Source: Yahoo!

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The Catholic Diocese in Nashville is contesting its liability in the case of a priest that abused children under his care. They claim that others knew about the abuse, and that they too should be held liable, including the other children that were abused and failed to come forward.

Source: AP

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Paul Hurth, 44, a former Baptist minister (Heritage Baptist Church) and police officer killed car salesman Ralph Peter Gawor. Hurth, a police department chaplain, claimed he used his service weapon in self-defense when he went to confront Gawor about the affair he was having with Gawor's wife Nancy. Nancy Gawor had planned to reconcile with her husband of 12 years. Hurth has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Someone claiming to represent Mr. Hurth (I am unable to verify this) has written claiming that I called him a "murderer." Since I no longer have access to the original source article I cannot verify the original charge for which he was convicted. I have changed the word "murdered" to "killed" and offer apologies if I have erred and offended or caused any distress to the Hurth family.

SOURCE: LA TIMES

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Harrison Johnson, 2, died after being stung by yellow jackets 432 times. Seven hours later the child lost consciousness and the parents, evangelical Christians, finally called paramedics. Doctors testified that the delay eliminated any chance of the child's survival. The Johnsons' religion equates medicine with sorcery.

The jury, who acquitted the Johnsons on child abuse charges, were not allowed to know that the parents withheld medical attention because of their religious beliefs, or that they failed to report the death of a friend's child that same year.

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Rebecca Corneau, eight and a half months pregnant and a member of a fundamentalist sect that does not believe in medical intervention, has been ordered to accept daily visits from a court appointed nurse until the birth of her child. Authorities became worried when they discovered that Corneau had covered up the previous death of one of her children. Her other three children are in state custody and her husband is behind bars. Eight sect members are in jail for allegedly burying the bodies of two children in a nearby park.

SOURCE: AP

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A rare heart defect killed 2-year-old Billy Ray Reed. While his parents were praying for his recovery Billy Ray turned blue and died. Because an emergency room doctor could have identified the defect Colorado courts are trying to decide whether or not to charge the boy's parents with homicide. Billy and Barbara Reed are members of a Christian sect, General Assembly and Church of the First Born, that does not believe in the use of medicine.

SOURCE: Court TV

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"Compassionate Conservatism," a phrase coined by World Magazine Editor and GW Bush guru Marvin Olasky advocates funneling tax dollars to religious institutions since they are "in a better position" to assist those "in need." But aside from this dubious claim, this scheme leaves the state open to costly civil suits by those whose trust is violated by church workers as evidenced in this example.

Terrance J. Johnson, 45, who led the Psalm 100 Church out of his home, supervised the community service work of petty criminals for the county. Johnson pleaded guilty to groping an 18-year-old probationer. He has been accused of offering to sign off on community service hours in exchange for sexual favors. He will be serving 33 months in prison for aggravated battery.

SOURCE: DAILY HERALD

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During the heydey of the "Melbourne Revival", during the months of January and September of 1995, more than 65,000 people visited the popular church services. Through 1997 it was often standing room only for the 2000-seat house of worship. Jamie Buckingham started the Tabernacle Church and handpicked Michael Thompson, 40, to lead when he stepped down.

But Thompson was "disfellowshipped" after admitting to affairs he'd had with three married women during counseling sessions. The congregation even destroyed the plexiglass pulpit where Thompson preached, as it was "tainted."

Church leaders apologized to the congregation for ignoring prophecies that there was "sin in the camp."

SOURCE: Charisma News (no dates given)

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In the mid-1880s the government of Canada funded residential schools to 'help' Indian children 'assimilate' into Canadian culture. Most of these schools were run by the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian churches and the United Church and were regulated by the government. The last school closed in 1996.

In 1992 a respected tribal official, Phil Fontaine who served as the Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, came forward. He publicly told his story of the physical and sexual abuse he had endured as a student at the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Residential School in Manitoba. Others followed. While some committed suicide rather than publicly face what had happened to them, thousands came forward with similar tales.

Currently the four churches and the Canadian government are facing 7000 suits and a class-action lawsuit of nearly 1.4 billion. The churches may have to sell their property and face bankruptcy. The government will have to make up any shortfall in the end. Of the 7000 claims, 293 have been settled with the government, though 40 new claims come in every month with no end in sight.

SOURCE: M S N B C

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Jesuit-educated Fidel Castro was recently quoted as saying "Christ chose the fishermen, because he was a communist." His brother, in agreement stated "I think that's why they killed Jesus, for being a communist, for doing what Fidel defined as Revolution ... that is to say, changing the situation."

Castro also claimed that "Che" Guevara would have been "made a saint" if he'd been Catholic, as he had all the "virtues".

A Christian advertising agency in the UK had used the signature style of "Che" Guevara's iconic poster with the image of Jesus to lure visitors to the church.

SOURCE: REUTERS

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John Bollard had been a student at both St. Ignatius college prep school in San Francisco and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. He quit the seminary in 1996 and sued the order claiming that a dozen priests "sent him pornography and made unwelcome sexual advances."

Bollard's case set a much-needed precedent. The order had attempted to escape the charges claiming 'ministerial exception' to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The exception prevents courts from applying the Civil Rights Act to hiring and firing practices of religious organizations. The court declined to allow the exception to be used in cases of sexual harassment as no religious principles were being compromised.

Source: AP

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Christopher Reardon, 28, a former church youth worker compiled a detailed list of the 200+ boys he molested. Reardon pleaded innocent to a 122-count charge of rape, molesting and dissemination of pornography. The ages of the boys ranged from 3 to 17. He contacted the boys through his work with the Boy Scouts, Saint Rose of Lima church, and the YMCA.

Police have recovered from Reardon's home "pornographic materials, sex dolls, semen samples he'd saved in cups and a list with the names of more than 200 children and descriptions of their genitals."

Source: AP

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Gene Guinn, 68, a Mormon hight priest has been sentenced to 68 years in prison for molesting a ten-year-old girl. Five other women testified at the trial claiming that Guinn had fondled or molested them also. Guinn faced a longer sentence due to a 1975 involuntary manslaughter conviction.

SOURCE: AP

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Henry Wilson, 46, the pastor of an unnamed church near Little Rock, Arkansas, had been on the run for nearly a year and a half. Accused and convicted of raping two young sisters (aged 7 and 9), he was captured in Minnesota. He faces additional charges for fleeing to avoid prosecution.

SOURCE: AP

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Father Patrick O'Neill, 60, a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, and a former president of Saint Thomas University, was arrested in his Mercedes for propositioning a male undercover police officer. He offered $100 for sexual fondling.

O'Neill is also president of the South Florida Center for Theological Studies, the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the New Hope Charities Foundation.

SOURCE: REUTERS

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