OBAMA-IMMIGRATION OVERLOAD
Obama to hold border crisis meeting in Texas
WASHINGTON (AP) β The White House says President Barack Obama will discuss the crisis at the border with faith leaders and local officials in Texas Wednesday.
The meeting comes as Obama faces pressure to visit the border while he’s in Texas this week to raise money for Democratic congressional candidates. The White House has resisted calls for the president to take a firsthand look at the tens of thousands of children arriving from Central America. Other administration officials have made visits.
Among those calling for Obama to visit the border is Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who will take part in the meeting with Obama and religious leaders.
Roman Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz, who is attending a bishops’ conference on migration in Washington, says he wishes Obama would visit the children and families who have crossed the border into his El Paso diocese.
Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed)
272-v-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–The White House says President Barack Obama will discuss the crisis at the border with faith leaders and local officials in Texas Wednesday. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (8 Jul 2014)
< 273-a-07-(Bishop Mark Seitz, the Roman Catholic bishop of El Paso, in AP interview)-“at our border”-Bishop Mark Seitz, the Roman Catholic bishop of El Paso, says he wishes President Obama’s trip to Texas included a visit with children who have crossed the border from Mexico. (8 Jul 2014) < 274-a-17-(Bishop Mark Seitz, the Roman Catholic bishop of El Paso, in AP interview)-“with these children”-Bishop Mark Seitz, the Roman Catholic bishop of El Paso, says it would be helpful if President Obama’s trip to Texas brought him to the border and not just to Dallas and Austin. ((note length of cut)) (8 Jul 2014) < 275-a-15-(Bishop Mark Seitz, the Roman Catholic bishop of El Paso, in AP interview)-“ship them back”-Bishop Mark Seitz, the Roman Catholic bishop of El Paso, says he believed President Obama would be moved by meeting with unaccompanied children who have crossed the border. (8 Jul 2014) < 276-a-08-(Sister Norma Pimentel of Catholic Charities, in AP interview)-“to the families”-Sister Norma Pimentel of Catholic Charities says she’s assisting children and families arriving in the U.S. after crossing the border. (8 Jul 2014) < 277-a-14-(Sister Norma Pimentel of Catholic Charities, in AP interview)-“be killed someday”-Sister Norma Pimentel of Catholic Charities says women arriving in the U.S. with their children tell her why they made the dangerous trip. (8 Jul 2014) < 278-r-13-(Catholic Charities workers and immigrants, cheering new arrivals at parish hall)–Sound of Catholic Charities workers and immigrants cheering new immigrants arriving at parish hall. (8 Jul 2014) < HOUSE-RELIGIOUS WATCHDOG House votes to reauthorize international religious freedom commission WASHINGTON (AP) β The House has approved a five-year reauthorization of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The independent government agency reports on violations of religious rights abroad and recommends actions the U.S. could take against countries that persecute or fail to prevent persecution of people of faith. Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf said, “Without this commission, there would be nobody around to point out what is taking place to these groups.” USCIRF commissioners are appointed by Congress and the White House. The five-year reauthorization was approved by a voice vote in the House. New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith said he hopes the Senate will promptly agree to extend the life of the commission. Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed) 279-w-31-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va.)–The House has approved a five-year reauthorization of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (8 Jul 2014) < 256-a-09-(U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., in House floor speech)-“with repressive governments”-Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is a voice for oppressed believers. (8 Jul 2014) < 257-a-07-(U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., in House floor speech)-“to these groups”-Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reports on the plight of persecuted believers. (8 Jul 2014) < 258-a-09-(U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., in House floor speech)-“and persecuted people”-Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom plays an essential role. (8 Jul 2014) < 259-a-13-(U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in House floor speech)-“and spiritual thought”-New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says the U.S. needs to speak up for people who are oppressed because of their faith. (8 Jul 2014) < SENATE-CONTRACEPTION Democrats to try to override contraception ruling WASHINGTON (AP) β Senate Democrats say they’ll advance legislation to override the Supreme Court ruling exempting some companies with religious objections from the health care law’s birth control mandate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the ruling was outrageous and the Senate will do something about it. He says women’s lives cannot be determined by the decision of five men. The 5-4 ruling was a setback for supporters of the law but some Democrats are trying to use it to political advantage. Senate Democratic legislation would undo the ruling by aiming to ensure all women have access to contraception coverage even if they work for a company that has a religious objection to it. Such a bill would have little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled House. Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed) 255-v-34-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–Senate Democrats say they’ll advance legislation to override the Supreme Court ruling exempting some companies with religious objections from the health care law’s birth control mandate. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (8 Jul 2014) < ABORTION BUFFER ZONE-LAWSUIT Suit challenges state abortion clinic buffer zone CONCORD, N.H. (AP) β A conservative Christian law group has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down New Hampshire’s 25-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. Alliance Defending Freedom announced Tuesday that it filed the suit on behalf of several abortion opponents. The suit says the buffer zone signed into law this year violates the free speech rights of abortion protesters. ADF filed the Massachusetts lawsuit that led to last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down that state’s buffer zone. The lawsuit filed Monday says the law unfairly allows clinic escorts, but not protesters, to talk to women within the buffer zone. Abortion rights supporters say the buffers are needed to protect women and clinic workers from harassment. William Hinkle, Gov. Maggie Hassan’s spokesman, says the governor believes the law is narrower than the Massachusetts law and will survive a court test. DAHLKEMPER-OBAMA LETTER Dahlkemper: Faith-based letter ‘misinterpreted’ ERIE, Pa. (AP) β Former Democratic congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper says her decision to sign a letter asking President Barack Obama to create a religious exemption to a planned executive order about gay and lesbian hiring is being “misinterpreted.” Dahlkemper, who represented northeastern Ohio in the U.S. House before losing her first re-election bid in 2010, was elected Erie County executive last year. She has been stung by criticism that she doesn’t support gay and lesbian rights since signing the letter, which was sent to the White House on July 1 and publicized the next day. The letter was signed by faith-based leaders across the country, and urged the president to include a religious exemption when he signs a planned executive order banning any companies or agencies that contract with the government from discriminating against gays and lesbians in hiring. The Erie Times-News reports that Dahlkemper viewed the letter as a compromise proposal that would protect gay rights without penalizing people with religious objections. EPISCOPAL FUTURE South Carolina Episcopalians take fight to court ST. GEORGE, S.C. (AP) β About 50 conservative Episcopal churches in South Carolina are in court this week, trying to keep their name, seal and $500 million in land and buildings after they broke away from the national denomination in a wide-ranging theological dispute. The breakaway Diocese of South Carolina said it had to leave the national church not just because of the ordination of gays, but because of a series of decisions it says show that national Episcopalians have lost their way in the teachings of Jesus and salvation. The national church argues the split wasn’t properly made, and it wants control of the departing churches’ property. The churches say the land and buildings were paid for by members past and present and belong to them. The trial started Tuesday with testimony about the church’s structure. GREENWICH-SYNAGOGUE LAWSUIT Greenwich sued over denial of synagogue NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) β A Connecticut synagogue has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the city of Greenwich violated its civil rights and made a discriminatory decision by denying its plan to build a house of worship. Greenwich Reform Synagogue on Monday sued the wealthy town and its Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals, accusing officials of discrimination on the basis of religion. The board voted 2-2 in June with one abstention to deny the congregation’s application to build a $6 million, 12,000-square-foot synagogue. The lawsuit accuses the town of unequal treatment compared to other places of worship in the same area and within residential zoning districts. The synagogue says it made many changes, including reducing the size of the building, to address neighbors’ and town concerns. EUROPE-JEWS Jewish leader: Europe should fight anti-Semitism PARIS (AP) β The head of the European Jewish Congress is appealing for European governments to take concrete action against anti-Semitism, and has made France his starting point. Moshe Kantor’s meeting Tuesday with French President Francois Hollande was a reminder that French citizens are suspected in the two deadliest attacks against Jewish institutions in the past few years. But Kantor said European leaders could learn from the French government, which has taken a hard line against perceived anti-Semitism. Most recently, a man opened fire at the Brussels Jewish Museum on May 24, killing four people. He is a Frenchman who fought with Islamic extremists in Syria. In 2012, a Frenchman with paramilitary training in Pakistan attacked paratroopers and a Jewish school in a rampage that left seven people dead in southern France. French Jews are emigrating to Israel in record numbers, in part because of a fear of rising anti-Semitism from the far right and extremist Islam. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC-VIOLENCE C. African Republic church attacks leaves 17 dead BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) β Officials in the Central African Republic say heavily armed Muslim fighters attacked a Catholic church compound sheltering thousands of civilians, killing at least 17 people and leaving 10 others seriously wounded. The attack on St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the town of Bambari occurred Monday when the fighters accused church officials of helping Christian militias operating in the area. The Rev. Thibault Ndemaguia said he had counted at least 17 bodies, while police officials said the death toll was as high as 20. The U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator in Central African Republic strongly condemned the assault on civilians seeking refuge at the church, along with a grenade attack three days earlier on a mosque in Paoua that left 34 people wounded. SRI LANKA-POPE Hardline Buddhists want Pope Francis to apologize COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) β A Buddhist group accused of recent attacks on Muslims in Sri Lanka says Pope Francis must apologize to Buddhists for atrocities allegedly committed by Christian colonial rulers when he visits the island nation next year. A cleric with the group Buddhist Power Force says Buddhist monks were killed and their temples were destroyed by European Christians who established colonies in Sri Lanka between 1505 and 1948. Roman Catholicism was established in Sri Lanka by the Portuguese, while the Dutch and the British established their own Christian denominations. The monks leading Buddhist Power Force have encouraged violence against minorities and called on Sri Lankans to preserve the purity of the Buddhist majority. Though Muslims are their main target, they often accuse Christians of converting Buddhists through financial inducements.
