolution has been reached that protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.”

Keehan was a key supporter of the president’s health care reform law — going against the wishes of the U.S. hierarchy — but she voiced strong criticism of the initial contraception regulations.

At the same time, Friday’s decision was also welcomed by Cecile Richards, head of Planned Parenthood, who had been working hard with pro-choice Democrats to keep the administration from providing any relief from the mandate to religious institutions.

“We believe the compliance mechanism does not compromise a woman’s ability to access these critical birth control benefits,” Richards said.

The solution proposed by the White House is surprising in that it is fairly straightforward and appears to effectively address most religious concerns, or at least blunt the harshest criticisms that Obama was trampling on religious freedom by forcing some faith-based organizations to subsidize something that runs counter to their beliefs.

The furor over the contraception mandate appeared to catch the White House off guard since Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the final regulations on Jan. 20, and did not broaden the exemption for religious groups as had been widely expected.

The administration struggled to frame the regulations as a way to ensure that women with health insurance would receive free birth control coverage – a position that is broadly popular among Americans, and especially women.

But religious leaders, chiefly the Catholic bishops and conservative evangelicals, were successful in framing the issue as one of religious freedom, not birth control, and they argued that the federal government was violating their conscience with the mandate.

These conservatives were also backed by numerous Catholic liberals and other supporters of the administration who felt that Obama had “thrown them under the bus,” as some put it, by not granting the broader religious exemption as they also wanted. In recent days it became clear that the administration had to do something, and quickly, and the solution announced Friday seemed to win back many of his allies.

“The unity of Catholic organizations in addressing this concern was a sign of its importance,” said Keehan.

But whether that unity will extend to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was unclear.

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After months of urging from other Baptists around the country, the Rev. Fred Luter told his African-American congregation that he will seek to become the first black man to lead the predominantly white Southern Baptist Convention.

Several Baptist leaders said Luter becomes the prohibitive favorite for the post, to be filled in a potentially historic election at the Southern Baptists’ annual meeting here in June.

SBC Today, a Baptist-focused news website, carried the announcement on Wednesday (Feb. 1). Youth pastor Fred “Chip” Luter III separately confirmed Luter’s announcement to his church on Sunday.

Luter appears to be the first candidate to declare for the post, which will become vacant this summer when the Rev. Bryant Wright of Marietta, Ga., finishes his second one-year term.

Many began openly promoting Luter for the top job last summer, moments after he was elected the convention’s first African-American first vice president.

“If he runs, he’ll get elected overwhelmingly. He may be unopposed,” said Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.

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Campus Crusade for Christ announced recently in a conference in Colorado that it has officially changed its name to Cru.

The 60-year-old ministry made the announcement before some 5,000 staff members during its U.S. biennial staff conference which was held in Ft.Collins, Colo.

The new name, which will be assumed in 2012, was chosen from a list of 1,600 possible names, and was picked because it had already been informally adopted on U.S. campuses since the 1990s.

Overcoming misconceptions

It is hoped that with the new name Cru will succeed in overcoming misconceptions and other barriers that came to be associated with the old name. This is particularly important with the current rise of volunteerism that has been taking place among young Christians.

Steve Sellers, vice president of U.S. Cru, told Boston Herald that a marketing and research firm polled respondents on whether or not they would be willing to join a faith-based ministry that adhered to principles similar to Campus Crusade. At first, respondents were generally enthusiastic.

However, Sellers told Boston Herald, “When we said, ‘Well, what if the name of that organization was this (Campus Crusade for Christ), their interest dropped significantly.”

Enlarged ministries

A second reason for the name change is that the ministry has enlarged its work beyond college campuses.

Cru, one of the largest religious charities in the U.S., has some 70,000 student members in the country. However, Sellers told Boston Herald, “We [also] have an athletic ministry we call Athletes in Action. We have a family ministry we call Family Life. We have music ministries. We have ministries in 150 countries, and there are fewer than 10 of those that still use the [Campus Crusade] name.”

The new name has the approval of Vonette Bright, who co-founded the ministry with her husband, the late Bill Bright. She said, “From the beginning, Bill (Bright) was open to changing our name. He never felt it was set in stone. In fact, he actually considered changing the name 20 or 25 years ago. We want to remove any obstacle to people hearing about the most important person who ever lived—Jesus Christ.”

Steve Douglass, president of Cru, said that the time is right for a new name. “Our leadership team and board of directors are united in their belief that this is the right time to embrace a new name, and that this name meets our objective of achieving a greater level of effectiveness in ministry. We believe this new name will position us to connect better with the next generation.”

Cru is one of the largest worldwide interdenominational Christian organizations globally, with over 25,000 full and part-time staff from 191 countries, and 29 distinct ministries. It was founded in 1951.

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A Pakistani government official decried recently the announcement by a cleric of a financial reward for anyone who kills a Christian woman and mother of five if the government does not sentence her to death by hanging.

Shahbaz Bhatti, federal minister for Minorities Affairs, condemned the announcement by Peshawar cleric Yousef Qureshi that his Mohabat Khan mosque would give 500,000 rupees ($5,800) to anyone who kills Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who is being tried for blasphemy because she refused to convert to Islam, the Daily Times said.

Bhatti called the announcement “unjust and irresponsible,” adding that it would only trigger extremists in society to “take the law into their own hands,” according to the Daily Times.

