GAY MARRIAGE FOES
Losing streak lengthens for foes of gay marriage
WASHINGTON (AP) β For foes of same-sex marriage, their losing streak keeps growing. Some sense a lost cause, but others vow to fight on.
A year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages. Since then, more than a dozen federal and state judges have struck down part or all of state-level bans on gay marriage, with no rulings going the other way.
Faced with these developments, some longtime opponents of gay marriage now say that its nationwide legalization via a Supreme Court ruling is inevitable. Others refuse to concede, and some leaders of that cohort will be rallying Thursday at a March for Marriage in Washington that they hope will draw many thousands.
One of the scheduled speakers is San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (kohr-dih-lee-OH’-nee), who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ subcommittee on the promotion and defense of marriage.
Co-sponsors of the march include the Coalition of African-American Pastors, which maintains that same-sex marriage is not a civil rights issue.
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190-a-34-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–For foes of same-sex marriage, their losing streak keeps growing. Some sense a lost cause, but others vow to fight on. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (15 Jun 2014)
< 191-a-11-(San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (kohr-dih-lee-OH’-nee), chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ subcommittee on the promotion and defense of marriage, addressing his fellow bishops last week)-“in that march”-San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone says Catholics and others who oppose same-sex marriage are not giving up the fight. (15 Jun 2014) < HOBBY LOBBY-SOUTHERN BAPTISTS Baptists honor family appealing law’s contraceptive coverage mandate WASHINGTON (AP) β While the family that owns Hobby Lobby awaits a Supreme Court ruling on its challenge to the health care law’s birth control mandate, it’s already won the respect of fellow Christians. The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, presented the Green Family with an award last week. He said, “This is for reminding us that religious freedom is a gift from God, our birthright, and not a grant from the state.” The Obama administration argues that business owners have religious rights, but their companies do not. Moore says the Green family disagrees, believing that “the government is not the lord of their consciences.” Also challenging the contraceptive coverage mandate is Conestoga Wood Specialties, which is owned by a Mennonite family. Sound: 255-a-11-(The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, at the Southern Baptists’ annual meeting last week)-“from the state”-The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, presents an award to the Green Family, owners of Hobby Lobby. (15 Jun 2014) < 256-a-16-(The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, at the Southern Baptists’ annual meeting last week)-“of their consciences (applause fades)”-The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says complying with the health care law’s birth control mandate would violate the Green family’s religious convictions. ((note length of cut)) (15 Jun 2014) < PRESBYTERIANS-ISRAEL Presbyterians in key moment on Israel, divestment DETROIT (AP) β The divestment movement against Israeli policy toward Palestinians could soon have one of its most significant American victories to date. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is considering withdrawing its investments from some companies whose products are used by the Israeli government in the Palestinian territories. The Presbyterians are meeting in Detroit this week. The broader movement known as boycotts, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, aims to pressure Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and end the occupation. The campaign has scored some successes in Europe and elsewhere, but is only now gaining some ground in America. Opponents say divestment advocates want to destroy the Jewish state. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is among the many liberal-leaning Protestant denominations that were once at the center of American religious life but have been losing members and influence for decades. As of last year, the denomination had less than 1.8 million members. FIRED OVER FERTILIZATION Diocese asks judge to dismiss teacher’s lawsuit FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) β A Roman Catholic diocese in Indiana has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former schoolteacher who says was fired for trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization. The request for summary judgment by the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend contends that exemptions for religious employers preclude it from being sued because the decision to not renew Emily Herx’s contract was based on religion. The Journal Gazette reports that U.S. District Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. is expected to either grant summary judgment for the diocese or the case will head to mediation or trial. Herx sued the diocese in spring 2012. Herx suffers from infertility, a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. She argues that her termination violated the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. SCHOOL PRAYER Missouri school district settles prayer complaint FAYETTE, Mo. (AP) β A Missouri high school has been ordered to restrict some of its employees’ religious activities at school as part of a settlement of a complaint concerning school prayers. The decree settles a federal court complaint filed in November against the Fayette school district, alleging the school violated the Constitution by announcing a weekly prayer meeting over the intercom and allowing a Christian group to meet before school, when other clubs could not. The lawsuit was filed by the American Humanist Association, a student, the student’s mother and a former Fayette student. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the consent decree prohibits faculty sponsors from actively participating in prayer or religious activity during student meetings, and prohibits employees from placing religious items where students are likely to see them. PRIESTS ATTACKED-MASS Priest attacked at Phoenix church will recover PHOENIX (AP) β A priest is expected to make a full recovery after he was badly beaten in an attack that killed another clergyman at a Roman Catholic church in downtown Phoenix. Church officials said after a Sunday morning Mass that the Rev. Joseph Terra was moved out of a hospital intensive care unit the night before but will need time to recuperate after the Wednesday night attack. The Rev. Carl Gismondi, a pastor from San Diego who led the service, says Terra is in good spirits. More than 100 parishioners at Mother of Mercy Mission gathered to mourn the Rev. Kenneth Walker, who was shot to death. Police are searching for a suspect described as a white male between the ages of 40 and 49 years old. EX-MUSLIM-BAPTISM LAWSUIT Tulsa church sued for publishing baptism news TULSA, Okla. (AP) β A former Muslim who converted to Christianity has filed a civil lawsuit against an Oklahoma church, arguing that leaders endangered his life by publishing his baptism announcement. The man, only identified as John Doe, filed the suit this week against the First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa and its pastor. According to the lawsuit, the man is a native of Syria who lives in Oklahoma. The lawsuit says the man was attacked on a trip to Syria after the church published a notice of his baptism online. The suit says the man was beaten and tortured for days before he escaped. The man’s lawyer, Keith Ward, says the case is unusual but that the man’s injuries are well-documented. The church said in a statement to the Tulsa World that it followed proper procedures. IRAQ Militants post images of dozens of Iraqi soldiers lined up and shot north of Baghdad BAGHDAD (AP) β The Islamic militant group that swept across northern Iraq and captured two major cities last week has posted graphic photos on a website that appear to show its masked fighters massacring dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers. With thousands of Shiite men heeding a call from their most revered spiritual leader to take up arms against the Sunni militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, there are fears the grisly images will further sharpen sectarian tensions. ISIL has vowed to take the battle to Iraq’s capital and cities further south where revered Shiite shrines are located. Iraq’s government has been bolstering Baghdad’s defenses, but several bombs exploded in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 19 and wounding 40. At the Vatican, Pope Francis said he’s praying for the victims and “for the many people, including many Christians, who had to leave their homes.” Sound: 141-r-27-(Sound of Pope Francis, speaking in Italian, addressing faithful in St. Peter’s Square)–Sound of Pope Francis, speaking in Italian to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, asking all to pray for Iraq, “especially for the victims and those suffering the consequences of the increasing violence.” COURTESY: Vatican TV ((mandatory credit)) (15 Jun 2014) < 142-r-26-(Sound of Pope Francis, speaking in Italian, addressing faithful in St. Peter’s Square)–Sound of Pope Francis praying in Italian for a “future of reconciliation and justice for the whole population” of Iraq, so Iraqis of all beliefs can rebuild their country together. COURTESY: Vatican TV ((mandatory on-air credit)) (15 Jun 2014) < US-NIGERIA-BOKO HARAM US lawmakers offer support in Nigeria ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) β A Texas congressman says the U.S. plans to help Nigeria fight the Islamic militant group Boko Haram, but he offered no details. After what he said was a classified briefing in the Nigerian capital on Sunday, Republican Steve Stockman said, “Pending approval of the government of Nigeria and our government, we plan to take action.” Boko Haram, which wants to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, drew international attention for the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls in April. Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, who also was part of the U.S. delegation, said, “We know that Boko Haram still has these girls, but we also know that they are still going into places of worship no matter what the religion and killing people and taking girls and kidnapping others.” In Washington last week, New Jersey Republican Chris Smith said Americans are training a battalion of Nigerian troops, but he said more training in counterinsurgency will be needed, along with real-time intelligence capabilities. Sound: 257-a-09-(U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, at news conference)-“that, this time”-U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, says the congressional delegation received a classified briefing Sunday in Nigeria’s capital. (15 Jun 2014) < 258-a-13-(U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, at news conference)-“and kidnapping others”-U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, says the kidnapped Nigerian school girls are only some of Boko Haram’s victims. (15 Jun 2014) < VATICAN-POPE-EUROPE Pope laments a ‘tired’ Europe; decries joblessness ROME (AP) β Pope Francis is criticizing Europe for becoming “tired” because of low birth rates and increasing numbers of young people who neither work nor study. Francis delivered the harsh assessment Sunday while visiting a Rome basilica, home to a Catholic organization whose volunteers help the elderly, immigrants and other needy. He said Europe often “discards” both its elderly, by shunting them aside as “no longer useful,” and its young, by failing to provide work. Francis said of economic crisis-mired Europe: “We must help it to get younger” and re-discover its roots. His predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II, often said that Western Europe had forgotten its Christian roots and had become obsessed with consumerism. He said by helping both young and old, “you begin to renew society.” VATICAN-POPE-ALBANIA Pope says he’ll visit Albania in September VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis says he will make a one-day trip to Albania in September to encourage a country that he says “long suffered” from the consequences of past ideologies. The pontiff was referring in his announcement Sunday to decades of communist rule by a dictatorship that tried to isolate Albanians from the outside world. Tens of thousands of impoverished Albanians fled to Italy in the 1990s, crossing the Adriatic Sea in crammed ferries and fishing boats as the regime in Tirana crumbled. Many of the migrants have since integrated into Italian life. Francis told the faithful in St. Peter’s Square that he would also use his Sept. 21 visit to express support to Catholics who make up a tiny minority in largely Muslim Albania. IRAN-ZOROASTRIANS Iran’s Zoroastrians celebrate Persian roots CHAK CHAK, Iran (AP) β Adherents of the Zoroastrian religion from around the world have gathered at a mountain shrine in central Iran to celebrate their Persian roots, praying in remembrance of a princess who fled the seventh century Arab invasion. At Chak Chak, some 370 miles southeast of the capital Tehran, believers gathered to remember Nikbanou, a heroine of the faith who according to tradition took shelter in the mountain and prayed for help. Miraculously, the mountain was said to have opened up and given protection to the princess, the youngest daughter of the last king of the Persian Sassanian empire. A spring slowly drips from the ceiling of the shrine. Tradition says the spring is the mountain shedding tears in remembrance of Nikbanou. Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion predating Christianity and Islam that was founded some 3,800 years ago by Zoroaster. It was the dominant religion in Persia before the Arab conquest. It stresses good deeds, and fire plays a central role in worship as a symbol of truth and the spirit of God.
