1977-78இல் எதியோப்பியாவின் கம்யுனிஸ்ட் தலைவர் மென்ஞ்சிஸ்டு செய்த இனப்படுகொலையில் அவருக்கு எதிராக இருந்த 100000 பேர்களுக்கு மேலானோர் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்டனர்.
இவ்வாறு கொலை செய்யப்பட்ட பலர் தெருவோரங்களில் அப்படியே போட்டு கம்யூனிஸ்ட் தலைவரின் எதிரிகளுக்கு எச்சரிக்கையாக விடப்பட்டனர்.
ஆயிரக்கணக்கான எத்தியோப்பிய மக்கள் அமைதியாக ஊர்வலம் சென்று "சிவப்பு பயங்கரம்" ("Red Terror")என்று அழைக்கப்படும் படுகொலையில் இறந்தவர்களுக்கான மறுஅடக்கம் செய்தனர்.
இவ்வாறு கொல்லப்பட்டவர்களின் உறவினர்கள் தங்கள் உறவினர்களின் புகைப்படங்களுடன் ஊர்வலத்தில் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.
இவர்கள் "மறுபடியும் எத்தியோப்பியாவில் இது போல நடக்கக்கூடாது" என்று கோஷமிட்டு சென்றனர்.
இந்தியாவின் கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளுக்கு ஆதரவு தெரிவிக்கும் அப்பாவிகள் இது போல எதிர்காலத்தில் ஊர்வலம் செல்லக்கூடாது என்று விரும்புவோம்.
Ethiopia re-buries victims of Mengistu's Red Terror
27 May 2007 12:05:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
Alert Me | Printable view | Email this article | RSS [-] Text [+]
By Tsegaye Tadesse
ADDIS ABABA, May 27 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Ethiopians marched on Sunday to re-bury victims of the Mengistu regime's "Red Terror" purge who were dumped in mass graves after being left on street corners as a warning to others.
The crowds joined a funeral cortege of 27 caskets carried by black-draped vehicles and a military band playing sombre songs, as it rolled down the main avenues of the capital Addis Ababa to the city's main Meskel Square.
Church bells tolled and the city observed a minute's silence to remember the victims of a slaughter carried out on the orders of Marxist ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1977-78 in which as many as 100,000 of his potential opponents were murdered.
Retired Lt. Col. Berhaun Meshesha, 80, whose lost his five children between ages 12 and 18, recalled how Mengistu's Revolutionary Guards stormed his house 30 years ago.
"They pulled my children who were still sleeping out of their beds and took them off barefoot. We were later told they were all killed," tears coursing down his face.
"I am here today because I believe the remains of my children could be among those who we are being given a decent burial."
The remains were exhumed from mass graves on the outskirts of the capital. The bodies were dumped there after they were gathered from street corners where they had been thrown as warning to others who dared to oppose Mengistu.
Thousands of grieving family members carrying photographs of the deceased joined Sunday's procession to the site where a mausoleum that is going to be built will herald the victims as martyrs with a sign declaring: "Never Again in Ethiopia."
Abebe Hailue, 75, who lost his only son in the Red Terror called on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, to extradite Mengistu so he can face justice.
"Ethiopia helped Mugabe in his struggle for independence. How can he pay us back by giving sanctuary to a man who massacred our young children, who had never committed any crime?" he asked.
Mengistu lives in luxurious exile in a wealthy neighbourhood under the protection of Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe, where he fled in 1991 after guerrillas led by current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi overthrew his 17-year regime.
After a 12-year trial, a court in January sentenced Mengistu in absentia to life in prison for genocide during his rule, but Zimbabwe said it had no plans to extradite him.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
தாய்லாந்தில் முஸ்லீம் தீவிரவாதிகளால் குண்டுவெடிப்பு 9 பேர் படுகாயம்
தாய்லாந்தில் தெற்கு ஹாய்யாய் மாகாணத்தில் குண்டுவெடிப்பில் 9 பேர் படுகாயமடைந்தனர். இதுவும் ஒரு முஸ்லீம் தீவிரவாதிகளது வெடிகுண்டு வெடிப்பு என்று போலீஸார் கூறுகிறார்கள்.
தாய்லாந்து தெற்கில் இருக்கும் பௌத்தர்களை விரட்டி இன சுத்திகரிப்பு செய்து முஸ்லீம் பெரும்பான்மை மாநிலமாக ஆக்க, அங்கிருக்கும் முஸ்லீம் சிறுபான்மையினர் கலவரத்தை உருவாக்கி வருகிறார்கள்.
Bombs hit southern Thai city, nine wounded
27 May 2007 16:08:21 GMT
Source: Reuters
Alert Me | Printable view | Email this article | RSS [-] Text [+]
Background
Thailand violence
More (Updates number of bombs, wounded)
BANGKOK, May 27 (Reuters) - Seven small bombs wounded at least nine people in the southern Thai city of Hai Yai on Sunday in an attack resembling ones carried out by Muslim separatists, police said.
Army-commander-in-chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin declined to say immediately if separatists were responsible for the attacks, but said the bombs, all the size of soda cans, were aimed at causing chaos rather than major damage.
"The bombs weren't meant to destroy or sabotage, but just to wreak havoc," Sonthi, the leader of the bloodless coup which ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year, told TITV television.
One of the wounded was in serious condition after the bombs hit two department stores, two hotels, a restaurant, a Chinese shrine and a pharmacy in the city, the centre of the rubber trade in Thailand, the world's biggest producer, police said.
Muslim insurgents have hit several cities in the far south, an independent sultanate until annexed by overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand a century ago, with a series of small bombs designed to cause chaos rather than mass deaths.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in the latest insurgency in the region, where most people speak a Malay dialect, since it erupted in January 2004.
The latest was a soldier killed in an ambush in Yala province on Sunday morning. Four of his colleagues were wounded in a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their patrol, police said.
தாய்லாந்து தெற்கில் இருக்கும் பௌத்தர்களை விரட்டி இன சுத்திகரிப்பு செய்து முஸ்லீம் பெரும்பான்மை மாநிலமாக ஆக்க, அங்கிருக்கும் முஸ்லீம் சிறுபான்மையினர் கலவரத்தை உருவாக்கி வருகிறார்கள்.
Bombs hit southern Thai city, nine wounded
27 May 2007 16:08:21 GMT
Source: Reuters
Alert Me | Printable view | Email this article | RSS [-] Text [+]
Background
Thailand violence
More (Updates number of bombs, wounded)
BANGKOK, May 27 (Reuters) - Seven small bombs wounded at least nine people in the southern Thai city of Hai Yai on Sunday in an attack resembling ones carried out by Muslim separatists, police said.
Army-commander-in-chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin declined to say immediately if separatists were responsible for the attacks, but said the bombs, all the size of soda cans, were aimed at causing chaos rather than major damage.
"The bombs weren't meant to destroy or sabotage, but just to wreak havoc," Sonthi, the leader of the bloodless coup which ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year, told TITV television.
One of the wounded was in serious condition after the bombs hit two department stores, two hotels, a restaurant, a Chinese shrine and a pharmacy in the city, the centre of the rubber trade in Thailand, the world's biggest producer, police said.
Muslim insurgents have hit several cities in the far south, an independent sultanate until annexed by overwhelmingly Buddhist Thailand a century ago, with a series of small bombs designed to cause chaos rather than mass deaths.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in the latest insurgency in the region, where most people speak a Malay dialect, since it erupted in January 2004.
The latest was a soldier killed in an ambush in Yala province on Sunday morning. Four of his colleagues were wounded in a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their patrol, police said.
கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளும் முஸ்லீம்தீவிரவாதிகளும் வெடித்த குண்டுகளின் எண்ணிக்கை 8500
கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளும் இஸ்லாமிய தீவிரவாதிகளும் இதுவரை இந்தியாவில் வெடித்த குண்டுகளின் மொத்த எண்ணிக்கை 8500ஐ தாண்டுகிறது. இது பற்றிய அவுட்லுக் பத்திரிக்கை செய்தி
To Stop A Bomb
They have data from over 8,500 blasts. Sadly, more pours in daily.
Saikat Datta
Explosive Data
National Bomb Data Centre has been collating information on over 8,000 blasts. Here are its key conclusions:
Majority of the bomb blasts take place in Jammu and Kashmir. But Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Tamil Nadu also have high incidence.
The last two years have seen a perceptible shift from military-grade explosives to locally-procured material such as ammonia nitrate and plaster of paris
Time-delay mechanism favoured as it allows terrorists to escape before a blast
***
A bombed-out and mangled Premier Padmini occupies the pride of place on the manicured lawns outside the National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) building on the sprawling campus in Manesar, 45 km outside Delhi. Inside the building, a team of officers pore over data every morning trying to understand how tiny mechanisms that cause massive explosions work. "Blowing things up is our bread and butter. The more we blow things up, the better we understand them and we could use the data generated to prevent further attacks," says Colonel Ajay Ahooja, the new director of NBDC, who took over last week.
Set up in 2000, the NBDC has used its limited resources at hand wisely. Placed under the National Security Guards (NSG), it became the repository for all bomb-making and disposal data. Every year, it collates material on nearly 250 bomb blasts across the country, hoping to spot emerging trends, new designs and "fingerprint" the bomb-makers.
"We don't have the expertise to track the actual bomb-maker yet," says Ahooja, "but we can broadly identify the organisation that is behind a blast." From studying printed circuit boards to detonators, trigger mechanisms, fuses, and battery cells, the NBDC has tried to build up a databank that is on the frontline of India's efforts to combat terrorism. Armed with information on 8,848 blasts since 2000, it is trying to crack the bomb-maker's code. For years they have been tracking trends, some discernible, some confusing and some ominous. Here are a few:
From 2004 the number of bomb blasts have gone down but the number of casualties has gone up; that is, the intensity of the blasts have increased.
From the crude IEDs of the early 1990s, bombs have become more sophisticated with intricate trigger mechanisms such as radio or remote control, with time-delay features.
While the early '90s saw a flush of weapons-grade explosives, indicating active support from across the border, the new trend is to procure locally available material.
The quantity of explosives used in cities is much less than the ones in rural areas. High population density in cities makes explosions more devastating.
The trigger mechanism for bombs for assassinating prominent leaders are far more sophisticated than the ones aimed at causing mass casualties.
Over the years, experts at the NBDC have been playing the cat-and-mouse game to stay a few steps ahead of the terrorists. But that happens rarely because the terrorist is only limited by his ingenuity. The best bombs, experts agree, come from the jehadi groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed. "They usually have the best circuitry and trigger mechanisms and have time-delay features to ensure that the terrorist can get away safely before the blast," says a NBDC official.
But new challenges have surfaced with spurt in bomb attacks by Naxal groups. While probing one on former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, investigators discovered some simple but startling implements. "They used a camera flash-gun to trigger an explosion that could almost bring a building down," says an expert.
The Naxal insurgent group used four 1.5-volt pencil cells to trigger off a sizable explosion. A rudimentary understanding of physics, says an analyst, helps the bomb-maker go a long way.
A worrying trend in the last two years is the use of locally procured ingredients. From Delhi's Sarojini Nagar market blasts to the Mumbai train explosions, there has been a growth of explosives made out of innocuous items such as fertiliser and plaster of paris. "It is a myth that RDX is the preferred choice of terrorists. Now they use material that could be bought over the counter and then put together." And how far are we from identifying the actual bomb-makers? "For that we will still have to fall back on good, solid intelligence," a senior intelligence official told Outlook, "but the more methodical we get, the chances of fingerprinting the bomb-maker improves substantially."
With the intensity of attacks going up, the NBDC is under pressure to upgrade its facilities. It has a fairly decent forensic laboratory but hasn't found a suitable scientist to run it. It does have a huge electronic database but the need for a wide area network is imperative. "Ideally we would like to have representatives in every district so that we get authentic data," says a senior NSG official. Such minor glitches continue to dog the NBDC's efforts. While it posts a 23-column "feedback" form for state agencies, it has not been able to augment its communication channels. For an organisation of its importance, it has a phone that is difficult to get through and an e-mail that does not work. This prevents the flow of information between different departments when a coordinated effort is the need of the hour.
But, despite these hiccups, the NBDC is learning and growing fast. It has been successful in recreating most of the major blasts in the country, adding valuable data that helps connect critical dots in an investigation. "Our latest challenge is the blasts in the Samjhauta Express. It had a printed circuit board and a timer-delay device that could be switched on or switched off by turning the lock key," says a senior NBDC official. This helps investigators understand the sophistication of the terrorists, their external linkages, if any, as well minute details such as the fact that the terrorists, in this particular case wanted to cause death by burning rather than through the blast.
While analysis is a constant activity at the NBDC, every new blast brings in fresh data. The latest blast at the Mecca masjid in Hyderabad is now on the radar. As analysts discuss possibilities with Andhra police, they are veering around to a few basic facts. "The bomb was ingenious but not very reliable. Cell phone signals can get jammed or you could fail to make the call. But a pattern will definitely emerge," a post-blast investigator told Outlook. And so, investigators are waiting for what the next blast will bring. At one level it's a depressing wait, but for them it could mean the difference between life and death.
போரினால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட ஈராக் ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் மூலம் ஆன்மீகத்தை நாடுகிறது
ஈராக் அரசின் அதிகாரப்பூர்வ அழைப்பின் பேரில் ஈராக் வந்த ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் ஈராக் பிரதமர் நூரி அல் மலிகி அவர்களை பாக்தாதில் சந்தித்தார்
சுமார் 80 ஷியா தலைவர்களும் குழுமத்தலைவர்களும் ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களை சந்தித்து உரையாடினார்கள். அவர்களிடம் ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் வன்முறையை நிறுத்திவிட்டு ஆன்மீக அமைதி வழியை மேற்கொள்ளும்படி வற்புறுத்தினார்.
பிறகு ஈராக்கில் ஷியா சுன்னி போரால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டு கணவன்மார்களை இழந்த ஈராக் பெண்களை சந்தித்து உரையாடினார்.
எப்படி இறப்பது என்பதை மட்டுமே தெரிந்திருக்கும் இந்த நாட்டில் எப்படி வாழ்வது என்பதை கற்றுக்கொடுக்க வந்திருக்க்கும் ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கரை உளமாற வரவேற்கிறோம் என்று ஈராக் ரெட் கிரஸண்ட் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் தெரிவித்தார்.
பிறகு சுமார் 1000 ஈராக் சீடர்களுக்கு யோகா பயிற்சியும் பிரணாயாம பயிற்சியும் அளித்தார்.
நன்றி கல்ப் டைம்ஸ்
Ravaged by war, Iraqis turn to spiritual leader for solace
Published: Thursday, 24 May, 2007, 12:45 PM Doha Time
Spiritual leader and the founder of the Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meets Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malaki in Baghdad
NEW DELHI: Ravaged by violence, despairing Iraqis yesterday turned to Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for peace. Around 80 Shia and tribal leaders, mostly dressed in traditional Arab gear, listened attentively to Ravi Shankar at the office of a Shia group in Baghdad as he pleaded with them to end all killings.
