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RICK WARREN-MENTAL HEALTH
Rick Warren acts on mental health in son's death
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — A year after his son's suicide, pastor Rick Warren is taking on a new mental health ministry inspired by his personal tragedy.
Warren, founder of Saddleback Church and a best-selling author, will team with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Calif., and the National Alliance on Mental Illness to host a daylong event next month.
The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church grew out of private conversations Warren had with the local Catholic bishop, Bishop Kevin Vann, after his son's death and his own writings in his journal as he processed his grief. Matthew Warren, who was only 27, committed suicide last April after struggling with severe depression and suicidal thoughts for years.
After Matthew's suicide, more than 10,000 people wrote to Warren and his wife, Kay, to share their own struggles with mental illness. Warren says the conference will address a range of mental health issues, from bipolar disorder to suicide to more easily hidden issues such as anxiety, eating disorders and addiction.
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191-a-13-(Rick Warren, author and founder of Saddleback Church, in AP interview)-"than we realized"-Saddleback megachurch founder Rick Warren says he hadn't realized how big a concern mental illness is within the faith-based community. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *191 (02/25/14)££ 00:13 "than we realized"
188-a-11-(Rick Warren, author and founder of Saddleback Church, in AP interview)-"an early age"-Saddleback megachurch founder Rick Warren says he decided to take up mental health advocacy after his son committed suicide last spring. (Warren's son Matthew was 27 when he shot himself after struggling with severe depression and suicidal thoughts for years.) (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *188 (02/25/14)££ 00:11 "an early age"
190-a-17-(Rick Warren, author and founder of Saddleback Church, in AP interview)-"grieve publicly too"-Saddleback megachurch founder Rick Warren says his advocacy for mental health support grew out of his own grief when his son Matthew killed himself at the age of 27. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *190 (02/25/14)££ 00:17 "grieve publicly too"
189-a-21-(Rick Warren, author and founder of Saddleback Church, in AP interview)-"our local ministry"-Saddleback megachurch founder Rick Warren hopes his partnership with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and the National Alliance for Mental Illness will focus attention on the need for the religious community to offer mental health support. ((note length)) (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *189 (02/25/14)££ 00:21 "our local ministry"
192-a-07-(Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann, in AP interview)-"it's a suicide"-Roman Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann says his work in the Church has brought him face-to-face with the agony people suffer because of mental illness. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *192 (02/25/14)££ 00:07 "it's a suicide"
ASCENSION HEALTH
Catholic health system's growth raises questions
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The rapid growth of a St. Louis-based Catholic health care system that is branching out into for-profit ventures is raising questions about its charitable status.
Ascension Health was created 15 years ago with the merger of the St. Louis-based Daughters of Charity National Health System and the Michigan-based Sisters of St. Joseph Health System. It has since grown into the nation's third-largest health care system by buying dozens of nonprofit hospitals and pursuing numerous for-profit ventures.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the company reported $17 billion in revenue in the 2013 fiscal year but didn't pay corporate income taxes on its nonprofit operations. Financial statements show Ascension has $30 billion in assets.
One expert on tax-exempt organizations -- University of Illinois law professor John Colombo -- says other corporations like Microsoft also do charitable work, but pay taxes.
Ascension says it provided $525 million in charity care to the poor last year as well as $775 million in community benefits to the general public.
GAY MARRIAGE-MICHIGAN
Michigan gay-marriage ban at stake in rare trial
DETROIT (AP) — A psychologist has testified in the trial challenging Michigan's ban on gay marriage that children need good parents, no matter their gender or sexual orientation.
David Brodzinsky, an expert in adoption and foster care and a former Rutgers University professor, said there are no "discernible differences" in children who are raised by same-sex couples and youth raised by heterosexuals. He say the key to good parenting is quality of care, not gender.
The trial is the first in the U.S. over a gay-marriage ban since a California trial in 2010, although federal judges have recently struck down similar bans in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia.
