267-a-08-(State Senator Grant Burgoyne, D-Idaho, in legislative debate)-“is not possible”-State Senator Grant Burgoyne says Idaho needs to be part of an international child support treaty. (18 May 2015)
< AFGHANISTAN-MOB KILLING 11 Afghan police get year in jail over mob killing of woman KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan judge has sentenced 11 policemen to one year in prison for their role in the mob killing of a woman in Kabul. A judge found the policemen guilty of dereliction of duty. Another eight were released for lack of evidence. The policemen were among 49 people charged over the death of 27-year-old Farkhunda, who was brutally beaten to death at a Kabul shrine on March 19 after being falsely accused of burning a Quran. Like many Afghans, she had only one name. The attack shocked Afghanistan and reverberated around the world, highlighting the brutality women face in the country’s conservative society. A mob attacked Farkhunda after an amulet peddler accused her of burning a Quran when she challenged him over selling his wares to women desperate to have children. DELMONT TORNADO-CHURCH Members of tornado-destroyed Delmont church save cornerstone DELMONT, S.D. (AP) — Members of a South Dakota church that was destroyed by a tornado this month have removed the century-old building’s cornerstone, which they hope to incorporate in a new church building. The Zion Lutheran Church was among 84 structures in and around Delmont that were damaged or destroyed by the May 10 tornado that also injured nine people. The Lutheran church’s congregants scheduled a short Monday morning service to officially decommission the building, and then burn the wreckage. But Jim Kaufman told KELO-TV that he’s storing the cornerstone at his farm, for use in the future to remember the old church. On Sunday, Zion Lutheran members attended services at Emmaus Lutheran Church in nearby Tripp. The two congregations share a pastor. Delmont resident Nola Redd told The Daily Republic newspaper that the service was “one step on the long road to recovery.” BOTULISM-OHIO Ohio pastor says 7 still hospitalized in botulism outbreak LANCASTER, Ohio (AP) — Congregants sickened in a botulism outbreak at a church potluck in Ohio say they’re counting their blessings as they recover. Health officials say home-canned potatoes used in a potato salad were the likely source of the outbreak that killed a 55-year-old woman and sickened at least 20 others. The salad was served at the April 19 potluck at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster, Ohio, southeast of Columbus. WBNS-TV reports that congregants gathered Sunday evening to call for unity after the outbreak. The church’s pastor, Bill Pitts, says seven people are still hospitalized and some need help while recovering at home. Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by certain kinds of bacteria. GAY WEDDING-MINISTER ARRESTED Alabama minister arrested over gay wedding pleads guilty PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A minister who tried to perform a gay wedding in an Alabama courthouse has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The Montgomery Advertiser reports that 44-year-old Anne Susan DiPrizio entered the plea Monday in Autauga County. A judge ordered her to pay a $250 fine and suspended her 30-day jail sentence. Authorities arrested the Unitarian minister in February in Prattville while some counties were issuing same-sex wedding licenses in Alabama. DiPrizio had offered to marry two women inside the Autauga County Probate Office even though the judge had banned all ceremonies in the office the day before. The wedding didn’t take place, but the women did get a marriage license. Alabama counties have since quit issuing the licenses as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether same-sex weddings are constitutional. PRAYER LAWSUIT Rowan County officials use Plan B for pre-meeting prayers SALISBURY, N.C. (AP) — Prayers will continue before meetings of North Carolina’s Rowan County commissioners, but they’ll be led by a local pastor who already serves as the sheriff’s office chaplain. The Salisbury Post reports that county leaders are pondering their next step in a lawsuit relating to their past prayer practices. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Rowan County commissioners must stop opening their meetings with prayers that almost always referred to Christianity. U.S. District Judge James Beaty Jr. ruled that the way the commissioners opened meetings with prayers was unconstitutional. Rowan County commissioners themselves had delivered prayers before their meetings. RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION-BOOKSTORE Owner of religious bookstore sues mall for discrimination MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A mall in Missoula, Montana, is facing a lawsuit from the owner of a Christian bookstore who says his business was discriminated against when he wasn’t allowed to open up shop. The Missoulian reports that Michael Burks wanted to turn his hockey shop into a Garden of Read’n during the summer months to help him meet a Southgate Mall requirement that tenants remain open during mall hours. The hockey club, called the Missoula Maulers, experiences a seasonal drop in sales during the summer, and Burks says he tried to open the Christian bookstore to stay open and in compliance. Burks claims in the lawsuit that the mall denied his request, calling the bookstore a financial risk. ANTI-MUSLIM FILM-LAWSUIT Appeals court sides with Google in anti-Muslim film case SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In a victory for free speech advocates, a federal appeals court says YouTube should not have been forced to take down an anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East and death threats to actors. