OBAMA-FORT HOOD-SHOOTER Obama: No religion justifies Fort Hood shootings

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) President Barack Obama says the alleged gunman's Muslim religion shouldn't be blamed for the killing of 13 men and women at Fort Hood, because no faith justifies such "murderous" acts.

Obama spoke Tuesday at a memorial service for the fallen that included prayer and Bible readings.

Maj. Nidal Hasan (nih-DAHL' hah-SAHN') allegedly went on a shooting rampage at the Army post last Thursday. Soldiers reported that Hasan, who is Muslim, shouted the Arabic phrase for "God is Great" before opening fire.

Obama says no just and loving God looks with favor upon the Fort Hood slayings, and the shooter will face justice "in this world and the next." The president also mentioned another victim of the shootings.

Obama noted that slain Private Francesca Velez was three months pregnant and "was excited about becoming a mother."


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00:15 "and the next" President Barack Obama President Barack Obama says the Fort Hood shootings shouldn't be blamed on the gunman's religion.



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00:05 "becoming a mother" President Barack Obama President Barack Obama mentions an uncounted 14th victim of the shootings the unborn child of Private Francesca Velez.



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00:17 "in our Army" General George Casey General George Casey reads from the Bible's Book of Isaiah.



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00:12 "violence has occurred" Colonel Michael Lembke (LEM'-kee) Colonel Michael Lembke prays for healing at Fort Hood.



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00:14 "joy and hope" Colonel Michael Lembke (LEM'-kee) Colonel Michael Lembke prays for God's comfort.



VETERANS DAY-CHAPLAIN Retired chaplain praises veterans' service

Washington (AP) On Veterans Day, retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee says it's appropriate that he and other veterans refer to their years in uniform as time in the "service." Lee says America's veterans have truly served their country and should be honored for it.

He worries that younger Americans may not appreciate the sacrificial cost many veterans paid to secure today's freedoms.

For more than 30 years, Lee was an Army chaplain. Now he recruits, endorses and pastors military chaplains from conservative Presbyterian denominations.

Lee says that for Christian chaplains, Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of servanthood.

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00:06 "country, they serve" Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee says it's appropriate that veterans refer to their time in the "service."


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00:05 "serving my country" Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee says veterans typically feel enriched by their time in the service.



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00:09 "amount of sacrifice" Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee says he worries that young Americans may not appreciate the freedoms that veterans have made possible.



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00:09 "groups as well" Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee Retired Brigadier General Douglas Lee says he served more than 30 years as an Army chaplain.



PATRICK KENNEDY-BISHOP Kennedy says he's troubled by bishop's comments

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Congressman Patrick Kennedy says recent comments by Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop questioning Kennedy's faith because of his stance on abortion were "very disconcerting." Kennedy, a Catholic Democrat, had planned to meet Thursday with Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin to discuss the issue. But the bishop's office announced that the meeting was postponed indefinitely.

Kennedy said Tuesday that the bishop had not kept an agreement not to debate the issue in public in terms of Kennedy's personal faith.

The bishop has questioned publicly whether Kennedy can call himself a Catholic, given that in the health care debate, the congressman voted against a ban on funding abortion.

VATICAN-ALIENS Vatican holds conference on possibility of extra-terrestrial life

VATICAN CITY (AP) Dozens of scientists from around the world have attended a five-day Vatican conference on the possibility of alien life in the universe and its theological implications.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, wrapped up the conference Tuesday. He said, "There is a rich middle ground for dialogue between the practitioners of astrobiology and those who seek to understand the meaning of our existence in a biological universe." Funes said in a 2008 interview with the Vatican newspaper that the discovery of intelligent extra-terrestrials wouldn't contradict Christian faith because they would still be God's creatures.

But Christian scholars have wondered whether alien species might have resisted temptation and remained sinless or if they sinned, how God might have offered them salvation.

RELIGIOUS LICENSE PLATE Federal judge bans license plate with cross

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) A federal judge has ruled that South Carolina cannot issue license plates showing the image of a cross in front of a stained glass window with the phrase "I Believe." Judge Cameron Currie said in her ruling that the license plate is unconstitutional because it "amounts to a state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular." Currie's ruling singles out Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who pushed the state legislature to pass legislation that she said "embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation." Bauer says he isn't surprised by the ruling and would like to see it appealed.

