N E W S - March, 1998

In an effort to improve Cuba's image as a tolerant nation the pope was welcomed last month by Fidel Castro. The pope urged freedom for all [heterosexual, male] Cubans as well as the Catholic church which wishes to proselytize more freely in Cuba. The pope was quoted as saying the Christian faith was the best way to "attain true freedom, which includes the recognition of human rights and social justice." The pope is woefully oblivious of his church's history.

Fidel Castro was apparently unimpressed by the supreme pontiff. Kate Moss recalled Castro telling her upon meeting her and another model, "He said that seeing us in person was very spiritual."

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Reverend Thomas McCall of Concord Missionary Church in the Bayview District of San Francisco is being investigated by the city's district attorney Terence Hallinan. The church members raised almost 3 million dollars to build a new church, with 9 families mortgaging their homes. The church has stopped making the promised monthly payments on the members' mortages and Rev. McCall will not answer the members' calls.

McCall flys into San Francisco from Laguna Niguel to preach on Sundays. McCall has purchased 4 homes since requesting monies from his church. The homes are in San Francisco, Rancho Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach, one for $850,000. And don't forget the $52,000 Porsche.

Geraldine Yamashita, McCall's property manager was charged with embezzling $167,000 from her former employer. She gave most of the money to McCall. She is serving 3 years in Chowchilla State Women's Prison.

Because of the separation of church and state no government agency regulates churches. They are not required to file tax returns.

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The "Christian Civic League of Maine" and the "Christian Coalition of Maine (CCLM)" has successfully challenged the addition of sexual orientation to the protected categories in Maine's Human Rights Act.

"Discrimination is not necessarily a bad thing...It's appropriate to discriminate against wrongdoing," said Michael Heath of of CCLM.

Both the "Christian Civic League of Maine" and the "Christian Coalition of Maine" take their names from religious figure "Jesus Christ." Jesus himself had quite strong opinions regarding discrimination and is quoted as saying,

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment."

Matthew 25:41-46

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California Assemblyman Pat Nolan spent almost 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering charges. But something happened to this tough-on-crime conservative, Republican politician during his confinement. He found Christ.

Now on the lecture circuit Nolan is lobbying for prison reform. With good fortune on his side, Nolan was hired right out of prison as president of "Justice Fellowship." Type that into Yahoo and you get the URL for "Prison Fellowship Ministries" run by ex-con Charles Colson. "Justice Fellowship" calls for "restorative justice" a plan where criminals recompense their victims. This works well for simple robbery but how does one estimate the damage and locate the victims of white-collar and political crime? Sounds more like trickle-up justice to us.

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A 1996 Alaska law banning same-sex marriages is being challenged. Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski is requiring the state to show what interest the state has in such an intimate decision. Michalski wrote, "It is the decision [to choose a partner] itself that is fundamental, whther the decision results in a traditional choice or the nontraditional choice . . . The same Constitution protects both."

Gay activists feel certain that finding a compelling justification for outlawing gay marriages will be difficult for the state.

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The government of President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon has expelled a French priest that has ministered in the Chiapas region for nearly 3 decades. Rev. Michel henri Jean Chanteau was accused by the Interior Ministry of accusing the government of the murders of 45 pro-Zapatista peasants in December of 1997.

Pat Robertson was quick to call for a boycott of BMWs and Mercedes when Germany discriminated against Scientologist actors. Adult Christians wonder if he'll be moved by the expusion of a Catholic minister working for human rights.

Filmography of Jesus | Holywood Squares | Jesus at the Oscars
Outing for Jesus | The Apocalypse WILL be Televised | Jacob's Ladder

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