ATTLEBORO SECT TRIAL - "THE BODY" MASSACHUSETTS Robidoux found guilty The Sun Chronicle "TAUNTON -- A leader of the Attleboro religious sect who said he believed he was fulfilling God's prophesy as he watched his infant son starve to death was convicted today of first-degree murder." Religious sect member convicted of murder in starvation of son The Associated Press "A leader of a religious sect who said he believed he was fulfilling God's prophesy as he watched his infant son starve to death was convicted today of first-degree murder." FROM JUNE 13, 2002 Jury Receives Instructions In Sect Murder Case TheBostonChannel.com "TAUNTON -- The jury in the Jacques Robidoux murder trial received instructions from the judge Thursday morning and should begin deliberating in the afternoon. NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson said that the panel will decide if the Attleboro, Mass., cult leader is responsible for starving his 1-year-old son, Samuel, to death." Includes news video Get Real Player 'Buck stops here' The Sun Chronicle "TAUNTON -- Attleboro religious sect leader Jacques Robidoux Wednesday acknowledged responsibility for his son's 1999 death, but added he believed a miracle would save the boy, and prayed for the resurrection over his emaciated body." Deadly error: Cult dad blames himself for baby's death The Boston Herald "TAUNTON - A "stone cold" Attleboro cult leader admitted yesterday that he intentionally starved his son to death over an excruciating 51 days in 1999 to fulfill a twisted religious vision that he now says was wrong." Jury Gets Infant Starvation Case The Associated Press "TAUNTON -- Jurors began deliberating the murder case Thursday of a religious sect leader who admitted he watched his 1-year-old son starve to death because he believed a miracle would save the boy." Defense expert speaks The Sun Chronicle "TAUNTON -- A medical expert in the murder trial of Jacques Robidoux, told the court this morning that after examining several forensic reports he could not determine a cause of death in the case of the defendant's 1-year-old son, Samuel." Columnist Peter Gelzinis: True believer's inaction begets utter disbelief The Boston Herald "Perhaps it might have been better for Jacques Robidoux had he kept his beard of biblical proportion. At least then he could have looked more like a self-professed true believer and disciple, tuned into his own special frequency to God, than what he was - one more clean-shaven perp trying like hell to beat a murder rap." Jacques Robidoux holding back tears

FLORIDA
Scientology turncoat taken to task
St. Petersburg Times
"ST. PETERSBURG -- New England millionaire Robert Minton came forward recently to say he wanted to set the record straight about lies he told in a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. But his confessions and testimony may bring him a heap of new legal problems."

Vines to speak of furor Sunday
City divided on Islam speech
The Florida Times-Union
"The Jacksonville pastor who caused a national outcry with his stinging rebuke of Islam plans to talk about his comments during a service at his church on Sunday."

MISSOURI
Baptist's slam on Muhammad repudiated by other faiths
The Dallas Morning News
"ST. LOUIS - The 145th annual gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention was little different from any other in the last two decades. A few thousand Baptists gathered to pray, sing, pass resolutions - and plunge into the middle of controversy because of some remark or action."

NORTH CAROLINA
Henderson County library reverses "Blair Witch" ban
The Herald Sun
"HENDERSONVILLE -- Henderson County's public library reversed its decision to remove the "Blair Witch Project" from its video collection, following complaints from residetns and library boosters."

OKLAHOMA
Former KKK Leader Becomes Minister With Mission to Fight Racism
The Associated Press
"TULSA -- Ku Klux Klan leader Johnny Lee Clary patted his white sheet as he waited in the radio station for his debate opponent, a civil rights activist."

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Official: Suspect Sought Islam Cleric
The Associated Press
"WASHINGTON- Terrorist suspect Jose Padilla left a life of poverty and crime in the United States to seek out the radical Islamic fundamentalism that condones violence and considers America the enemy, a government official says."

CHINA
Party chiefs fête their Panchen Lama
The Guardian
"The communist hierarchy in Lhasa turned out in force to welcome the boy of 12 Beijing picked seven years ago, in defiance of the exiled Dalai Lama's choice, as Tibet's second-ranking spiritual leader. The deputy head of the Tibetan government, Ragdi, led the team of party officials and army officers welcoming Gyaltsen Norbu as the new Panchen Lama."

FRANCE
30 Falungong members barred from travelling to Iceland from France
AFP
"Around 30 members of China's banned spiritual group, Falungong, have been stopped from travelling to Iceland, where a three-day visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin has been dogged by protests by the movement's followers."

ICELAND
Ban on Falun Gong lifted; police release more than 65 detainees
The Associated Press
"REYKJAVIK -- The government lifted a ban on Falun Gong members entering the country Wednesday just as an official four-day visit by China's President Jiang Zemin was due to begin."

ITALY
Suffering Monk About to Be Made a Saint by Suffering Pope
The Associated Press
"VATICAN CITY -- A mystic monk who won adulation from rank-and-file Roman Catholics but scorn from the Vatican during his lifetime will be made a saint Sunday by Pope John Paul II, a longtime admirer who once sought the priest out as his confessor."

NEW ZEALAND
Adventist sect parents jailed for manslaughter
The Guardian
"AUCKLAND -- Two Seventh-Day Adventists whose six-month-old son died after they refused him medical treatment were both given five-year jail sentences for manslaughter by a court in New Zealand yesterday."

PHILIPPINES
Adventist church employing minors, says DOLE-Bicol
The Manila Times
"LEGASPI CITY - The local Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here has found out that the 7th Day Adventist Church has employed minors to work as "salesmen," violating laws on child labor."

Cops can't arrest fugitive cult head
Philippines inquirer
"DINAGAT ISLAND, Surigao del Norte - Parricide suspect Ruben Ecleo Jr. has remained free despite the deployment of a large contingent from the police, the Army and the Philippine Air Force here."
Also:
P.1M bounty for Ecleo Jr.
The Manila Times
"CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - A P100,000 reward now hangs over the head of wanted cult leader and ex-mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr. follo-wing reports he fled San Jose on the Surigao del Norte island of Dinagat to evade law enforcers out to arrest him."

UGANDA
Bushara Writes to President Museveni
New Vision
"EM-styled prophet Wilson Bushara has written to President Yoweri Museveni, saying his cult has no ill motive but was being framed by rival religious leaders."

ZIMBABWE
Apostolic Sects Invade Entertainment Scene
The Herald
"HARARE -- When they started many people did not take them serious. No one thought members of the Apostolic sect would one day become a force to reckon with in the music industry. People took them to be people who would sing their beat in the bushes and just among themselves as had become pattern."

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