Salman Rushdie, novelist who drew death threats, on ventilator after New York stabbing
New York City, USReuters Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born novelist who spent years in hiding after Iran urged Muslims to kill him because of his writing, was stabbed in the neck and torso onstage at a lecture in New York state on Friday and airlifted to a hospital, police said. After hours of surgery, Rushdie was […]
In the US, New Jersey diocese agrees to $US87.5 million deal to settle sex abuse suits
Trenton, New Jersey AP A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $US87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 alleged victims in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic Church in the United States. The agreement between the Diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern […]
Oh! Christmas tree? Cardboard display is the talk of a US town
Asbury Park, New Jersey, USAP It has been called beautiful, awesome and brilliant, a transcendent work of art that reimagines the holiday experience with local touches of the Jersey Shore. It also has been called ridiculous, ugly and hideous, something akin to a pile of Amazon shipping boxes or a giant cat-scratching post. Good grief! […]
Postcards: With births and a beauty salon, Afghan “guests” transform US base
PHIL STEWART, of Reuters, reports from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey…
In the US, another Hillsong East Coast pastor resigns, this time over revealing Instagram selfies
New York City, USRNS A pastor for Hillsong East Coast has resigned after sharing revealing photos of himself on Instagram stories. His resignation comes at a time when the global megachurch has been rocked by multiple scandals, including last fall’s firing of “celebrity pastor” Carl Lentz from Hillsong New York City after revelations of an extramarital affair. […]
STRANGESIGHTS: LUCY THE ELEPHANT INVITES YOU TO STAY OVER; SWISS PRESIDENT PLANS A PARTY; AND LORD BINFACE RUNS FOR MAYOR…
DAVID ADAMS looks at the odder side of life…
POSTCARDS: US TOWN FIGHTS ANTI-SEMITIC IMAGE TO BECOME MODEL FOR NEIGHBOURS
JONATHAN HAROUNOFF, in an article published by Religion News Service, reports from the New Jersey town of Lakewood…
SEX ABUSE SCANDAL: US STATES LAUNCH INVESTIGATIONS IN WAKE OF PENNSYLVANIA REPORT INTO CATHOLIC CLERGY ABUSE OF CHILDREN
In this in-depth report, JACK JENKINS, of Religion News Service, looks at how US states have responded to a “bombshell” report from Pennsylvania which detailed the alleged sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by hundreds of Catholic priests by launching their own investigations…
New abuse report in hand, US Catholics and attorneys general map next moves
RNS When Pennsylvania officials unveiled a report this week detailing accusations that Catholic priests had sexually abused more than 1,000 children since the 1940s and that church officials shielded the abusers, the public outcry was swift. Some compared the document to The Boston Globe’s 2002 “Spotlight” investigation, which unearthed comparably horrifying allegations in Massachusetts. But two days […]
New Jersey law gives momentum to US efforts to ban child marriage
Thomson Reuters Foundation New Jersey gave child advocates a boost late last week as it became the second US state to outlaw child marriage in as many months. With Delaware in May passing the first US law imposing a blanket ban on marriage for those under age 18, campaigners said a budding nationwide movement is […]