SCHAEFFER-EXTREMISM Author-former Christian Right leader speaks against extremism

BOSTON (AP) A former Christian Right leader turned author says Evangelical leaders, media and others on the right should do more to help stem potential violence by extremists.

Frank Schaeffer is a former anti-abortion advocate and the son of the late conservative theologian Francis Schaeffer.

Frank Schaeffer says he fears there could be major violence by extremists such as attacks on abortion providers or government officials and facilities. Schaeffer says those on the right, including Republicans and evangelicals, aren't being critical enough in denouncing extremist anti-government and anti-Obama characterizations.

He's written a letter to the U.S. attorney general calling for the enforcement of laws against those engaging in "small acts of intimidation or vandalism that may lead to bigger things." Schaeffer says far right religious groups should also be placed under the same level of scrutiny as Islamist extremists.

Schaeffer's latest book is "Patience with God, Faith for People who Don't Like Religion (or atheism)."


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00:21 "the Constitution allows" Frank Schaeffer Author Frank Schaeffer says responsible steps are needed by conservative leaders and the government to prevent extremist violence.

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00:17 "we don't approve" Frank Schaeffer Author Frank Schaeffer says the religious right has a duty to speak against extremism in the U.S.

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00:11 "these are untrue" Frank Schaeffer Author Frank Schaeffer says the Christian Right should denounce false accusations by anti-Obama and anti-government extremists.

VATICAN-MISSIONARIES Pope pays tribute to persecuted priests

VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Benedict is paying tribute to priests, nuns and missionaries persecuted as they spread the Catholic faith.

Benedict cited the example of a Brazilian priest who was recently slain in Brazil.

Speaking to pilgrims yesterday in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff also called attention to the plight of the Rev. Michael Sinnott, a 79-year-old ailing Irish priest who was kidnapped in the Philippines a few days ago.

Bishops from Africa, where the church is enjoying vigorous growth thanks in part to missionaries, are meeting at the Vatican this month. The pope recalled that they have spoken of extreme sacrifices made by faithful on that continent.

Some representatives from Africa have told of recent killings of Catholics in Sudan.

NIGERIA-CHILD WITCHES Churches involved in torture, murder of thousands of African children denounced as witches

EKET, Nigeria (AP) Nigeria is at the center of an increasing number of cases in which children are accused of witchcraft, and then tortured or killed.

Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by The Associated Press, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." The head of the nonprofit group Stepping Stones Nigeria calls it an outrage that the practice is being allowed to take place in the name of Christianity.

A spokesman for the United Nation's Children's Fund says the accusations are fueled by poverty, poor education and triggered by the death of a relative, the loss of a job or the denunciation of a pastor on the make. There have been thousands of cases over the past decade. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire.

MEXICO-PASTOR DETAINED Mexican pastor detained in foster-child case

MEXICO CITY (AP) Federal prosecutors in Mexico say that they have detained a church pastor for allegedly holding against his will one of numerous children who disappeared from group foster homes last year.

Authorities took Ignacio Juarez Escamilla (ehs-cah-ME'-yah) into custody last week. Juarez Escamilla, a pastor of The Restored Christian Church, which allegedly runs at least three homes throughout Mexico, is being held under a form of house arrest for 40 days. Officials say he has not yet been charged.

The church has denied that it ran the homes or had anything to do with the disappearance of as many as 11 children from them in 2008.

EGYPT-CHRISTIAN Egyptian Christian killed in revenge for his son's affair with a Muslim girl

CAIRO (AP) Police say a Christian man has been killed in southern Egypt by attackers who accused his son of having an affair with a Muslim girl.

The officials said the father (Farouk Henry Attallah) was shot to death. According to police, the murder was prompted by rumors that Attallah's son had taken intimate pictures of the girl and distributed them through cellular phones and CDs.

Two bystanders were also wounded in the attack.

POLYGAMY TRUST No easy solutions in polygamous church land fight

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) More than four years after Utah sought to protect assets in a polygamous church's land trust, the state's plan seems to have backfired.

The trust is mired in debt, tangled in lawsuits and some of the land that was supposed to be preserved is poised for court-ordered sale.

The $100 million-plus United Effort Plan Trust holds most of the homes and property in Hildale, Utah, Colorado City, Ariz., and Bountiful, British Columbia. The communities have long been dominated by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The Utah courts seized the trust in 2005 after state attorneys alleged church president Warren Jeffs then a fugitive from Arizona criminal charges had used trust assets for personal benefit. The trust was also said to be vulnerable to liquidation from default judgments in civil lawsuits filed in 2004.

CHURCH DEACONS NH diocese sets program for deacons

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) New Hampshire's Roman Catholic Diocese is looking for more deacons.

Parishioners received information over the weekend about the church's education and training program for new, permanent deacons.

Applications will be available next month and the program starts next September.

A permanent deacon can be either married or single. Deacons perform certain sacraments, such as Baptism and marriage ceremonies. Permanent deacons also assist within parishes, serve as chaplains in hospitals and prisons, preside at funerals and wakes, and minister to those in need.

Currently, there are 44 active and seven retired deacons serving in the diocese.

PRIEST-NUN SLAYING

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A Roman Catholic priest serving 15 years to life in prison for killing a nun has told a newspaper that he's innocent.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson was convicted in May 2006 for killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980 by strangling her and stabbing her 31 times in a Toledo hospital chapel.

Robinson told The Columbus Dispatch for Sunday editions that he didn't do it and that he has no idea why anyone would do it.

But Lee Pahl, the victim's nephew, said he believed at the trial that Robinson was the killer and continues to believe it. He's also bothered that the Catholic Church hasn't defrocked Robinson.

Lawyers for the Ohio Innocence Project are continuing tests to determine whether DNA under Pahl's fingernails matches someone else.

CHURCH BURGLARIZED Man arrested in NY church burglary

ISLAND PARK, N.Y. (AP) A Long Island man has been charged with breaking into a Catholic church and stealing religious artifacts and money from the poor box.

The burglary happened Friday night at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Island Park, N.Y. Witnesses saw a man enter the church by breaking a back window.

Yesterday, Nassau County police arrested a suspect (53-year-old Michael Czarnecki) in connection with the crime. He was charged with burglary and criminal mischief.

SILVER DONATION-HOMELESS Wisconsin priest auctions off late mom's silver pieces from 1700s to raise money for homeless

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (AP) A Wisconsin priest is auctioning off his late mother's collection of old silver pieces to raise money for a homeless shelter.

The Rev. Guy Blair donated 14 silver items, including five sugar urns dating back to the 1790s. Other pieces include vases and coffee and tea pots.

Blair hopes they fetch at least $50,000. He says that would cover the shelter's costs for a few weeks. The proceeds benefit the St. John's the Evangelist Church shelter in Green Bay.

Blair's mother died in July. He says she agreed with him and his four sisters that the silver would do the most good if it were sold for a worthy cause. The auction is Nov. 10 in Dallas.

SEX ABUSE-BANKRUPTCY Catholic Diocese of Wilmington files bankruptcy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington says it has filed for bankruptcy, one day before a sex abuse trial was set to begin.

The Diocese filed Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Acivil trial was scheduled to begin today involving an alleged victim. The filing means the trial will be delayed.

The case would have been the first to come to trial under a Delaware law that created a two-year "lookback" window. That law allows claims of abuse to be brought even if the time allowed by the statute of limitations has passed. More than 100 lawsuits were filed before the period ended this summer, and some cases have been settled.

The diocese covers Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-19-09 0230CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list