According to his Art of Living Foundation, Ravi Shankar also met separately a group of grieving Iraqi women widowed by the unending insurgency and Shia-Sunni conflict.
While one tribal leader blamed the US for their suffering, a Red Crescent official told the guru to bring into Iraqi lives “the art of living since they only know the art of dying”, a spokesman for Ravi Shankar said by phone from Bangalore.
And Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki, who has invited Ravi Shankar as an ambassador of peace, urged him late Tuesday, shortly after his arrival, to help reform prisoners in Baghdad’s jails through yoga and meditation.
Art of Living officials said they were overwhelmed by the response to their guru’s three-day visit to Iraq.
“The response is simply terrific,” a spokesman said, quoting reports received from Baghdad. “The people of Iraq want peace and deserve peace.”
The Art of Living Foundation, which enjoys a vast following in India and abroad, says the yoga, meditation and breathing techniques it advocates are powerful weapons than can kill anxiety and depression that have gripped Iraq.
Seated on a raised platform and speaking in English with an Arabic interpreter in attendance, Ravi Shankar referred to Mahatma Gandhi and urged Shia and tribal leaders: “Give non-violence a try, give peace a chance.” This was the message he conveyed to everyone, his aides said.
Ravi Shankar flew into Baghdad from Amman on Tuesday. His entourage took two-and-a-half hours to cover the short distance from the Baghdad airport to his hotel in the US-protected Green Zone area.
The Art of Living Foundation, which has been active in Iraq for four years and has many Iraqi volunteers, runs prisoner reform programmes in several cities including New Delhi.
Earlier, Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit met Ravi Shankar in Amman, where the guru presided over a meeting of 1,000 people eager to learn yoga, meditation and breathing techniques.
Ravi Shankar is to visit the Art of Living trauma relief centre in Baghdad and then return to Amman where he will give a lecture at the University of Jordan and attend a VIP reception in his honour.
Since 2003, the Art of Living and its sister concern, The International Association for Human Values, have been working under difficult circumstances in Iraq to help people overcome their deep pain and suffering. – IANS
மீண்டும் அஸாம் கம்யூனிஸ்டுகள் உழைக்கும் மக்களை தாக்கியிருக்கின்றனர்
அஸ்ஸாம் உல்பா கம்யூனிஸ்டுகள் மீண்டும் உழைப்பாளிகளை தாக்கி 6 பேரை கொன்று பலரை படுகாயமடையச் செய்திருக்கின்றனர்.
பிடிஐ செய்தி
Assam bomb blast kills seven, another bomb defused
The injured being taken to hospital from the blast site, after a powerful bomb exploded by ULFA militants in Athgaon area of Guwahati city on Saturday. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar
Guwahati, May 26 (PTI): The ULFA today struck in a big way on the eve of Tarun Gogoi government's one year in office by exploding a powerful bomb in the heart of this city killing seven persons and injuring 30 others, as security forces also seized a time bomb in an unclaimed trunk from a train.
The powerful bomb hidden in an autorickshaw went off at around 10.45 am at Athgaon area killing five passersby and shoppers on the spot, police said.
Two injured persons succumbed to their injuries at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
The explosion impacted an LPG cylinder being transported at the time in a cycle rickshaw which exploded injuring 30 others and damaged two vehicles and two autorickshaws, the sources said.
The incident comes on the eve of Tarun Gogoi government's one year in office in its second term.
Utter confusion and panic followed the blasts as police moved in and cordoned off the area.
A PTI correspondent on the scene found headless bodies and body parts strewn on the road where the blast occurred.
Twentytwo of the injured were admitted to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital, one to the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Civil Hospital and others to private hospitals.
People at nearby Fancy Bazar took to the streets to protest the blast and pelted stones at the police.
Meanwhile, another major mishap was averted with the recovery of a nine kg live programmable time device in an unclaimed trunk from a compartment of the the Delhi-Guwahati Bramhaputra Mail at Kokrajhar railway station.
The GRP found the trunk and offloaded it from the train and called in sniffer dogs and the army bomb disposal squad.
The bomb was taken away for defusing.
Centre acts swiftly, rushes forces
Acting swiftly, the Centre today rushed additional para-military forces to beef up security in Assam after ULFA militants triggered a powerful blast in Guwahati which left seven persons dead and 30 injured.
The Union Home Ministry directed the state government to remain vigilant and ensure that nothing untoward happens, a Ministry spokesman said.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil strongly condemned the blast, which occurred on the eve of Tarun Gogoi Government's completion of one year in office.
While Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta rang up the state Chief Secretary to take stock of the situation, the Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry spoke to the state poice chief.
ULFA triggers seven blasts in May
The proscribed ULFA has been triggering blasts in Assam with uniform regularity setting off seven explosive devices, including five in the capital city, this month, killing nine persons and injuring 100 others.
The insurgent outfit also made an abortive bid to explode another bomb during the month in the city.
The ULFA today triggered the explosion of a powerful bomb concealed inside an auto-rickshaw near the Marwari Maternity Hospital at the commercial Athgaon area, killing seven persons and injuring 30 others.
On May 18, the ULFA set off a bomb in adjacent Fancy Bazar injuring 20.
The local people, irked over the frequent blasts in the area, came out in thousands to stage a violent protest today alleging police failure to provide security.
The business community suspected that some ULFA members, in an attempt at land-grabbing in the prime commercial area of Fancy Bazar and nearby Athgaon, were triggering blasts to create a fear psychosis.
Athgaon has witnessed blasts carried out by ULFA twice earlier when on May 6, 19 persons were injured and on May 14, two persons were killed and eight others injured.
Earlier on May 3, the ULFA exploded a bomb in the premises of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown here injuring two of its employees.
On May 10, seven persons were injured in Upper Assam's Sibsagar town when one of ULFA's women cadres left a bag containing an explosive device inside a pathological centre.
On May 21, the banned outfit injured 14 persons in a powerful bomb explosion in Lower Assam's Bongaigaon district.
பகவத்கீதைக்கு நவீன ஆங்கில மொழிபெயர்ப்பு- விர்ஜினியா பேராசிரியர்
பகவத்கீதைக்கு ஏராளமான மொழிபெயர்ப்புகள் உள்ளன. இன்னொரு ஆங்கில மொழிபெயர்ப்பை பகவத்கீதையை வெகுகாலம் படித்து உணர்ந்து பயன்படுத்திய கிரிஸ்டோபர் நியுபோர்ட் பல்கலைக்கழக பேராசிரியர் கிரகாம் எம் ஸ்விக் அவர்கள் உருவாக்கியிருக்கிறார்கள்.
அதன் கவித்துவம், அழகு உள்ளுறை கெடாமல் ஒரு முயற்சி செய்திருப்பதாக கூறுகிறார்.
அமெரிக்காவில் விர்ஜினியா மாநிலத்தில் உள்ள இந்த பல்கலைக்கழகம் மிகவும் புகழ்பெற்றது.
Christopher Newport scholar gives Hindu poem a fresh 'polish'
Graham M. Schweig is the author of a new translation of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the best-known Hindu works in the West. His aim, he says, was to capture its poetry without dumbing it down or making it too esoteric.
By STEVEN G. VEGH , The Virginian-Pilot
© May 26, 2007
NEWPORT NEWS - He's a meditation master who teaches religion, but when Graham M. Schweig ponders the ways other translators have treated his beloved Bhagavad Gita, inner peace yields to bloodthirsty disdain.
"They should be taken out and shot," said Schweig, a Christopher Newport University scholar whose new translation, "Bhagavad Gita: The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song," was released last month by the publishing house HarperCollins.
There's no lack of translations of the Gita, a Sanskrit poem more than 2,000 years old that was first rendered into English in 1785.
The Indian text, which examines divine answers to humanity's age-old spiritual dilemmas, quickly became the best-known Hindu work in the West. It remains widely available, with readers ranging from college students to devotees of eastern religion.
But Schweig, 53, who teaches Indian and comparative religion, condemns most versions as feckless betrayals of the original Gita.
He said they're either so dumbed down and abbreviated that they treat the Gita like pop religion or so scholarly that they rob the text of its rich, poetic style.
Schweig said his duty was clear: "Get out of the way and let the text shine through, like a beautiful gem that is polished over and over and over until it glows."
Schweig prides himself on the difference between his work and others'. In his Newport News home, brimming with Indian art, he flipped open his book to a random page.
Scholar Graham M. Schweig embraces the spirituality of the Bhagavad Gita as his personal faith and performs yoga as a religious practice. Genevieve Ross/The Virginian-Pilot
"This is the way this verse is typically translated: 'I am the source of everything and everything emanates from me,' " Schweig recited.
Then his own translation: " 'I am, of everything, the coming forth into being; from me everything is set forth into motion.' "
Schweig looked up with deep satisfaction. "It's rich! Poetically rich, philosophically rich," he said contentedly. "So you don't have to take me out and shoot me."
At Harper, senior editor Eric Brandt said the "sheer force" of Schweig's enthusiasm and his high standing among Hindu studies scholars persuad ed the publishing house to commission the new translation. The book also was endorsed by Huston Smith, a renowned religion expert.
The edition includes the Gita's full text in Sanskrit, a Sanskrit pronunciation guide, a commentary on the text, footnoted annotations and a verse index.
Brandt said the book is being marketed to libraries, academics, bookstores, Hindu centers in the United States and the 50 biggest yoga studios in the country. "We're very proud to have published this," he said.
The Gita remains important to Hindus, including members of the Hindu Temple of Hampton Roads in Chesapeake, which has about 500 members.
Vinod B. Agarwal, an Old Dominion University professor and temple trustee, said the principal deities of the Gita - Radha and Krishna - are reverenced in mantras and worship.
Agarwal also said new English editions of the Gita might appeal even to Hindus with Indian roots, such as his daughters.
Of the three, only one reads Hindi, an Indian language. "For the other two, the English translation would be much more useful than Hindi or Sanskrit," he said.
Given his Austro-Hungarian heritage and Reform Jewish background, Schweig's destiny seemed unlikely to include deciphering ancient Sanskrit.
Born in Manhattan and raised in Washington, he cared little for books until he was cured at 13 of a sight disorder that had made reading a chore.
Schweig said he quickly came to love the Bhagavad Gita and learned Sanskrit while earning a doctorate in comparative religion at Harvard.
"It's absolutely gorgeous language, and this is where I live - I live in these verses, in this poetry, in this poetic world," said Schweig, who spent three years translating the Gita.
Schweig also embraces the spirituality in the Gita as his personal faith. He is a strict vegetarian, and he converted his home's dining room into a meditation room, with Hindu deities, paintings, pillows and an Oriental rug. He calls himself a yogi and performs yoga as a religious practice.
Schweig - who has lectured on his work at the Smithsonian Institution, Oxford and other universities - credits his scholarship with revealing unknown features in the ancient text.
"One of the things I discovered was the Gita was a whole lot more about yoga than anyone had supposed prior to me," said Schweig, who teaches yoga workshops in Hampton Roads.
According to Schweig, yoga positions balance the body so the metaphysical self is set free to find and unite with the divine.
The Bhagavad Gita also portrays a God who is far more tender than the Creator portrayed in Judaism or Christianity, he said.
Jesus may be the prince of peace, Schweig said, but in the West, "God is a god of judgment. He's a jealous god, he's a god of punishment."
But in the Gita, the supreme deity is more secret suitor than demanding overlord, Schweig said.
In fact, the god of the Gita intentionally soft-pedals his yearning for union with humanity so that mutual affection can build naturally, Schweig said.
"He knows that if he keeps his love song secret, we stand the chance of loving him purely without the threat of condemnation because love can never be forced," Schweig said. "He sends out a secret love song for those who are ready to hear it."
Reach Steven G. Vegh at (757) 446-2417 or steven.vegh@pilotonline.com.
கத்தோலிக்க ஆராதனை இனி லத்தீன் மொழியில் மட்டுமே
16ஆம் நூற்றாண்டு வரை லத்தீனில் மட்டுமே நடைபெற்று வந்த கத்தோலிக்க மாஸ் (mass) பிறகு பிராந்திய மொழியிலும் நடைபெறலாம் என்று மாற்றப்பட்டது.
இப்போது அது மீண்டும் மாற்றப்பட இருக்கிறது. இனி எல்லா கத்தோலிக்க சர்ச்சுகளும் பிராந்திய மொழிகளில் மாஸ் வைப்பது தடை செய்யப்படும். இனி லத்தீன் மொழியில் மட்டுமே மாஸ் வைக்க வேண்டும் என்று ஆக்கப்பட இருக்கிறது.
இதனை கத்தோலிக்க அமைப்புக்குள்ளேயே சிலர் எதிர்ப்பதாகவும் கூறப்படுகிறது.
இந்த போப் பெனடிக்ட் என்பவர் முன்பு எழுதிய புத்தகத்தில் லத்தீன் பிரார்த்தனைகளை கத்தோலிக்கர்கள் எல்லோரும் கற்றுக்கொள்ளவேண்டும் என்று வற்புறுத்தியிருக்கிறார்.
Pope Considers Return to Latin Mass
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, May 26, 2007
(05-26) 13:17 PDT VATICAN CITY, (AP) --
It was one of the most radical reforms to emerge from the Second Vatican Council. The Mass, root of Roman Catholic worship, would be celebrated in the local language and not in Latin.
Now, little more than a generation later, Pope Benedict XVI is poised to revive the 16th-century Tridentine Mass.
In doing so, he will be overriding objections from some cardinals, bishops and Jews — whose complaints range from the text of the old Mass to the symbolic sweeping aside of the council's work from 1962-65. Many in the church regard Vatican II as a moment of badly needed reform and a new beginning, a view at odds with Benedict, who sees it as a renewal of church tradition.
A Vatican official, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, confirmed earlier this month that Benedict would soon relax the restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass because of a "new and renewed interest" in the celebration — especially among younger Catholics.
In recent decades, priests could only celebrate the Tridentine Mass with permission from their bishop. Church leaders are anxiously awaiting Benedict's decision, to see how far he will go in easing that rule.
Castrillon Hoyos denied the move represented a "step backward, a regression to times before the reforms." Rather, it was an attempt to give the faithful greater access to a "treasure" of the church.
Benedict also was acting, Castrillon Hoyos told bishops in Brazil, to reach out to an ultratraditionalist and schismatic group, the Society of St. Pius X, and bring it back into the Vatican's fold.
The late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the society in 1969 in Switzerland, opposed to Vatican II's reforms, particularly its liturgical reforms. The Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre in 1988 after he consecrated four bishops without Rome's consent. The bishops were excommunicated as well.
Benedict has been keen to reconcile with the group, which has demanded freer use of the old Mass as a precondition for normalizing relations.
But bishops in neighboring France, where Lefebvre's group is strong, have objected publicly to any liberalizing of the old rite, saying its broader use could lead to divisions within the church, and could imply a rejection of other Vatican II teachings.
"Such a decision risks endangering the unity among priests as well as the faithful," according to a statement issued late last year from the bishops of Strasbourg, Metz and Besancon.