Christian advocates tried to get the same license plate approved in Florida, but the bill did not pass its Legislature.

HOMELESS-CHURCH Phoenix church can no longer feed the needy

PHOENIX (AP) The kitchen is closed at a Phoenix church that fed the homeless.

CrossRoads United Methodist Church has lost an appeal of a city ordinance banning charity dining halls in residential neighborhoods.

City officials maintained that CrossRoads violated Phoenix's zoning code by feeding the poor and homeless on its property, a use that can only occur in commercial or industrial zones.

The church's neighbors were upset because they didn't like homeless people hanging around.

A hearing officer ruled Monday that the city can prohibit feeding the homeless at a place of worship. The ruling affects all Phoenix churches with underlying residential zoning and is effective immediately.

PRIEST ATTACKED Marine reservist accused of attacking Orthodox priest

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) In Florida, a Marine reservist has been charged with attacking a Greek Orthodox priest he mistook for a terrorist.

Jasen Bruce allegedly hit 29-year-old Alexios Marakis over the head with a tire iron and chased him for three blocks Monday evening before Tampa police intervened.

Marakis, a Greek Orthodox priest visiting from Crete, told police he had stopped to ask Bruce for help after getting lost in downtown Tampa. Police say Bruce pulled out a tire iron and attacked the priest, then called 911 saying an Arabic man was trying to rob him.

When officers arrived, Bruce told them the man was a terrorist who yelled "Allahu Akbar!" Arabic for "God is great." But Tampa police say Marakis does not speak Arabic. He speaks Greek.

Bruce's attorney says surveillance cameras will show that the priest sexually attacked his client.

PASTOR CONFESSES Buffalo police: Pastor confessed to old homicide

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Police in Buffalo, N.Y., say a pastor has admitted he was the gunman who fatally shot a teenager nearly 12 years ago.

Detectives say tips led them to 31-year-old Jose Figueroa, who was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Alex Martinez in January 1998. They say Figueroa confessed shortly after arriving at police headquarters for questioning Monday.

Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson says Figueroa "indicated that sometime over the last several years he had found a new path in life and that he had become very religious and became a pastor." Detective Brian Ross says Figueroa "showed remorse" and took responsibility for his actions.

DETROIT PASTOR-SHOOTING Church burglar shot by pastor sentenced to prison

DETROIT (AP) A man shot by a pastor during a burglary at a Detroit church has been sentenced to one to 10 years in prison.

The Wayne County prosecutor's office says 41-year-old Tyrone Badey was found guilty of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony in the Sept. 27 burglary at Westside Bible Church.

Badey was shot in the abdomen by the Rev. Lawrence Adams, who is a retired Detroit police lieutenant.

Adams was responding to the church's burglar alarm when he surprised Badey who was carrying a bag of items from the building.

Adams said he shot Badey once after the man swung the bag at him.

DRUG WAR-MEXICO-CHURCH Mexican clergy consider how to cope with drug violence

MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexico's Roman Catholic clergy, increasingly caught in the middle of the nation's drug war, are meeting this week to draft a strategy for coping with the violence.

On Thursday, they plan to release recommendations for clergy and parishioners in drug hotspots where priests may sometimes pray with the families of murdered men, then face killers in the confessional.

In June, gunmen shot a priest and two seminary students in the back. In August, Mexican police stormed a Mass to capture a suspected drug kingpin.

Church officials say clergy who preach against drug use and trafficking have received threatening notes and phone calls. Many priests also have reported extortion attempts by gangs.

ITALY-POPE-ALBUM Pope prays to musical accompaniment in new CD

ROME (AP) Pope Benedict XVI sings and prays along to a mix of modern music and ancient church chants in a new album presented Tuesday before its release at the end of the month.

The album, titled "Alma Mater Music from the Vatican," includes eight original pieces of contemporary music, interwoven with Gregorian chants and the pope's voice. Benedict sings a hymn and recites prayers to the Virgin Mary in various languages, including Italian, French and Latin.

The pope is accompanied by the Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome, recorded in St. Peter's Basilica and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which recorded in London at the Abbey Road studios.

The Vatican's spokesman says Benedict's voice was not recorded specifically for the project, but soundbites were given to record label Geffen/Universal by Vatican Radio.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-11-09 0230CST | save this article / add to your favorites list