EPISCOPAL LEADER
Episcopal Church installs first black leader
WASHINGTON (AP) β The U.S. Episcopal Church has installed its first black presiding bishop in an elaborate ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry succeeds outgoing Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was the first woman in the job and is ending her nine-year term.
The 62-year-old Curry is the son of an Episcopal priest and grew up in Buffalo, New York. He served about 15 years as leader of the Diocese of North Carolina before he was overwhelmingly elected last summer to the top church post.
The New York-based denomination was the church of many Founding Fathers and now has about 1.9 million members. Episcopalians now are struggling with shrinking membership and ongoing tensions with fellow Anglicans around the world over the Episcopal support for gay marriage.
In his installation ceremony, Curry urged Episcopalians to evangelize by crossing divides of race, education and wealth.
Sound:
152-a-14-(Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, at installation service)-“God bless you (second reference) (applause fades)”-Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, says Episcopalians can trust God for the future. (1 Nov 2015)
< 151-a-07-(Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, at installation service)-“us to do”-Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, says the denomination has a mission and a future. (1 Nov 2015) < 148-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church)–The U.S. Episcopal Church has installed its first black presiding bishop in an elaborate ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (1 Nov 2015) < 150-a-09-(Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, at installation service)-“this church up”-Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, says God hasn’t given up on the troubled denomination. (1 Nov 2015) < 149-a-09-(Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, at installation service)-“Episcopal Church yet”-Bishop Michael Curry, the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, says he has faith and hope. (1 Nov 2015) < NO LEARNING HOME SCHOOL Texas case mulls if home-school kids have to learn something AUSTIN, Texas (AP) β A case being heard by the Texas Supreme Court Monday could have broad implications for families that home school their children. At issue: Where do religious liberty and parents’ rights to educate their own children stop and obligations to ensure that home-schooled students actually learn something begin? The court says it will consider “whether school districts can require home-schooling parents to follow curriculum guidelines to assure a bona fide education.” Michael and Laura McIntyre of El Paso are accused of failing to educate their nine home-schooled children because they were “waiting to be raptured.” The McIntyres deny that and say their children were taught the same curriculum used in Christian schools. They accuse the local school district of anti-Christian bias. An estimated 3 percent of students nationwide are now home-schooled, with a curriculum and testing required in some states but not in others. Sound: 188-v-35-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A case being heard by the Texas Supreme Court on Monday could have broad implications for families that home-school their children. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (1 Nov 2015) < BOEHNER-RYAN Boehner: ‘Catholic guilt’ swayed Ryan on speakership WASHINGTON (AP) β Former House Speaker John Boehner says he used “Catholic guilt” to persuade Paul Ryan to run for speaker. On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday Boehner said he invoked God to persuade his fellow Catholic from refusing to run for speaker to agreeing to do so. Boehner says he told Ryan: “‘This isn’t about what you want to do. It’s about what God wants you to do. And God has told me, he wants you to” run for speaker. Ryan did β and won. The Wisconsin congressman has insisted that he will not give up time with his family or stop sleeping in his office in Washington. Boehner, meanwhile, stepped down, after spending time with Pope Francis last month. MEXICO-POPE Cardinal: Pope Francis to visit Mexico in February MEXICO CITY (AP) β A leading Roman Catholic official in Mexico says Pope Francis will visit that country starting Feb. 12, 2016. Cardinal Norberto Rivera didn’t provide any more details about the visit, only saying the pontiff would arrive in Mexico City on that date. Rivera made the announcement Sunday during a homily in Mexico’s capital. Archdiocese spokesman Carlos Villa Roiz confirmed Rivera’s comments to The Associated Press, adding that a Vatican official would be traveling to Mexico soon to arrange the pope’s