Religion

Milwaukee’s Fox affiliate reports: A now-former teacher at a Thiensville private school has been charged with child sex crimes. The accused is 36-year-old Daniel Rick of Jackson. He is a former teacher and athletic director at Christ Alone Lutheran School. He faces the following charges: child enticement-expose genitals/pubic area/intimate parts, exposing genitals/pubic area/intimate parts to a child. A criminal complaint …

The Christian Post reports: Public trust in pastors has dropped to a new low, according to the latest Gallup poll. The survey finds that only 30% of Americans rate clergy as highly honest and ethical, continuing a downward trend. Gallup’s findings, released last week, place clergy in 10th position among the 23 professions measured. Clergy were ranked below auto mechanics …

Asheville’s ABC affiliate reports: The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has charged a local pastor with multiple felonies. According to an MSCO Facebook post, Detective Grant Robinson with the MSCO charged Jeffrey Brian Merrow, 60, of Marion, N.C., with felony embezzlement and felony larceny.The release said Deputy Alicia Lund spoke with members of Garden Creek Baptist Church, where Merrow was …

The Roys Report reports: The former pastor of a now-shuttered Calvary Chapel congregation in south-central Texas has been sentenced to two years in prison for possessing child sex abuse material. On Tuesday, Judge Phil Grant of the 9th District Court of Texas sentenced Bruce Hollen, 63, to two years in state prison, according to court records. For several years, Hollen …

The Guardian reports: Pope Francis has said he inherited a “large white box” full of documents related to various scandals faced by the Catholic church when he took over from his predecessor. The pontiff makes the revelation in his much-anticipated autobiography, Spera (Hope), which is published on Tuesday. Francis became pope in 2013 after the shock resignation of Benedict XVI, …

Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Racine pastor convicted of child enticement was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison. Prosecutors argued Bernabe Leon-Alvarez used his position of power to inappropriately touch two teenage girls while he worked at a Racine church that is now closed. A jury found him guilty of attempted sexual exploitation by a therapist and child …

The Ventura County Star reports: A former Oxnard priest was sentenced Thursday to a year in jail in connection with sex offenses against two youths in Los Angeles County but avoided state prison, officials said. Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara pleaded no contest to sodomy with a person under age 16 and a lewd act with a child age 14 or 15, according …

Via press release from the White House: Today, President Biden spoke with His Holiness Pope Francis and named him as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world …

Panama City’s NBC affiliate reports: A church leader in Okaloosa County, Florida has been arrested and is facing several counts of possession of child pornography after a months-long investigation. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip back in May 2024. Information obtained from the tip and other findings ultimately led law enforcement to a home …

The New York Times reports: The Vatican has approved new guidelines for Italy that say that an applicant for the seminary cannot be rejected simply because he is gay, as long as he remains celibate. The guidelines say that seminary directors should consider sexual orientation as only one aspect of a candidate’s personality. They do not change the Roman Catholic …

From the Justice Department: A federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington has returned an indictment charging Francier Obando Pinillo, age 51, of Miami, Florida, with 26 counts of fraud in connection with running a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded investors of millions of dollars between November 2021 and October 2023. Pinillo was arraigned today at the U.S. District …

Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate reports: A Northern Kentucky man is facing dozens of charges, including sexual abuse and sodomy. According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, a victim reported in late December that he had been sexually abused for several years by an adult male. Investigators alleged that Michael Howard, 36, of Burlington, sent text messages of a sexual nature to …

The Root reports: The internet is outraged after a clip of a Virginia church service has now gone viral. In the video, Pastor Terry W. Jackson of True Vine Apostolic Church brings a young, unidentified woman to the podium to apologize to the whole congregation for being pregnant out of wedlock. “We don’t condone sin,” the pastor told the congregation …

The Daily Telegram reports: A retired Adrian pastor accused of molesting boys has been charged with a new offense and will be appointed a new attorney. Michael Ronald Goble, 76, already faced four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13 and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a detained juvenile. He was arrested …

The Christian Post reports: An Alabama pastor and church planter who led Landmark Church in Phenix City is being held in the Russell County Jail after he was arrested last month in connection with an armed bank robbery along with a female accomplice. A representative with the Russell County Court confirmed on Wednesday that 40-year-old former Landmark Church Lead Pastor …

The Washington Post reports: The Vatican named one of the United States’ leading liberal Catholic prelates Monday to run the prominent D.C.-area archdiocese, sending to the nation’s capital, as a second Trump administration begins, a cleric known for a pastoral approach to migrants and for the “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community. San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy, who for a …

Phoenix’s Fox affiliate reports: A Valley pastor is behind bars tonight accused of recording women in the church bathroom. The church, Casa de Adoracion, is located near 27th Avenue and McDowell. A woman said it fell out of a dryer while she was changing her baby’s diaper. Detectives obtained a screenshot showing Pastor Arturo Laguna fixing the camera in the …

Duluth’s Fox affiliate reports: While the criminal cases against former Duluth Vineyard youth pastor Jackson Gatlin were prevented by a plea deal, new lawsuits aim to discover how sexual abuse within the church went overlooked for so long. On Nov. 6, Jackson Gatlin pled guilty to five counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a child. Gatlin received a 13-year sentence …

Roll Call reports: On average, Congress will continue to be much more religious than the nation as a whole, with around 95 percent of lawmakers across both the Senate and House identifying with a religious faith. The rest either are nonreligious, did not specify a religion or did not share their faith affiliation. In contrast, a survey conducted by the …

New Orleans’ NBC affiliate reports: A former New Orleans priest who pleaded guilty to rape and kidnapping has died at 93, according to his attorney, Bobby Hjortsberg. Lawrence Hecker was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, Dec. 18, after pleading guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated crime against nature, first-degree rape, and theft. He died at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center on …