Bhatti also said that no one has the right to issue such a decree and said that Pakistan is a civilized state. He said the case is awaiting the schedule of hearing from the high court adding, “The matter is subjudice and law should be allowed to take its course,” the Daily Times said.

So far, no one has been executed because of the blasphemy law. However, 32 people, two of them judges, were killed by vigilantes, Time Magazine said.

The Voice of America said Bhatti had already recommended that Bibi be either pardoned or released if her pending court hearing is not addressed soon. Bibi is the first woman to be condemned to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.

Time Magazine said the blasphemy law has often been used to either settle old scores, or to persecute minorities. So far, no conclusive evidence has been produced against Bibi, who has long been pressured by fellow farm workers to convert to Islam.

Chances of a pardon by President Asif Ali Zardari were also skewed when the Lahore High Court said it would not allow it. The move, legal experts say, is unconstitutional, according to Time Magazine.

Bibi’s husband and family have already fled their home in Lahore due to the unrest and tension that has been caused by the case, according to the Voice of America.

International, National outrage

Bibi’s case has caused a furor both nationally and globally, catching the attention of human rights groups, religious fundamentalists, faith leaders (including Pope Benedict XVI) and politicians, perhaps giving the blasphemy law the largest scale of examination it has ever undergone, according to Time Magazine.

Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab visited Bibi in prison and called for her release. Because of this, fundamentalist groups called him an apostate which, in their view, is also punishable by death, Time Magazine said.

Legislator Sherry Rehman has also received violent threats because she has long called for the amendment of the blasphemy law and the removal of the death sentence, Time Magazine said.

According to Time, Rehman’s efforts to reform the law are not auspicious. Politicians are afraid to support it, including Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani who last year suggested the law be reviewed, but now seems to be distancing himself. When asked about Rehman’s bill, Gilani said, “It is not our party policy.”

But Rehman sees the mere submission of her bill as an important step, telling Time, “The first stone has been cast. It’s not a taboo subject anymore to be taken up by legislators.”

While Bibi’s family is hoping either that the higher courts reverse the death sentence, or that she is pardoned, it is probable that Bibi, if spared, will no longer be able to live in the community, “simply for defending her right to choose her own faith,” Time Magazine said.

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Dean Hamer and Joseph Wilson's wedding announcement, published in the Oil City Derrick newspaper. Photo access: "Out of the Silence" Press Kit

A 57-minute documentary which recently premiered at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York is taking a look at one small Pennsylvania town’s views on homosexuality, according to the film’s official web site.

Based on the true events surrounding the film’s Producer and Writer Joe Wilson and Director of Photography Dean Hamer, Out in the Silence dives into the rural life of Oil City, Pennsylvania, where “filmmaker Joe Wilson’s wedding to another man ignites a firestorm of controversy and a quest for change,” according to the movie’s official synopsis.

After placing their marriage announcement in the local paper, nested among photos of several heterosexual couples, Wilson and Hamer quickly became the center of controversy and the target of local residents. But one local mother, Kathy Springer, just happened to have a son, C.J., who had been bullied and even “brutally tormented” at school for being gay.

With no help from local authorities, Springer sought Wilson’s help and together they agreed to confront the school administrators who, according to Springer, made every day “eight hours of pure hell” for C.J. This unfortunate situation ultimately drew Wilson back to the small hometown he left behind all those years ago.

But on the other side of things, local resident Diana Gramley, leader of the conservative American Family Association, grew enraged after seeing Wilson and Hamer’s wedding announcement. Motivated to rid her small town of the gay agenda, Gramley began campaigning against any and all such forms of perversion and even asked residents to openly condemn same-sex marriage.

Out in the Silence will additionally cover the unlikely friendship and bond made between Wilson and one local evangelical pastor, who strove to promote understanding and harmony between the town’s gay couples and other local residents. And although the film makes it clear that the pastor and his wife disagreed with the couple’s lifestyle choices, the two still seem happy to have gained a friendship with Wilson and Hamer.

As an unconventional documentary, Out in the Silence additionally features footage and photography shot by C.J. himself, the young boy tormented at school for his sexuality. Coupled with beautiful scenery, rustic, abandoned oil factories, old family photos, and a “hauntingly raw” soundtrack provided by transgender singer/songwriter Namoli Brennet, C.J.’s personal portrait of his own private suffering paints a visually and emotionally dynamic picture for viewers of all faiths and beliefs.

“Out in the Silence is not a film I set out to make,” says Director Dean Hamer. “It’s not a story of the God-hates-fags or the kids-who-get-indoctrinated-at-Jesus-camp type. It’s not about attention-seeking hate mongers, angry protesters, or the extremes of any side.”

Hamer says the film is about understanding and acceptance.

“It emerged out of a firestorm of controversy, and the realization that if I didn’t shine a light on and try to understand and illuminate the basis for the controversy, it would simply pass away into history’s ether … and silence would settle once again over my hometown in the faded hills of northwestern Pennsylvania, affirming and perpetuating the fear and isolation that I knew too well as a young gay boy in a stiflingly anti-gay world.”

Out in the Silence will debut on two of New York’s largest public television stations: WLIW (June 26, 3 p.m. ET) and WNET (June 27, 11:30 p.m. ET).

You can purchase the film on DVD, request a screening, find a television broadcast in your area and watch the trailer at the official web site: http://wpsu.org/outinthesilence/.

The film’s HD trailer is also available on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfpObMuudM4

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