FLORIDA
Scholars debate Vines' 'pedophile' comment;
Speech criticized founder of Islam
The Florida Times-Union
"Like smoldering embers, a Jacksonville pastor's comments condemning Islam are still prompting debate and conversation. Christians, Muslims and interfaith groups across the country continue to issue statements for and against the Rev. Jerry Vines of First Baptist Church."
Also:
Watch the Rev. Jerry Vines 6/16/02 comments (courtesy First Baptist Church)
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GEORGIA
Man sues sect leader, alleging child abuse
The Augusta Chronicle
"ATHENS -- A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against jailed religious sect leader Dwight York in northeast Georgia federal court, accusing the one-time Athens resident of molesting the plaintiff's daughter when she was 11 years old."

MASSACHUSETTS
New trial rejected
The Sun Chronicle
"ATTLEBORO -- The judge presiding over the trial of Attleboro religious sect leader Jacques Robidoux has rejected his bid to reduce the jury's verdict to manslaughter or to grant him a new trial."

MINNESOTA
Minn. Women Sue Jehovah's Witnesses
The Associated Press
"ST. PAUL -- Two women sued their Jehovah's Witnesses congregation and the church's parent organization Tuesday, alleging church elders told them to remain silent about being sexually abused by a member."

UTAH
Sex-abuse victim sues molester and LDS Church
Plaintiff says leaders failed to protect him
Deseret News
"A man who was sexually abused between the ages of 6 and 12 has sued the now-convicted perpetrator, the perpetrator's father and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Senators Guard Religious Freedoms in the Workplace
Newsmax
"Capitol Hill -- Aston Beadle says he has wanted to serve his fellow man as a law enforcement officer for as long as he can remember. The only thing he wanted more was to obey the tenets of his Seventh Day Adventist religion, which require him not to work on Saturday. That religious conviction cost Beadle his job not once, but twice."

WISCONSIN
Hindu rituals give life to temple;
'Installation of deities' celebrated
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"PEWUAKEE -- When Prem Sharma came to the United States in the 1960s to study at Marquette University's dental school, the Burma native and a handful of Hindu families would hold prayer meetings in their houses for lack of a space to worship."

AUSTRALIA
Witches' ban faces axe
news.com.au
"Victoria's witches will soon be able to take their broomsticks out of the closet with witchcraft likely to be decriminalised. A 1966 law that bans sorcery and the occult could be scrapped later this year because it is outdated and rarely used. But religious leaders and academics are worried the legal change will send the wrong message to vulnerable teenagers."

CANADA
Jehovah's Witness teen not expected to survive; blood transfusions halted
Canadian Press
"CALGARY -- The Alberta government has given up its efforts to force a teenaged Jehovah's Witness to receive blood transfusions as part of her leukemia treatment, saying the treatment has not been successful."

CHINA
TV firms scrap Jiang speech coverage due to sect fears
AFP
"A live broadcast of a speech by Chinese President Jiang Zemin at Hong Kong's handover anniversary celebration was scrapped due to fears of sabotage by the Falun Gong sect."

NIGERIA
Campus Cults And Curtailment
Vanguard
"LAGOS -- The news out of Nsukka disturbed a lot. The ugly and destructive head of campus cults reared up at the University of Nigeria on Friday June 14, 2002. It was a great shame because until this sad development, the activities of cults had subsided at the institution for upwards of two years."

TAIWAN
Falun Gong says 90 on blacklist
The Taipei Times
"Hong Kong police have expelled more than 90 Taiwanese members of the Falun Gong meditation group, who planned to protest in the Chinese territory, a group member said yesterday."

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