Religion

NBC News reports: A solemn procession of patriarchs, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, canons and other priests chanted the names of the saints in Latin as they carried Pope Francis to St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of his funeral. He will now lie in state for three days, and the first of tens of thousands of mourners began filing in to pay their …

Little Rock’s CBS affiliate reports: The Pike County Sheriff’s Department announced on Monday that an Arkansas pastor has been sentenced to 110 years in prison. The man — James Vincent Henry who worked as a pastor in Delight, Arkansas — pleaded guilty to 11 child sexual abuse material charges. As result, Henry received 10 years per count for a total …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis’ funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals. Cardinals met at the Vatican to schedule Pope Francis’ funeral and burial, planning the conclave to elect his successor and make other decisions about running the Catholic Church …

“As a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public …

The Times of Israel reports: Rabbi Meir Mazuz, a prominent ultra-Orthodox Sephardic religious leader known for his inflammatory homophobic comments, died in Bnei Brak on Saturday. He was 80 years old. Mazuz reportedly spent the past few days in a hospital, where his condition worsened until his death. After stating that he believed COVID-19 would not reach Israel because the …

“It is with great sadness that Jill and I learned of the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. He was unlike any who came before him. Pope Francis will be remembered as one of the most consequential leaders of our time and I am better for having known him. For decades, he served the most vulnerable across Argentina and his …

The Associated Press reports: Vice President JD Vance met Saturday with the Vatican’s No. 2 official amid tensions over the U.S. crackdown on migrants, with the Holy See reaffirming good relations but noting “an exchange of opinions” over current international conflicts, migrants and prisoners. “There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, …

Columbus’s CBS affiliate reports: The sheriff’s office said 36-year-old Gary Thomas Keesee Jr. was arrested at his home and is charged with two counts of rape.  According to Mount Vernon Municipal Court records, the victim who made the initial report said the abuse happened when they were 5 and 6 years old and took place on over 50 occasions. During …

Michigan radio station WHMI reports: A former pastor has pleaded guilty to numerous felony charges for secretly recording people in a church bathroom. Former 2/42 Community Church Pastor 38-year-old Will Johnson pleaded guilty to all 15 charges against him that included tampering with evidence, child sexually abusive activity, using a commuter to commit a crime, possession of child sexually abusive …

The Hill reports: The Gallup polling analysis, released Thursday, shows that 70 percent of adults in the U.S. said over the last year that they have a religious preference — but that share is falling across all age demographics. About 34 percent of Gen Z respondents, born between 1997 and 2006, and 30 percent of millennial respondents, born between 1981 …

Amarillo’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Amarillo and Canyon teacher, accused of child sex crimes, was arrested for a sixth time. Patrick Kenneth Farmer, 57, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of indecency with a child sexual contact. According to the criminal complaint, Farmer touched the genitals of a girl under the age of 17. Farmer was arrested September 11, …

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports: Prosecutors charged an Outlook youth pastor with raping a teenage girl he knew. In addition to five charges each of second-degree rape and third-degree child molestation, Benjamin Felix Guerra, 32, was also charged with three counts of third-degree child rape and a single count of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, according to a six-page …

The Baptist Press reports: Shane Wiggins, pastor of Baldwin Baptist Mission Church, Baldwin, Louisiana, was arrested April 9 on charges of rape and molestation. Wiggins has been with the Baldwin congregation, a mission of Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton, La., since March 2015. According to the police department of Morgan City, La., Wiggins was arrested in Paris, Texas, and faces …

The Scranton Times-Tribune reports: A former Lackawanna County reverend who was caught trying to set up a sexual liaison with a child during online chats with an undercover police officer pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of unlawful contact with a minor. Robert John Morgan, 76, entered his plea in exchange for prosecutors dropping additional charges against him. Kingston …

Ars Technica reports: European tourists who toted home bottles of water from a holy well in Ethiopia were likely hoping for blessings and spiritual cleansing—but instead carried an infectious curse and got an intestinal power cleanse. Three people in Germany and four in the UK fell ill with cholera after directly drinking or splashing their faces with the holy water. …

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports: Paul Scouten, 39, of East Cortland Street in Fayetteville, was arrested by Arkansas State Police at his home Thursday in connection with distributing, possessing or viewing material depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, according to Washington County Detention Center records. Scouten remained at the Washington County jail Monday in lieu of $25,000 bond. He is …

NorthCentralPA.com reports: A reverend from a church in North Rome is facing child pornography charges after a predator sting was conducted in Bradford County. The 40-year-old man, who was arrested at the church on Thursday, allegedly admitted he has been viewing and masturbating to child pornography for years. Swink has been a pastor at North Rome Wesleyan Church since 2018. …

Los Angeles’s NBC affiliate reports: A Catholic priest serving at a church in Downey was arrested after being accused of raping a minor, LA County records showed Tuesday. Fr. Jaime Arriaga, 41, was removed from ministry at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Downey after the allegation surfaced, the LA Archdiocese confirmed Tuesday. “The archdiocese has a long-standing commitment to …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says it’s ending a half-century of partnerships with the federal government to serve refugees and children, saying the “heartbreaking” decision follows the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding for refugee resettlement. The break will inevitably result in fewer services than what Catholic agencies were able to offer in the past …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: A metro pastor was arrested this week after he allegedly convinced his congregation to move in with him, and then molested a young girl. Elmer Baca-Flores is the owner of a 501c3 nonprofit church labeled ‘Ministerio Levantando Adoradores Para Cristo Inc.’ Two men told officials that their wives had been brainwashed by Flores and that …