Progressive Belgian Cardinal Godfried Daneels echoed that concern, saying that greater celebration of the Tridentine Mass could polarize the church and, depending on how the document is written, could lead to the "negation" of Vatican II reforms such as support for religious freedom.
"The rite is not the important thing, but what comes after," Daneels told The Associated Press. "We can't go back. Vatican II is a council like all the others."
Other concerns have come from groups involved in Christian-Jewish dialogue, because the Tridentine rite contains prayers that some non-Christians find offensive. By its very nature, the Tridentine liturgy predates the landmark documents from Vatican II on improving relations with Jews and people of other faiths.
Rabbi David Rosen, who is in charge of interfaith relations at the American Jewish Committee, said he wrote to several cardinals in March expressing concern about a prayer for the "unfaithful" in the Mass, as well a prayer used during the church's Holy Week liturgy which had contained references to "perfidious," or faithless, Jews.
He was assured by Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is in charge of the Vatican's relations with Jews, that the Tridentine missal used now doesn't contain the reference to the "perfidious" Jew.
But in a letter, Kasper added: "I was unable to obtain a clear answer" concerning the prayer for the unfaithful.
Monsignor James Moroney, the liturgy expert at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he didn't think the move would have a terribly significant impact because it affects so few people.
However, he said that in resurrecting and promoting the old rite "by definition you are rejecting the judgment on liturgical matters of pontifical and episcopal development" over the last 40 years.
Despite such concerns, Benedict is going ahead with the document, though a date for its release hasn't been announced.
The Tridentine rite differs significantly from the New Mass that emerged after Vatican II.
In addition to the Latin prayers, which are different from those used in the modern liturgy, the priest faces the altar, so that he is seen as leading the faithful in prayer. The rank and file don't participate actively in the service.
The pope's plans are being welcomed by "traditionalist" Roman Catholics who are still in good standing with Rome. These Catholics simply prefer the Tridentine service over the modern one — and their numbers are reportedly growing, particularly among the young for whom the old Mass is actually new.
"I don't think the pope would be addressing this if there weren't a growing number of people ... an increased interest not just among laity but among clergy," said Michael Dunnigan, the U.S. chairman of Una Voce, an international lay movement that seeks to preserve the Latin liturgy.
There are no global statistics on participation in Tridentine Masses. But in the United States — where demand appears to be higher than in much of Europe — 105 of the 176 Roman Catholic dioceses offer at least one traditional Mass each Sunday, Dunnigan said.
Ginevra Crosignani, 34, is a regular at the 10 a.m. Tridentine rite celebrated each Sunday at the Gesu e Maria church in central Rome. She says she started coming about 10 years ago and finds it a much more transcendent experience than the modern services, which she said were more like going to a "nightclub" because of the music and showman-like role of the priest.
"The New Order became a social celebration rather than a religious celebration," she said one recent Sunday as she put away the white lace scarf she wore over her head.
The pews at the Mass had been full — and more than half the people looked to be under 40.
"Before, it was more old people attached to that rite," she said. "I think young people (now) are looking for something, they're eager to find it and they don't find it in the New Order."
In a 1988 document, Pope John Paul II urged bishops to be generous in granting the so-called indults to allow the Tridentine rite to be celebrated. But many proponents say bishops have been stingy — either for personal reasons or because they simply don't have enough priests who know how to celebrate it.
To counter that, Una Voce is teaming up with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, a traditionalist community, to run a training seminar for priests to teach them the ritual-filled Latin Mass. "We've got a waiting list now," said Dunnigan.
Similarly, the seminaries of another small traditionalist community, the Institute for Christ the King, are overflowing, said the institute's vicar general, Monsignor R. Michael Schmitz.
"There is no vocation shortage at all," he said. "On the contrary, we have so many vocations we can't take them all."
Benedict has made clear for years that he greatly admires the Tridentine rite and has already incorporated Latin into Masses at St. Peter's.
In a recent document, Benedict urged seminarians and the faithful alike to learn Latin prayers, and in the 1997 book "Salt of the Earth" he said it was "downright indecent" for people who are still attached to the old rite to be denied it.
"I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it," then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said. "It's impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that."
__
Associated Press writer Rachel Zoll contributed from New York.
இப்போது அது மீண்டும் மாற்றப்பட இருக்கிறது. இனி எல்லா கத்தோலிக்க சர்ச்சுகளும் பிராந்திய மொழிகளில் மாஸ் வைப்பது தடை செய்யப்படும். இனி லத்தீன் மொழியில் மட்டுமே மாஸ் வைக்க வேண்டும் என்று ஆக்கப்பட இருக்கிறது.
இதனை கத்தோலிக்க அமைப்புக்குள்ளேயே சிலர் எதிர்ப்பதாகவும் கூறப்படுகிறது.
இந்த போப் பெனடிக்ட் என்பவர் முன்பு எழுதிய புத்தகத்தில் லத்தீன் பிரார்த்தனைகளை கத்தோலிக்கர்கள் எல்லோரும் கற்றுக்கொள்ளவேண்டும் என்று வற்புறுத்தியிருக்கிறார்.
Pope Considers Return to Latin Mass
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, May 26, 2007
(05-26) 13:17 PDT VATICAN CITY, (AP) --
It was one of the most radical reforms to emerge from the Second Vatican Council. The Mass, root of Roman Catholic worship, would be celebrated in the local language and not in Latin.
Now, little more than a generation later, Pope Benedict XVI is poised to revive the 16th-century Tridentine Mass.
In doing so, he will be overriding objections from some cardinals, bishops and Jews — whose complaints range from the text of the old Mass to the symbolic sweeping aside of the council's work from 1962-65. Many in the church regard Vatican II as a moment of badly needed reform and a new beginning, a view at odds with Benedict, who sees it as a renewal of church tradition.
A Vatican official, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, confirmed earlier this month that Benedict would soon relax the restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass because of a "new and renewed interest" in the celebration — especially among younger Catholics.
In recent decades, priests could only celebrate the Tridentine Mass with permission from their bishop. Church leaders are anxiously awaiting Benedict's decision, to see how far he will go in easing that rule.
Castrillon Hoyos denied the move represented a "step backward, a regression to times before the reforms." Rather, it was an attempt to give the faithful greater access to a "treasure" of the church.
Benedict also was acting, Castrillon Hoyos told bishops in Brazil, to reach out to an ultratraditionalist and schismatic group, the Society of St. Pius X, and bring it back into the Vatican's fold.
The late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the society in 1969 in Switzerland, opposed to Vatican II's reforms, particularly its liturgical reforms. The Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre in 1988 after he consecrated four bishops without Rome's consent. The bishops were excommunicated as well.
Benedict has been keen to reconcile with the group, which has demanded freer use of the old Mass as a precondition for normalizing relations.
But bishops in neighboring France, where Lefebvre's group is strong, have objected publicly to any liberalizing of the old rite, saying its broader use could lead to divisions within the church, and could imply a rejection of other Vatican II teachings.
"Such a decision risks endangering the unity among priests as well as the faithful," according to a statement issued late last year from the bishops of Strasbourg, Metz and Besancon.
Progressive Belgian Cardinal Godfried Daneels echoed that concern, saying that greater celebration of the Tridentine Mass could polarize the church and, depending on how the document is written, could lead to the "negation" of Vatican II reforms such as support for religious freedom.
"The rite is not the important thing, but what comes after," Daneels told The Associated Press. "We can't go back. Vatican II is a council like all the others."
Other concerns have come from groups involved in Christian-Jewish dialogue, because the Tridentine rite contains prayers that some non-Christians find offensive. By its very nature, the Tridentine liturgy predates the landmark documents from Vatican II on improving relations with Jews and people of other faiths.
Rabbi David Rosen, who is in charge of interfaith relations at the American Jewish Committee, said he wrote to several cardinals in March expressing concern about a prayer for the "unfaithful" in the Mass, as well a prayer used during the church's Holy Week liturgy which had contained references to "perfidious," or faithless, Jews.
He was assured by Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is in charge of the Vatican's relations with Jews, that the Tridentine missal used now doesn't contain the reference to the "perfidious" Jew.
But in a letter, Kasper added: "I was unable to obtain a clear answer" concerning the prayer for the unfaithful.
Monsignor James Moroney, the liturgy expert at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he didn't think the move would have a terribly significant impact because it affects so few people.
However, he said that in resurrecting and promoting the old rite "by definition you are rejecting the judgment on liturgical matters of pontifical and episcopal development" over the last 40 years.
Despite such concerns, Benedict is going ahead with the document, though a date for its release hasn't been announced.
The Tridentine rite differs significantly from the New Mass that emerged after Vatican II.
In addition to the Latin prayers, which are different from those used in the modern liturgy, the priest faces the altar, so that he is seen as leading the faithful in prayer. The rank and file don't participate actively in the service.
The pope's plans are being welcomed by "traditionalist" Roman Catholics who are still in good standing with Rome. These Catholics simply prefer the Tridentine service over the modern one — and their numbers are reportedly growing, particularly among the young for whom the old Mass is actually new.
"I don't think the pope would be addressing this if there weren't a growing number of people ... an increased interest not just among laity but among clergy," said Michael Dunnigan, the U.S. chairman of Una Voce, an international lay movement that seeks to preserve the Latin liturgy.
There are no global statistics on participation in Tridentine Masses. But in the United States — where demand appears to be higher than in much of Europe — 105 of the 176 Roman Catholic dioceses offer at least one traditional Mass each Sunday, Dunnigan said.
Ginevra Crosignani, 34, is a regular at the 10 a.m. Tridentine rite celebrated each Sunday at the Gesu e Maria church in central Rome. She says she started coming about 10 years ago and finds it a much more transcendent experience than the modern services, which she said were more like going to a "nightclub" because of the music and showman-like role of the priest.
"The New Order became a social celebration rather than a religious celebration," she said one recent Sunday as she put away the white lace scarf she wore over her head.
The pews at the Mass had been full — and more than half the people looked to be under 40.
"Before, it was more old people attached to that rite," she said. "I think young people (now) are looking for something, they're eager to find it and they don't find it in the New Order."
In a 1988 document, Pope John Paul II urged bishops to be generous in granting the so-called indults to allow the Tridentine rite to be celebrated. But many proponents say bishops have been stingy — either for personal reasons or because they simply don't have enough priests who know how to celebrate it.
To counter that, Una Voce is teaming up with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, a traditionalist community, to run a training seminar for priests to teach them the ritual-filled Latin Mass. "We've got a waiting list now," said Dunnigan.
Similarly, the seminaries of another small traditionalist community, the Institute for Christ the King, are overflowing, said the institute's vicar general, Monsignor R. Michael Schmitz.
"There is no vocation shortage at all," he said. "On the contrary, we have so many vocations we can't take them all."
Benedict has made clear for years that he greatly admires the Tridentine rite and has already incorporated Latin into Masses at St. Peter's.
In a recent document, Benedict urged seminarians and the faithful alike to learn Latin prayers, and in the 1997 book "Salt of the Earth" he said it was "downright indecent" for people who are still attached to the old rite to be denied it.
"I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it," then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said. "It's impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that."
__
Associated Press writer Rachel Zoll contributed from New York.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
பங்களாதேஷில் இரண்டு லட்சம் இந்துக்கள் நிலம் வீடு உடமைகளை இழந்துள்ளார்கள்.
பங்களாதேஷில் இரண்டு லட்சம் இந்து குடும்பங்கள் நிலம் வீடு உடமைகளை இழந்துள்ளார்கள்.
அபுல் பரகத் என்ற டாக்கா பல்கலைக்கழக பேராசிரியரின் ஆராய்ச்சிப்படி 2001இலிருந்து இன்றுவரை சுமார் ஒரு லட்சம் பிகாவுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட நிலங்களை இந்துக்குடும்பங்கள் இழந்துள்ளார்கள் என்று தெரிகிறது.
இந்துக்குடும்பங்களின் நிலங்களை அபகரிப்பதற்கென பாகிஸ்தான் அரசாங்கத்தால் 1965இல் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஒரு கருப்பு சட்டத்தை 2001இல் நீக்கினார்கள். இருந்தும், 2001இலிருந்து இதுவரை இவ்வளவு நிலங்கள் இவ்வாறு அபகரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன என்று தெரிகிறது.
Two lakh Hindu families in Bangladesh lost land since 2001
Dhaka, May 26: Annulment of an act, which has long been considered a "black law" for the minority Hindus, appeared to have brought no good to them with a study report Saturday saying nearly two lakh families of the minority community lost their land since it was scrapped in 2001.
Nearly two lakh Hindu families lost 1.22 lakh bighas of land, including their houses, in the past six years since the Vested Property Act was annulled in 2001 to return the "vested" property to their original owners, said findings of a study carried out by an independent research group.
According to Abul Barkat, a professor of Economics at Dhaka University who conducted the research, some 12 lakh or 44 per cent of the 27 lakh Hindu households in the country were affected since the Enemy Property Act of 1965 was enacted.
The then Pakistani regime enacted the law to confiscate the property of the Hindu families who fled the country when the India-Pakistan war broke out in 1965 while the post independent Bangladesh government renamed it as the Vested Property Act 1974.
After a protracted campaign by the rights groups and different forums of the Hindu community the then Awami League government of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina scrapped the law at the fag end of their five-year tenure.
Under the new law, an inventory of the still unsold vested property was due to be prepared within 90 days but the move was virtually stalled when her archrival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led rightwing coalition formed the government.
According to the study, politically powerful people grabbed most of the land during the BNP-led regime from 2001 to 2006.
Bureau Report
அபுல் பரகத் என்ற டாக்கா பல்கலைக்கழக பேராசிரியரின் ஆராய்ச்சிப்படி 2001இலிருந்து இன்றுவரை சுமார் ஒரு லட்சம் பிகாவுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட நிலங்களை இந்துக்குடும்பங்கள் இழந்துள்ளார்கள் என்று தெரிகிறது.
இந்துக்குடும்பங்களின் நிலங்களை அபகரிப்பதற்கென பாகிஸ்தான் அரசாங்கத்தால் 1965இல் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஒரு கருப்பு சட்டத்தை 2001இல் நீக்கினார்கள். இருந்தும், 2001இலிருந்து இதுவரை இவ்வளவு நிலங்கள் இவ்வாறு அபகரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன என்று தெரிகிறது.
Two lakh Hindu families in Bangladesh lost land since 2001
Dhaka, May 26: Annulment of an act, which has long been considered a "black law" for the minority Hindus, appeared to have brought no good to them with a study report Saturday saying nearly two lakh families of the minority community lost their land since it was scrapped in 2001.
Nearly two lakh Hindu families lost 1.22 lakh bighas of land, including their houses, in the past six years since the Vested Property Act was annulled in 2001 to return the "vested" property to their original owners, said findings of a study carried out by an independent research group.
According to Abul Barkat, a professor of Economics at Dhaka University who conducted the research, some 12 lakh or 44 per cent of the 27 lakh Hindu households in the country were affected since the Enemy Property Act of 1965 was enacted.
