VATICAN-SEX ABUSE
Abuse victims’ leader calls pope’s planned meeting a public relations ploy
CHICAGO (AP) β The head of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests says Pope Francis’s plan to meet with abuse victims looks like “a public relations ploy.”
SNAP President Barbara Blaine says the pope already has all the information he needs to remove priests who abuse minors and bishops who cover it up.
Francis’s upcoming meeting with a half-dozen victims, announced Monday, is being organized by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston. O’Malley was instrumental in setting up a 2008 meeting between clergy sex-abuse victims and Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Blaine says that meeting didn’t lead to meaningful action.
Pope Francis said Monday that abuse of children is an “ugly” crime that betrays God. He also revealed that three bishops are currently under investigation by the Vatican for abuse-related reasons, though it wasn’t clear if they were accused of committing abuse or covering it up.
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229-a-14-(Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in AP interview)-“of the priesthood”-Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says there are things Pope Francis should do immediately. (27 May 2014)
< 227-a-10-(Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in AP interview)-“would take action”-Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says she questions the value of Pope Francis meeting with abuse victims. (27 May 2014) < 230-a-12-(Father John Wauck, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, in AP interview)-“horror of abuse”-Father John Wauck, a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, says Pope Francis has condemned abuse of children by clergy. (27 May 2014) < 228-a-06-(Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in AP interview)-“to do it”-Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says Pope Francis doesn’t need to hear from abuse victims. (27 May 2014) < 226-a-07-(Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, in AP interview)-“any positive results”-Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says Pope Benedict XVI met with abuse victims in 2008. (27 May 2014) < SANTA BARBARA RAMPAGE-TRIBUTE Parents of rampage victim remember son’s spiritual fruit GOLETA, Calif. (AP) β At a memorial service for victims of a 22-year-old man’s weekend rampage in California, a message was read from the parents of one of the killer’s slain roommates to their departed son. The message to 20-year-old Weihan Wang from his parents said, “You will be at peace in the hands of God.” They added that they had seen God’s “spiritual fruits” in his life β that their son was “gentle, kind, loving, joyful, peaceful, faithful and self-controlled.” Wang, who went by the name of David, graduated from Fremont Christian School and was studying computer engineering at UC Santa Barbara. The tribute from his parents was read by Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher also was among the victims. Seven young people died, including the killer. Sound: 281-a-22-(Richard Martinez, father of rampage victim Christopher Martinez, reading statement from parents of Weihan Wang to their son)-“faithful and self-controlled”-Richard Martinez, father of rampage victim Christopher Martinez, reads a message from the parents of victim Weihan Wang to their departed son. (27 May 2014) < 282-a-13-(Richard Martinez, father of rampage victim Christopher Martinez, reading statement from parents of Weihan Wang to their son)-“you in heaven”-Richard Martinez, father of rampage victim Christopher Martinez, reads a message from the parents of victim Weihan Wang. (27 May 2014) < ST LOUIS-VIOLENCE St. Louis violence prompts call for prayer ST. LOUIS (AP) β Clergy in St. Louis are calling for citywide prayer to end violence. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition hosted a Memorial Day service at New Northside Church on Monday to draw attention to violence in the city. The service included 52 candles, each with the name of a person who had died from violence in St. Louis this year. The service was part of the Week of Prayer to Curb Violence that continues through Friday. At the ceremony Monday, the Rev. Rodrick Burton moved along the front of the sanctuary, picking up a candle and blowing out the flame as his wife spoke the names of violence victims. Javier Orozco, director of Hispanic ministries for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, said “Our churches, our faith community can be those places where young people can come to forgive.” SNAKE HANDLING Son of late Ky. snake handler recovering from bite LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) β The son of a snake-handling Kentucky preacher who died from a snake bite says he’s recovering from his own rattlesnake wound. Cody Coots told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he was bitten on a finger as he removed snakes from a cage on Monday. The 21-year Coots says he declined medical treatment from an ambulance crew. Instead, he says he relied on prayer for healing. Coots says he told the Lord he wouldn’t go to the hospital. He says his hand swelled and he vomited repeatedly, but by Tuesday the pain was gone. Coots is a fourth-generation snake handler and had been bitten five times before. His father, Jamie Coots, died of a snake bite in February. Following his death, Cody Coots took over as pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church in Middlesboro, Kentucky. HOLY LAND-CHURCH FIRE Fire breaks out at Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) β A candle and curtain are being blamed for a fire at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, built on the site revered as Jesus’s birthplace. Father Ibrahim Faltas ruled out arson, saying a