VATICAN-MIDEAST
Pope wades into Mideast peace with prayer summit
VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis says he hopes his prayer summit with the Israeli and Palestinian presidents will mark “a new journey” toward peace in the Middle East.
Francis spoke during an evening of Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers in the Vatican gardens, where he was joined by Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The pope said too many children have been killed by war. He said the memory of those innocent deaths should instill in all the courage, strength and patience to work for peaceful dialogue and coexistence.
Francis said: “Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare. It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict.”
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138-r-30-(Sound of cantor singing in Hebrew, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis)–Sound of a cantor singing in Hebrew during a Vatican ceremony as the Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis. (8 Jun 2014)
< 141-a-18-(Israeli President Shimon Peres, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis)-“care for health”-Israeli President Shimon Peres tells Pope Francis he has inspired a renewed spirit of peace. (8 Jun 2014) < 140-r-31-(Sound of Pope Francis speaking in Italian, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for a meeting with Pope Francis)–Sound of Pope Francis speaking in Italian during a Vatican ceremony as the Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for an evening of peace prayers. (8 Jun 2014) < 142-a-13-(Israeli President Shimon Peres, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for a meeting with Pope Francis)-“the Jewish people”-Israeli President Shimon Peres says he comes with a love of all humanity and hope for peace. (8 Jun 2014) < 137-r-30-(Sound of music played, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis)–Sound of music played during a Vatican ceremony as the Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis. (8 Jun 2014) < 139-r-30-(Sound of participant chanting in Arabic, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis)–Sound of a participant chanting in Arabic during a Vatican ceremony as the Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis. (8 Jun 2014) < 144-r-33-(Sound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaking in Arabic, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for meeting with Pope Francis)–Sound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaking in Arabic during a Vatican ceremony as he and the Israeli president arrive for an evening of peace prayers with Pope Francis. (8 Jun 2014) < 143-r-06-(Israeli President Shimon Peres, during Vatican ceremony as Israeli and Palestinian presidents arrive for a meeting with Pope Francis)-“salaam for peace”-Israeli President Shimon Peres says he brings a desire for peace among all people in the Middle East. (8 Jun 2014) < SOUTHERN BAPTISTS-PASTORS Pastors seek remedy to declining baptisms BALTIMORE (AP) β A candidate to head the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has told his fellow pastors that he understands their discouragement. The Rev. Ronnie Floyd told pastors gathering in Baltimore for this week’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention that on the way home from a busy Sunday at church he’s often ready to resign. The pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Arkansas, lamented the denomination’s continuing decline in baptisms and said Southern Baptist leaders need to seek “the glory of God” if they’re to lead the nation to another great awakening. Floyd’s appeal to return to the basics of the gospel was echoed by the Rev. H.B. Charles. The pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, said too many churches offer people the same things as the world but simply dress it up in religious terms. Charles added that some congregants are too prepared to bolt for another church if their expectations aren’t met. Sound: 253-a-11-(The Rev. H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., speaking at Southern Baptist Pastors Conference)-“in religious terminology”-The Rev. H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., says Southern Baptist churches need to focus on the good news of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. (8 Jun 2014) < 250-a-16-(The Rev. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., speaking at Southern Baptist Pastors Conference)-“a great awakening”-The Rev. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., says the continuing decline in Southern Baptist baptisms in alarming. (8 Jun 2014) < 251-a-11-(The Rev. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., speaking at Southern Baptist Pastors Conference)-“glory of God”-The Rev. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., says Southern Baptist pastors need to earnestly seek God. (8 Jun 2014) < 252-a-17-(The Rev. H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., speaking at Southern Baptist Pastors Conference)-“me another church”-The Rev. H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., says some congregants are discouraging to pastors. (8 Jun 2014) < CARTER-SUNDAY SCHOOL Former president teaching Sunday School lessons on prayer PLAINS, Ga. (AP) β More than 33 years after leaving the White House, former President Jimmy Carter continues to teach Sunday School at his home church in Plains, Georgia. The 89-year-old Carter is currently teaching a five-part series at Maranatha Baptist Church on prayer. Yesterday he talked about prayers of praise, prayers of thanksgiving and desperate appeals for God’s help like David’s prayer in Psalm 18. Attending the class was Jimmy Carter’s 38-year-old grandson. State Sen. Jason Carter is the