The then Pakistani regime enacted the law to confiscate the property of the Hindu families who fled the country when the India-Pakistan war broke out in 1965 while the post independent Bangladesh government renamed it as the Vested Property Act 1974.
After a protracted campaign by the rights groups and different forums of the Hindu community the then Awami League government of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina scrapped the law at the fag end of their five-year tenure.
Under the new law, an inventory of the still unsold vested property was due to be prepared within 90 days but the move was virtually stalled when her archrival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led rightwing coalition formed the government.
According to the study, politically powerful people grabbed most of the land during the BNP-led regime from 2001 to 2006.
Bureau Report
இஸ்லாமுக்கு மதம் மாறு என்று பாகிஸ்தானிய கிறிஸ்துவர்களுக்கு மிரட்டல்
பாகிஸ்தானிய கிறிஸ்துவர்களை கட்டாயமாக இஸ்லாமுக்கு மதம் மாறவேண்டும் இல்லையேல் கொலை செய்துவிடுவோம் என்று பாகிஸ்தானின் தாலிபான்கள் பாகிஸ்தானிய கிறிஸ்துவர்களுக்கு மிரட்டல் கடிதம் அனுப்பியுள்ளனர்.
மிரட்டல் கடிதத்தை பாகிஸ்தானிய கிறிஸ்துவர் காட்டுகிறார்.
Pakistani Christians warned to convert
Head of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance Shahbaz Bhatti, left, shows a threatening letter which Michael Javed, right, a Christian resident of Charsadda town, received during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Pakistani Christians living in a town beset by pro-Taliban militants sought government protection, a day before the expiry of an ultimatum warning them to convert. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
By Munir Ahmad, Associated Press Writer | May 16, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --Christians in a Pakistani town beset by pro-Taliban militants sought government protection Wednesday, the eve of a deadline for them to convert to Islam or face violence.
500 Pakistani Christians in Charsadda, a town in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, received letters earlier this month telling them to close their churches and convert by Thursday or be the target of "bomb explosions."
Several Christians, a tiny minority in the predominantly Muslim country, have fled town and others are living in fear, community leaders said.
Some complained that police were not taking the threat seriously.
"Police say someone is joking with us by writing these letters," Chaudhry Salim, a Charsadda Christian leader, said during a news conference in Islamabad. "They have deployed only two policemen at our churches ... this is the kind of security we are getting now."
Shahbaz Bhatti, a prominent Christian leader and head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, said the provincial government, which is controlled by a coalition of pro-Taliban religious parties, would bear blame for attacks after the deadline.
Bhatti also urged Muslim religious scholars to condemn the threats and said the federal government should take "concrete steps to provide protection" to Christians.
Asif Daudzai, a spokesman for the provincial government, asked Christians not to panic, saying authorities were doing all they could to ensure their protection.
"Christians are our brothers and sisters, and we will not allow any one to harm them," he told The Associated Press.
Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other religious minorities make up about 3 percent of Pakistan's 160 million residents.
Most live peacefully alongside the Muslim majority, although the groups have been targeted repeatedly in attacks blamed on extremists since the country allied itself with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Islamic radicals trying to impose Taliban-style social edicts in northwestern Pakistan are growing bolder, bombing shops selling Western films, threatening barbers for trimming beards and warning hotels to remove televisions from guest rooms.
Minorities and secular opposition parties say the government is doing too little to counter the "Talibanization" of growing swaths of the country.
------
Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.
மிரட்டல் கடிதத்தை பாகிஸ்தானிய கிறிஸ்துவர் காட்டுகிறார்.
Pakistani Christians warned to convert
Head of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance Shahbaz Bhatti, left, shows a threatening letter which Michael Javed, right, a Christian resident of Charsadda town, received during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Pakistani Christians living in a town beset by pro-Taliban militants sought government protection, a day before the expiry of an ultimatum warning them to convert. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
By Munir Ahmad, Associated Press Writer | May 16, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --Christians in a Pakistani town beset by pro-Taliban militants sought government protection Wednesday, the eve of a deadline for them to convert to Islam or face violence.
500 Pakistani Christians in Charsadda, a town in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, received letters earlier this month telling them to close their churches and convert by Thursday or be the target of "bomb explosions."
Several Christians, a tiny minority in the predominantly Muslim country, have fled town and others are living in fear, community leaders said.
Some complained that police were not taking the threat seriously.
"Police say someone is joking with us by writing these letters," Chaudhry Salim, a Charsadda Christian leader, said during a news conference in Islamabad. "They have deployed only two policemen at our churches ... this is the kind of security we are getting now."
Shahbaz Bhatti, a prominent Christian leader and head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, said the provincial government, which is controlled by a coalition of pro-Taliban religious parties, would bear blame for attacks after the deadline.
Bhatti also urged Muslim religious scholars to condemn the threats and said the federal government should take "concrete steps to provide protection" to Christians.
Asif Daudzai, a spokesman for the provincial government, asked Christians not to panic, saying authorities were doing all they could to ensure their protection.
"Christians are our brothers and sisters, and we will not allow any one to harm them," he told The Associated Press.
Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other religious minorities make up about 3 percent of Pakistan's 160 million residents.
Most live peacefully alongside the Muslim majority, although the groups have been targeted repeatedly in attacks blamed on extremists since the country allied itself with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Islamic radicals trying to impose Taliban-style social edicts in northwestern Pakistan are growing bolder, bombing shops selling Western films, threatening barbers for trimming beards and warning hotels to remove televisions from guest rooms.
Minorities and secular opposition parties say the government is doing too little to counter the "Talibanization" of growing swaths of the country.
------
Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.
பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரியார் ஒரு 13 வயது சிறுமியை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததாக குற்றச்சாட்டு
பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரியார் ஒரு 13 வயது சிறுமியை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததாக குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
Former deacon accused of raping teen 7:24 AM
07:24 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 16, 2007
By MELISSA MARTIN / WCNC
E-mail Melissa: MMartin@WCNC.com
Former deacon accused or raping teen GASTONIA - A former church deacon is accused of sexually assaulting a teenager.
Gastonia police arrested Paul Kevin Shive, 42, on Monday after allegations he sexually molested a then 13-year-old girl in Gastonia. He is charged with statutory rape, indecent liberties of a child and a crime against nature. Shive is a former deacon at New Hope Baptist Church in Gastonia.
Shive made his first appearance in court Tuesday afternoon and told the judge he understood the charges. He also waived his right to a public defender, having already retained a defense attorney. When asked about the charges, he was silent. The victim’s family was also present in the courtroom.
According to the arrest warrants, the alleged incident took place at Shive's home in November. Gastonia Police say the victim's mother reported the allegations to police on Saturday. Investigators say Shive and the victim's family are friends and go to church together, although they do not think his role in the church had anything to do with the charges.
Reverend Ned Buckner of New Hope Baptist said he is shocked by the allegations and that Shive is the last person in the world he would think would be accused of this. Shive still very involved in the church and is a well respected member of the church. Buckner said the news was like a tornado hitting the church. He said he will be praying for everyone involved.
Police said they are not aware of any other alleged victims, but they are looking into that possibility.
“Naturally anytime someone is charged with a sex offense against a child and they are around children, yes we are concerned,” said Gastonia Police Sergeant Gene Weaver.
Former deacon accused of raping teen 7:24 AM
07:24 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 16, 2007
By MELISSA MARTIN / WCNC
E-mail Melissa: MMartin@WCNC.com
Former deacon accused or raping teen GASTONIA - A former church deacon is accused of sexually assaulting a teenager.
Gastonia police arrested Paul Kevin Shive, 42, on Monday after allegations he sexually molested a then 13-year-old girl in Gastonia. He is charged with statutory rape, indecent liberties of a child and a crime against nature. Shive is a former deacon at New Hope Baptist Church in Gastonia.
Shive made his first appearance in court Tuesday afternoon and told the judge he understood the charges. He also waived his right to a public defender, having already retained a defense attorney. When asked about the charges, he was silent. The victim’s family was also present in the courtroom.
According to the arrest warrants, the alleged incident took place at Shive's home in November. Gastonia Police say the victim's mother reported the allegations to police on Saturday. Investigators say Shive and the victim's family are friends and go to church together, although they do not think his role in the church had anything to do with the charges.
Reverend Ned Buckner of New Hope Baptist said he is shocked by the allegations and that Shive is the last person in the world he would think would be accused of this. Shive still very involved in the church and is a well respected member of the church. Buckner said the news was like a tornado hitting the church. He said he will be praying for everyone involved.
Police said they are not aware of any other alleged victims, but they are looking into that possibility.
“Naturally anytime someone is charged with a sex offense against a child and they are around children, yes we are concerned,” said Gastonia Police Sergeant Gene Weaver.
பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ சேவை நிறுவனங்கள் கட்டாயமதமாற்றம் செய்வதாய் குற்றச்சாட்டு
கெண்டகி மாநிலம் பாப்டிஸ்ட் சேவை நிறுவனங்களுக்கு பணம் கொடுப்பதை எதிர்த்து பலர் கெண்டகி மாநிலத்தின் மீது வழக்கு தொடுத்திருக்கின்றனர்.
இவ்வாறு பணம் பெறும் பாப்டிஸ்ட் நிறுவனங்கள் அவர்களது சேவையை பெறுபவர்களை கட்டாயமாக கிறிஸ்துவமதத்துக்கு மாற்றுவதாகவும் குறிப்பாக பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ மதத்துக்கு மாற்றுவதாகவும் குற்றம் சாட்டியிருக்கின்றனர்.
நன்றி கூரியர் ஜர்னல்
Baptist Homes accused of forced religion
Dozens allege they were coerced
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Children in a state-funded Baptist social-services program claimed in dozens of exit interviews that they were forced into Christian or specifically Baptist practices or were discouraged from practicing their own religion, according to court records.
The interviews came to light as part of a lawsuit filed by a fired employee and four other taxpayers who are challenging state funding for Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children.
Representatives of the state and Baptist Homes say that the agency's policy is not to proselytize and that violations, if any, are rare.
They also say that in annual reviews, the agency's programs often scored higher than the state average on respecting children's cultural and religious backgrounds and that the complaints are a handful, compared with the estimated 1,500 children the agency serves each year.
Several of the complaints came from children who said they were Catholics, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses or atheists.
"They tried to more (or) less force me to become a Christian," said a child who had stayed at the Baptist Youth Ranch in Elizabethtown. "I just felt I was being pressured into giving up my religion."
Because the children are not identified, it is unclear how many made such claims. They came in one-on-one exit interviews on more than 50 dates between 2001 and 2005, with children who had spent time in eight group homes.
The interviews were conducted by consultants for the state who were reviewing Baptist Homes and other contractors' programs. Most of those interviewed were 12 or older.
Both the state and Baptist Homes, now known as Sunrise Children's Services, say the agency has a strict policy against religious coercion or proselytizing and does not prevent children from practicing their faith.
And after Baptist Homes learned of the comments through the lawsuits, the agency did "reiterate to the whole staff (to) remember our policy -- no coercion, no proselytizing," said its attorney, John Sheller.
If an employee did violate policy, it "would be addressed the way any other employee misconduct" would be handled, he said.
Millions at stake
Since 2001, the state has paid Baptist Homes about $61 million to care for children whom courts place in state custody, often because they are juvenile offenders or are abused or neglected. The agency also receives private donations.
Attorney Jonathan Goldberg, representing the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the state considers Baptist Homes an "excellent, quality provider."
"If a child says, 'I don't want to go to the Baptist church,' then the child does not go," Goldberg said. He said some children might have erroneously believed they were forced to go, or there might not have been a church of their faith nearby.
The plaintiffs filed the reports because they want to get the names and testimony of those who made such comments if they have since turned 18. The state and the Baptist agency argue that clients' names need to be kept confidential.
The reports include comments from children who said that they were forced to participate in Bible readings, prayer times or Baptist services or that they weren't allowed to practice their own faith.
A child who is a Jehovah's Witness reported not being allowed to practice that religion at Genesis Home in Mayfield.
A Pentecostal child at the same home told of not being allowed to practice that faith.
And a child at the Glen Dale Children's Home in Glendale reported being "not allowed to choose when or when not to attend a religious service." The child told of having "to do 'some type of Bible study during that time or get consequences,' " the interviewer wrote.
The questions were posed by representatives of the Children's Review Program, which is part of a private, nonprofit consulting group. The questions ranged from how safe the programs were to how the children's medications were handled.
Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Virginia, said the comments made in the exit interviews "would raise a lot of red flags for me."
The case "takes us back to a fundamental problem with government funding of religion," he said.
"Generally, it's not good for religious organizations to enter into an arrangement which would restrict its mission."
'Plan of correction'
Baptist Homes programs often scored higher than the state average in maintaining children's cultural connections, including religion, according to Children's Review documents provided to The Courier-Journal by the cabinet.
In one case in 2001, the consultants did call for a "plan of correction" to fix "a coercive religious environment" at Baptist Homes' Dixon Center, where staff members confirmed that church attendance was required.
The next year's report did not mention religion but gave high marks to the center's overall cultural sensitivity.
Baptist Homes' state funding is challenged in a federal lawsuit filed in 2000, after the agency fired Alicia Pedreira upon learning she was a lesbian.
A judge dismissed Pedreira's claim that her firing amounted to religious discrimination but has let the plaintiffs pursue their challenge of state funding for Baptist Homes.
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
இவ்வாறு பணம் பெறும் பாப்டிஸ்ட் நிறுவனங்கள் அவர்களது சேவையை பெறுபவர்களை கட்டாயமாக கிறிஸ்துவமதத்துக்கு மாற்றுவதாகவும் குறிப்பாக பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ மதத்துக்கு மாற்றுவதாகவும் குற்றம் சாட்டியிருக்கின்றனர்.
நன்றி கூரியர் ஜர்னல்
Baptist Homes accused of forced religion
Dozens allege they were coerced
By Peter Smith
psmith@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Children in a state-funded Baptist social-services program claimed in dozens of exit interviews that they were forced into Christian or specifically Baptist practices or were discouraged from practicing their own religion, according to court records.
The interviews came to light as part of a lawsuit filed by a fired employee and four other taxpayers who are challenging state funding for Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children.
Representatives of the state and Baptist Homes say that the agency's policy is not to proselytize and that violations, if any, are rare.
They also say that in annual reviews, the agency's programs often scored higher than the state average on respecting children's cultural and religious backgrounds and that the complaints are a handful, compared with the estimated 1,500 children the agency serves each year.
Several of the complaints came from children who said they were Catholics, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses or atheists.
"They tried to more (or) less force me to become a Christian," said a child who had stayed at the Baptist Youth Ranch in Elizabethtown. "I just felt I was being pressured into giving up my religion."
Because the children are not identified, it is unclear how many made such claims. They came in one-on-one exit interviews on more than 50 dates between 2001 and 2005, with children who had spent time in eight group homes.
The interviews were conducted by consultants for the state who were reviewing Baptist Homes and other contractors' programs. Most of those interviewed were 12 or older.
Both the state and Baptist Homes, now known as Sunrise Children's Services, say the agency has a strict policy against religious coercion or proselytizing and does not prevent children from practicing their faith.
