New Player Joins the Harvard Team

Michael Dawson, director of the University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, has accepted an appointment at Harvard as a professor of government and Afro-American studies and will start in July. Several professors in Harvard's Afro-American studies department reportedly have been at odds with new university president Lawrence Summers. Faculty members said several professors had been considering leaving Harvard after what they said were a series of snubs by Summers and a failure to make a strong statement in support of affirmative action. Last week, Harvard black studies professor K. Anthony Appiah resigned to move to Princeton, but said he was not leaving because of any rift with Summers. He cited personal reasons.

Catholic priests accused of molestation

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson announced a settlement Tuesday of 11 lawsuits alleging that four priests had molested children. The settlement includes apologies to victims and their families, though financial terms were kept confidential. The first suit was filed in 1997 in Yuma by a victim who had been an altar boy. The plaintiffs, who eventually totaled 16, contended molestations occurred from 1967 to 1989. Several cases involved the controversial repressed memory syndrome where previously unremembered memories are brought to light through hypnosis. Two defendants, Father Michael J. Teta and Monsignor Robert C. Trupia, have been suspended from priestly activities. Proceedings have begun to have Teta defrocked, while Trupia faces continuing discipline. The other priests named in the suits have died.

Christianity still the largest Religion