Tag Archives: religion

Pastor Wipes Spit In Man’s Face Because Jesus [VIDEO]

The Christian Post reports: Popular Pastor Michael Todd of Transformation Church in Bixby, Oklahoma, drew the wrath of the internet and became a trending topic on Twitter as a clip from his message on vision Sunday showed him wiping globs of spit on a congregant’s face even as the coronavirus pandemic rages. Before the demonstration, Todd detailed that as he …

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“Ranting” Man Takes Hostages At Texas Synagogue

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Colleyville police said they are conducting SWAT operations in the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Road, the location of Congregation Beth Israel after a man took people hostage at Congregation Beth Israel. The service was being livestreamed on Facebook, and the live recording, which was taken down shortly before 2 p.m., captured muffled audio of …

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Polish Catholic Diocese Asks Court To Decide Whether 12-Year-Old Victim “Took Pleasure” In Rape By Priest

Notes From Poland reports: A Catholic curia in Poland has asked for a court to determine the sexuality of the victim of a priest and whether he took “pleasure in the intimate relationship”. The victim says he was 12 years old when the abuse began. Last year, Janusz Szymik – pictured above as a child – launched a civil case …

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French Parliament Votes To Criminalize Ex-Gay Torture

Reuters reports: France’s parliament voted on Tuesday to ban so-called conversion therapy, joining a handful of countries that have taken steps to outlaw practices that seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the French legislation, people offering LGBT+ conversion therapy could be jailed for up to two years and fined 30,000 euros ($33,810), with even tougher …

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SURVEY: 29% Of Americans Now Religious “Nones”

The Associated Press reports: According to a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, this group — commonly known as the “nones” — now constitutes 29% of American adults. That’s up from 23% in 2016 and 19% in 2011. “If the unaffiliated were a religion, they’d be the largest religious group in the United States,” said Elizabeth Drescher, an …

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MA Church’s LGBT Asylum Project Wins Praise

The Boston Globe reports: Over Thanksgiving weekend, the first residents of the home in Worcester moved in: three gay men seeking asylum in the U.S. “I don’t even have the words,” said Alain Spyke, 26, who fled Jamaica after being continually harassed and threatened by a local gang for being gay. “To come into this country and have a safe …

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Vatican Sorry For Removing LGBTQ Resource From Site

The Associated Press reports: A Vatican official has apologized to a leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group for having yanked a reference to it from the Vatican website, saying he realized the move caused pain and that the Catholic Church does indeed want to include gays and hear from them. The Vatican’s General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, which is …

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Pope Cans Paris Archbishop Over Affair With Woman

Religion News Service reports: Pope Francis said Monday he accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Paris because the monsignor could no longer govern effectively thanks to the “gossip” about his relationship with a woman a decade ago. Francis was asked en route home from Greece about the surprise decision, which came only days after Archbishop Michel Aupetit put his …

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NYC Pastor: “The Best Person To Rape Is Your Wife”

Religion News Service reports: In a sermon about wifely submission, the pastor of a New York City Seventh-day Adventist Church went on to suggest that husbands may rape their wives. “I would say to you gentlemen, the best person to rape is your wife,” said Burnett Robinson, senior pastor of Grand Concourse Seventh-day Adventist, a church located in the Bronx …

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POLL: 34% Don’t Know, Believe, Or Care If God Exists

The Christian Post reports: The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released the eighth report of its 2021 American Worldview Inventory Tuesday. The report was based on responses collected from 2,000 American adults in February as part of a more extensive survey with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. A majority of Americans (54%) subscribe to …

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Cops: Priest Plundered Estate Of Priest With Dementia

Omaha’s NBC News affiliate reports: An Omaha priest was arrested Friday morning accused of stealing from an incapacitated retired priest who had willed his estate to the Archdiocese of Omaha, saying he was giving the money to a homeless man. The Rev. Michael F. Gutgsell was arrested at 7:35 a.m. Friday and taken to Douglas County Jail. He appeared in …

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Priest Guilty Of Stealing Funds For Grindr Hookups

The New Jersey Advance reports: A former Roman Catholic pastor has admitted he stole $30,000 from his Pennsylvania parish, money he spent on a beach house on the New Jersey shore and men with whom he had sexual relationships. Monsignor Joseph McLoone, 58, pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor theft charges and was sentenced to five years of probation, the first …

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Biden Affirms “Our Ironclad Bond With Israel” In Rosh Hashanah Statement: We’ll “Give Hate No Safe Harbor”

From a statement issued by the White House: On Rosh Hashanah, Jewish communities around the world celebrate the world’s birth and commemorate the creation of humankind. Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe that follow charge those who celebrate to pause, look inward, and reflect on the past year. It is a time to undertake an inventory of the soul, …

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Anti-Gay Anti-Vax CO Pastor Is Sick With Something

Denver’s Westword reports: Denver Bible Church pastor Bob Enyart, a longtime Denver media personality who remains an active podcaster, made headlines last October when a lawsuit he filed prompted a U.S. District Court judge appointed by President Donald Trump to grant a temporary restraining order against the Colorado public-health order regarding COVID-19 and mask use at religious services, as well …

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Pastor Of “Don’t Worry About COVID” Church Dies Of Something Despite Fasting, Prayers By Congregation

The Christian Post reports: Nearly two weeks after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, a beloved Kentucky pastor has died from the virus despite desperate prayers from his congregation asking the Lord to restore him “back to his normal self.” Center Point Church in Lexington announced the passing Thursday of Senior Pastor Tim Parsons in a statement posted on Facebook. Parsons’ …

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Texas Pastor Gets 30 Years, Filmed Child Porn At Church

The Christian Post reports: A former Texas pastor has been sentenced to 30 years of federal prison after he pleaded guilty to using hidden cameras to record sexually explicit material of underage children at church and other locations. David Pettigrew, ex-pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Denison, Texas, was sentenced to 360 months in prison by U.S. District …

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Texas Death Row Inmate Sues Prison To Allow Baptist Preacher To “Lay Hands” On Him While Being Executed

Religion News Service reports: A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez, 37, is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8, but his attorneys said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Corpus …

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9000 Suits Filed In NY’s Sex Abuse “Look-Back” Period

The Associated Press release: For two years, New York temporarily set aside its usual time limit on civil lawsuits in order to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue churches, hospitals, schools, camps, scout groups and other institutions and people they hold responsible for enabling pedophiles or turning a blind eye to wrongdoing. That window closes Saturday, after more …

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Louisiana Gov: Please Pray And Fast Against COVID

Via press release: Gov. John Bel Edwards is calling upon Louisianans who believe in the power of prayer to join him and First Lady Donna Edwards in praying and fasting during their lunch time for three days for Louisiana health care workers and all of those who are sick with or affected by COVID-19. In addition to prayer, the Governor …

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Ask Jesus: Facebook Launches “Pray For Me” Function

The Associated Press reports: Facebook already asks for your thoughts. Now it wants your prayers. The social media giant has rolled out a new prayer request feature, a tool embraced by some religious leaders as a cutting-edge way to engage the faithful online. Others are eyeing it warily as they weigh its usefulness against the privacy and security concerns they …

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