News stories from Sunday June 3, 1979

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

Solidarity with Soviet-bloc Christians was pledged in Gniezno, Poland, by Pope John Paul II, who called the people of Eastern Europe "the often forgotten Christians." The Pope also stressed the importance of church education for the young and praised Polish youth for its perseverance in its faith. [New York Times] The energy outlook is precarious for America, according to energy officials in the Carter administration and private oil analysts. At best, their forecasts for the next year call for an extremely fragile balance between supply and demand, and for spot shortages and rising prices to continue. The balance, they say, will be vulnerable to almost any disruption of the world's oil supplies. [New York Times] Homosexuals should not be barred from ordination as Episcopal priests, a national commission of the church recommended. The commission, in proposals for action by the church's national convention next September, said that it did not regard all homosexuals as suitable for the priesthood, and urged that ordination decisions in individual cases be left to bishops and commissions on ministry. [New York Times] Polio vaccine for the Amish is necessary to control an outbreak of the disease, but only 4,000 of the 12,000 Amish in Lancaster County, Pa., have been persuaded to accept immunization. This weekend, health authorities launched an immunization program for the entire county, but so far only a handful of Amish have visited the emergency clinics. [New York Times] Proposition 13 has had a great effect on national, state and local governments since voters in California approved it one year ago. The proposition has ushered in a new era of government marked by a massive retreat from growth in taxes and public services. State and local governments have given up billions of dollars through tax cuts and spending limits. [New York Times] Basic changes on Capitol Hill are melting away the cement of commitment and loyalty that once held the legislative leadership structure together. Speaker Tip O'Neill complains that the House of Representatives lacks "fellowship," and does not want to be led. [New York Times] A nuclear power demonstration drew 15,000 protesters to the construction site of a nuclear generating plant at Shoreham, Long Island, and at the end of the largely peaceful rally, some protesters climbed the fence surrounding the site and were among the 600 arrested on charges of criminal trespass. At police headquarters, those who identified themselves were given trespass tickets and released. Those who refused to give their names faced an added charge of obstruction. [New York Times] A new West Bank settlement was approved by the Israeli cabinet in a split vote. The vote permitted a militant Jewish group to settle in a sensitive area of the West Bank, and authorized the seizure of Arab-owned land for the purpose. In the Mideast talks, Egypt and the United States have declared they regard the establishment of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as illegal. [New York Times] A pledge of more aid to the world's most backward nations, an agreement to fight mounting barriers to international trade and an agreement to try to stabilize prices of raw materials ended the fifth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The conference drew the rich and poor nations of the world to a meeting in Manila, where few other major actions were taken. [New York Times] The President of Mauritania resigned, and was replaced by the Minister for Public Works and Education, according to a government announcement. The announcement said that President Mustapha Ould Salek had resigned for "personal reasons." The outgoing President Salek ousted the previous President last year, and his successor was a member of the military group that took part in that coup. [New York Times] Italians voted for Parliament amid predictions that the governing Christian Democrats would consolidate their position as the country's leading party and that the Communists would lose some seats for the first time since World War II. [New York Times] Canada faces a bitter campaign as the referendum to consider Quebec separatism draws nearer. Quebec's ruling party ended its three-day convention with a proposal for a sovereign nation whose independence would be limited by a tight economic association with the rest of Canada. [New York Times]