itinerary. During the visit, Francis is expected to address the violence in Mexico as well as migration, one of the central themes of his papacy. Francis has said he wanted to enter the U.S. from Mexico in a sign of solidarity with migrants during his recent U.S. trip but that the schedule didn’t allow for it. Some Mexican church officials are hoping the pope will tour the U.S. border region. The last pope to visit Mexico was Benedict XVI in March 2012. VATICAN-POPE-AFRICA Pope ‘hopes’ he can still go to conflict-torn African nation VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis has decried a flare-up of violence in the Central African Republic and says he hopes he can still visit that conflict-torn country during his pilgrimage to Africa this month. Francis told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday that he wants to show the church’s closeness to that “afflicted and tormented nation” and to encourage its people to work for reconciliation. He spoke of the “apostolic voyage I hope to be able to make in that nation.” His Nov. 25-30 trip will also take him to Uganda and Kenya. Violence in the Central Africa Republic forced its presidential and parliamentary elections to be postponed from October to December. Francis’ itinerary includes a visit to a refugee camp there, but he expressed “strong worry” Sunday about the violence. WICHITA STATE CHAPEL-CONTROVERSY Public hearing airs disagreements about Wichita State chapel WICHITA, Kan. (AP) β A member of a panel discussing renovations of a Wichita State University chapel says she agrees that the chapel should be open to all races and faiths, but only if those using the chapel are encouraged to become Christians. Lisa Ritchie was the only opponent of the renovations serving on the panel, which held a public hearing Friday to air disagreements about the chapel renovations. The May renovation of the Harvey D. Grace Memorial Chapel removed an altar and replaced pews with chairs. Supporters said it made the chapel a more flexible worship space. Opponents contended the renovations favored Muslims over Christians. The Wichita Eagle reports that Wichita State Vice President Eric Sexton said a committee overseeing the chapel will consider the input from Friday’s meeting and might make changes. MOSQUE SPRAY PAINTED Boston-area mosque spray-painted with “USA” graffiti BURLINGTON, Mass. (AP) β Muslim advocates say a mosque in the Boston suburb of Burlington has been vandalized. The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Sunday that someone spray-painted “USA” repeatedly on the exterior walls of the Islamic Center of Burlington. The group says the vandalism was discovered early Sunday and reported to police, who are investigating. They say they’ve posted photos of the graffiti online. In a statement, the group suggests the graffiti reflects a growing sentiment that Muslims are not “real” Americans. John Robbins, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Massachusetts, says the group will ask the FBI’s Boston office to conduct an inquiry. He says the mosque was previously spray-painted with “USA” graffiti in 2013. TEMPLE BELL RETURNED Stolen Buddhist temple bell found north of Hilo HILO, Hawaii (AP) β Officials at a Buddhist temple on the Big Island of Hawaii are looking for ways to better secure a bell that’s nearly a century old and was recovered after going missing for more than a week. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports that a motorist who stopped for a lunch break Thursday afternoon in a semi-secluded area north of Hilo (HEE’-loh) spotted the bell. It was on a brown tarp, in a gulch that has a stream running through it. Temple President Richard Fujii says police processed the bell as evidence before a few people hauled it back. Cast in 1919 in Japan, it weighs more than 100 pounds. The temple’s secretary says before reinstalling the bell, the temple needs to find a better way to secure it. HAITI-VOODOO HOLIDAY Haitians flow into cemeteries to mark Voodoo day of the dead PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) β People have been streaming into cemeteries across Haiti bearing candles, food offerings and bottles of dark rum to mark the country’s Voodoo festival of the dead. At Port-au-Prince’s national cemetery, priests and priestesses dressed in white gather around a blackened monument that is believed to be the oldest grave. There, they evoke the spirit Baron Samedi, guardian of the dead. Other Haitians on Sunday remembered dead relatives and asked spirits to grant favors or provide guidance. Voodoo priest Pierre Saint Ange cracked a rope whip and told onlookers not to “fight with guns or burn tires.” Voodoo is a blend of African spirituality and Christian beliefs that slaves created centuries ago.
