SUPREME COURT-BIRTH CONTROL
Court rejects new cases on birth control coverage
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away an early look at a challenge by religious non-profit groups to the health care law’s birth control mandate.
Lawsuits filed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Priests for Life and others are making their way through the courts. The justices on Monday declined to weigh in on them before any federal appeals court has reached a final decision.
The Obama administration has offered a compromise that seeks to create a buffer for religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and social service groups that oppose birth control. If they sign a form declaring their religious objection, their insurers or the health plan’s outside administrator would pay for birth control coverage.
The national director of Priests for Life, Father Frank Pavone, says a federal appeals court will still hear arguments in his group’s case on May 8. But he says, “No matter what any court says at any time, we will disobey this mandate. It is unjust, immoral, and intolerable.”
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319-a-15-(Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, in AP interview)-“to our employees”-Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, says President Barack Obama’s compromise to religious-affiliated groups that object to the birth control mandate isn’t good enough. (31 Mar 2014)
< 318-a-12-(Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, in AP interview)-“prejudice our case”-Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, says his organization had asked the Supreme Court to take its case while it awaits a May 8 hearing before the D.C. Court of Appeals. (31 Mar 2014) < 320-a-05-(Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, in AP interview)-“with the mandate”-Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, says his group will never obey the health care law’s birth control mandate. (31 Mar 2014) < ARCHBISHOP’S MANSION Atlanta archbishop apologizes over $2.2M mansion ATLANTA (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Atlanta has apologized for building a $2.2 million mansion for himself. Archbishop Wilton Gregory said in a column published Monday that he will sell the new residence and move elsewhere if that’s what the people of his diocese want. Gregory said that he failed to project the cost in terms of his “integrity and pastoral credibility.” The nearly 6,400-square-foot home sits in one of Atlanta’s most exclusive neighborhoods. A group of Catholics met with Gregory in January to ask that he sell the residence and move back to his original home. His old home was purchased by the Cathedral of Christ The King so it could become a residence for its priests. The cathedral purchased Gregory’s old home using $1.9 million from a charitable donation. BUSH IMPERSONATOR-CHURCH ‘Bush’ brings Biblical message to Miss. church LAUREL, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi church had promoted a speaker for several weeks with ads that had the American flag on the banner. Many Laurel residents believed former president George W. Bush was coming to town. When they showed up Sunday night, the Bethlehem Community Church’s entrance was lined with American flags, men who appeared to be in the Secret Service were guarding the building, and hundreds of people packed the sanctuary, even out into the foyer. The celebrity speaker turned out to be a George W. Bush impersonator. John Morgan has been making similar appearances for 12 years, but once he reveals his true identity, he turns the show into a Bible lesson. Pastor Jamie Altman says it was all in fun and everyone had a good time. He says, “Whatever you can do to get people to listen to the Word, I am all for it.” US-IRAN-PASTOR DETAINED Detained pastor’s wife says he’s doing better in Iranian hospital BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The wife of an American pastor who’s been imprisoned for 18 months in Iran says he’s doing better since being transferred to a hospital recently. Naghmeh Abedini told Faith Radio that her husband, the Rev. Saeed Abedini, is now receiving better meals and pain medication. She says he still needs surgery, however, for injuries he suffered in prison. The Iranian-born pastor was starting an orphanage in Iran when he was arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison. The Islamic government accused him of undermining state security by trying to establish a network of Christian churches in private homes. Nagmeh Abedini, who lives with the couple’s children in Idaho, says her husband has been able to lead other prisoners to faith in Jesus Christ, and some of them have protected him from further prison violence. Sound: 322-a-05-(Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, in interview)-“he needs surgery”-Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, says her husband suffered internal injuries from prison violence. COURTESY: Faith Radio ((mandatory on-air credit)) (31 Mar 2014) < 323-a-16-(Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, in interview)-“within the prison”-Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, says her husband has shared his faith in two Iranian prisons. COURTESY: Faith Radio ((mandatory on-air credit)) (31 Mar 2014) < 324-a-05-(Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, in interview)-“to help others”-Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, says they’re both encouraged that he has been able to lead other prisoners to faith in Jesus Christ. COURTESY: Faith Radio ((mandatory on-air credit)) (31 Mar 2014) < 321-a-05-(Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, in interview)-“versus the prison”-Naghmeh Abedini, with of the Rev. Saeed Abedini, says her husband is doing better since being transferred from an Iranian prison to a hospital in mid-March. COURTESY: Faith Radio ((mandatory on-air credit)) (31 Mar 2014) < BEACHGOERS SWEPT AWAY Search ends for man swept away off California GUADALUPE, Calif. (AP) — Rescuers have ended their search for a 43-year-old man who was swept to sea during a baptism ceremony on a