SUPREME COURT-EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Court declines to take up Episcopal Church dispute
WASHINGTON (AP) β The Supreme Court has turned away appeals from the Episcopal Church in a dispute over church property claimed by a breakaway diocese in Texas.
The justices on Monday let stand two Texas Supreme Court rulings in favor of the Fort Worth Episcopal diocese, which has held on to 52 church properties worth more than $100 million since breaking away in 2008.
The diocese opposes the consecration of gay bishops, ordination of women and other policies its leadership considers unbiblical.
A lower court had ruled in favor of the national church. But a divided Texas Supreme Court reversed that ruling, saying the rift should be resolved on neutral principles of law that apply to nonreligious disputes. It sent the case back to the lower court for further review.
Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed)
SUPREME COURT-ABORTION
High court turns away two abortion-related appeals
WASHINGTON (AP) β The Supreme Court is leaving in place part of a New York City law aimed at regulating crisis pregnancy centers that are run by anti-abortion groups.
The court rejected a free-speech appeal Monday in which the centers argued that the law’s requirement that they disclose whether a licensed medical provider works at the facilities is unconstitutional.
Courts have blocked other parts of the law, including a requirement that centers disclose whether they provide referrals for abortion and emergency contraception.
The Supreme Court also declined to hear an appeal challenging the constitutionality of a Colorado law that prohibits people from obstructing entry to abortion clinics.
The justices left in place a lower court ruling that said the law does not restrict free speech or otherwise violate the rights of abortion protesters.
Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed)
GUN RESOLUTION-EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Episcopal Church in Michigan supports gun control
LANSING, Mich. (AP) β Some Episcopalians are objecting to a resolution calling for stricter gun control that was recently approved by the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.
The Detroit Free Press reports that a majority of Episcopalians in the diocese voted to approve the resolution calling for universal background checks on all gun purchases, banning all semi-automatic weapon sales and making gun trafficking a federal crime.
After intense debate, the resolution was passed at the diocese’s annual convention in Lansing.
Some members who opposed the resolution said it alienates congregants by promoting liberal social issues instead of the Gospel. Others argued that the changes the resolution supports would target law-abiding people, rather than criminals.
But liberal Episcopalians contend that the gun control measures are in line with Christian teachings.
CHURCH BURGLAR
Police search for Lexington church burglar
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) β Police in Lexington, Kentucky, are searching for a suspect in a church burglary.
According to WKYT-TV, police believe the person who robbed the church Friday night may have also broken into the apartment of one of the church’s members. Nevada Frizzell’s place was burglarized a few hours before two televisions were stolen from the church.
Frizzell said she’s part of a church group that helps people break free of addictions. She and some of the other members believe one of those individuals may have been responsible for the burglaries.
Police said they’re checking nearby security cameras to see if they caught the burglar breaking into the church.
GARDEN CITY CHURCH-LAWSUIT
Church sues Garden City over zoning dispute
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) β A Kansas church has sued Garden City over an order prohibiting worship at the church’s property in the central business district.
Mount Zion Church of God in Christ alleges in a federal lawsuit that the city has threatened to prosecute it in municipal court for violating a zoning ordinance. The city has said in a letter that it also could seek an injunction to enforce its zoning regulations.
At issue is a Main Street building that has allegedly been used as a church for more than 10 years.
The church’s lawsuit contends that the city is violating its First Amendment rights and seeks a ruling finding the zoning restriction unconstitutional.
Assistant City Attorney Jacob Cunningham declined comment on the lawsuit.
PALESTINIANS-MAKING WINE
Beer, wine flow in West Bank Christian hamlet
TAYBEH, West Bank (AP) β A tiny Christian enclave in the overwhelmingly Muslim West Bank has for years crafted the only Palestinian beer and brought thousands of visitors flocking to its annual beer fest.
Now, it is adding wine to its list of libations, hoping a boutique winery will be another tourist draw and contribute to keeping the village of Taybeh (ty-BAY’) afloat.
While Christians around the Middle East have seen their numbers dwindle due to conflict and the lure of better economic opportunities abroad, Taybeh has remained an exclusively Christian village, the last in the West Bank.
The family members behind the wine and beer say they are carrying out “peaceful resistance” by investing in their homeland and staying put.
The West Bank’s Muslims often shun alcohol for religious reason, but Taybeh’s annual Oktoberfest has become one of the region’s must-see events. The two-day festival has drawn some 16,000 people.
NIGERIA-VIOLENCE
Suicide bomber kills dozens in northeast Nigerian city
POTISKUM, Nigeria (AP) β A hospital official and witnesses say a suicide bomber has killed himself and 32 civilians by detonating explosives on the edge of a religious procession in northeast Nigeria by the moderate Muslim Brotherhood.
The official said Monday 119 people were wounded, quoting hospital records in Potiskum, the capital of Yobe state. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give information to reporters.
It is the first attack in months in Yobe by suspected members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, which in recent weeks has seized several towns and declared an Islamic caliphate along Nigeria’s northeast border.
In a separate development, gunmen freed 145 inmates in an attack on a prison in central Nigeria, an official said. Extremists are the prime suspects.
AUSTRALIA-ISLAMIC STATE
Australian leader blames IS for Sydney shooting
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) β Australia’s prime minister says the shooting of a Shiite religious leader outside a Sydney prayer hall appears to have been influenced by the Islamic State movement.
Rasoul Al Mousawi, 47, was blasted with a shotgun in the face and shoulder in a drive-by shooting early Monday. Police said his wounds were not life threatening.
A witness, who declined to be identified, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that men in the car had driven past the center several times before the shooting, calling out “IS lives forever” and “Shia dogs.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that authorities suspected the Islamic State movement was behind the shooting.
