/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Local/National Faith Briefs

Lunch served Thursdays during Lent in Slayton

Court Queen of Peace is serving lunch during Lent from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays at Divine Mercy Hall, St. Ann’s Church, Slayton. The menu includes hot turkey sandwich, salads, assorted desserts. Takeouts are available by calling 507-227-3068

Clergy abuse survivor ends hunger strike

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A clergy sex abuse survivor has ended his hunger strike a week after saying he would not eat until the Vatican acknowledged Pope Francis had received messages he sent from several Massachusetts victims and their families.

Olan Horne told The Berkshire Eagle that although he never got the response he sought from Rome, the actions of a Massachusetts prosecutor prompted him to start eating again. The 59-year-old Chester man had gone a week taking only water.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni on Tuesday announced the creation of a telephone hotline for survivors and their families to report priest abuse. Horne had requested such a hotline for years.

Horne in a letter to Gulluni says his hunger strike was about giving victims a voice, and the hotline gives them that voice.

2 groups fighting over display of Bible at veterans hospital

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Two organizations are fighting over the display of a Bible at the Manchester VA Medical Center.

The Bible was carried by a prisoner of war in World War II and became part of a memorial at the medical center. It was removed after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation objected. WMUR-TV reports another group, the Northeast POW-MIA Network, wants to put it back.

The memorial, the Missing Man Table, honors the nation’s missing veterans and POWs. The foundation said the Bible’s presence was intolerable and unconstitutional. The medical center put the Bible in a display case.

Paul Martin of the network said the donated Bible is not just a religious artifact; it means that the prisoner of war held onto faith and hope that he could be brought home.

Brewery apologizes for beer sharing name with Hindu deity

SALEM, Va. (AP) — A Virginia brewery has apologized for a beer that shares its name with a Hindu deity.

Olde Salem Brewing Company said in a statement to WSLS-TV that it was making a musical reference when it named its Spanish milk stout “Hanuman.” The brewery says it was unaware of the religious connotation, and would work to find a solution.

Universal Society of Hinduism President Rajan Zed had drawn attention to the name, saying linking alcohol with Lord Hanuman was disrespectful.

As a central character in the Ramayana epic, Hanuman is known for his strength and appearance as a monkey.

Olde Salem’s website says the stout is meant to evoke “flamenco on the radio.” The Mexican flamenco fusion duo Rodrigo y Gabriela has a song called “Hanuman” that’s dedicated to Carlos Santana.

Nebraska officials subpoena hundreds of Catholic churches

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials have subpoenaed more than 400 Roman Catholic churches and institutions in the state seeking any records related to child sexual assault or abuse.

The move was announced Tuesday by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, which had last summer asked Nebraska’s three Catholic diocese to voluntarily turn over records of child sex abuse dating back decades.

“The Nebraska Department of Justice has appreciated the voluntary cooperation demonstrated by the churches,” the release says. “However, the department believes that subpoenas are necessary in order to ensure all reports of impropriety have been submitted to the appropriate authorities.”

The subpoenas seek all records or information related to any child sexual abuse that has occurred by those employed or associated with each church or institution, whether previously reported or not.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general declined to comment beyond the news release issued Tuesday on the subpoenas. Phone messages left Tuesday for representatives of all three of Nebraska’s Catholic dioceses were not immediately returned.

In November, the Archdiocese of Omaha released a list 38 priests and other clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct after the state’s top prosecutor requested the information. The archdiocese said 24 of the priests on that list were under its control when the allegations surfaced, but that all of those men had since died or been removed from the clergy. At least two men on the list where convicted and served prison sentences for molesting children.

The latest subpoenas in Nebraska come in the wake of other similar examinations elsewhere. A grand jury report last year in Pennsylvania found hundreds of abusive priests in that state.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today