CONGRESS-COACH-POSTGAME PRAYER
Congressman denounces praying coach’s suspension
WASHINGTON (AP) β The chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus is denouncing a Seattle-area school district’s suspension of an assistant football coach for praying at midfield after games.
In a House speech yesterday, Virginia Republican Randy Forbes said the Bremerton School District was violating Coach Joe Kennedy’s religious rights.
District officials put Kennedy on paid administrative leave because he ignored orders to stop overt religious displays on the field. Citing past Supreme Court and appeals court cases, officials said they did not want to be seen as endorsing religion.
While students sometimes joined Kennedy, his lawyers insist he was not leading them in prayer, just praying himself.
Forbes and dozens of other members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus sent a letter last week to the superintendent expressing support for the coach.
Kennedy’s lawyers said they plan to file a discrimination complaint, which could lead to a lawsuit.
256-w-31-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus)–The chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus is denouncing a Seattle-area school district’s suspension of an assistant football coach for praying at midfield after games. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (4 Nov 2015)
< 259-a-11-(U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, in floor speech)-“all of us”-Virginia Republican Randy Forbes, chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, says Bremerton School District officials should not have suspended Coach Joe Kennedy. (4 Nov 2015) < 258-a-11-(U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, in floor speech)-“or her faith”-Virginia Republican Randy Forbes, chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, says Americans can openly express their faith in their workplaces. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (4 Nov 2015) < 257-a-14-(U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, in floor speech)-“onto the field”-Virginia Republican Randy Forbes, chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, says Americans have a right to express their religious beliefs. (4 Nov 2015) < FOOTBALL PLAYER-THANKING GOD Suspension for teen football player who thanked God reversed PHOENIX (AP) β A suburban Phoenix high school football player who says he was suspended for praising God will get to play in his team’s playoff game. The Arizona Interscholastic Association reversed 17-year-old Pedro Banda’s one-game suspension Tuesday, allowing him to participate in the team’s first playoff appearance in 21 years. A senior at Dysart High School in El Mirage, Banda was ejected Friday at a game in Glendale after he scored a touchdown and pointed to the sky in the end zone. Officials say it was his second instance of excessive celebration in the game, resulting in the ejection and subsequent suspension. The teen says he wasn’t taunting but thanking God. AIA officials say they reviewed video of the game and decided to give Banda “the benefit of the doubt.” POLICE-RELIGIOUS MOTTOS Texas AG: Police religious mottoes are constitutional AUSTIN, Texas (AP) β Texas’ attorney general has issued an opinion stating that a police department’s displaying “In God We Trust” on its patrol vehicles is protected by the First Amendment. Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote yesterday that courts were likely to rule that displaying the motto was protected by the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Police in the town of Childress began displaying the motto recently. That followed nationally publicized tensions between law enforcement and some of the communities they severe around the country. When the Freedom From Religion Foundation suggested that violated separation of church and state, Childress’ police chief invited the group’s leadership to “go fly a kite.” State Sen. Charles Perry subsequently asked Paxton for legal guidance, prompting the opinion. FORT CARSON-ANTI-ISLAM SHIRT Vendor on Army post told to stop selling anti-Islam T-shirt DENVER (AP) β A vendor on an Army post in Colorado has been ordered to stop selling a T-shirt with an anti-Islam message after shoppers complained. The T-shirt depicts the Statue of Liberty wearing a burqa, the all-covering dress worn by some Muslim women, with the words, “Don’t let this happen America.” It was being sold at a kiosk outside the Fort Carson post exchange, a retail store. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which operates the exchange, said yesterday that it ordered the vendor to stop selling the shirt because it violates rules against religious or political merchandise. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation says one of its clients complained about the shirt. The foundation’s president, Mikey Weinstein, said the T-shirt epitomizes bigotry against Muslims in the U.S. military. Fort Carson spokeswoman Dani Johnson said the Army “does not tolerate any form of discrimination.” MOSQUE SPRAY PAINTED Rally supports Boston-area mosque hit with ‘USA’ graffiti BURLINGTON, Mass. (AP) β Muslim and interfaith leaders have rallied in support of a suburban Boston mosque that was spray-painted with the letters “USA.” The rally at the Islamic Center of Burlington was meant to counter anti-Muslim sentiment and was themed “We are Americans.” Supporters wrote positive messages on a large white paper hung on an outside wall of the mosque, where the graffiti was written repeatedly in red spray paint over the Halloween weekend. Organizers expressed gratitude to law enforcement for its quick response, though they still want prosecutors to pursue hate-crime charges. Two 18-year-olds from Burlington have been arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property over $250. The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says the graffiti reflects a growing sentiment that Muslims are not “real Americans.” ALABAMA CHIEF JUSTICE-SON INDICTED Son of Alabama chief justice indicted on drug charges MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) β The son of Alabama’s chief justice has been indicted on drug charges. Court records show 25-year-old Caleb Moore is charged with felony possession of a prescription medication and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Caleb Moore is the son of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, a conservative Christian who has made national headlines recently trying to block gay marriage. Moore also is known for erecting a Ten Commandments monument in Alabama’s court building. Caleb Moore’s attorney Richard Jaffe said the indictment caught him “a bit off-guard” and declined further comment. Caleb Moore was arrested in March in Troy. Police responding to a possible break-in reported smelling marijuana and finding Xanax. Caleb Moore pleaded guilty in 2013 and 2014 to separate misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia. REFORM JUDAISM-TRANSGENDER RESOLUTION Reform Jews poised to pass transgender resolution ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) β The largest Jewish movement in the United States is poised to pass a far-reaching resolution affirming transgender rights. Members of the 1.5 million-person Reform Jewish movement will consider a resolution today that affirms the equality of transgender people and welcomes them into congregations and other institutions. The resolution by the Union for Reform Judaism calls for congregations and camps to have gender-neutral bathrooms, encourages gender-neutral language at institutions and suggests training on gender issues for religious school staff. It’s being voted on at the movement’s biennial conference in Orlando, Florida. Other religious bodies, such as the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, previously approved resolutions affirming equality for transgender and non-gender-conforming people. VATICAN-SCANDAL Vatican downplays 2 books recounting financial misdeeds MILAN (AP) β The Vatican’s spokesman is seeking to play down a pair of books recounting financial malfeasance and greed within the Vatican, saying many of the disclosures were already known and the material creates confusion about Pope Francis’ well-known reform course. In remarks on Vatican Radio, the Rev. Federico Lombardi emphasized that the illegally leaked documents, which provided information for the books, were the result of “data and information put in motion by the Holy Father himself” in the pope’s efforts to reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy and finances. The books by veteran Vatican reporters are to be published today but were obtained in advance by The Associated Press. Among the disclosures in “Merchants in the Temple,” Gianluigi Nuzzi writes that the cost of sainthood can run up to half a million dollars. FRANCE-RELIGION IN SCHOOL After attacks, France walks narrow line on Islam in schools PARIS (AP) β France’s Socialist government has come down strongly against towns that have stopped offering children alternatives when school cafeterias serve pork. In speeches yesterday to public officials who advise on secularism in schools and government, the country’s education and interior ministers said forcing children to eat something forbidden by their religion has nothing to do with France’s ideals. The issue is a tense one, and the meeting was intended to help the government-appointed secular mediators do a job that many link to the January terror attacks by French Islamic extremists in Paris. Education Minister Najat Vallaud Belkacem said separating religion and state was “not up for discussion, not negotiable” β but at the same time she and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve sharply criticized politicians who use it to target French Muslims. PERPETUAL PRAYING Wisconsin convent says prayer has gone on nonstop since 1878 LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) β A group of Wisconsin nuns says their order has been praying nonstop for hundreds of thousands of people for the last 137 years. The La Crosse-based Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration claim to have been praying night and day for the suffering longer than anyone in the United States β since 11 a.m. on Aug. 1, 1878. Some 180 lay people, or “prayer partners,” help the 100 sisters. Usually the nuns take night shifts and lay people cover the days. Sister Maria Friedman says she never has problems finding people to help. People can submit requests in person, by phone, email and online. One recent recipient of prayers was Laura Huber, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She says she felt “warm and loved and cared about by strangers.”