Democratic nominee for governor. He’s hoping to unseat Republican Gov. Nathan Deal in November and says his grandfather’s counsel is important to him. The former president hosted fund-raisers for his grandson with two groups of donors in Plains over the weekend. Sound: 166-a-13-(Former President Jimmy Carter, teaching Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church)-“thousand or more”-Former President Jimmy Carter says knowing that he could launch a nuclear attack kept him in prayer. (8 Jun 2014) < 167-a-11-(Former President Jimmy Carter, teaching Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church)-“reached his ears”-Former President Jimmy Carter reads part of Psalm 18, which was a prayer of David. (8 Jun 2014) < 168-a-10-(Former President Jimmy Carter, teaching Sunday School at Maranatha Baptist Church)-“does for us”-Former President Jimmy Carter says there are different kinds of prayers. (8 Jun 2014) < STRIPPER MINISTRY Pastor’s wife ministers to strippers MT. JULIET, Tenn. (AP) β Erin Stevens isn’t the kind of evangelist who stands outside a strip club with a bullhorn, yelling at customers to repent. Instead, the Tennessee pastor’s wife is inside the lobby with the strippers, feeding them a catered dinner twice a month, giving them Mary Kay Cosmetics gift sets and quietly slipping her cell phone number into their hands. She brings no Bibles, no tracts and no lectures β just love, and an unusual mission she believes God gave her two years ago after she spent 21 days fasting and praying. The message she heard was: “Strippers are not your enemy. They’re your mission field.” Erin Stevens responded by seeking counsel from the national Strip Church ministry group and then calling club managers. She’s co-written a book about her experience. Its title is “How to Pick Up a Stripper … and Other Acts of Kindness.” US-SEATTLE-CAMPUS-SHOOTING Donations swell for Seattle campus shooting hero SEATTLE (AP) β More than $60,000 has been donated online for the victims and hero of the shooting that left one dead and two injured at a Christian university. As of Sunday afternoon, a fundraising page for Jon Meis, a student who pepper-sprayed and tackled the gunman Thursday at Seattle Pacific University, had grossed more than $44,000. A fundraising page to cover the costs of Paul Lee’s funeral and Sarah Williams’ medical care is nearing $13,000. Another page started by Williams’ family had raised nearly $5,000. More donations are expected. The outpouring of financial gifts and support followed days of mourning at the Christian university. A lone gunman armed with a shotgun opened fire in a university building, killing 19-year-old Lee and wounding Williams, who remains hospitalized. The other injured person has been released from the hospital. IRELAND-CHILDREN’S MASS GRAVES Catholic leader seeks Irish probe into mass graves DUBLIN (AP) β The Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin says Ireland should investigate the church’s mistreatment and burial of babies who died decades ago in nun-operated homes for unwed mothers. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin made his appeal following revelations that hundreds of children who died inside a former church-run residence for infants were buried in unmarked graves at the site in western Ireland. Typically, the women’s families and wider society had shamed and rejected them because of their pregnancies. Babies born inside the institutions were denied baptism and, if they died from the illness and disease rife in such facilities, also denied a Christian burial. A researcher found records showing that 796 children, mostly infants, died at the home in County Galway from its 1925 opening to its 1962 closure. Residents suspect they were interred in a nearby field, including in a disused septic tank. Ireland had approximately 10 such “mother and home” facilities run by nuns until the 1960s. SWEDEN-ROYAL BAPTISM Swedish princess baptized in royal ceremony HELSINKI (AP) β The fifth in line to the Swedish throne, Princess Leonore, has been baptized in the church of a royal palace outside Stockholm. The infant daughter of Sweden’s Princess Madeleine and New York banker Christopher O’Neill, Leonore Lilian Maria will be known as the Duchess of Gotland β in reference to Sweden’s largest island. She is King Carl XVI Gustaf’s second grandchild and was born in New York City on Feb. 20. Leonore lay quietly as a Lutheran archbishop baptized her Sunday at the ceremony attended by about 150 guests, mostly family and friends. The ceremony was exactly a year after Princesse Leonore’s parents wedded in Stockholm. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy in which the royals primarily serve as figureheads. AMERICAN JEWS-ISRAEL Israel no longer a cause that unifies US Jews NEW YORK (AP) β Once a unifying cause for generations of American Jews, Israel is now bitterly dividing Jewish communities. Jewish organizations are withdrawing invitations to Jewish speakers or performers considered too critical of Israel, in what opponents have denounced as an ideological litmus test meant to squelch debate. Some Jewish activists have formed watchdog groups to monitor programming for perceived anti-Israel bias. American campuses have become ideological battle zones over Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories. The “Open Hillel” movement of Jewish students is challenging speaker guidelines developed by Hillel, the major Jewish campus group, which bars speakers who “delegitimize” or “demonize” Israel. And in a vote testing the parameters of Jewish debate over Israel, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations has denied membership to J Street, a lobby group that describes itself as pro-Israel and pro-peace and has sometimes criticized the Israeli government.