ARIZONA-GAY RIGHTS
Arizona governor heads home amid furor over bill
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has returned after five days in Washington to a state that has become embroiled in a national debate over religious and gay rights because of a bill on her desk.
Brewer is pondering Senate Bill 1062 before deciding whether to sign or veto the legislation. The bill allows businesses whose owners cite sincerely held religious beliefs to deny service to gays. It allows any business, church or person to cite the law as a defense in any action brought by the government or individual claiming discrimination.
There is widespread speculation that Brewer will veto the bill, but she has not said how she'll act.
The bill was pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy, a social conservative group that opposes abortion and gay marriage. CAP president Cathi Herrod says the faith-based group simply wants to clarify existing state law to protect religious freedoms.
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268-a-10-(Cathi Herrod, president, Center for Arizona Policy, in AP interview)-"around the country"-Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod says the purpose of the law is clear. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *268 (02/25/14)££ 00:10 "around the country"
270-a-09-(Cathi Herrod, president, Center for Arizona Policy, in AP interview)-"standing with us"-Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod says supporters of the propopsed law are standing with her group. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *270 (02/25/14)££ 00:09 "standing with us"
269-a-09-(Cathi Herrod, president, Center for Arizona Policy, in AP interview)-"of the law"-Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod says reaction to law since its passsage has been disappointing. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *269 (02/25/14)££ 00:09 "of the law"
255-a-14-(Doug Napier, senior legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, in AP interview)-"have those protections"-Advocate Doug Napier says the legislation under consderation will protect the rights of businesses with religious ties. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *255 (02/25/14)££ 00:14 "have those protections"
253-a-14-(Scott Koehler, sales director, FastSigns, in AP interview)-"that's the reality"-Scott Koehler, sales manager at a sign store, says even though businesses have a right to refuse service to customers, the legislation doesn't make sense to him. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *253 (02/25/14)££ 00:14 "that's the reality"
265-a-12-(Jennifer Kaplan, owner of Evolve public relations firm, in interview)-"the United States"-Arizona public relations expert Jennifer Kaplan says she thinks if the measure becomes law it will have a negative effect on businesses in Arizona. COURTESY: KNXV TV ((mandatory on-air credit)) (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *265 (02/25/14)££ 00:12 "the United States"
254-a-11-(Angela Hughey, president, ONEcommunity.com, in AP interview)-"our diverse communities"-Gay rights supporter Angela Hughey says the people of Arizona have a choice to make about the way businesses treat any minority group. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *254 (02/25/14)££ 00:11 "our diverse communities"
UN-UNGANDA-GAYS
UN chief urges revision or repeal of Uganda law imposing life sentences for homosexuality@
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. chief has warned that a law in Uganda that criminalizes homosexuality could fuel prejudice and encourage harassment against gays.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the law should be revised or repealed. The law punishes gay sex with up to life in jail. The bill originally proposed the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality." First-time offenders now face life in jail, instead the original 14-year jail term. Homosexuality has long been criminalized in Uganda under a colonial-era law.
Some Ugandan lawyers and activists have said they will challenge the law in court as unconstitutional and impossible to implement.
Meanwhile, a leading Ugandan gay rights activist -- Pepe Julian Onziema -- says a local newspaper's decision to publish a list of what it called the country's "200 top" homosexuals has made him think more about his own security.
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271-a-10-(Pepe Julian Onziema, Ugandan LGBTI activist, in AP interview)-"together being attacked"-Gay activist Pepe Julian Onziema says the anti-gay law is likely to fan attacks on gays in Uganda. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *271 (02/25/14)££ 00:10 "together being attacked"
273-a-09-(Martin Kiboye, Kampala resident, in AP interview)-"that is unnatural"-Kampala resident Martin Kiboye says he's indifferent about the law but believes homosexuallity is immoral. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *273 (02/25/14)££ 00:09 "that is unnatural"
272-a-10-(Pepe Julian Onziema, Ugandan LGBTI activist, in AP interview)-"thing to me"-Gay activist Pepe Julian Onziema says a tabloid's decision to out 200 gays creates a threat to his security and that of gays in Uganda. (25 Feb 2014)
<<CUT *272 (02/25/14)££ 00:10 "thing to me"
NIGERIA-VIOLENCE
Islamic militants attack Nigerian school, killing dozens of students
DAMATURU, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic militants have set fire to a locked dormitory at a school in northern Nigeria, then shot and slit the throats of students who tried to escape through windows during a pre-dawn attack Tuesday. Dozens of students were killed, including many who were burned alive.
