CHRISTIANS-MIDEAST PERSECUTION
Christians pledge solidarity with endangered Mideast Christians
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 175 American Christian leaders have signed a “Pledge of Solidarity & Call to Action” expressing their concern and support for embattled Christians in Egypt, Iraq and Syria.
Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl says the church cannot remain silent while some of Christianity’s most ancient communities are driven into exile or extinction.
Joining him at a news conference on Capitol Hill were Evangelical and Orthodox Christian leaders and Canon Andrew White, pastor of St. George Anglican Church in Baghdad. White said he personally has been shot at and kidnapped, and Iraqi children ask him, “Has the world forgotten us?”
The pledge calls for appointment of a U.S. Special Envoy on Middle East Religious Minorities, assistance to refugees and a review of foreign aid to discourage further persecution in Egypt, Iraq and Syria. It also urges American Christian leaders “to pray and speak with greater urgency about this human rights crisis.”
Online: http://wolf.house.gov/sites/wolf.house.gov/files/PledgeANDSigner%20List%20May%207.pdf
Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed)
234-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Canon Andrew White, pastor of St. George Anglican Church in Baghdad)–More than 175 American Christian leaders are expressing concern and support for embattled Christians in Egypt, Iraq and Syria. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (7 May 2014)
< 235-a-14-(The Rev. Leith (LEETH) Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, at news conference)-“a special envoy”-The Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, says the plight of Christians in Egypt, Iraq and Syria cannot be ignored. (7 May 2014) < 236-a-10-(Canon Andrew White, pastor of St. George Anglican Church in Baghdad, at news conference)-“fingers and toes”-Canon Andrew White, pastor of St. George Anglican Church in Baghdad, says he understands why more than a million Christians have fled Iraq. (7 May 2014) < 237-a-11-(Jerry Johnson, president of National Religious Broadcasters, at news conference)-“tell these stories”-Jerry Johnson, president of National Religious Broadcasters, says the media need to report persecution suffered by Christian converts in Islamic nations. (7 May 2014) < 238-a-07-(Joseph Kassab, president of the Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment Institute, at news conference)-“leave us alone”-Joseph Kassab, president of the Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment Institute, says Egypt, Iraq and Syria were the cradle of Christianity. (7 May 2014) < NIGERIA Nigerian official: Hundreds killed in attack LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic militants have killed hundreds of people in an attack on a border town in Nigeria’s remote northeast, escalating the country’s violent insurrection in which more than 270 schoolgirls have been kidnapped. As many as 300 people were killed when a band of extremists attacked the town of Gamboru Ngala, on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, according to local press reports and Borno state’s information commissioner. The newspaper ThisDay says the insurgents sprayed gunfire into the crowd at a busy market, set homes on fire and gunned down residents who tried to escape the flames. News of the attack adds to Nigeria’s growing crisis from the Islamic extremists’ campaign of bombings, attacks and abductions. The Boko Haram rebels are holding captive 276 teenage girls, after abducting them from their boarding school in northeastern Borno state. Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed) 138-c-16-(Michelle Faul (mee-SHEHL’ fawl), AP correspondent)-“could be dead”-AP correspondent Michelle Faul reports Islamic militants are continuing their campaign of brutal violence, with officials fearing that hundreds have been killed in a border town attack. (7 May 2014) < 139-c-13-(Michelle Faul (mee-SHEHL’ fawl), AP correspondent)-“it cools down”-AP correspondent Michelle Faul reports a national media outlet says the militants attacked a night market in a remote northeastern town, where large crowds had gathered. (7 May 2014) < 140-c-10-(Michelle Faul (mee-SHEHL’ fawl), AP correspondent)-“gunned them down”-AP correspondent Michelle Faul reports the militants rampaged through the town burning homes and shooting indiscriminately. (7 May 2014) < HOBBY LOBBY-BIBLE CURRICULUM Hobby Lobby promotes Bible curriculum for public schools OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The president of Hobby Lobby, Steve Green, has persuaded the Mustang School District in suburban Oklahoma City to incorporate the Bible into its curriculum as an elective, beginning this fall. Green told the Mustang school board last fall that the one-year trial of the Bible curriculum developed by the Green Scholars Initiative wasn’t intended to proselytize or “go down denominational, religious-type roads.” But in a speech about the course last year, he told the National Bible Association that the U.S. “is in danger because of its ignorance of what God has taught.” The director of the Green Scholars Initiative, Jerry Pattengale, said its goal is to place the Bible course in thousands of schools by 2017. Hobby Lobby has led a high-profile fight against the federal health care law’s contraceptive coverage mandate. The Supreme Court heard arguments in March and a decision is expected next month. BIRTH CONTROL-NOTRE DAME Appeals panel denies Notre Dame new suit hearing SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — An appeals court has denied the University of Notre Dame’s request for a new hearing in its lawsuit challenging part of the federal health care law that forces it to cover contraceptives in its health insurance for students and employees. The South Bend Tribune reports that a three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a new hearing Wednesday. The same panel in February upheld a federal judge’s ruling that denied the Roman Catholic school’s request for a preliminary injunction against the birth control provision. Notre Dame contends that the birth control provision violates its religious freedom despite an accommodation that allows the school to shift payment of the contraceptives elsewhere. Catholic teaching bars most forms of contraception. BIRTH CONTROL-LAWSUIT Catholics challenge birth control rule in Wyoming CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge in Casper, Wyoming, must decide whether a provision of the federal health overhaul law violates the religious freedom of Roman Catholic organizations. Judge Scott Skavdahl heard arguments Wednesday from lawyers representing the Diocese of Cheyenne and other organizations that object to providing insurance coverage for contraception and abortion services for non-ministerial employees. Lawyers for the church said it violates the groups’ religious freedom to require them to certify that they meet certain religious criteria. That certification