And after Baptist Homes learned of the comments through the lawsuits, the agency did "reiterate to the whole staff (to) remember our policy -- no coercion, no proselytizing," said its attorney, John Sheller.
If an employee did violate policy, it "would be addressed the way any other employee misconduct" would be handled, he said.
Millions at stake
Since 2001, the state has paid Baptist Homes about $61 million to care for children whom courts place in state custody, often because they are juvenile offenders or are abused or neglected. The agency also receives private donations.
Attorney Jonathan Goldberg, representing the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the state considers Baptist Homes an "excellent, quality provider."
"If a child says, 'I don't want to go to the Baptist church,' then the child does not go," Goldberg said. He said some children might have erroneously believed they were forced to go, or there might not have been a church of their faith nearby.
The plaintiffs filed the reports because they want to get the names and testimony of those who made such comments if they have since turned 18. The state and the Baptist agency argue that clients' names need to be kept confidential.
The reports include comments from children who said that they were forced to participate in Bible readings, prayer times or Baptist services or that they weren't allowed to practice their own faith.
A child who is a Jehovah's Witness reported not being allowed to practice that religion at Genesis Home in Mayfield.
A Pentecostal child at the same home told of not being allowed to practice that faith.
And a child at the Glen Dale Children's Home in Glendale reported being "not allowed to choose when or when not to attend a religious service." The child told of having "to do 'some type of Bible study during that time or get consequences,' " the interviewer wrote.
The questions were posed by representatives of the Children's Review Program, which is part of a private, nonprofit consulting group. The questions ranged from how safe the programs were to how the children's medications were handled.
Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Virginia, said the comments made in the exit interviews "would raise a lot of red flags for me."
The case "takes us back to a fundamental problem with government funding of religion," he said.
"Generally, it's not good for religious organizations to enter into an arrangement which would restrict its mission."
'Plan of correction'
Baptist Homes programs often scored higher than the state average in maintaining children's cultural connections, including religion, according to Children's Review documents provided to The Courier-Journal by the cabinet.
In one case in 2001, the consultants did call for a "plan of correction" to fix "a coercive religious environment" at Baptist Homes' Dixon Center, where staff members confirmed that church attendance was required.
The next year's report did not mention religion but gave high marks to the center's overall cultural sensitivity.
Baptist Homes' state funding is challenged in a federal lawsuit filed in 2000, after the agency fired Alicia Pedreira upon learning she was a lesbian.
A judge dismissed Pedreira's claim that her firing amounted to religious discrimination but has let the plaintiffs pursue their challenge of state funding for Baptist Homes.
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
சர்ச் பணத்தை திருடியதால் சிறை சென்ற பாதிரியார்
பொதுமக்கள் சர்ச்சுக்கு கொடுத்த பணத்தை எடுத்து தனக்காகவும் தன் ஆண் நண்பருக்காகவும் செலவு செய்து மாட்டிக்கொண்டு சிறை சென்ற ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார், தனது வழக்கு செலவுகளுக்கும் மக்களிடம் பணம் கேட்டு மக்களுக்கு கடிதம் எழுதியிருக்கிறார்.
ஜார்ஜ் கார்லின் சரியாகத்தான் சொன்னார்.
Priest Accused Of Theft Seeks Help With His Bills
Fay, Suspected Of Taking Donations For Own Luxury, Needs To Raise $115,000
Published on 5/26/2007
Darien (AP) — A former Darien parish priest accused of spending $1.4 million of church money on luxuries for himself and a male friend is looking for help to pay some legal bills.
The Rev. Michael Jude Fay, former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church, has written a letter to family members and friends asking them to contribute toward his $115,000 legal bill.
Last July, the Bridgeport Diocese released the report of an investigation into Fay and church finances.
The report detailed how Fay allegedly used church money for limousine rides, stays at top hotels around the world, jewelry, clothing from Italy and the purchase of a condominium in Florida with the other man. About half the money he spent was kept in a secret bank account, according to the report.
Bridgeport Bishop William Lori, who ordered the investigation by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, said at the time that he was shocked and angered by the findings. The report also was sent to federal authorities.
Fay's letter, dated April 30, apparently went to some St. John parishioners.
“As you can only imagine, this past year has been complicated and extremely painful,” Fay wrote. “As proceedings come to a conclusion, I am left with a very difficult legal bill (of) $115,000. I am reaching out to my friends and family for help.”
Fay wrote that contributions may be sent to the Hartford law firm, Robinson & Cole, which is representing him.
Fay has been under investigation by the federal authorities, but no charges have been filed against him.
In December, Fay transferred his half of a luxury Fort Lauderdale condominium, which he owned with his wedding-planner friend, Cliff Fantini, to the parish to pay back some of the missing money. The condo is said to be worth about $500,000.
Bill Rowe, a deacon at St. John, said the letter is a terrible reminder of what Fay did to the parish.
“You think he would ask for forgiveness and then ask for some money,” Rowe said. “But to come out and say help me out, he's depending on us. I'm pretty sure he's got plenty of money stashed away somewhere.”
Fay resigned as pastor last May.
Regional
ஜார்ஜ் கார்லின் சரியாகத்தான் சொன்னார்.
Priest Accused Of Theft Seeks Help With His Bills
Fay, Suspected Of Taking Donations For Own Luxury, Needs To Raise $115,000
Published on 5/26/2007
Darien (AP) — A former Darien parish priest accused of spending $1.4 million of church money on luxuries for himself and a male friend is looking for help to pay some legal bills.
The Rev. Michael Jude Fay, former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church, has written a letter to family members and friends asking them to contribute toward his $115,000 legal bill.
Last July, the Bridgeport Diocese released the report of an investigation into Fay and church finances.
The report detailed how Fay allegedly used church money for limousine rides, stays at top hotels around the world, jewelry, clothing from Italy and the purchase of a condominium in Florida with the other man. About half the money he spent was kept in a secret bank account, according to the report.
Bridgeport Bishop William Lori, who ordered the investigation by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, said at the time that he was shocked and angered by the findings. The report also was sent to federal authorities.
Fay's letter, dated April 30, apparently went to some St. John parishioners.
“As you can only imagine, this past year has been complicated and extremely painful,” Fay wrote. “As proceedings come to a conclusion, I am left with a very difficult legal bill (of) $115,000. I am reaching out to my friends and family for help.”
Fay wrote that contributions may be sent to the Hartford law firm, Robinson & Cole, which is representing him.
Fay has been under investigation by the federal authorities, but no charges have been filed against him.
In December, Fay transferred his half of a luxury Fort Lauderdale condominium, which he owned with his wedding-planner friend, Cliff Fantini, to the parish to pay back some of the missing money. The condo is said to be worth about $500,000.
Bill Rowe, a deacon at St. John, said the letter is a terrible reminder of what Fay did to the parish.
“You think he would ask for forgiveness and then ask for some money,” Rowe said. “But to come out and say help me out, he's depending on us. I'm pretty sure he's got plenty of money stashed away somewhere.”
Fay resigned as pastor last May.
Regional
சீக்கியரின் தலைமுடியை வெட்டியதற்காக நியுயார்க்கில் முஸ்லீம் சிறுவர்கள் கைது
நியூயார்க்கில் பாகிஸ்தானிய முஸ்லீம்கள் சிறுவர்கள், சீக்கிய சிறுவர்களது தலைமுடியை வெட்டினார்கள். அதனால் அந்த முஸ்லீம் சிறுவர்கள் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்கள்
Pak boys shear Sikh kid's hair in NY
Press Trust Of India
Posted Saturday , May 26, 2007 at 10:41
Updated Saturday , May 26, 2007 at 11:35 Email Print
New York: Two Pakistani students were arrested after they allegedly removed the turban of a Sikh student and chopped off his hair during a scuffle in their school in a suburb here, police said.
A third student, who provided the scissors, was also arrested after the incident at the Newtown High School in Queens suburb of New York City on Thursday.
The victim, a 15-year-old student, was not identified.
The arrested included 17-year old Umair Ahmed but the other Pakistani (15), was not identified because of his age.
Ahmed and the other student allegedly pulled the victim into a bathroom after a heated argument, removed his turban and cut his hair, police said.
Police said the accused students face charges of unlawful imprisonment, aggravated harassment and coercion.
The New York Post quoted an Education Department spokeswoman as describing the incident as "horrifying" and said the victim would be offered counseling.
இந்த முஸ்லீம் சிறுவர்களது வீடுகளின் என்னத்தை சொல்லித்தருகிறார்களோ தெரியவில்லை!
Pak boys shear Sikh kid's hair in NY
Press Trust Of India
Posted Saturday , May 26, 2007 at 10:41
Updated Saturday , May 26, 2007 at 11:35 Email Print
New York: Two Pakistani students were arrested after they allegedly removed the turban of a Sikh student and chopped off his hair during a scuffle in their school in a suburb here, police said.
A third student, who provided the scissors, was also arrested after the incident at the Newtown High School in Queens suburb of New York City on Thursday.
The victim, a 15-year-old student, was not identified.
The arrested included 17-year old Umair Ahmed but the other Pakistani (15), was not identified because of his age.
Ahmed and the other student allegedly pulled the victim into a bathroom after a heated argument, removed his turban and cut his hair, police said.
Police said the accused students face charges of unlawful imprisonment, aggravated harassment and coercion.
The New York Post quoted an Education Department spokeswoman as describing the incident as "horrifying" and said the victim would be offered counseling.
இந்த முஸ்லீம் சிறுவர்களது வீடுகளின் என்னத்தை சொல்லித்தருகிறார்களோ தெரியவில்லை!
இந்துமதத்துக்கு பிரிட்டன் பாராட்டுமழை
இந்துமதம் உலகம் முழுமைக்கும் எது நல்லதோ அதனையே நோக்குகிறது. பலனை எதிர்பாராமல் நல்ல காரியங்களை தொடர்ந்து செய்துகொண்டே இருக்கவேண்டும் என்ற உயரிய நோக்கங்களை பிரிட்டன் பாராட்டி, இந்து சமூக நல அமைப்புகளின் சிறப்பான சேவையை பாராட்டியிருக்கிறது.
150 இந்து சமூக நல சேவை அமைப்புகளை பாராட்ட நிகழ்ந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் தொழில்கட்சியின் உதவித்தலைவரும் இண்டர்நேஷனல் டெவலப்மண்டுக்கான அமைச்சருமான ஹில்லாரி பென் அவர்கள் இவ்வாறு பிரிட்டனின் இந்து சமூகத்தினரை பாராட்டினார்.
UK hails contributions of British Hindus
London, May 25 (PTI): British government has come out in full praise of the endowments made to the English society by British Hindus and charity organisations run by them.
"Hinduism believes in the dictum -- one in all and all in one -- and you do things which are in the larger interest of the humanity," Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development and Labour's Deputy Leader candidate said while addressing a conference organised by Hindu Aid at the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Stanmore here last evening.
Hindu Aid is a charity dedicated to eradication of global poverty.
Delivering the key note address at the conference, Benn quoted from Bhagvad Gita saying "You do your duty without expecting any reward".
He said his Department for International Development was also committed to aid a number of projects including some in India for providing clean drinking water to children, their enrolment in primary schools in rural areas and poverty alleviation.
Though India is projected to emerge as the fourth largest economy in the world in the next few decades, it still faced the daunting task of lifting about 300 million people above poverty line, the Labour leader said.
Britain, he said, contributed nearly a quarter billion pounds to India last year to undertake poverty alleviation programmes in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal.
Describing climate change as a serious global concern, which requires immediate attention, the official said, "Otherwise in the next couple of years the developments in China will have their fall outs in Britain.".
The conference was attended by over 150 Hindu, multi-faith and charitable organizations along with representatives from the Development Education Association (DEA) and Department for International Development (DFID).
Guest of Honour, Gareth Thomas, who is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, lauded Project DANA (Development Awareness Networking Agenda) launched by the Hindu Aid to encourage British Hindus to explore global issues and find out their impact on everyday lives.
The MP said the Department for International Development recognized that the Millennium Development Goals have a crucial part to play in reducing poverty.
"As a result, DFID has made them the main focus of all of its work," he said and commended Hindu AID for adopting those goals.
Arjan Vekaria, Chair of Hindu Aid, described the conference as a "milestone event for the Hindu community in Britain".
The event was the first of its kind organized by the British Hindus to showcase the contribution of their community to international development, poverty alleviation, education and sustainable development.
இந்துமதமே உலக உய்வுக்கு வழி என்பதனை காலம் கடந்தேனும் உணரும் பிரிட்டன் மற்ற நாடுகளுக்கும் வழி காட்டட்டும்
150 இந்து சமூக நல சேவை அமைப்புகளை பாராட்ட நிகழ்ந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் தொழில்கட்சியின் உதவித்தலைவரும் இண்டர்நேஷனல் டெவலப்மண்டுக்கான அமைச்சருமான ஹில்லாரி பென் அவர்கள் இவ்வாறு பிரிட்டனின் இந்து சமூகத்தினரை பாராட்டினார்.
UK hails contributions of British Hindus
London, May 25 (PTI): British government has come out in full praise of the endowments made to the English society by British Hindus and charity organisations run by them.
"Hinduism believes in the dictum -- one in all and all in one -- and you do things which are in the larger interest of the humanity," Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development and Labour's Deputy Leader candidate said while addressing a conference organised by Hindu Aid at the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Stanmore here last evening.
Hindu Aid is a charity dedicated to eradication of global poverty.
Delivering the key note address at the conference, Benn quoted from Bhagvad Gita saying "You do your duty without expecting any reward".
He said his Department for International Development was also committed to aid a number of projects including some in India for providing clean drinking water to children, their enrolment in primary schools in rural areas and poverty alleviation.
Though India is projected to emerge as the fourth largest economy in the world in the next few decades, it still faced the daunting task of lifting about 300 million people above poverty line, the Labour leader said.
Britain, he said, contributed nearly a quarter billion pounds to India last year to undertake poverty alleviation programmes in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal.
Describing climate change as a serious global concern, which requires immediate attention, the official said, "Otherwise in the next couple of years the developments in China will have their fall outs in Britain.".
The conference was attended by over 150 Hindu, multi-faith and charitable organizations along with representatives from the Development Education Association (DEA) and Department for International Development (DFID).
Guest of Honour, Gareth Thomas, who is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, lauded Project DANA (Development Awareness Networking Agenda) launched by the Hindu Aid to encourage British Hindus to explore global issues and find out their impact on everyday lives.
The MP said the Department for International Development recognized that the Millennium Development Goals have a crucial part to play in reducing poverty.
"As a result, DFID has made them the main focus of all of its work," he said and commended Hindu AID for adopting those goals.
Arjan Vekaria, Chair of Hindu Aid, described the conference as a "milestone event for the Hindu community in Britain".
The event was the first of its kind organized by the British Hindus to showcase the contribution of their community to international development, poverty alleviation, education and sustainable development.
