Social Science Experiment Gone Bad
A Chicago-area nun scrawled racist graffiti on bathroom walls in the hospital where she was employed as a chaplain, according to the Chicago Tribune. Associates of the sister-turned-tagger, Dorothy Toman, expressed shock and sadness upon learning of her scribbled racial slurs. Sister Mary Elizabeth Imler, general superior of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, commented, "I do know there is no hatred in her heart."

In her own defense, the sixty-six year old nun denied a racial motivation and said she did it because she wanted to "see how the hospital would react."

The lesson here is that all social science experiments should undergo scrutiny by the organization's Institutional Review Board.

Not in My Country
His Holiness Abune Paulos, the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, publicly shook hands for the first time with HIV-infected Ethiopians earlier this year. Dr. Peter Piot, Assistant Secretary General for the United Nations AIDS program, commented, "That may have been a small thing, but it was highly symbolic in Africa."

It signals a shift that has been many, many deaths in the making. From the beginning, reports the New York Times, the epidemic has been categorically ignored by both religious and political leaders. But with AIDS now the leading cause of death in Africa—1.8 million last year in sub-Saharan Africa alone—attitudes are changing.

Some countries, such as Senegal and Uganda, acted early and effectively thwarted the spread of AIDS. Senegalese religious leaders supported social programs that have kept the infection rate in that country at less than two percent, one of the lowest on the continent. Dr. Piot also cites success stories such as the work of Caritas, a Vatican-based Catholic health agency that is responsible for care in many African countries. Although the Vatican's policy on condoms is well-known, Dr. Piot reports that he has seen many priests, nuns, and organizations promoting their use to prevent transmission of the virus.

Religious leaders have a crucial role to play in the coming years, and there are signs of building momentum. But, Dr. Piot said, "We can only win if there is a mass movement."

Rules are Rules: the Inter-Gender Palpation Standard
A Muslim woman will be allowed to attend medical school despite a request that she be physically examined only by women. A Missouri medical school recently reversed its initial decision to deny her admission. The prospective student stated that since examination by males added nothing to her education, she preferred to honor Islamic preferences regarding same-gender treatment. School vice president James Carl, in denying her application, stated: "The palpation of multiple body types is essential . . . this includes being palpated by and palpating both men and women."

The student sought the help of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose executive director, Nihad Awad, applauded the reversal, stating, "There is almost always a way to accommodate, without impeding the educational process, the sincerely held religious beliefs of students."