candle tipped over and set off a small fire that caused minor damage Tuesday. The fire was quickly put out, but burnt remains of the curtains lay on the floor near the grotto and there was some smoke damage to the walls. The Church of the Nativity is one of the holiest sites in Christianity. On Sunday, Francis went to the church during a three-day visit to the Holy Land, calling it a “great grace” to pray at the site of Jesus’s birth. The Bible says Jesus was born in Bethlehem, spent much of his life in Nazareth and the northern Galilee region of Israel, and was crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem. NIGERIA-KIDNAPPED GIRLS Impasse in rescue of girls abducted by extremists ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) β Nigeria’s military chiefs and the president are apparently split over how to free nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by Islamic extremists, with the military saying use of force could get the hostages killed and the president reportedly ruling out a prisoner-hostage swap. The defense chief, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, announced Monday that the military has located the girls, but offered no details or a way forward. Previous attempts by Nigeria’s military to free hostages have led to the prisoners being killed by their abductors. A human rights activist close to mediators said a swap of detained extremists for the girls was negotiated a week ago but fell through because Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan refused to consider an exchange. Community leader Pogu Bitrus of Chibok, the town from which the girls were abducted on April 15, says authorities are speaking with “discordant voices,” but the president should negotiate for the girls’ release. Sound: 211-a-08-(Pogu Bitrus, community leader from town where girls were kidnapped, in AP interview)-“is certainly worrisome”-Pogu Bitrus, a community leader from the town where the girls were kidnapped, says it appears that Nigeria’s military won’t try to rescue the girls and the president won’t negotiate their release. (27 May 2014) < 210-a-12-(Pogu Bitrus, community leader from town where girls were kidnapped, in AP interview)-“going to use?”-Pogu Bitrus, a community leader from the town where the girls were kidnapped, says the apparent disagreement between Nigeria’s president and the military over the kidnapped girls is worrisome. (27 May 2014) < PAKISTAN Pakistan: Gunmen kill cardiologist from minority LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) β Pakistani police say gunmen have shot dead a visiting American cardiologist who belongs to the minority Ahmadi religious sect. Police say two gunmen riding a motorcycle shot cardiologist Mehdi Ali Qamar 10 times at close range Monday, killing him in front of his wife and son, who were not harmed. The three were leaving a cemetery after praying at the graves of relatives in central Pakistan. The family arrived two days earlier from the U.S. for a weeklong visit and the cardiologist was to see patients at a local hospital. The killers’ motive was not yet known. Ahmadis follow the self-proclaimed prophet Ghulam Ahmad and consider themselves Muslims, but are forbidden from presenting themselves as such by Pakistani law. MEXICO-CHURCH ABUSE Catholic Church ousts Mexico priest for sex abuse MEXICO CITY (AP) β The Roman Catholic Church in Mexico has suspended a priest after sexual abuse allegations against him were made public on a billboard. The president of the Catholic Lawyers College of Mexico says Eduardo Cordova was stripped of his priesthood by the Vatican following an investigation of the allegations. Armando Martinez Gomez said Tuesday that all the evidence has been forwarded to Mexican prosecutors. Parents in the central state of San Luis Potosi complained in 2012 that their 16-year-old son had been sexually abused by Cordova. Activists posted a photo of Cordova on a billboard in San Luis Potosi with the slogan “Were you a victim? Report him.” Martinez Gomez said an apparently similar complaint against Cordova had been received in 1998 but had not been proven. MYANMAR-RELIGIOUS CONVERSION BILL Myanmar seeks input on religious conversion bill YANGON, Myanmar (AP) β Myanmar’s government is seeking public suggestions on a controversial religious conversion bill that would require anyone who wants to convert to another religion to obtain permission. The aim of the bill, published Tuesday in state-run newspapers, appears to be to prevent people from being coerced into changing religions. The draft says the purpose is to ensure freedom of religion and to make religious conversion transparent. Under the proposed bill, anyone who forces others to convert faces at least one year in prison. The bill comes at a time of deepening sectarian tensions between Myanmar’s Buddhist majority and Muslim minority. Violence between the two communities has left hundreds dead and forced more than 100,000 people β mostly Muslims β to flee their homes. MORMON WOMEN-PRIESTHOOD Mormon women’s group shifts strategy SALT LAKE CITY (AP) β A Mormon women’s group pushing for gender equality is shifting from public demonstrations to small discussion groups. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Ordain Women is seeking new supporters among the 15 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The group has created six discussion topics that highlight gender disparity in the faith. The group formed last year to advocate for women’s inclusion in higher-level positions, including the lay clergy. Group members marched into Temple Square at the last two Mormon general conferences, asking to be allowed into an all-male priesthood meeting. They were turned away both times. They don’t plan to demonstrate at the fall conference. Church leaders have said the group’s ‘divisive actions’ are not the behavior expected from Mormons.
