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News for: September 25, 2002
Doctors urge Supreme Court to settle confusion over Jehovah's Witness case
Canadian Press
CALGARY -- Several medical ethicists are urging Canada's top court to reconsider the case of a Calgary teenager who was forced to undergo blood transfusions even though she was deemed mature enough to make her own medical decisions.
HAWAII
Honolulu Police Drop 'God' From Oath
The Associated Press
HONOLULU -- Honolulu police recruits being sworn in as new officers will no longer recite a reference to God in their oath.
MISSOURI
Wiccan oneness celebrated
Pagan Pride Day gathered about 200 people to share, talk about different religious views
Springfield News-Leader
The hypnotic sound of beating drums filled the air in Fassnight Park Saturday afternoon, as sticks of sweet-smelling incense burned nearby. Couples twirled on the grass to the rhythm while others talked about their version of worship on Pagan Pride Day.
PENNSYLVANIA
200 gather in South Park for Pagan Pride Day
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Some of the women wore long, flowing dresses and flowers in their hair. A few of the men wore robes. Many had pentagrams -- five-pointed stars -- on their T-shirts, necklaces or earrings.
UTAH
Pagans Celebrate Diversity
The Salt Lake Tribune
Singing and chanting under East Canyon's looming Big Mountain, an eclectic group of druids, shamans and witches joined hands Sunday morning to celebrate the harvest, the autumnal equinox and religious diversity.
Book blames massacre on Mormon leader
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- Nearly 1-1/2 centuries after California-bound pioneers were slaughtered by Mormon settlers and their Indian allies, a new book blaming the massacre on church leader Brigham Young is causing a sensation in the Mormon community.
Holy Tax Deduction: Dangerous Territory
The Salt Lake Tribune
Two tax deductions are sacrosanct in Mormon, family-friendly Utah: children and church tithing. State Rep. Pat Jones knows the truism. But she is wading into dangerous territory anyway, suggesting eliminating the state tax exemption for dependents and using the money to prop up public education -- all while running for re-election this year.
Chase Leavitt Fined, Put on Probation For Role in Fight Club at LDS Church
The Salt Lake Tribune
Chase Leavitt, son of Gov. Mike Leavitt, made a brief appearance before 3rd District Judge Douglas Cornaby on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to two infractions for his involvement in a "fight club" inside an LDS church last year.
Radical Minister Bringing Message of Creativity to U.
The Salt Lake Tribune
Creativity is a misunderstood and underdeveloped trait in American society, says radical theologian Matthew Fox. Believe it or not we're not at home, so leave us a message and we'll call.
WYOMING
Thomas: Martin's Cove sale to LDS church is dead
The Associated Press
RIVERTON -- A bill that would transfer a historic pioneer trail site to the Mormon church likely won't pass this year, Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., said Tuesday.
FEATURES
Religion Briefs
The Salt Lake Tribune
Topics: Gay priests subculture, Fred Phelps, Jim Bakker, others
G.I. JESUS: Action figures aren't just for George Lucas anymore
The Salt Lake Tribune
Is nothing sacred? Action figures were hallowed ground, reserved for Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca, for Skeletor and He-Man, for G.I. Joe and Cobra, for Barbie and Skipper.
Confucianism: Chinese humanism
Lincoln Journal Star
About 500 years before the birth of Christ, a teacher in China was traveling from city to city giving advice on everything from correct manners to the proper relationship between a ruler and his subjects.
AUSTRALIA
Jehovah's accused of abuse
The Age
Some elders of the Jehovah's Witness church covered up child abuse and obstructed police investigations, according to victims of the abuse and former elders. The church's leader in Australia on Sunday denied the allegations, but said police were sometimes not informed to protect victims.
CANADA
Jehovah's lawsuit near end
The Toronto Sun
Final arguments began yesterday in a $700,000 civil suit against the Jehovah's Witnesses launched by a woman who claims the church tried to cover up the sexual abuse she suffered from her own father.
Related headlines:
Lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses should be dismissed, defence says, Canadian Press
Suit's timing questioned, The Toronto Sun
Previous headline:
Closing arguments to begin in Jehovah's Witness lawsuit; sexual coverup alleged, Canadian Press
Fined $115 for keeping 'Rasta' hat on
The Toronto Sun
Things aren't "irie" with Rastafarian Michael Ross when it comes to the Canadian legal system. The 43-year-old Mississauga man was "dumbfounded" after repeatedly being ordered by a justice of the peace to remove his hat in court.
CHINA
China: Falun Gong Disrupts TV Signal
The Associated Press
BEIJING -- In their most brazen electronic hacking yet, supporters of the outlawed Falun Gong movement have staged a "TV hijacking" by interrupting transmissions on a satellite system that broadcasts to every corner of China, the government asserted Tuesday night.
Beijing Says Falun's TV Piracy Came From Taiwan
The Washington Post
BEIJING -- The banned Falun Gong spiritual movement hijacked one of China's main television satellites again this month, and technicians have traced the pirate transmissions to rival Taiwan, state media reported tonight. The accusation could further strain relations between China and the self-governing island it claims is part of its territory.
ENGLAND
Prayers for Thames torso boy
BBC News
Detectives have vowed to catch the killers of the boy whose mutilated body was found in the River Thames a year ago.
Other news agencies:
Memorial For Thames Torso Boy, Sky News
Get Real Player
Police Commissioner Wants Religious Groups To Fight Crime
CNSNews.com
LONDON -- London's police commissioner has called on religious groups to get more involved in the fight against crime, but a humanist organization is upset at what it said was an unwarranted mix of church and state.
ITALY
Secret restoration conducted on Catholics' Shroud of Turin
The Associated Press
TURIN -- Experts performed a top-secret restoration of the Shroud of Turin, removing centuries' old patches and replacing a backing sewn centuries ago onto what some say was the burial cloth of Jesus, church officials announced Saturday.
KENYA
One more dies after Sunday's Mungiki attack
The Nation
Another person has died in Nyeri, following an attack by suspected Mungiki sect members on Sunday. The body of the 20-year-old man was discovered on Monday evening in the outskirts of Othaya Town. It had knife wounds.
Policemen take charge at city slum after violence
The Nation
An uneasy calm has returned to Nairobi's Mathare slums after Sunday's violence by suspected Mungiki sect members. There was a heavy police presence in the area for the better part of the day yesterday to guard against recurrence of violence.
Previous headline:
Mungiki Sect Members Kill Two in City, The East African Standard
PHILIPPINES
Sex cult invites senators to join
The Philippine Star
No way. Senators turned down yesterday proposals from a leader of a sex cult in Negros to join his group and spread a "sex-bomb" ideology all the way to the United Nations.
RUSSIA
Census Will Count Heads but Not Souls
The Moscow Times
The first post-Soviet census will not ask residents about their religious convictions. Even after a decade of religious revival, the Kremlin and the country's main religions apparently would rather not know the truth.
SCOTLAND
Witch thinks positive in bid to lure 'ghostly' Loch Ness monster
The Scotsman
American scientists used millions of pounds of equipment and mini submarines. Screaming Lord Sutch used a haggis and a sandwich. But none of these heroic efforts yielded firm proof of the existence of the Loch Ness monster.
UGANDA
Clinic Closes Due to Witchcraft
New Vision
KAMPALA -- A government health unit in Nakasongola was last week closed over allegations of witchcraft. Nakayonza Health Centre Grade Three was closed after patients allegedly died of witchcraft. The unit is located in Lwabyata sub-county.
