KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11. 2010 / NEWS
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The Rev. Tony Hay gives the benediction at Midday Prayer Tuesday in the chapel at the denominational offices of the Presbyterian Church USA in Louisville, Ky. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Non-Christians get 'wiggle room'
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Presbyterian Church USA's statement of faith says God through Jesus Christ delivers followers "from death to life eternal."
But one in three members of the nation's largest Presbyterian denomination seem to believe there's some wiggle room for non-Christians to get into heaven, according to a recent poll.
The Rev. Dirk Ficca<sup>a</sup>, a Presbyterian minister in Chicago, said a majority of Presbyterians think "the God they know in Jesus" can save non-Christians.
T h e Presbyterian Pan el's "Religious and Demographic Profile of Presbyterians" found that 36 percent of members disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: "Only follow-
demographic report last month.
"I'm a Christian. And so I can't think about God or about the nature of salvation apart from Jesus of Nazareth," said Ficca, executive director of the Chicagobased Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. But "that
A majority of Presbyterians think "the God they know in Jesus" can save non-Christians.
THE REV. DIRK FICCA Presbyterian minister
ers of Jesus Christ can be saved." Another 39 percent, or about two-fifths, agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.
God I know in
work, I find
in work who aret
Christians."
A total of 3,450 Presbyterians responded to the study, which was mailed in October 2008. The panel issued the religious and
The study broke down responses in four categories:members, elders, pastors and specialized clergy. The panel found that 45
percent of elders agree or strongly agree that "only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved," while 31 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed. More pastors disagree (45 percent) than agreed (35 percent) and a majority of specialized clergy (60 percent) disagree.
NATIONAL
Dying pelicans mystify researchers
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
California brown pelicans are seen inside a cage before being released into the wild by members and volunteers with the International Bird Rescue Research Center at the beach in San Pedro, Calif., Wednesday. Researchers haven't determined why the pelicans are dying in large numbers.
LOS ANGELES — California brown pelicans have recently been dying in large numbers for reasons wildlife officials don't yet fully understand.
Organizations like the International Bird Rescue Research Center are maxed out, with no more room and little money left to help, spokesman Paul Kelway said.
There are usually about 400 pelicans among the more than 2,000 birds the San Pedro center takes in every year, but it has received more than 300 pelicans in the last three weeks. About 100 sick pelicans from Santa Barbara were sent to the IBRRC's Northern California center, and a quarter of all the pelicans received at the two centers in the last three weeks have died, Kelway said.
"Many of them were severely emaciated and hypothermic, and we couldn't get to them in time," Kelway said.
The Southern California center released 14 pelicans Wednesday afternoon to make room for more of the ailing birds.
The Coast Guard reported a group of sick birds in the Los Angeles Harbor on Tuesday. Rescue workers found around 30 dead birds and rounded up 30 more that were sick and wet.
Biologists point to several reasons why more birds need help.
"This is an El Nino year. The weather is topsy turvy. Storms are forcing the fish deeper into the
ocean, or the fish are in different places than they normally would be. The pelicans are not finding food and they are starving." Kelway explained.
"Something is also contaminating their feathers and stopping them from being weatherproof," he said.
pelicans stayed in Oregon this year instead of migrating south to breeding grounds.
It could be a natural pelican dieoff, Kelway said, but biologists don't know yet.
About 1,000 California brown
The research center hopes to release several more pelicans over the next week. Warmer temperatures should help, he said.
It is costing the two centers about $3,000 a day to care for the pelicans, which eat around 1,000 pounds of fish each day.
The rescues will have to do some serious fundraising,pushing their "Adopt a Pelican" and "Pelican Partner" programs,Kelway said.
NATIONAL
Court judge now has Edwards' sex tape
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — A video cassette purportedly showing two-time presidential candidate John Edwards and his former mistress in a sexual encounter is now, in the hands of a North Carolina judge.
Superior Court Judge Abraham
Penn Jones took possession of the tape Wednesday, a week after ordering Edwards' former alce Andrew Young to hand over the recording.
Young has said the tape depicts Edwards in a sexual encounter with a pregnant woman he believes to be Hunter.
Associated Press
Edwards admitted last month that he fathered a child with Hunter.
CRIME
Ohio man tattoos 'A'on child's rear
LOUISVILLE, Ohio — Police say an Ohio man tattooed the letter "A" on the rear end of a 1-year-old girl visiting his home
Twenty-year-old Lee Deitrick of Louisville was arraigned Wednesday on a felony child
endangering charge in Canton Municipal Court.
Authorities say there's no evidence the toddler's mother permitted the November tattooing. It's not clear what the letter "A" signifies.
Bond was set at $250,000. If convicted, Deitrick could face up to five years in prison.
Associated Press