Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: An Acworth man who once had a leadership role at a popular Cobb County church has been arrested. Cobb Police have charged him with four counts of child molestation for his alleged encounters with a 15-year-old boy who attended the church. Cobb Police have arrested the 32-year-old former Worship in Wonders former director of operations Marcus …

Minnesota Public Radio reports: A former youth pastor at a Duluth church was jailed Tuesday and charged with sexually abusing five teenage girls. St. Louis County prosecutors said that Jackson M. Gatlin, 35, assaulted the teens between 2007 and 2010 while he worked at Vineyard Church. Gatlin is the son of former pastors Michael and Brenda Gatlin. The couple resigned …

The Fairbanks Daily News reports: A local youth pastor indicted Wednesday on one count of felony second-degree sexual abuse of a minor was arrested Friday after turning himself in to Alaska State Troopers. David Duffett, 45, is listed on the Bible Baptist Church of Fairbanks’ website as the youth director, bus ministries director and teacher of the Teen Church and …

The Everett Herald reports: An Arlington youth pastor has been charged with two counts of third-degree child rape for accusations he abused a girl he met in a youth group. Kendal Kippen, 27, of Stanwood, worked at Jake’s House Church in 2017 and 2018, according to charging papers filed this month in Snohomish County Superior Court. His father is the …

Houston’s ABC News affiliate reports: Former Hudson ISD teacher and youth pastor James Dillon English was sentenced on Thursday to eight years of confinement in prison for indecency with a child and having an improper relationship with a student. English was accused of engaging in multiple sexual relations with a student in late 2019, his second year at the school. …

Via the Associated Press: The staged arrests of pastors in front of their congregations in northeast Ohio got a surprising reaction for one sheriff. Videos of the mock arrests posted online brought a wave of criticism for the Summit County Sheriff’s office from people who thought the deputies really were interrupting church services to make arrests. Sheriff Steve Barry says …

The Washington Post reports: As Florida Republicans are introducing and advancing a wave of bills on gender and diversity that are likely to be signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), one GOP lawmaker acknowledged this week that his proposed sexual health bill would ban girls from talking about their menstrual cycles in school. During a Florida House Education …

“Boys are ‘made homosexual,’ [Pat] Robertson says, ‘because of a coach or a guidance counselor or some other male figure… abused them.’ As a thought experiment let’s concede the point: homosexuals are made, not born (with the exception of the few of us with ‘biological problems’). Who do you suppose is making homosexuals out of kids from fundamentalist Christian homes? …

Patch New Hampshire reports: Police in Nashua have confirmed statements made by a local church that one of its pastors was under investigation for child sexual abuse allegations before taking his own life. Jarrett Booker, 37, the pastor of students and worship at Nashua Baptist Church, took his own life on Nov. 27, according to the church. In a note …

Reuters reports: The Vatican urged bishops and high-profile lay Catholic leaders on Monday to tone down their comments on social media, saying some were causing division and stoking polemics that harmed the entire Church. The appeal was part of a 20-page document by the Vatican’s communications department titled, “Towards Full Presence. A Pastoral Reflection on Engagement with Social Media.” “The …

Rolling Stone reports: Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk is cheerleading the far-right boycott of Target over the retailer’s Pride collection — which included trans-friendly youth apparel and other LGBTQ-positive gear — for what Kirk decries as “their support for grooming kids.” Kirk’s condemnation of the retailer coincided with TPUSA’s second-annual Pastors Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, this past week, where …

The Texas Tribune reports: Speaking to state lawmakers last month, Rocky Malloy argued that putting unlicensed religious chaplains in schools could prevent youth violence, teen suicide and teacher burnout. And he rejected concerns that school chaplains might use their access to recruit kids to Christ. Chaplains “are not working to convert people to religion,” Malloy, the head of the National …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: The San Francisco archbishop issued a notice Friday that he would no longer allow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion, an escalation of his feud with the Catholic Democrat over abortion politics. In a public notification to Pelosi, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone wrote that he had warned Pelosi in April that she must either repudiate …

USA Today reports: Kirk is a Trump family confidant and the head of Turning Point USA, which is devoted to attracting and energizing young voters. Kirk blamed “bitter, deceitful, vengeful” opponents for the nation’s woes and described Trump as an antidote to that division. Kirk’s message offered a particularly bleak view of the nation, arguing the country is “locking up …

The New York Times reports: In remarks to evangelical ministers in the White House State Dining Room on Monday night, President Trump spoke in high-minded tones about religious liberty, abortion and youth unemployment. He noted a John Adams quote carved into the room’s fireplace: “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house.” But once reporters and …

From the Family Research Council’s prayer of the day: Lord, Obergefell v. Hodges was an assault upon Your institution of marriage, the cornerstone of society. The effort to mainstream transgenderism is an assault on You as Creator and the heart of Your created order. Please help us to prevent the conferring of special rights and privileges for those who embrace …

Over the loud complaints of religious leaders, last night the Cincinnati City Council voted to ban ex-gay torture. The move was taken partly in memory of Ohio transgender teen Leelah Alcorn, who committed suicide last year by throwing herself into the path of a truck. Cincinnati.com reports: Almost two dozen pastors and citizens packed Cincinnati Council Chambers on Wednesday in …

Over the last seven days…Washington: Pastor Dirk Jackson arrested for the rape of a 12 year-old girl.Tennessee: Pastor Ronnie Powe charged with aggravated statutory rape.Kentucky: Pastor Jerry Cannon charged with posting hundreds of child porn images to Facebook.New York: Rabbi Milton Balkany sentenced to four years in $4M hedge fund extortion.Minnesota: Father Christopher Wenthe charged with felony sexual abuse of …

Over the last seven days… Washington: Pastor Greg Scott Glover arrested for stealing oxycontin from the home of an elderly parishioner. She busted him with a hidden camera.Ireland: Father Brendan Wrixon charged with sexual assault of a teenage boy.Ontario: Reverend Paul Hartig charged with felony theft for stealing from his own church.California: Pastor Dino Cardelli arrested for molesting a 13 …

Over the last seven days… Florida: Pastor Shelly Hall arrested for stalking his replacement. It is his second stalking arrest.Indiana: Pastor William Lee Porter charged with five felony counts of child seduction. Porter, 53, is his church’s youth pastor.New York: Rabbi Michoel Streicher sentenced to three years in prison for stealing $36K from a woman he told he would buy …