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in favor of Google on Monday. Free speech advocates convinced the court to overturn a 9th Circuit panel’s ruling that ordered YouTube to take down the video. Actress Cindy Lee Garcia wanted “Innocence of Muslims” removed from the site after receiving death threats. Her lawyer argued she had a copyright claim to the low-budget film because she believed she was acting in a different production. Google, which owns YouTube, argued Garcia had no claim to the film because the filmmaker wrote the dialogue, managed the production and dubbed over her lines. It wasn’t immediately clear if or when the video would be reposted on YouTube. Sound: 247-c-15-(Carlotta Bradley, AP correspondent)-“the First Amendment”-AP correspondent Carlotta Bradley reports a federal appeals court says YouTube should not have been forced to take down an anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East. (18 May 2015) < 246-v-33-(Carlotta Bradley, AP correspondent)–A federal appeals court says YouTube should not have been forced to take down an anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East. AP correspondent Carlotta Bradley reports. (18 May 2015) < IMAM-CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY GRAD Portland Muslim leader gets master’s at Catholic school PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Imam Abdullah Polovina, who leads a congregation of Bosnian Muslims in Portland, Oregon, is about to graduate from a Catholic university. The 41-year-old recently completed a master’s degree at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry, where he was the first Muslim ever to enroll. He completed his degree by commuting to Seattle about twice a week during the two-year program. Polovina first connected with leaders at Seattle University through interfaith dialogue events hosted by the Jesuit Catholic college He said studying the Bible with the other students, almost all Christians, was a little uncomfortable at first. But he quickly settled into sharing his own perspective and appreciating the overlaps between Islam and Christianity, he said, from moral values to key historical figures. VATICAN-POPE Pope to bishops: Stop ordering faithful around, fight graft VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is giving marching orders to his bishops, telling them to strongly denounce corruption and to act more like pastors than “pilots” ordering the faithful around. Francis had strong words for members of the Italian bishops’ conference, which opened its annual meeting at the Vatican on Monday. Francis, who is also the bishop of Rome, urged bishops to be more like Christ in showing humility, compassion, mercy and wisdom. He also complained that the Catholic Church often organizes conferences where “the same voices” are heard over and over, an apparent reference to the practice of hosting only like-minded speakers. Francis said such a practice “drugs the community, hom*ogenizing choices, opinions and people.” He urged bishops to instead go “where the Holy Spirit asks them to go.” Sound: 221-c-17-(Nicole Winfield, AP correspondent)-“lay people around”-AP correspondent Nicole Winfield reports Pope Francis, who is also the bishop of Rome, has given marching orders to his bishops in a strongly-worded statement at a Vatican conference. (18 May 2015) < 222-c-21-(Nicole Winfield, AP correspondent)-“and complicated ideas”-AP correspondent Nicole Winfield reports the Pope wants those on the front lines of the church to be communicating with lay people in language they can understand. (18 May 2015) < 223-c-19-(Nicole Winfield, AP correspondent)-“academic could understand”-AP correspondent Nicole Winfield reports Pope Francis urged his bishops to be more Christ-like in showing humility, compassion, mercy and wisdom. (18 May 2015) < PRIEST ABUSE-MCCORMACK Attorney: Archdiocese, abuse victim reach $1.25M settlement CHICAGO (AP) — An attorney says the Archdiocese of Chicago has reached a $1.25 million settlement with a man who claims he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest. Plaintiff’s attorney Eugene Hollander announced Monday the settlement was reached over the weekend. The plaintiff, now in his 20s, claimed Daniel McCormack repeatedly abused him while he a fourth- and fifth grader at a Catholic School on Chicago’s South Side. McCormack was removed from the priesthood and pleaded guilty in 2007 to abusing five children at a parish in Chicago. He was sentenced to five years in prison, and remains at a state mental health facility. He was charged earlier this year in a 2005 case involving a 10-year-old victim at the same parish. AUSTRALIA-CATHOLIC BROTHER ABUSE Catholic brother from US convicted of sex abuse in Australia SYDNEY (AP) — A Catholic brother accused of sex abuse in the U.S. has been convicted in Australia of a string of decades-old child sex offenses. Bernard Hartman was accused of abusing four children in the 1970s and 1980s, when he worked as a teacher at St Paul’s College, a secondary school in Melbourne. Harman returned to Australia from the U.S. to face the charges at three separate trials. He pleaded guilty in Victoria state County Court to four counts of indecent assault against two girls. In a separate trial, he was convicted of one charge of indecent assault and two charges of common law assault against a man who had once been his student. Last week, he was found not guilty to a charge of indecent assault against another man.
