CONGRESS-NIGERIAN GIRLS
Lawmakers meet Boko Haram survivor
WASHINGTON (AP) β A Nigerian girl who saw Islamic extremists kill her father and brother has met with members of Congress.
Fifteen-year-old Deborah Peter said Boko Haram gunmen came to their home in Nigeria in November 2011 because her father was a Christian minister. She said they gave her father a chance to renounce his faith, killed him when he refused, and then fatally shot her 14-year-old brother.
Peter, who moved to Virginia last year, met with lawmakers and reporters before a House hearing on Boko Haram and its kidnapping of 276 Nigerian school girls.
New York Democrat Gregory Meeks said if the girls can be rescued, their Boko Haram captors should be killed, by drones if necessary.
Sound:
248-a-06-(Deborah Peter, survivor of a Boko Haram attack in 2011, at news conference)-“didn’t give up”-Deborah Peter, who survived of a Boko Haram attack in 2011, says her family’s home was attacked because her father was a Christian minister. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (21 May 2014)
< 249-a-08-(Deborah Peter, survivor of a Boko Haram attack in 2011, at news conference)-“in his mouth”-Deborah Peter, who survived of a Boko Haram attack in 2011, says Boko Haram gunmen shot her father and her 14-year-old brother. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (21 May 2014) < 250-a-06-(U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing)-“on this Earth”-New York Congressman Gregory Meeks says if hundreds of kidnapped Nigerian school girls can be rescued, their Boko Haram captors should be killed. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (21 May 2014) < 247-w-34-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Deborah Peter, survivor of a Boko Haram attack, and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.)–A Nigerian girl who saw Islamic extremists kill her father and brother has met with members of Congress. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (21 May 2014) < 251-a-07-(U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing)-“recite the Quran”-Florida Congressman Ron DeSantis says the hundreds of Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram have been forced to convert to Islam. (21 May 2014) < VATICAN-HOLY LAND Pope: Holy Land trip is ‘strictly religious’ VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis says his upcoming trip to Jordan, Israel and the West Bank is “strictly religious” and aimed at praying for peace in the region. Francis sought to temper expectations for his trip during his weekly Wednesday general audience. The Argentine Jesuit leaves Saturday for a three-day visit to the Holy Land, where he will meet with Syrian and Palestinian refugees, the Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders and the chief rabbis of Israel and the mufti of Jerusalem. The main reason for the visit is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. Francis will meet in Jerusalem with the current Orthodox leader, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, whom he called his brother. HOLY LAND-CHRISTIANS Christian exodus shadows papal visit to Holy Land BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) β Pope Francis will arrive this weekend in the land where Christianity was born β and where Christians are disappearing. The Holy Land’s ancient Christian community has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent Christians searching for better opportunities overseas. The Christian exodus, underway for decades, has reached critical levels in recent years. Emigration is a central concern to local Vatican officials, who are trying to stave off the flight with offers of jobs, housing and scholarships. For the Church, the phenomenon is particularly heartbreaking in the cradle of Christianity. According to Christian tradition, Jesus was born in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, spent much of his life in Nazareth and the northern Galilee region of Israel, and was crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem. ISRAEL-POPE Israeli police detain extremists before pope visit JERUSALEM (AP) β Israel’s national police say they’ve issued restraining orders against several Jewish extremists who planned to disrupt the upcoming visit of Pope Francis. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says a “number of right-wing activists” have been restrained for their intention to carry out “provocative and illegal acts” during the pope’s three-day visit to the Holy Land. He says the order bars them from Jerusalem’s Old City, where Francis will visit, and orders them to stay away from the pope. In recent weeks, vandals have scribbled anti-Arab and anti-Christian graffiti on Christian holy sites and properties, including a Roman Catholic visitor’s center outside the Old City. In addition to churches and monasteries, vandals have also targeted mosques, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military bases. A tiny fringe group of radical Israeli settlers is believed to be behind the attacks meant to protest what they perceive as the Israeli government’s pro-Palestinian policies and to retaliate for Palestinian attacks. Israeli and Palestinian officials hope the pope’s Holy Land pilgrimage will boost Christian tourism. Sound: 321-a-11-(Rulah Ma’ayah, Palestinian Tourism Minister, in AP interview)-“over the world”-Palestinian Tourism Minister Rulah Ma’ayah says the pope’s pilgrimage includes a stop in Bethlehem. (21 May 2014) < 322-a-11-(Rulah Ma’ayah, Palestinian Tourism Minister, in AP interview)-“in the future”-Palestinian Tourism Minister Rulah Ma’ayah says West Bank tourism may benefit from Pope Francis’s visit. (21 May 2014) < 319-a-06-(Uzi Landau, Israeli Tourism Minister, in AP interview)-“very special tourist”-Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau says Pope Francis will arrive in the Holy Land Saturday for a three-day visit. (21 May 2014) < 320-a-10-(Uzi Landau, Israeli Tourism Minister, in AP interview)-“Land, visit Israel”-Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau says Pope Francis’s three-day pilgrimage may boost Christian tourism. (21 May 2014) < KOREAS-TENSION SKorea Catholic cardinal makes 1st visit to NKorea SEOUL, South Korea (AP) β A Roman Catholic cardinal from South Korea has visited North Korea for the first time, despite tensions between the neighboring countries. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung and other South Korean priests traveled to a joint North-South industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea, on Wednesday to tour the complex and meet South Koreans working there. Yeom told reporters after his return from the one-day visit that seeing South and North Koreans working in harmony gave him hope that the two countries can “overcome their pain and sorrow.” South Korean Catholic officials denied media speculation that Yeom’s trip might be aimed at preparing for a possible visit by Pope Francis to North Korea when he visits South Korea in August. Father Hur Young-yup, who went to Kaesong with the cardinal, said Yeom didn’t meet any North Korean officials there. CATHOLIC SCHOOL-DEGENERES PHOTO Catholic principal regrets DeGeneres dance photo NEWTOWN, Pa. (AP) β The principal of a Catholic elementary school in suburban Philadelphia is apologizing to parents for having used a photo of celebrity Ellen DeGeneres on an invitation to an Oscars-themed graduation dance. Philly.com reports that St. Andrew Elementary School principal Nancy Matteo wrote in an email to parents Tuesday that using the photo was “completely wrong” because DeGeneres “lives her life outside the teachings of the Catholic Church.” The Web site said it obtained the text of the email, which doesn’t specifically mention DeGeneres’ sexual orientation but calls her a “poor role model.” DeGeneres came out as gay in 1997 and married actress Portia de Rossi in 2008. Spokesman Ken Gavin of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said the Bucks County principal apologized of her own accord after parents questioned the photo. CONTRACEPTION MANDATE-LAWSUIT Health mandate halted at Iowa, Michigan schools SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) β A judge has granted a temporary injunction to two Christian colleges in Iowa and Michigan that halts a federal mandate requiring them to provide insurance coverage for certain contraceptives. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett’s ruling Wednesday is in response to a lawsuit filed in October by Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, and Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The schools argue the mandate violates their religious freedoms. Gregory Baylor is an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian law group representing the schools. He says in a statement that Christian colleges should “remain free to operate according to their defining beliefs.” The Justice Department has said the lawsuit is meritless and an attempt to prevent female employees from obtaining coverage. HOBBY LOBBY-BIBLE CURRICULUM School board members met privately on Bible class OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) β Emails to school board members and school administrators in a district that approved a Bible-based curriculum show that they broke into small groups for meetings with the program’s chief backer to circumvent a law requiring government bodies to meet in public. The emails obtained by The Associated Press show that the April 14 meetings with Hobby Lobby President Steve Green and other members of the Museum of the Bible curriculum team occurred just hours before Oklahoma’s Mustang School Board approved the course as an elective. The Mustang superintendent acknowledged insisting on separate presentations at the direction of Green and his public relations representatives. Sean McDaniel says having parents or media there could have been “confusing and awkward.” TRANSIT OFFICIAL-EMBEZZLEMENT Transit official pleads not guilty to embezzlement HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) β The chief financial officer for California’s Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District has pleaded not guilty to embezzling more than a half-million dollars from his East Oakland church. Lewis Green Clinton Jr. faces up to five years in prison for four counts of grand theft with white-collar enhancements after prosecutors say he embezzled money from the Allen Temple Baptist Church from 2007 through 2013. The 57-year-old Clinton is accused of diverting the funds from the 5,000-member church between 2007 and 2013. According to court documents, he used the money to pay for a luxury car, private schools for his children, mortgage payments and a golf club membership. On Monday, Clinton was put on paid administrative leave from AC Transit. NETHERLANDS-SAUDI-SANCTIONS Dutch face Saudi anger over anti-Muslim lawmaker THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) β The Netherlands’ foreign minister says he may fly to Saudi Arabia in a bid to ease anger in Riyadh over anti-Muslim messages spread by firebrand lawmaker Geert Wilders. Frans Timmermans told reporters at the Dutch parliament he couldn’t confirm whether Saudi Arabia would impose sanctions on Dutch companies for Wilders’ actions. He spoke hours after a Saudi news agency reported that Dutch companies would be blocked from gaining future contracts in the oil-rich kingdom. Wilders has angered Saudi authorities by distributing stickers to supporters that change the message on the Saudi flag. The kingdom’s real flag bears the central motto: “There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” In Wilders’ version, the flag’s message reads in Arabic: “Islam is a lie, Muhammad a criminal, the Koran is poison.” The foreign minister said he has stressed to Saudi authorities “that the Netherlands has freedom of expression, but that Mr. Wilders’ standpoint on this issue β deliberately offending people by manipulating a flag β is absolutely not shared in any way by the Dutch government.”