Southern California beach. The U.S. Coast Guard says the search was called off about midnight Sunday and there are no plans to resume it. A wave pulled three people into the ocean about 10 a.m. off Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve and only two managed to return to shore on their own. Pastor Maurigro Cervantes of Jesus Christ Light of the Sky Church says his cousin, Benito Flores, was helping perform a baptism when he was swept away. Fire Capt. David Sadecki said Monday that it would be difficult for anyone to survive more than 30 minutes in the cold water. CHURCH ABUSE-WINONA-PLEA Diocese: Former Blue Earth priest to be deported WINONA, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota priest will be deported after admitting he fondled a girl while attending dinner at her grandmother’s home. The Diocese of Winona says The Rev. Leo Koppala was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security after his sentencing hearing Monday and will be held until his deportation proceedings. Online court records show Koppala was sentenced to 25 years of supervised probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty March 17 to second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a victim under 13. The Diocese of Winona says the 47-year-old Koppala was assigned in 2009 to the Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Blue Earth and to St. Mary’s in Winnebago. It says he will likely be deported to his native India. VATICAN-CANONIZATIONS No-frills canonization for Popes JPII, John XXIII VATICAN CITY (AP) — The simple, low-frills style of Pope Francis is having an effect on the upcoming canonizations of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII. Organizers of the event say the April 27 saint-making ceremony will be a more sober affair than the three-day extravaganza that accompanied John Paul’s 2011 beatification. That event included a prayer vigil on Rome’s Circus Maximus field for tens of thousands of people and ended up costing several times the original estimate. No such vigil is planned this time around. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the vicar of Rome, says churches in Rome’s center will remain open overnight before the canonization to provide a spiritual retreat for pilgrims, “but not much else.” NIGERIA-CHURCH BURNED Catholic church in north Nigeria set aflame KANO, Nigeria (AP) — Witnesses and an official say angry Muslim youths set ablaze a Catholic church and tried to destroy an attached school in northern Nigeria over an alleged insult to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Witness Tukur Musa says soldiers on Monday stopped the mob from setting fire to the school in Funtua town in Katsina state, but they arrived too late to save St. Rita Catholic Church. He says the town was in an uproar about an examination question last week which they considered an insult to Muhammad. They reported the matter to district authorities. When no action was taken, young Muslims attacked. Deputy Police Superintendent Aminu Abubakar Saddiq confirmed the church was burned and the school was damaged but said no one was injured. Religious strife is common in central and northern Nigeria. UGANDA-GAYS Uganda holds ‘thanksgiving’ event for anti-gay law KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (yoh-WEH’-ree moo-SEHV’-eh-nee) says homosexuality is “so cruel” that gays deserve to be punished. Museveni, who last month signed a bill strengthening criminal penalties against homosexuals, said Monday that he is “now mobilizing to fight” Western gays he accuses of promoting homosexuality in Africa. Museveni spoke at a “thanksgiving service” organized by a coalition of Ugandan religious leaders and government officials who say the president deserves credit for defying Western pressure. Thousands of Ugandans attended the raucous event in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, many of them schoolchildren who sang and danced to anti-gay tunes that also railed against the West. Some European countries and the U.S. have cut, delayed or reviewed aid to Uganda over the law. SYRIA-NEW PATRIARCH Syriac Orthodox church elects new patriarch BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian Orthodox Church has elected a new patriarch to lead one of the world’s oldest Christian churches, according to Lebanon’s national news agency. The announcement of the election of Cyril Aphrem Karim, a 48-year-old Syrian, was made by the Syrian Orthodox Church’s Lebanese headquarters. Karim, who served as bishop in the United States, replaces Patriarch Ignatius Zakka Iwas, who died March 21 in a hospital in Germany at the age of 80. Karim’s official title will be the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. His church, known as the Syrian Orthodox Church, was founded in the year 452 after a schism with the bulk of the world’s Christians. There are more than 4 million members living in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. In Syria, recent assaults on predominantly Christian towns by rebels fighting against President Bashar Assad’s rule have fueled fears among the country’s religious minorities about the growing role of Islamic extremists in the revolt. SEDER-NEPAL Seder planned in Nepal missing Passover supplies NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a Passover crisis brewing in an unlikely location: Katmandu, Nepal. A communal Seder held there each year for 1,000 people is in jeopardy because shipments of Passover supplies are stuck in India. The supplies for the Jewish holiday are normally routed via Nepal’s Israeli embassy, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry is on strike, which affects the embassy. The Seder is one of hundreds hosted around the world by the Jewish outreach organization Chabad-Lubavitch (huh-BAHD’ luh-BAH’-vitch). Chabad spokesman Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin in New York says organizers are exploring options for the Nepal Seder ranging from baking matzo (MAHT’-zah) onsite to flying supplies in with individual travelers in small batches. Most of those who attend the Katmandu Seder are Israeli backpackers traveling through the region.
