2 accused of vandalizing church organ, trying to steal pipes

FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — Two men have been charged with vandalizing an organ at a New Jersey church and attempting to steal its pipes.

Freehold police say Junior B. Romero and Darwin Romero, both 35, are charged with burglary, criminal mischief, and unlawful entry of a structure. The two men, both Freehold residents, are not related, authorities said.

Nonprofit, archdiocese invest more than $90M in 30 schools

CHICAGO (AP) — The Archdiocese of Chicago and a nonprofit will together invest more than $90 million over 10 years in 30 Catholic schools in lower-income neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides, officials announced Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Big Shoulders Fund will donate $47.5 million to the schools serving 5,600 students and assume their financial risk while the archdiocese will provide $44.9 million, they said. The deal also will let the archdiocese stabilize its annual operating aid for Catholic schools.

3 Jehovah’s Witnesses convicted in Russia amid crackdown

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has convicted three adherents of the Jehovah’s Witnesses of participating in a religion banned for extremism, the latest move against the denomination.

Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and since then has convicted 24 members, nine of whom are imprisoned; 27 others are in pretrial detention.

Atlanta pastor Raphael Warnock enters US Senate race

ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate on Thursday, challenging recently appointed Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

With his influential pulpit at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Warnock immediately brings some Democratic star power to the race — the kind that seemed to evaporate after former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams declined to enter it last year.

Franciscan Sisters to end perpetual prayers at chapel

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — For nearly a century and a half, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have said prayers every hour of every day in their chapel in La Crosse.

But, next month that practice will be coming to an end.

The sisters have announced that after a dozen years of study and reflection, they will begin to cut back their prayer ritual, which began in 1878, to 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily.

Kansas considers requiring ‘In God We Trust’ in classrooms

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans are pushing for a law requiring government buildings and schools across Kansas to post the national motto of “In God We Trust,” an idea critics say is part of a broader effort by the Christian right to promote their religious beliefs in public life.

A Kansas House committee heard testimony Thursday on a bill sponsored by 13 GOP lawmakers that would, among other things, require all public school classrooms and libraries to post the motto. Under the measure, the motto must be posted as soon as schools, colleges, cities and counties receive donations, either of “durable” posters or money to cover the costs.