Church Shooting in Florida; Presbyterians Pro Palestinian Statem - KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

GAYS IN MILITARY-CHAPLAINS

Chaplains unsure how gay ban's repeal will impact them

WASHINGTON (AP) - Now that the ban on openly gay military

service has been repealed, some chaplains are bracing for conflicts

with their faith.

Ron Crews, whose Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty

represents 2,000 active-duty chaplains, says one of them who

expressed "biblical views concerning homosexuality" was told by a

general to either "get in line" or resign his commission.

Crews, a retired Army colonel, says he's advising chaplains to

continue doing their best to minister to all troops, but to make

clear they're doing so in accordance with the Bible's teachings.

A move by the Navy earlier this year to train chaplains about

same-sex civil unions in states where they're legal was shelved

after more than 60 lawmakers objected. The Pentagon is reviewing

the issue.

 

FLORIDA CHURCH SHOOTING

Church shooting suspect ordered held without bond

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - The Florida man accused of killing his

wife and critically wounding two church ministers has been ordered

to remain in jail without bail.

Fifty-seven-year-old Jeremiah Fogle is accused of killing his

wife, Theresa, at their home on Sunday. Authorities say he then

went to a church about a block away, stormed through the front

doors and shot the pastor and associate pastor. The two men remain

hospitalized.

According to court records, Fogle also killed a previous wife

more than two decades ago. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and

was sentenced to probation in 1987.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says Fogle has had seven wives

and has "managed to kill two of them."

 

PRESBYTERIANS-PALESTINIANS

Presbyterians want to make pro-Palestine statement

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A committee of the Presbyterian Church

(USA) says the denomination should dump investments in three

American companies it says profit from Israel's occupation of

Palestinian lands.

A report from the PCUSA's Committee on Mission Responsibility

Through Investment says Caterpillar produces bulldozers and

Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions produce technology used to

bolster the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and Jewish

settlements on them.

The divestment recommendation must be approved by the church's

2012 General Assembly to take effect.

Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan said the bulldozers are provided

to Israel through the U.S. government-run Foreign Military Sales

program.

Motorola and Hewlett-Packard declined comment.

IRAN-US HIKERS

US religious envoys say hikers' release 'imminent'

CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) - A delegation of U.S. Christian and Muslim

leaders has returned from Iran saying the release of two Americans

is imminent.

The Americans have been jailed for more than two years as

accused spies.

The delegation, which included Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic

Relations, arrived Monday at Dulles Airport following a meeting

Saturday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The group had hoped to bring home Americans Shane Bauer and Josh

Fattal who say they were hiking in northern Iraq in

2009 and accidentally strayed into Iran.

The clerics predict the two will be released in a matter of

days. They say the Iranians are hopeful that the U.S. will

reciprocate and review the cases of Iranians jailed in the U.S.

Bishop John Bryson Chane

Episcopal Bishop John Bryson Chane of Washington says Iran's

president called for regular non-governmental meetings between

Americans and Iranians.

SCHOOL BANNERS

Review sought in school's religious banner case

POWAY, Calif. (AP) - A public interest law center says it will

request a full appellate court review of a ruling prohibiting the

display of banners referring to God in a San Diego County

classroom.

The Thomas More Law Center says it will ask a full bench of 11

judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review a

three-judge panel's decision.

The panel ruled that Poway Unified School District could force

math teacher Bradley Johnson to take down class banners saying "In

God We Trust," "One Nation Under God," and "God Bless

America." The panel says the district had the right to regulate

the workplace speech of an employee.

A trial court had upheld Johnson's First Amendment right to hang

the banners.

RESCUE MISSION-DISCRIMINATION

Appellate court clears rescue mission in bias case

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A federal appeals court has rejected a

religious discrimination lawsuit against a Christian homeless

shelter in Idaho.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals let stand a lower court

ruling that found the Boise Rescue Mission wasn't subject to the

federal Fair Housing Act.

The case arose after the Intermountain Fair Housing Council and

two people who stayed at the mission's homeless shelters sued,

saying the mission coerced residents into taking part in Christian

services by giving preferential treatment to those who

participated.

The appeals court ruled that the plaintiffs did not have a

protected right to be treated the same as residents who participate

in Christian programs.

POVERTY SUMMIT

Charitable agencies urge compassion for poor

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - The Rev. Larry Snyder says the notion

that poor people are lazy and don't deserve help must be changed if

society and the economy are going to improve.

Snyder is president of Catholic Charities USA, which is hosting

a two-day National Poverty Summit in Fort Worth, Texas. About a

dozen nonprofit organizations are discussing ways to aid the poor,

from helping single mothers to homeless veterans to laid-off

workers who can't find other jobs.

Snyder says, "When you put a face on poverty, you have a whole

different perspective."

David Beckman, president of Bread for the World, said it will

take a grass-roots effort to stop Congress from cutting programs

that help the poor.

PASTOR'S DEATH

Insurance co. doesn't want to pay for pastor's death

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An insurance company specializing in policies

for churches is asking a federal court to absolve it from paying a

claim by the widow of a Nebraska pastor who died of carbon monoxide

poisoning in a house owned by the church he led.

John Green had been pastor of Clay Center Christian Church for

23 years when he was found dead in the home on Nov. 19, 2009. His

wife, Cheryl, was found unconscious and was flown to an Omaha

hospital. Authorities said the pair had been poisoned by a carbon

monoxide leak from the home's heating system.

Cheryl Green sued the church, hoping its insurer would pay

nearly $260,000 in lost wages, as well as more than $55,000 for

medical bills and $10,000 for funeral expenses.

A lawyer for Church Mutual Insurance says the church's policy

excludes coverage for carbon monoxide.

EVANGELIST-FRAUD

Traveling evangelist sentenced in Ky. for scheme

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A traveling evangelist has been sentenced

to four years in prison after pleading guilty in an oil and gas

scheme. In some cases, he met potential investors through church.

The U.S. attorney's office says 60-year-old Ernest Cadick of

Elizabethtown, Ky., was ordered to pay almost $720,000 in

restitution.

Court records say from 1994 through 2008, Cadick fraudulently

solicited money from 17 people, representing himself as owner and

operator of Kingdom Oil. He met potential investors at church

functions or through contacts with churches.

Cadick pleaded guilty in June to 17 counts of wire fraud.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS-CONTRACT

Philadelphia Catholic school teachers end strike

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Students can return to Roman Catholic high

schools in the Philadelphia area now that their teachers have ended

a two-week strike by agreeing to a new contract with the

archdiocese.

Lay teachers voted overwhelmingly on Monday to accept a deal

that the union said provides better job protection for instructors

jeopardized by school closings. It also includes pay increases

totaling about 8.3 percent over the three-year contract.

The 17 Catholic high schools serving about 16,500 students were

closed for four days.

Church education officials describe the agreement as a watershed

contract that will allow for innovative academic offerings, more

instructional time and increased use of technology.

 

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

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