இந்துமதமே உலக உய்வுக்கு வழி என்பதனை காலம் கடந்தேனும் உணரும் பிரிட்டன் மற்ற நாடுகளுக்கும் வழி காட்டட்டும்
பிரிட்டன் குண்டுவெடிப்புகளுக்கு தூண்டுதலாக இருந்த முஸ்லீம் பிரச்சாரகரை பிரிட்டன் ஜமைக்காவுக்கு திருப்பி அனுப்பியது.
பிரிட்டன் குண்டுவெடிப்புகளுக்கு காரணமான ஒருவரை தூண்டிய பிரிட்டனில் வாழும் (ஜ்மைக்காவைச் சேர்ந்த) தீவிரவாத முஸ்லீம் பிரச்சாரகர் ஜமைக்காவுக்கு திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டார்.
ஷேக் அப்துல்லா அல் பைசல் என்ற இவர் பிரிட்டனில் குண்டுவெடிக்க வேண்டும், இந்துக்கள் யூதர்கள் எல்லோரையும் முஸ்லீம்கள் கொல்லவேண்டும் என்று போதித்த இவர், பிரிட்டன் அரசால் அவரது சொந்த ஊரான ஜமைக்காவுக்கு திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
பிரிட்டனையும் பிரிட்டன் மக்களையும் வெறுக்கும் இவர், பிரிட்டனில் தன்னை தங்க அனுமதிக்கும்படி இறைஞ்சிய பெட்டிஷன் பிரிட்டன் அரசால் நிராகரிக்கப்பட்டது.
Fri May 25, 2007
Radical Islamic preacher enroute to Jamaica
Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal
Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, who influenced one of the July 7 bombers, is on his way to Jamaica.
Al-Faisal, who is of Jamaican origin, lost his appeal against deportation.
He is being deported from the UK.
Al-Faisal was jailed in 2003 for soliciting the murder of Jews and Hindus.
The British Home Secretary, John Reid, said London bomber Germaine Lindsay was "strongly influenced" by Al-Faisal.
In a statement, Mr. Reid said he was pleased that al-Faisal had been removed and excluded from the UK.
Al-Faisal's trial heard he spent years travelling the UK preaching racial hatred urging his audience to kill Jews, Hindus and westerners.
He was found guilty of three charges of soliciting the murder of Jews, Americans and Hindus and two charges of using threatening words to stir up racial hatred.
Last year, Mr. Reid told MPs that al-Faisal had influenced Jamaican-born Briton Lindsay, who was responsible for the blast at King's Cross that killed 27 people.
Taped recordings of al-Faisal's lectures, which Lindsay listened to, were sold at specialist Islamic bookshops.
The tapes formed the basis of the prosecution's case in the 2003 Old Bailey trial of the Muslim convert.
Meanwhile, Head of Operation Kingfish, Assistant Commissioner, Glenmore Hinds says the police are well aware of concerns stemming from the expected arrival of Al-Faisal.
ACP Hines says although Al-Faisal is returning to Jamaica a free man they will take his history into consideration.
Al-Faisal was born Trevor William Forrest in Point, St. James.
He attended Maldon Comprehensive High.
His parents were practicing Christians who worked with the Salvation Army.
ஷேக் அப்துல்லா அல் பைசல் என்ற இவர் பிரிட்டனில் குண்டுவெடிக்க வேண்டும், இந்துக்கள் யூதர்கள் எல்லோரையும் முஸ்லீம்கள் கொல்லவேண்டும் என்று போதித்த இவர், பிரிட்டன் அரசால் அவரது சொந்த ஊரான ஜமைக்காவுக்கு திருப்பி அனுப்பப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
பிரிட்டனையும் பிரிட்டன் மக்களையும் வெறுக்கும் இவர், பிரிட்டனில் தன்னை தங்க அனுமதிக்கும்படி இறைஞ்சிய பெட்டிஷன் பிரிட்டன் அரசால் நிராகரிக்கப்பட்டது.
Fri May 25, 2007
Radical Islamic preacher enroute to Jamaica
Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal
Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, who influenced one of the July 7 bombers, is on his way to Jamaica.
Al-Faisal, who is of Jamaican origin, lost his appeal against deportation.
He is being deported from the UK.
Al-Faisal was jailed in 2003 for soliciting the murder of Jews and Hindus.
The British Home Secretary, John Reid, said London bomber Germaine Lindsay was "strongly influenced" by Al-Faisal.
In a statement, Mr. Reid said he was pleased that al-Faisal had been removed and excluded from the UK.
Al-Faisal's trial heard he spent years travelling the UK preaching racial hatred urging his audience to kill Jews, Hindus and westerners.
He was found guilty of three charges of soliciting the murder of Jews, Americans and Hindus and two charges of using threatening words to stir up racial hatred.
Last year, Mr. Reid told MPs that al-Faisal had influenced Jamaican-born Briton Lindsay, who was responsible for the blast at King's Cross that killed 27 people.
Taped recordings of al-Faisal's lectures, which Lindsay listened to, were sold at specialist Islamic bookshops.
The tapes formed the basis of the prosecution's case in the 2003 Old Bailey trial of the Muslim convert.
Meanwhile, Head of Operation Kingfish, Assistant Commissioner, Glenmore Hinds says the police are well aware of concerns stemming from the expected arrival of Al-Faisal.
ACP Hines says although Al-Faisal is returning to Jamaica a free man they will take his history into consideration.
Al-Faisal was born Trevor William Forrest in Point, St. James.
He attended Maldon Comprehensive High.
His parents were practicing Christians who worked with the Salvation Army.
Friday, May 25, 2007
தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்களுக்கு இட ஒதுக்கீடு தேவை
தலித் கிரிஸ்துவர்களுக்கு இட ஒதுக்கீடு தேவையா என்ற கேள்வியை வலைப்பதிவாளர்கள் விவாதித்து வருகிறார்கள்.
இதனை நாம் சொல்வதை விட தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்களே சொல்வதுதான் சிறந்தது. அவர்களது நிலைமையை அவர்கள் தானே அறிவார்கள்?
தலித் கிறிஸ்துவ வலைபக்கம்
http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/CasteChurch.htm
Conversion to Christianity has not redeemed 19 million Dalit Christians from social discrimination and untouchability. It has only added to their misery.
மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவர்களே சர்ச்சுகளில் ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்துகிறார்கள். தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்களின் கூற்றுப்படி 70 சதவீத கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் தலித்துகளே என்று இது கூறுகிறது.
The church in India is a dalit church, because 70% of India’s 25 million Christians are dalits. Although dalits form the majority in all these churches, yet their place and influence in these churches is minimal or even insignificant. Their presence is totally eclipsed by the power of the upper-caste Christians who are only 30% of the Christian population. This is all the more true in the case of the Catholic Church where such discrimination is strongly felt.
In the Catholic Church, the dalits form the majority, almost 70%: but it is the higher caste-people, only 30% of church population, who control the Church by pre-emptying the key position. The majority of the catholic bishops and clergy, the religious and lay leaders, come from the upper caste. One can say that this 30%, the upper caste, occupy the 90% of the administration and leadership of the church. Thus the dalits are pushed aside and reduced to insignificance in their own homeland. Today this trend has become a major matter for concern in the church and must be dealt with.
இந்த பக்கம் பாஜக ஆட்சியிலிருக்கும் போது எழுதப்பட்டது. ஆனாலும் இதிலுள்ள கோரிக்கைகளும் குற்றச்சாட்டுகளும் இன்று இல்லை என்று கூற முடியாது.
டி.பி.ஆர்.ஜோஸப் அவர்கள் மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவரா தலித் கிறிஸ்துவரா என்று தெரியாது.
ஆனால் அவர் தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர் இல்லை என்றால், இந்த கோரிக்கையை வைக்க அவருக்கு உரிமை இல்லை.
அவர் மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவர் என்றால் தலித்துகளுக்கான சம உரிமையை சர்ச்சுகளுக்குள் வாங்கிக்கொடுக்கத்தான் அவர் முயலவேண்டுமே தவிர, இவர்களுடைய இயலாமையை மற்றவர்கள் மீது குற்றச்சாட்டாக கூறி தங்களது பொறுப்பை தட்டிக்கழிக்க முடியாது.
மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவர்களால் கொடுமைப்படுத்தப்படும் தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் மிகவும் வருந்துவது அவர்களுக்கு கொடுக்கப்பட்ட வாக்குறுதிகளுக்கு மாறாக அவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து சர்ச்சுக்குள்ளே நசுக்கப்படுவதுதான்.
அந்த இட ஒதுக்கீட்டை அவர்கள் சர்ச்சுக்குள்ளே பெற வேண்டும்.
அப்படி பெற்றால், இந்து தலித்துகளுக்கு கிடைக்கும் சலுகைகள் அவர்களுக்கு கிடைக்கிறதா இல்லையா என்ற கேள்வியே அவர்களுக்கு வராது.
தொடர்புடைய பிற பதிவுகள்
சிவாஜி
இதனை நாம் சொல்வதை விட தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்களே சொல்வதுதான் சிறந்தது. அவர்களது நிலைமையை அவர்கள் தானே அறிவார்கள்?
தலித் கிறிஸ்துவ வலைபக்கம்
http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/CasteChurch.htm
Conversion to Christianity has not redeemed 19 million Dalit Christians from social discrimination and untouchability. It has only added to their misery.
மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவர்களே சர்ச்சுகளில் ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்துகிறார்கள். தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்களின் கூற்றுப்படி 70 சதவீத கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் தலித்துகளே என்று இது கூறுகிறது.
The church in India is a dalit church, because 70% of India’s 25 million Christians are dalits. Although dalits form the majority in all these churches, yet their place and influence in these churches is minimal or even insignificant. Their presence is totally eclipsed by the power of the upper-caste Christians who are only 30% of the Christian population. This is all the more true in the case of the Catholic Church where such discrimination is strongly felt.
In the Catholic Church, the dalits form the majority, almost 70%: but it is the higher caste-people, only 30% of church population, who control the Church by pre-emptying the key position. The majority of the catholic bishops and clergy, the religious and lay leaders, come from the upper caste. One can say that this 30%, the upper caste, occupy the 90% of the administration and leadership of the church. Thus the dalits are pushed aside and reduced to insignificance in their own homeland. Today this trend has become a major matter for concern in the church and must be dealt with.
இந்த பக்கம் பாஜக ஆட்சியிலிருக்கும் போது எழுதப்பட்டது. ஆனாலும் இதிலுள்ள கோரிக்கைகளும் குற்றச்சாட்டுகளும் இன்று இல்லை என்று கூற முடியாது.
டி.பி.ஆர்.ஜோஸப் அவர்கள் மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவரா தலித் கிறிஸ்துவரா என்று தெரியாது.
ஆனால் அவர் தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர் இல்லை என்றால், இந்த கோரிக்கையை வைக்க அவருக்கு உரிமை இல்லை.
அவர் மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவர் என்றால் தலித்துகளுக்கான சம உரிமையை சர்ச்சுகளுக்குள் வாங்கிக்கொடுக்கத்தான் அவர் முயலவேண்டுமே தவிர, இவர்களுடைய இயலாமையை மற்றவர்கள் மீது குற்றச்சாட்டாக கூறி தங்களது பொறுப்பை தட்டிக்கழிக்க முடியாது.
மேல்ஜாதி கிறிஸ்துவர்களால் கொடுமைப்படுத்தப்படும் தலித் கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் மிகவும் வருந்துவது அவர்களுக்கு கொடுக்கப்பட்ட வாக்குறுதிகளுக்கு மாறாக அவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து சர்ச்சுக்குள்ளே நசுக்கப்படுவதுதான்.
அந்த இட ஒதுக்கீட்டை அவர்கள் சர்ச்சுக்குள்ளே பெற வேண்டும்.
அப்படி பெற்றால், இந்து தலித்துகளுக்கு கிடைக்கும் சலுகைகள் அவர்களுக்கு கிடைக்கிறதா இல்லையா என்ற கேள்வியே அவர்களுக்கு வராது.
தொடர்புடைய பிற பதிவுகள்
சிவாஜி
கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியாராக இருக்கும்போது சிறுவர்களை பலாத்காரம் செய்தவர் வெளியேற்றம்
கனக்டிகட் மாநிலத்தில் கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியாராக இருக்கும்போது பல சிறுவர்களை பாலியல் பலாத்காரம் செய்தவர் அவரது செயிண்ட் தாமஸ் செமினரியை விட்டு விலகி வெளி மாநிலத்துக்கு சென்றிருக்கிறார்.
அவர் எங்கே வசிக்கிறார் என்பதை சர்ச் கூற மாட்டேன் என்று அறிவித்திருக்கிறது.
Abusive Priest Leaves Connecticut
May 12, 2007
By ELIZABETH HAMILTON, Courant Staff Writer The Rev. Stephen Foley, a Catholic priest accused of molesting boys while serving as a police and fire chaplain, has left St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and is living out of state.
The Hartford Archdiocese, which pulled Foley from active ministry in 1993, when an allegation of sexual abuse was made against the priest, would not disclose Friday where Foley has moved.
"The administration knows where he is living, but that is personnel information and not for publication," said the Rev. John Gatzak, spokesman for the diocese. The archdiocese is still paying Foley a stipend and providing him with benefits, he said.
Hartford church officials have notified the diocese where Foley has moved, Gatzak said, under the rules of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops passed in June 2002.
This is done so that Foley, or any other priest removed from ministry because of sexual abuse allegations, cannot pass himself off as a priest in good standing.
Gatzak also said that Foley is no longer driving the police-equipped Crown Victoria that Archbishop Henry Mansell ordered him to sell in March. Foley's ownership of the car, which looked like an unmarked state police cruiser, was controversial because many of the men who have accused him of sexual abuse said he used his position as chaplain, and his car, to lure them.
Mansell ordered Foley to sell the car and move out of the seminary several days after stories in The Courant revealed that the priest was still driving the Crown Victoria, complete with flashing lights, sirens and radios, even though he was no longer a police or fire chaplain.
At least 11 men have accused Foley of sexual abuse since 1993, when he was removed from his Glastonbury parish and placed at the seminary, where he performed no duties but received free room and board, a monthly stipend of more than $1,000 and health insurance.
Foley continued to serve as chaplain to the Hartford Fire Department and the New England Association of Fire Chiefs throughout the 1990s and was chaplain for the Connecticut State Police until December 1994. A state police investigation of the molestation complaints against Foley was opened in 1993, but prosecutors refused to sign an arrest warrant because the statute of limitations had expired.
In 2002, when the first lawsuit was brought against Foley and the archdiocese, church leaders ordered the priest not to wear the Roman collar.
He has not been stripped of his status as a priest, or laicized. That is a lengthy process that requires permission from the pope. Gatzak said it can also leave the public more vulnerable.
"One of the reasons [Foley] was living at the seminary is because while he was there the archdiocese could keep an eye on him," Gatzak said. "It is also one of the logical explanations for why he hasn't been laicized."
Most of the men who have sued Foley were young Catholics involved in youth basketball or religious education at the time of the alleged abuse. They said in lawsuits and interviews that they were attracted by the lights and sirens on the priest's car and the access he had to fire and accident scenes.