would trigger third-party contraceptive insurance coverage for over 200 employees in Wyoming. A lawyer for the federal government said the requirement wouldn’t substantially burden the groups’ religious freedom. SCHOOL PRAYER Atheist group renews suit on Rankin school prayer JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An atheist group says Mississippi’s Rankin County school district is still violating a ban on student prayer. The American Humanist Association filed a contempt motion in U.S. District Court in Jackson Wednesday. The group says an April 17 district-wide honors program violated the district’s November settlement of a suit over Christian-themed assemblies at Northwest Rankin High School in April 2013. A student represented by the humanist group said the Rev. Rob Gill, pastor of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, gave an invocation at the honors program. The association says the district agreed to bar official prayer during the school day. The association asks U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves to fine the district and Northwest Rankin Principal Charles Frazier $1,000 apiece, plus assess attorney fees. LATINO CATHOLICS US Latinos less Catholic, more polarized on faith WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds more U.S. Latinos are leaving the Roman Catholic Church. The Pew Research Center says the share of Latinos in the United States who say they’re Catholic has dropped 12 percentage points since 2010. Most of those who left Catholicism either joined evangelical Protestant churches or left organized religion altogether. But 55 percent of the nation’s Latinos still consider themselves Catholic. Latinos now make up about one-third of all adult Catholics in the U.S. And even with the losses, the U.S. church is expected to become majority Hispanic because the overall Latino population is still growing. Still, large numbers are leaving the Catholic fold. The survey of more than 5,100 adults was conducted a year ago and released Wednesday. Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed) 304-w-58-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Cary Funk, senior researcher, Pew Research Center)–A Closer Look: A study finds more Hispanic Americans are leaving the Roman Catholic Church. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (7 May 2014) < 209-a-08-(Cary Funk, senior researcher, Pew Research Center, in AP interview)-“unaffiliated among Latinos”-Cary Funk, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, says many Hispanics in the United States are leaving the Roman Catholic Church. (7 May 2014) < 210-a-06-(Cary Funk, senior researcher, Pew Research Center, in AP interview)-“their religion’s teachings”-Cary Funk, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, says Hispanics who have left the Roman Catholic church cite two main reasons. (7 May 2014) < 211-a-07-(Cary Funk, senior researcher, Pew Research Center, in AP interview)-“are Catholic today”-Cary Funk, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, says about two-thirds of Hispanics in the United States were Roman Catholics in 2010. (7 May 2014) < US-MOUNTAIN-JESUS-STATUE Attorney general wades in to Jesus statue dispute HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s attorney general says he supports keeping a 6-foot-tall statue of Jesus on U.S. Forest Service land next to a Whitefish ski hill. Attorney General Tim Fox filed a friend-of-the-court brief Wednesday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as it considers a legal challenge by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. Fox is asking the court to uphold a federal judge’s January ruling that allows the Forest Service to renew a permit for the statue at Whitefish Mountain Resort. A separate brief supporting the statue was submitted by 20 members of Congress. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen says the Jesus statue is used more for photo opportunities and as a meeting point than for religious reflection. The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants the appellate court to overturn the decision, saying the statue on federal land violates separation of church and state. ABBEY EMPLOYEE INDICTED Accountant charged with stealing from monks’ abbey LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police say an ex-employee at a central Kentucky abbey run by an order of Catholic monks has been indicted on charges that he stole more than $1 million from the institution. Police say accountant John Hutchins began diverting money in 2008 from an account at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown. Nelson County Sheriff’s Detective Jason Allison says Hutchins and his wife, Carrie, were indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on multiple counts of felony theft over and under $10,000 and unlawful access to a computer among other charges. Luke Morgan, an attorney for John Hutchins, had no comment on the indictments Wednesday. Morgan says the couple will plead not guilty. The Trappist monks at the 166-year-old abbey take vows of silence. The abbey says Hutchins has been fired. PARADE-REJECTED FLOAT LGBT group won’t appear in Days of ’47 Parade SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Organizers of Utah’s biggest parade have turned down a float proposal from a Mormon faith-related LGBT group, citing potential for controversy. Greg James of the Days of ’47 Parade tells the Salt Lake Tribune that the organizers’ policy is to turn down any float they believe will ignite political debate. But Mormons Building Bridges co-founder Kendall Wilcox says the planned float steers clear of politics. The organization proposed a convertible carrying people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and have Mormon heritage. The group aims to improve the relationship between Utah’s gay community and the Mormon church. Parade organizers say about a dozen applications are denied each year for the July 24 event. The celebration honors the Mormon pioneers’ 1847 arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. NORWAY-DALAI LAMA Norway shuns Dalai Lama, hoping to mend China ties STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Norway’s decision to ignore the Dalai Lama’s visit to Oslo this week to avoid upsetting China has drawn criticism in a country that considers itself a beacon of human rights in the world. Unlike on his previous visits to Norway, no government officials will meet the Tibetan spiritual leader and 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate during his three-day stay that started Wednesday. The Conservative-led government, which took power last year, has made it a priority to repair relations with China, which have been frozen since jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (lee-OO’ show-BOH’) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. High-profile meetings with the Dalai Lama would likely have angered China even more. But critics say oil-rich Norway can afford to stand up to China and may be compromising its principles for no return.
