POLICE CHOKEHOLD DEATH-BAPTISTS
Baptist leader “stunned” by chokehold decision
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β The head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention says he was “stunned” that a New York grand jury cleared a white police officer in the videotaped chokehold death of an unarmed black man who was stopped for selling untaxed cigarettes.
The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says: “A government that can choke a man to death on video for selling cigarettes is not a government living up to a biblical definition of justice.”
In a statement, Moore says there can be differences over enforcing the law in particular situations. But he says, “It’s high time we start listening to our African American brothers and sisters in this country when they tell us they are experiencing a problem.”
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299-a-17-(The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in prepared statement)-“these dividing walls”-The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says African American Christians have legitimate concerns about police. ((note length of cut)) ((refeed of cut previously numbered 262 for all needing)) (4 Dec 2014)
< 261-a-08-(The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in prepared statement)-“in this country”-The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says the issue is larger than the rule of law. (4 Dec 2014) < 260-a-14-(The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in prepared statement)-“in any definition”-The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says he was stunned that a New York grand jury didn’t indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man. (4 Dec 2014) < 262-a-17-(The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in prepared statement)-“these dividing walls”-The Reverend Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says African American Christians have legitimate concerns about police. ((note length of cut)) (4 Dec 2014) < FLORIDA CHURCH SHOOTING Pastor, church employee among 3 killed in Florida BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) β Authorities say a man killed his wife and another woman and then headed to the Bradenton, Florida, church where his wife worked and fatally shot the pastor. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says 33-year-old Andy Avalos fatally shot Pastor James Battle at the Bayshore Baptist Church on Thursday afternoon. While at that scene, deputies learned about the other two victims from a witness to the shooting. They went to the house and found the bodies of Amber Avalos and another woman. Amber Avalos worked at the church as its nursery and children’s director. The Avaloses have six children. The Bayshore Baptist website says Andy Avalos’s father also is a minister. It says Pastor Battle and his wife Joy, who is the church’s secretary, have two small children. Sound: 304-c-10-(Tamara Lush, AP correspondent)-“at the church”-AP correspondent Tamara Lush reports that two of the victims were connected to Bayshore Baptist Church in Bradenton. (4 Dec 2014) < 303-c-12-(Tamara Lush, AP correspondent)-“a third person”-AP correspondent Tamara Lush reports that a Florida man is accused in killings at his home and a Bradenton church. (4 Dec 2014) < 305-c-07-(Tamara Lush, AP correspondent)-“the Avalos home”-AP correspondent Tamara Lush reports that the same suspect is believed to have killed his wife, another woman, and Bradenton pastor James Battle. (4 Dec 2014) < NUDE SUNBATHER Utah man charged for sunbathing nude in his yard SALT LAKE CITY (AP) β A judge is issuing an arrest warrant for a 77-year-old Utah man who police say was sunbathing nude in his backyard next to a church parking lot. Court records show the $5,000 cash-only warrant was issued Tuesday after Myron Lee Kipp failed to show up at a court hearing in his lewdness case. The Farmington man has pleaded not guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of lewdness, four involving a child. Police say Kipp’s neighbors reported he was sunbathing nude in his backyard March 5. His yard has a chain-link fence with no privacy slats. Police say several parents said their children could see him, but Kipp told an officer he could do want he wanted on his property. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Michigan House panel passes religious freedom bill LANSING, Mich. (AP) β A bill that supporters say would protect people’s right to exercise their religious beliefs free from government overreach has won approval from a Michigan legislative panel. The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee voted 7-4 along party lines Thursday to move the legislation to the full House. Democrats in opposition say the bill lets people discriminate against gays and others. House Speaker Jase Bolger denies his legislation would provide a “license to discriminate.” He wants to push ahead with it in the lame-duck session even though a related measure to prohibit discrimination against gays is stalled. Bolger’s bill would create a Michigan version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It would provide a claim or defense to people who argue their exercise of religion has been substantially burdened by the government. CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL Diocese gets $20M donation to revamp cathedral GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (AP) β The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has received a $20 million donation to help renovate the famous glass-sided Crystal Cathedral and turn the campus into a center of Catholic life. The Southern California diocese says the gift came from a single donor who wants to remain anonymous. It is the largest donation ever received by the Diocese or Orange, which is home to 1.3 million Catholics. The diocese says it plans to renovate the 34-acre campus and reopen the 2,000-seat sanctuary in 2017 as a cathedral for Orange County. The diocese bought the property in 2012 after Crystal Cathedral Ministries declared bankruptcy. MARION BARRY-JESSE JACKSON The Rev. Jesse Jackson to eulogize Marion Barry WASHINGTON (AP) β The Rev. Jesse Jackson will deliver the eulogy at Saturday’s funeral for former Washington Mayor Marion Barry. Organizers of Barry’s memorial services released a partial list of speakers Thursday. Barry was a veteran of the civil rights movement like Jackson, a longtime friend and ally. Jackson will speak at Saturday’s memorial service at the Washington Convention Center. Tonight (Friday evening), the Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at a community memorial service in southeast Washington. Other speakers for Saturday’s service include Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington; National Urban League Chairman Marc Morial; and the Rev. Willie Wilson, an influential local pastor. Barry died Nov. 22. He served four terms as mayor and was the best-known politician in the history of District of Columbia self-rule. VATICAN-FINANCES Pope’s financial czar: Vatican has millions extra VATICAN CITY (AP) β The Vatican’s economy czar says the Holy See’s finances are in better shape than he thought, revealing that hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away off the balance sheet and that reforms are forging ahead to make the Vatican “boringly successful.” In a frank essay published Thursday in The Catholic Herald, Cardinal George Pell outlined his vision for a Vatican that follows international accounting standards, is transparent and audited externally, and uses its proceeds to help the poor. Pope Francis was elected on a mandate to get the Vatican’s finances in order after years of scandal. Pell was one of the most vocal in calling for reform, and was named by Francis to head the new Secretariat for the Economy to oversee the process. ITALY-JEWISH MUSEUM Rome’s Jewish Museum shows how Ghetto was in 1880s ROME (AP) β Visitors to Rome’s Jewish Museum can now see streets as they were before the Ghetto neighborhood’s demolition in the 1880s. Tucked behind Rome’s main synagogue, the museum now has an interactive table that enables people, with hand movements, to simulate strolling through the Old Ghetto. Researchers studied watercolor landscapes from the times, city property records and photographs taken before the district was demolished during Rome’s makeover to be modern Italy’s capital. The neighborhood is home to one of the world’s longest continuously-inhabited Jewish communities. Sixteenth-century Pope Paul IV ordered Jews confined there; papal edicts enforced the Ghetto’s duration until the mid-18th century. Many streets today look remarkably unchanged, but the interactive table shows how the Tiber lapped up against Ghetto buildings before river embankment construction. ISLAMIC CENTER DAMAGE Vandals strike Islamic religious property ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) β Muslim leaders in St. Cloud, Minnesota, say their worship centers have repeatedly been targeted by vandals. The latest window damage was found Wednesday at the Central Minnesota Islamic Center near St. Cloud State University. Spokesman Mohamoud Mohamed says it’s the third time in recent weeks that windows have been broken. He says repairs to just one of the center’s double-paned windows cost nearly $1,000. Mohamed says personal vehicles are also being targeted as worshippers pray at the Islamic Center of St. Cloud before sunrise. St. Cloud police say they are investigating. Mohamed told the St. Cloud Times that additional security cameras would be installed on the properties.