Teachers who escaped said as many as 40 students died in the attack by militants of Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden."
The insurgents went to the female dormitories and told the young women to go home, get married and abandon the Western education they said is anathema to Islam. All of the dead were teenage boys or young men.
The militants have increasingly preyed on civilians, both Muslim and Christian. Some 300 people have died in attacks this month alone.
JERUSALEM-HOLY SITE
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police stormed a sensitive Jerusalem holy site to disperse a violent protest there, hours before the Israeli parliament debated a nationalist lawmaker's motion to extend control over it.
Police say about 20 masked Palestinian youths hurled stones and firecrackers at troops from atop the Temple Mount on Tuesday. Police then entered the compound and arrested three people. A spokesman says two police officers were lightly wounded.
The site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, is ground zero in the territorial and religious conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Clashes often erupt after Muslims conclude their prayers. Jews typically pray below at the Western Wall but tensions have grown lately with an increased number of Jews arriving to pray at the Temple Mount as well.
Revered as Islam's third holiest spot, the site's iconic gold-topped Dome of the Rock enshrines the rock where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven. Jews believe the rock may be where the holiest part of the two ancient temples stood about 2,000 years ago — and where religious Jews pray a third temple will one day be built.
VATICAN-LEGION OF CHRIST
Pope's envoy for Legion ends mandate
ROME (AP) — The pope's envoy running the troubled Legion of Christ has ended his three-year reform effort and declared that the order is "cured and cleaned."
But Cardinal Velasio De Paolis says the order still bears the guilt of its pedophile founder and the superiors who delayed admitting his crimes.
Pope Benedict intervened after a Vatican investigation determined the Legion had been infected by its founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel (mars-YAHL' mahs-YEL'). He sexually abused his seminarians, fathered at least three children and built a cult-like system of power based on silence, deceit and obedience.
Dozens of priests and hundreds of seminarians have left the order in recent years, horrified by the revelations about Maciel or disillusioned over the reform process.
SPRINGFIELD-TYPHOON RELIEF
Springfield, Mass., Catholics give $80,000 for Philippines
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Roman Catholics in western Massachusetts have helped raise more than $80,000 to help victims of the typhoon that struck the Philippines last year.
The Springfield Diocese's accounting department reported that a total of $78,000 has been remitted to Catholic Relief Services and another $2,400 has been received recently and will be sent to CRS within the next two weeks.
The typhoon that struck the nation last November killed thousands of people and left many more injured, homeless and without livelihoods.
The money helps repair or build shelters and has brought clean water and sanitation services to thousands of displaced people.
BUS DRIVER SHOT
Police: Ohio driver's bible booklet stops bullet
CINCINNATI (AP) — Police in Dayton, Ohio, say a biblical booklet in a shirt pocket apparently helped a bus driver survive a shooting.
The driver for the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority told Dayton police he was standing outside the bus early Monday morning when three men shot at him three times, with one bullet hitting his leg. He also was stabbed in the arm.
Rickey Wagoner told police he fought back, grabbed the gun and the men ran away. Wagoner told police he fired at them before driving the bus to a safe location and calling for help.
Wagoner said in a 911 call that he felt two shots to his chest. Police said in their report that two small-caliber bullets hit the booklet called "The Message," which has Bible verses in contemporary language and were found lodged inside the book.
Wagoner told police he just started carrying the book about a week ago.
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