The Hartford archdiocese has refused to say how much it has paid in settlements related to Foley, but the total is believed to be significantly more than $5 million.
Contact Elizabeth Hamilton at bhamilton@courant.com
அவர் எங்கே வசிக்கிறார் என்பதை சர்ச் கூற மாட்டேன் என்று அறிவித்திருக்கிறது.
Abusive Priest Leaves Connecticut
May 12, 2007
By ELIZABETH HAMILTON, Courant Staff Writer The Rev. Stephen Foley, a Catholic priest accused of molesting boys while serving as a police and fire chaplain, has left St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and is living out of state.
The Hartford Archdiocese, which pulled Foley from active ministry in 1993, when an allegation of sexual abuse was made against the priest, would not disclose Friday where Foley has moved.
"The administration knows where he is living, but that is personnel information and not for publication," said the Rev. John Gatzak, spokesman for the diocese. The archdiocese is still paying Foley a stipend and providing him with benefits, he said.
Hartford church officials have notified the diocese where Foley has moved, Gatzak said, under the rules of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops passed in June 2002.
This is done so that Foley, or any other priest removed from ministry because of sexual abuse allegations, cannot pass himself off as a priest in good standing.
Gatzak also said that Foley is no longer driving the police-equipped Crown Victoria that Archbishop Henry Mansell ordered him to sell in March. Foley's ownership of the car, which looked like an unmarked state police cruiser, was controversial because many of the men who have accused him of sexual abuse said he used his position as chaplain, and his car, to lure them.
Mansell ordered Foley to sell the car and move out of the seminary several days after stories in The Courant revealed that the priest was still driving the Crown Victoria, complete with flashing lights, sirens and radios, even though he was no longer a police or fire chaplain.
At least 11 men have accused Foley of sexual abuse since 1993, when he was removed from his Glastonbury parish and placed at the seminary, where he performed no duties but received free room and board, a monthly stipend of more than $1,000 and health insurance.
Foley continued to serve as chaplain to the Hartford Fire Department and the New England Association of Fire Chiefs throughout the 1990s and was chaplain for the Connecticut State Police until December 1994. A state police investigation of the molestation complaints against Foley was opened in 1993, but prosecutors refused to sign an arrest warrant because the statute of limitations had expired.
In 2002, when the first lawsuit was brought against Foley and the archdiocese, church leaders ordered the priest not to wear the Roman collar.
He has not been stripped of his status as a priest, or laicized. That is a lengthy process that requires permission from the pope. Gatzak said it can also leave the public more vulnerable.
"One of the reasons [Foley] was living at the seminary is because while he was there the archdiocese could keep an eye on him," Gatzak said. "It is also one of the logical explanations for why he hasn't been laicized."
Most of the men who have sued Foley were young Catholics involved in youth basketball or religious education at the time of the alleged abuse. They said in lawsuits and interviews that they were attracted by the lights and sirens on the priest's car and the access he had to fire and accident scenes.
The Hartford archdiocese has refused to say how much it has paid in settlements related to Foley, but the total is believed to be significantly more than $5 million.
Contact Elizabeth Hamilton at bhamilton@courant.com
சர்ச் பணம் 1 மில்லியனை திருடிய கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் கைது
பொதுமக்கள் கொடுத்த சர்ச் பணத்தை சொந்தத்தில் செலவழிக்க அபேஸ் செய்த பாதிரியார் மீது பொதுமக்கள் குற்றம் சாட்டி அவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
Bond revoked for priest accused of embezzlement
May 21, 2007
A Louisa County judge this morning revoked bond for the priest accused of stealing as much as $1 million from two Louisa churches.
The Rev. Rodney L. Rodis violated terms of the $25,000 secured bond when he left Virginia last month to visit a child he was living with who now lives in New Mexico. Rodis will be held at Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange County.
Rodis faces 13 felony theft charges alleging that he diverted money given to St. Jude and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches from 1995 until he retired last year.
While pastor of the Louisa churches, Rodis lived with a woman he referred to as his wife and with three children in a Spotsylvania County neighborhood, just outside Fredericksburg, neighbors said. The woman and children left the residence for New Mexico after authorities leveled criminal charges against Rodis in January.
The felony embezzlement case against Rodis originated in November when officials with the Catholic Diocese of Richmond found a Pennsylvania donor's check was deposited in a bank account church officials knew nothing about.
Investigators believe Rodis, a native of the Philippines, deposited donations in the account in a Fredericksburg bank and then used the money for other purposes. A Louisa County grand jury indicted him on the theft charges in January.
Bond revoked for priest accused of embezzlement
May 21, 2007
A Louisa County judge this morning revoked bond for the priest accused of stealing as much as $1 million from two Louisa churches.
The Rev. Rodney L. Rodis violated terms of the $25,000 secured bond when he left Virginia last month to visit a child he was living with who now lives in New Mexico. Rodis will be held at Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange County.
Rodis faces 13 felony theft charges alleging that he diverted money given to St. Jude and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches from 1995 until he retired last year.
While pastor of the Louisa churches, Rodis lived with a woman he referred to as his wife and with three children in a Spotsylvania County neighborhood, just outside Fredericksburg, neighbors said. The woman and children left the residence for New Mexico after authorities leveled criminal charges against Rodis in January.
The felony embezzlement case against Rodis originated in November when officials with the Catholic Diocese of Richmond found a Pennsylvania donor's check was deposited in a bank account church officials knew nothing about.
Investigators believe Rodis, a native of the Philippines, deposited donations in the account in a Fredericksburg bank and then used the money for other purposes. A Louisa County grand jury indicted him on the theft charges in January.
அரிஜோனா கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் மீது புதிய பலாத்கார குற்றச்சாட்டு
அரிஜோனா மாநிலத்தின் கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் 2 சிறுவர்களை பலாத்காரம் செய்ததாக குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டிருந்தார்.
ஏற்கெனவே இரண்டு சிறுவர்களை இந்த பாதிரியார் பலாத்காரம் செய்திருப்பதாக குற்றச்சாட்டு இருக்கும் இந்த சூழலில் மூன்றாவது சிறுவன் ஒருவர் தன்னையும் இந்த பாதிரியார் பலாத்காரம் செய்தார் என்று கூறியிருக்கிறார்.
Priest Accused of Molesting Third Boy
May 24, 2007 09:16 PM EDT
by Leasa Conze, KOLD News at 5 Producer
A catholic priest who served at a church on the northwest side during the 1980's is accused of molesting a third boy.
The Reverent Gary Underwood had previously been accused of molesting two boys at St. Odilia's Church, at 7570 N. Paseo del Norte.
The new indictment accuses the Reverend of both molestation and sexual conduct of a boy under 15 in 1985 and 1986.
On May 1 he pleaded not guilty to the newest charges and he's scheduled to reappear in court July 10.
Under the Tucson Catholic Diocese policy on allegations of child abuse, the 53-year old is currently suspended from the priesthood. He is currently serving as a chaplain with the Archdiocese of the Military Services, most recently at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana, according to the diocesan directory.
ஏற்கெனவே இரண்டு சிறுவர்களை இந்த பாதிரியார் பலாத்காரம் செய்திருப்பதாக குற்றச்சாட்டு இருக்கும் இந்த சூழலில் மூன்றாவது சிறுவன் ஒருவர் தன்னையும் இந்த பாதிரியார் பலாத்காரம் செய்தார் என்று கூறியிருக்கிறார்.
Priest Accused of Molesting Third Boy
May 24, 2007 09:16 PM EDT
by Leasa Conze, KOLD News at 5 Producer
A catholic priest who served at a church on the northwest side during the 1980's is accused of molesting a third boy.
The Reverent Gary Underwood had previously been accused of molesting two boys at St. Odilia's Church, at 7570 N. Paseo del Norte.
The new indictment accuses the Reverend of both molestation and sexual conduct of a boy under 15 in 1985 and 1986.
On May 1 he pleaded not guilty to the newest charges and he's scheduled to reappear in court July 10.
Under the Tucson Catholic Diocese policy on allegations of child abuse, the 53-year old is currently suspended from the priesthood. He is currently serving as a chaplain with the Archdiocese of the Military Services, most recently at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana, according to the diocesan directory.
பாத்ரூமில் பெண்களை ஒளிந்திருந்த பார்த்த பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரியார் கைது
பாத்ரூம்களிலும் கக்கூஸ்களிலும் பெண்கள் இருப்பதை திருட்டுத்தனமாக வீடியோ எடுத்த பாப்டிஸ்ட் கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரியார் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.
இவரது வீட்டை சோதனை போட்டபோது இப்படி எடுத்த வீடியோ கேஸட்டுகள் ஏராளம் சிக்கின.
Ex-preacher's peeping trial delayed
By Erin Rickert
The Daily Reflector
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
A Superior Court judge on Monday granted a motion to continue the trial of a former Rose Hill Free Will Baptist Church preacher accused of secretly videotaping women and children in rest rooms.
HARRIS
Leon Earl Harris, 55, 110 Thad Little Road, Ayden, will be tried July 9 in Pitt County Superior Court. The date was set during a brief morning administrative hearing.
Harris was scheduled for trial Monday, but was granted the new court date after his attorney Myron Hill withdrew from the case.
Harris has retained James Crouch, a Raleigh-based attorney whose firm specializes in cases similar to Harris' case. Crouch indicated in court the case would go forward, sharing plans to file pre-trial motions by June 11.
Harris has maintained his innocence since charges were filed about two years ago. He also has turned down a plea deal brought by the state.
Pitt County Sheriff's Office detectives started investigating Harris, who had been a pastor at the Winterville church for more than 20 years, in July 2005 after Surf City police discovered several videotapes and DVDs in Harris' possession.
Officers noticed Harris because a woman complained he was videotaping her on the beach with a camera attached to a metal detector, police said.
Several images on the videos viewed by Pitt detectives matched areas inside the Winterville church, court documents show. To prepare for the May trial date, detectives and prosecutors reviewed video evidence collected in the case.
Lee Moore, sheriff's office chief of investigations, said an additional count of felonious secret peeping was brought before the grand jury May 7 after prosecutors and detectives viewed a female church member on a tape they had not seen before.
Moore said Harris was not arrested after a true bill of indictment was returned by the jury. The charge, rather, was added by the Pitt County District Attorney's Office, bringing the total number of secret peeping counts against Harris to 48. He also faces four counts second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Adult women and children as young as 5 can be seen on the rest room cameras, including one camera that was apparently installed on the tank of a toilet, court documents show.
Authorities have indicated the incidents for which Harris is charged date back to 2003.
இவரது வீட்டை சோதனை போட்டபோது இப்படி எடுத்த வீடியோ கேஸட்டுகள் ஏராளம் சிக்கின.
Ex-preacher's peeping trial delayed
By Erin Rickert
The Daily Reflector
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
A Superior Court judge on Monday granted a motion to continue the trial of a former Rose Hill Free Will Baptist Church preacher accused of secretly videotaping women and children in rest rooms.
HARRIS
Leon Earl Harris, 55, 110 Thad Little Road, Ayden, will be tried July 9 in Pitt County Superior Court. The date was set during a brief morning administrative hearing.
Harris was scheduled for trial Monday, but was granted the new court date after his attorney Myron Hill withdrew from the case.
Harris has retained James Crouch, a Raleigh-based attorney whose firm specializes in cases similar to Harris' case. Crouch indicated in court the case would go forward, sharing plans to file pre-trial motions by June 11.
Harris has maintained his innocence since charges were filed about two years ago. He also has turned down a plea deal brought by the state.
Pitt County Sheriff's Office detectives started investigating Harris, who had been a pastor at the Winterville church for more than 20 years, in July 2005 after Surf City police discovered several videotapes and DVDs in Harris' possession.
Officers noticed Harris because a woman complained he was videotaping her on the beach with a camera attached to a metal detector, police said.
Several images on the videos viewed by Pitt detectives matched areas inside the Winterville church, court documents show. To prepare for the May trial date, detectives and prosecutors reviewed video evidence collected in the case.
Lee Moore, sheriff's office chief of investigations, said an additional count of felonious secret peeping was brought before the grand jury May 7 after prosecutors and detectives viewed a female church member on a tape they had not seen before.
Moore said Harris was not arrested after a true bill of indictment was returned by the jury. The charge, rather, was added by the Pitt County District Attorney's Office, bringing the total number of secret peeping counts against Harris to 48. He also faces four counts second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Adult women and children as young as 5 can be seen on the rest room cameras, including one camera that was apparently installed on the tank of a toilet, court documents show.
Authorities have indicated the incidents for which Harris is charged date back to 2003.
மனைவியை கொலை செய்ய முயன்ற பெந்தெகொஸ்தே பாதிரியார் கைது
கிறிஸ்து கோவில் பெந்தகொஸ்தே பாதிரியார் தன் மனைவியை கத்தியால் பல இடங்களில் குத்தி கொலை செய்ய முயன்றார். இவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டு 1 மில்லியன் டாலர் பாண்டின் கீழ் சிறைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
Preacher accused of stabbing wife locked up on $1 million bond
WEST MEMPHIS - A Forrest City preacher appeared before a West Memphis judge on Wednesday, accused of stabbing his estranged wife.
The 66-year-old was charged with attempt to commit first degree murder and domestic battery.
According to police - Holloway was angry his wife, Linda Driver Holloway, had left him. So he followed her to a West Memphis doctor's office on Monday and allegedly used a pocket knife to stab her multiple times. Police say it all happened in the waiting room in front of other patients.
During Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors told the judge he stabbed his wife around the face and neck at least 15 times. She remains at the MED in critical condition. Family members say she's doing somewhat better, but not out of the woods.
The 66-year-old preacher shook his head as prosecutors also accused him of making threats. They say he made statements since he posted his original bond of $50,000, that he was going to the hospital to "finish the job."
The judge set bond at $1 million. The victim's family left the courthouse, shaking hands and hugging.
"We just want to thank the Lord and we just wanna thank everyone who's praying for our family," said Andre Driver, the victim's nephew.
It's a small step towards justice, but it doesn't make things any easier.
"it's rough it's rough," said Driver. "We've known [Holloway] for years...it's not a victory for anyone, we hurt on both sides."
Holloway is the pastor at the Christ Temple Pentecostal Church in Forrest City. His next court date is May 21st.
Preacher accused of stabbing wife locked up on $1 million bond
WEST MEMPHIS - A Forrest City preacher appeared before a West Memphis judge on Wednesday, accused of stabbing his estranged wife.
The 66-year-old was charged with attempt to commit first degree murder and domestic battery.
According to police - Holloway was angry his wife, Linda Driver Holloway, had left him. So he followed her to a West Memphis doctor's office on Monday and allegedly used a pocket knife to stab her multiple times. Police say it all happened in the waiting room in front of other patients.
During Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors told the judge he stabbed his wife around the face and neck at least 15 times. She remains at the MED in critical condition. Family members say she's doing somewhat better, but not out of the woods.
