Religion

Charlotte’s NBC affiliate reports: A youth leader and soccer coach at several Charlotte-area churches was charged with multiple child sex crimes on Friday, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Police charged 36-year-old Benjamin Damron with nine counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of sexual battery. Officers said Damron used his position to take advantage of the …

Via press release from US Catholic Bishops: On November 16, 2022, the United States Senate voted 62–37 to advance the Respect for Marriage Act. In response, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, issued the following statement: “It is deeply concerning that the U.S. Senate has voted to …

From the Justice Department: A federal jury in Charlotte has convicted Michael Mandel Baldwin, 53, of Alexandria, Virginia, for orchestrating an investment scheme that defrauded victims of more than $800,000, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “Baldwin’s Miracle Mansion was a house of lies,” said U.S. Attorney King in announcing the guilty verdict. …

From the Justice Department: A federal grand jury in Topeka returned an indictment charging a Kansas priest and a New York businessman in connection with a scheme to defraud a foster care organization of $10 million. According to court documents, Robert Nelson Smith, 50, of Salina is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 15 counts of …

The Associated Press reports: An investigation by Maryland’s attorney general identified 158 Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Baltimore who have been accused of sexually and physically abusing more than 600 victims over the past 80 years, according to court records filed Thursday. Attorney General Brian Frosh announced that his office has completed a 463-page report on the investigation, …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: In an unexpected move Tuesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave its support to a proposed federal law, which recognizes all legal marriages, including ones between same-sex partners. The Utah-based faith’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” according to a statement …

Seattle’s CBS affiliate reports: A Redmond Sunday school teacher has been charged with three felony counts of possession of child pornography, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Douglas Meerdink, 70, was charged on Wednesday with three counts of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Detectives later confirmed Meerdink was an active member of a …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: A Round Rock pastor was arrested by the FBI on child pornography charges Wednesday, the United States Department of Justice announced. David Lloyd Walther, 56, of Georgetown, was accused of knowingly searching for, downloading, distributing and possessing child pornography, according to the DOJ. A criminal complaint filed in Austin federal court said Walther downloaded and made …

The Baptist Press reports: A former staff member of the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services was sentenced to 22 years in prison Nov. 3 in White County Circuit Court. Daniel W. Lanning pled guilty to two counts of criminal sexual assault of a minor ages 13-17. He was arrested in April on four counts involving a teenager in his …

Pueblo, Colorado’s NBC affiliate reports: An adult youth pastor has been arrested after allegedly sending sexually explicit material to a minor in his youth group. The Fountain Police Department began investigating the report on Oct. 13, 2022. The investigation led to 38-year-old Jeffery Williams’ arrest on Nov. 10. Williams was a pastor at the 901 N. Santa Fe Ave. Salvation …

People Magazine reports:  A San Diego woman and her two parents have been arrested following the death of 11-year-old Arabella McCormack. In late August, police responded to a child in distress call at a home in Spring Valley, where they found Arabella. The 11-year-old was rushed to a hospital where she died. Arabella was covered in bruises and had suffered …

Washington state’s KWCC-TV reports: Police arrested a 69-year-old Wenatchee man on suspicion of rape Tuesday after two other men accused him of sexually molesting them while they were asleep or otherwise unable to consent. Michael E. Wilson was identified in a Wenatchee police court affidavit as the leader of a Bible study group that met at his Sunnyslope home. The …

Los Angeles’s CW affiliate reports: A man the sheriff’s department describes as a Wildomar pastor was booked into county jail Wednesday on suspicion of raping a child, sodomy and other sex crimes. Fredy Gonzalez, 54, was taken into custody at 6:30 a.m. following an investigation that began Tuesday night, according to jail records and the sheriff’s department. Jail records show …

The Christian Post reports: The fourth installment of the America’s Values Study, released by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University asked respondents for their thoughts on traditional moral values and what they would like to see as “America’s foundation for determining right and wrong.” The survey is based on responses from 2,275 U.S. adults collected in July 2022. …

From the far-right Christian site Charisma News: For the first time in the history of the United States, Election Day will fall on the same day as a blood moon. The Christian Bible makes mention of blood moons in both Old and New Testament writing. The cause for rampant interest among Christians in regards to a blood moon is that …

The New Castle Courier-Times reports: Indiana State Police arrested Jonathan Mark Myers, 41, on Thursday, Oct. 27, on three counts of Class B felony sexual misconduct with a minor, one count of Class C felony sexual misconduct with a minor and four counts of Class D felony child seduction. Myers is accused of repeated and continued sexual abuse against a …

The Christian Post reports: Evangelist and author John Ramirez was once entrenched in the occult and satanism. He’s now warning Christians not to get entangled in practices that might seem innocent or alluring, especially during Halloween, but only serve to open the door to dark forces. Ramirez, who says he was demon-possessed for 20 years, takes the work of exposing …

Tulsa’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Wewoka middle school principal was arrested on Thursday, accused of fondling a child. Cody Barlow was taken into custody at his home in Wewoka and booked into the Seminole County Jail. In addition to being a principal, Barlow is a youth pastor at a local church. The male child reported to authorities that Barlow …

Jessica Wolstenholm writes for the Christian Post: Have the best candy so that your house will be the house people come to and linger near. Be warm. Introduce yourself to visitors even if that’s not the typical way neighbors engage in your area.  Have a warm beverage or pumpkin bread for adults so you can engage your neighbors in conversation. …

The BBC reports: Pope Francis has warned priests and nuns about the dangers of watching pornography online, saying it “weakens the priestly heart”. Pornography, he said, was “a vice that so many people have… even priests and nuns”. “The devil enters from there,” the Pope told priests and seminarians. “The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot …