He added that the assault on Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve by a mentally unstable woman and the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries, were proof that the Anti-Christ was waging a war against the Holy See.
Habitat for Humanity Begins Homes for Quake-Hit Chileans
Iranian Pastor Tortured, Threatened for ‘Converting Muslims’
London: Christian Registrar Loses Discrimination Appeal
Archdiocese Refuses to Re-Enroll Children of Lesbian Parents
The number of victims of the 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway by the AUM Shinrikyo cult is almost 6,300 in a nationwide police survey — far more than the earlier estimate of over 5,000.
Meanwhile one more fatality has been identified.
Labor and the Coalition have been accused of choosing to look away from claims of abuse in the Church of Scientology, by blocking a Senate investigation into the tax-free status of religious groups.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon will next week introduce another motion for an inquiry into specific allegations against Scientology.
James Keller ("The Canadian Press," March 9, 2010)
Vancouver, Canada - A B.C. religious leader who has admitted to having multiple wives brought a highly publicized and ultimately unsuccessful prosecution upon himself by openly practising polygamy, says the provincial government.
In a statement of defence filed in a civil lawsuit, the province said Winston Blackmore is to blame for his own legal troubles.
Dale Eisman ("AOL News," March 9, 2010)
Washington, USA - The Supreme Court has agreed to take a new and difficult look at free speech, saying it will decide whether a serviceman’s family can collect damages from religious fundamentalists who used the soldier’s funeral to promote virulent anti-gay views.
Michael Lim Ubac and Jeffrey M. Tupas ("Philippine Daily Inquirer," March 10, 2010)
Davao City, Philippines - The two front-runners in the presidential race Tuesday failed to show up at what had been billed as a major debate, and the wrath of the “Son of God” came down upon them.
Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP) had excused himself, citing sinus problems, while Nacionalista Party (NP) candidate Sen.
Maryclaire Dale (AP, March 10, 2010)
Philadelphia, USA - The self-described “Jihad Jane” who thought her blond hair and blue eyes would let her blend in as she sought to kill an artist in Sweden is a rare case of an American woman aiding in foreign terrorism and shows the evolution of the global threat, authorities say.
The suburban Philadelphia woman, Colleen R.
Matthew Waller ("San-Angelo Standard-Times," March 10, 2010)
San Angelo, USA - A jury has been seated in the trial of Merril Leroy Jessop, 35, a member of the polygamist sect from the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Schleicher County charged with sexual assault of a child in connection with allegations that he married an underage girl.
The jury is made up of seven women and seven men to fill in the 12 juror and two alternate positions.
Salah Nasrawi and Hadeel Al-Shalchi (AP, March 10, 2010)
Cairo, Egypt - Top Egyptian cleric Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, whose views often drew criticism from religious conservatives and secular Muslims, died of a heart attack Wednesday during a visit to Saudi Arabia. He was 81.
Tantawi was the grand sheik of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent theological institute of Sunni Islam, the faith’s mainstream sect.
