Saturday, September 26, 1998

Clergy, too, facing moral scrutiny

By A. JAMES RUDIN

Religion News Service

The United States is undergoing a period of national stress when terms like "trust," "outrage," and "moral leadership" dominate the intense debate raging around the behavior of the president and members of Congress.

As the omnipresent media and ubiquitous pollsters carry out their interviews with citizens, a constant refrain of anger and resignation has emerged. People seem bewildered and exasperated by the escalating charges and counter-charges as the latest Washington, D.C., morality play inexorably unfolds.

And not even the well-respected religious community, especially its clergy, has escaped the intense scrutiny currently being applied to political leaders. In this year's best known case, Rev. Henry J. Lyons, the president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, has been charged with legal wrongdoing involving his personal finances and those of his church. Lyons also has been accused of marital infidelity and has reportedly admitted to an improper relationship with a female denominational official.

So far, Lyons' controversial behavior and his legal problems have not been enough to drive him from office even though a significant number of National Baptist pastors and laypeople believe it is time for Lyons to go.

Another well-known case involves Bishop J. Keith Symons of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palm Beach, Fla. He has publicly admitted to sexual misconduct involving a young man some years ago and has been relieved of his ecclesiastical duties. And when Catholic Bishop Robert Lynch recently became the leader of the St. Petersburg, Fla., diocese, he immediately had to deal with serious charges made against some priests of that diocese.

Just a few weeks ago, Rabbi Fred J. Neulander of Cherry Hill, N.J., was arrested and officially charged with planning the brutal 1994 murder of his wife, Carol. He and his wife founded Congregation M'kor Shalom in an old warehouse in 1974 and it soon became the largest Reform synagogue in southern New Jersey.

By all accounts, Neulander was a superb rabbi and under his leadership M'kor Shalom participated in a large number of community social action programs, including projects for the homeless and support for AIDS patients. In addition, the rabbi built a warm rapport with members of his expanding congregation.

But tragically, the rabbi's wife was beaten to death in their home on Nov. 1, 1994, and Neulander is alleged to have been an accomplice to her murder. The rabbi has pled not guilty to the charges, and the Camden County Prosecutor said the "compelling and overwhelming" case against Neulander would be presented to a grand jury by the end of 1998.

Carol Neulander's actual murderer still remains unknown. Neulander, who admitted he had extramarital affairs with two members of his congregation, resigned his synagogue position three months after his wife's murder.

The arrest of a clergy member is always a traumatic event for everyone concerned including the legal authorities as well the community of faith involved. The suspicions that have swirled around Neulander since 1994 and his recent arrest have caused deep fissures in the rabbi's former congregation.

One of Neulander's staunchest supporters said: "My faith in him as a person and my faith in his innocence remain." But another member of M'kor Shalom alluded to the rabbi's adultery: "How could he deceive us for all those years when he was disobeying God's law? How could he let down so many people who looked to him for guidance?"

Giving a candidate our vote is the ultimate political commitment, and with that civic act always comes a delicate balance, a fragile relationship between us and our public officials.

But the relationship between ourselves and those who are our spiritual leaders is even more delicate and fragile. It is no wonder that Rabbi Neulander's personal and legal problems have evoked such pained responses from members of his former congregation.

The personal and professional agonies of Henry Lyons, Keith Symons, and Fred Neulander raise the eternal question: do we have the right to expect a higher standard of behavior from our leaders than from ourselves? In the case of the clergy, the answer has always been yes.

But Cherry Hill Municipal Judge Jeffrey Karl, a member of M'kor Shalom, clearly understands the difficulties such an answer always creates: "You question these things because he's (Rabbi Neulander) a role model ... but I tell my kids, people are people. The reality is, you have to teach them not to be in awe of anyone."

(Rabbi Rudin is the National Interreligious Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee.)