The 66-year-old preacher shook his head as prosecutors also accused him of making threats. They say he made statements since he posted his original bond of $50,000, that he was going to the hospital to "finish the job."
The judge set bond at $1 million. The victim's family left the courthouse, shaking hands and hugging.
"We just want to thank the Lord and we just wanna thank everyone who's praying for our family," said Andre Driver, the victim's nephew.
It's a small step towards justice, but it doesn't make things any easier.
"it's rough it's rough," said Driver. "We've known [Holloway] for years...it's not a victory for anyone, we hurt on both sides."
Holloway is the pastor at the Christ Temple Pentecostal Church in Forrest City. His next court date is May 21st.
சவுதியில் பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்காக இமாம் கைது
ஜெட்டாவில் ஒரு முஸ்லீம் இமாமை பெண்களை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்காக கைது செய்திருக்கிறார்கள். இவர் குரானை ஓதுவதன் மூலம் வியாதியான பெண்களை குணப்படுத்துபவர்.
இவர் இவ்வாறு பலாத்காரம் செய்கிறார் என்று பல பெண்கள் போலீஸில் புகார் செய்ததன் காரணமாக இவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
Imam accused of sexual harassment
April 30 2007 at 05:26PM
Riyadh - Police in the Saudi city of Jeddah have arrested a Muslim preacher accused of sexual harassment while allegedly attempting to cure sick women by reading from the Koran.
At the mosque where he had preached for 20 years, the 62-year-old imam had advertised a "miracle cure" for sicknesses by reading from the Koran, the Saudi newspaper Okaz reported on Monday.
But the preacher had also repeatedly subjected them to intimate touching. At first, most of the women had been too ashamed to report the man, head of a family whose home was next to the mosque.
Finally, a number of the victims went to the police, who then caught the man in the act, the newspaper reported. - Sapa-DPA
இவர் இவ்வாறு பலாத்காரம் செய்கிறார் என்று பல பெண்கள் போலீஸில் புகார் செய்ததன் காரணமாக இவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
Imam accused of sexual harassment
April 30 2007 at 05:26PM
Riyadh - Police in the Saudi city of Jeddah have arrested a Muslim preacher accused of sexual harassment while allegedly attempting to cure sick women by reading from the Koran.
At the mosque where he had preached for 20 years, the 62-year-old imam had advertised a "miracle cure" for sicknesses by reading from the Koran, the Saudi newspaper Okaz reported on Monday.
But the preacher had also repeatedly subjected them to intimate touching. At first, most of the women had been too ashamed to report the man, head of a family whose home was next to the mosque.
Finally, a number of the victims went to the police, who then caught the man in the act, the newspaper reported. - Sapa-DPA
கேட்க விரும்பாத மக்களிடம் கட்டாய பிரச்சாரம் செய்த கிறிஸ்துவ போதகர் கைது
கனடா கால்கரியில் ஒரு திருவிழாவின் உள்ளே தனது கும்பலுடன் நுழைந்து அங்குள்ள மக்களை வெருட்டி இயேசுக்கு ஆள் சேர்த்த ஒரு பாதிரியார் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.
Preacher accused of inFringement goes to court
UPDATED: 2007-05-14 01:35:40 MST
By PABLO FERNANDEZ
An embattled city preacher will head into a courtroom today accused of imposing his religious beliefs on unsympathetic ears.
Rev. Artur Pawlowski is facing seven criminal charges, including resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and obstruction of justice, in relation to an incident along 17 Ave. S.W. on Aug. 16, 2006.
Pawlowski was arrested after police officers tried to move his followers and him away from the Calgary Fringe Festival, but allegedly refused to leave.
Officers were called in after the group allegedly started chastising and preaching to vendors, including tarot card readers, at the festival.
"Politicians have decided that they don't care about laws anymore and the authorities are ignoring our rights," said Pawlowski, who says he's done nothing wrong.
Preacher accused of inFringement goes to court
UPDATED: 2007-05-14 01:35:40 MST
By PABLO FERNANDEZ
An embattled city preacher will head into a courtroom today accused of imposing his religious beliefs on unsympathetic ears.
Rev. Artur Pawlowski is facing seven criminal charges, including resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and obstruction of justice, in relation to an incident along 17 Ave. S.W. on Aug. 16, 2006.
Pawlowski was arrested after police officers tried to move his followers and him away from the Calgary Fringe Festival, but allegedly refused to leave.
Officers were called in after the group allegedly started chastising and preaching to vendors, including tarot card readers, at the festival.
"Politicians have decided that they don't care about laws anymore and the authorities are ignoring our rights," said Pawlowski, who says he's done nothing wrong.
ஓரிகான் சிறைகளுக்குள் போதைமருந்து கடத்திய கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார்
ஒரு ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரியார் சிறையில் உள்ள சிறைக்கைதிகளுக்கு நல்லுபதேசம் சொல்கிறேன் என்று உள்ளே சென்று அங்குள்ள சிறைக்கைதிகளுக்கு போதைமருந்து கடத்திச்சென்று வினியோகித்திருக்கிறார் என்றும், அங்குள்ள ஒரு கைதியுடன் ஓரின பாலுறவு கொண்டிருக்கிறார் என்றும் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
Catholic Priest Accused Of Smuggling Drugs Into Prison
May 5, 2007 7:25 a.m. EST
Christopher Rizo - AHN Staff Writer
Salem, OR (AHN) - A Roman Catholic priest allegedly smuggled drugs into the Oregon State Correctional Institution and had a sexual relationship with an inmate while working as a prison chaplain.
Thomas Ha, 39, testified Thursday that over a period of years, he and the Rev. Michael Sprauer engaged in multiple sex acts in a prison chapel bathroom.
Additionally, Ha said Sprauer smuggled cocaine, marijuana and tobacco into the medium-security prison for him.
"He said he loved me and would take care of me," Ha said, the Statesman Journal of Salem reported.
The allegations surfaced in testimony Ha gave in a civil trial against the priest, stemming from allegations that Sprauer sexually abused three men while they were minors incarcerated in the 1970s at the MacLaren School for Boys at Woodburn.
After settling with the Archdiocese of Portland, Robert Paul Jr., Randy Sloan and Norman Klettke Jr. are all now suing the priest for allegedly luring them into mutual masturbation and oral sex, mostly, they say, while they were in isolation cells.
In all, at least 15 men claim Sprauer sexually abused them at the youth detention center, according to the Statesman Journal.
Marion County Circuit Judge Marshall Amiton said that he would not allow Ha to testify in front of the jury, ruling that allegations of consensual sex are much different from the sex-abuse allegations that Sprauer faces in the civil trial.
Sprauer, listed as the parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Salem, has denied the charges.
Catholic Priest Accused Of Smuggling Drugs Into Prison
May 5, 2007 7:25 a.m. EST
Christopher Rizo - AHN Staff Writer
Salem, OR (AHN) - A Roman Catholic priest allegedly smuggled drugs into the Oregon State Correctional Institution and had a sexual relationship with an inmate while working as a prison chaplain.
Thomas Ha, 39, testified Thursday that over a period of years, he and the Rev. Michael Sprauer engaged in multiple sex acts in a prison chapel bathroom.
Additionally, Ha said Sprauer smuggled cocaine, marijuana and tobacco into the medium-security prison for him.
"He said he loved me and would take care of me," Ha said, the Statesman Journal of Salem reported.
The allegations surfaced in testimony Ha gave in a civil trial against the priest, stemming from allegations that Sprauer sexually abused three men while they were minors incarcerated in the 1970s at the MacLaren School for Boys at Woodburn.
After settling with the Archdiocese of Portland, Robert Paul Jr., Randy Sloan and Norman Klettke Jr. are all now suing the priest for allegedly luring them into mutual masturbation and oral sex, mostly, they say, while they were in isolation cells.
In all, at least 15 men claim Sprauer sexually abused them at the youth detention center, according to the Statesman Journal.
Marion County Circuit Judge Marshall Amiton said that he would not allow Ha to testify in front of the jury, ruling that allegations of consensual sex are much different from the sex-abuse allegations that Sprauer faces in the civil trial.
Sprauer, listed as the parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Salem, has denied the charges.
கலிபோர்னியா கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் பெடோபைல் வழக்கு
கலிபோர்னியா பிரஸ்னோவை சேர்ந்த கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் ஒரு சிறுவரை 20 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்னர் பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததை இப்போது ஆர்பிட்ரேஷனுக்கு செல்கிறது.
முன்பு இதே கேஸ் விசாரணைக்கு வந்தபோது அந்த சிறுவரை இந்த கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் பலாத்காரம் செய்தார் என்று ஜூரி தீர்ப்பளித்தது.
இப்போது இருபக்கத்தினரும் கோர்ட்டுக்கு வெளியே தீர்த்துக்கொள்ள முடிவு செய்திருக்கிறார்கள்.
“A smart move”
Both sides in Fresno sex-abuse case agree to private arbitration instead of jury trial
Published: May 12, 2007
The trial of a Fresno priest accused of sexually molesting a young man more than 20 years ago was scheduled to go to trial on May 14, but both sides have agreed instead to have the case decided by binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration, instead of a full court trial with jury, is a “smart move,” said Fresno civil litigation attorney, Warren Paboojian, though, he said, he wouldn’t generally resort to it if he had a strong case. But, "if the plaintiffs have a crappy case, then you might want to go with arbitration, but if you have a sexy case, then you want the jurors to hear it," the attorney told the April 5 Fresno Bee.
What this means in the case of the Fresno diocesan priest, Father Eric Swearingen, is uncertain. In 2002, Army Special Forces Sgt. Juan Rocha accused the priest of molesting him in the mid-‘80s at parishes in Bakersfield and Fresno. Rocha claims that memories of the alleged abuse surfaced only in 2002. He brought criminal charges against Swearingen, which the Fresno County district attorney’s office dismissed for lack of evidence. Rocha then filed civil charges against the Fresno diocese.
In December, a judge declared a mistrial when a jury voted 9-3 in favor of Rocha but deadlocked 5-7 on whether the diocese knew or could have known about the alleged abuse. Rocha testified that Swearingen allowed him to sleep overnight at the rectory and there abused him. The diocese has not denied that Rocha spent nights at the rectory. Swearingen, said diocesan lawyer Carey Johnson, knew nothing of a 1929 diocesan policy forbidding laymen from staying in rectories.
During the December trial, Rocha offered the diocese a one-dollar settlement if it agreed to defrock Swearingen. Bishop John Steinbock, who insists on Swearingen’s innocence, refused.
Judge Donald Black had set a retrial of the case for May 14. But on May 4, lawyers from both sides agreed to arbitration rather than a jury trial. The arbitration process involves the full panoply of a jury trial but substitutes a retired judge for the jury. And unlike a jury trial, arbitration proceedings are not open to the public. The date of the process and who will preside have not yet been divulged.
Swearingen, pastor of Holy Spirit parish in Woodward Park, took a leave of absence during the December trial but returned after it ended.
Swearingen “is a fine and dedicated priest and no other complaints have ever been received against him,” said Bishop Steinbock in 2002, when Rocha’s charges against the priest surfaced.
முன்பு இதே கேஸ் விசாரணைக்கு வந்தபோது அந்த சிறுவரை இந்த கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் பலாத்காரம் செய்தார் என்று ஜூரி தீர்ப்பளித்தது.
இப்போது இருபக்கத்தினரும் கோர்ட்டுக்கு வெளியே தீர்த்துக்கொள்ள முடிவு செய்திருக்கிறார்கள்.
“A smart move”
Both sides in Fresno sex-abuse case agree to private arbitration instead of jury trial
Published: May 12, 2007
The trial of a Fresno priest accused of sexually molesting a young man more than 20 years ago was scheduled to go to trial on May 14, but both sides have agreed instead to have the case decided by binding arbitration.
Binding arbitration, instead of a full court trial with jury, is a “smart move,” said Fresno civil litigation attorney, Warren Paboojian, though, he said, he wouldn’t generally resort to it if he had a strong case. But, "if the plaintiffs have a crappy case, then you might want to go with arbitration, but if you have a sexy case, then you want the jurors to hear it," the attorney told the April 5 Fresno Bee.
What this means in the case of the Fresno diocesan priest, Father Eric Swearingen, is uncertain. In 2002, Army Special Forces Sgt. Juan Rocha accused the priest of molesting him in the mid-‘80s at parishes in Bakersfield and Fresno. Rocha claims that memories of the alleged abuse surfaced only in 2002. He brought criminal charges against Swearingen, which the Fresno County district attorney’s office dismissed for lack of evidence. Rocha then filed civil charges against the Fresno diocese.
In December, a judge declared a mistrial when a jury voted 9-3 in favor of Rocha but deadlocked 5-7 on whether the diocese knew or could have known about the alleged abuse. Rocha testified that Swearingen allowed him to sleep overnight at the rectory and there abused him. The diocese has not denied that Rocha spent nights at the rectory. Swearingen, said diocesan lawyer Carey Johnson, knew nothing of a 1929 diocesan policy forbidding laymen from staying in rectories.
During the December trial, Rocha offered the diocese a one-dollar settlement if it agreed to defrock Swearingen. Bishop John Steinbock, who insists on Swearingen’s innocence, refused.
Judge Donald Black had set a retrial of the case for May 14. But on May 4, lawyers from both sides agreed to arbitration rather than a jury trial. The arbitration process involves the full panoply of a jury trial but substitutes a retired judge for the jury. And unlike a jury trial, arbitration proceedings are not open to the public. The date of the process and who will preside have not yet been divulged.
Swearingen, pastor of Holy Spirit parish in Woodward Park, took a leave of absence during the December trial but returned after it ended.
Swearingen “is a fine and dedicated priest and no other complaints have ever been received against him,” said Bishop Steinbock in 2002, when Rocha’s charges against the priest surfaced.
ஓரிகான் மாநிலத்தில் 30 வருடங்களாக சிறுவயது கைதிகளை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்து வந்த ஒரு கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார்
30 வருடங்களாக சிறுவயது கைதிகளை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்து வந்த ஒரு கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் மீது அரசாங்கம் தொடுத்த வழக்கில் அவரே ஆஜரானார்.
உட்பர்ன் சீர்திருத்த பள்ளியில் இருந்த சிறுவயது கைதிகளில் பலர் தங்களை இந்த பாதிரியார் வல்லுறவு கொண்டார் என்று புகார் கொடுத்திருந்தனர்.
ஒரு சிறுவனது சகோதரியின் மரணத்திற்காக அவரை கூட்டிச் சென்றபோது அவ்வாறு கூட்டிச்செல்வதற்கு மாறாக வாய்வழி புணர்வை செய்யவேண்டும் என்று வற்புறுத்தினார் என்று அந்த சிறுவர் கோர்ட்டில் கூறினார்.
Accused Ore. priest defends self at civil trial
05/08/2007
Associated Press
A Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing juvenile inmates more than 30 years ago testified that he spoke to the boys through a grate and almost never entered their cells.
The Rev. Michael Sprauer cited safety and security as reasons for not entering cells at the MacLaren School for Boys in the 1970s.
"I was simply there to talk through the grate to anyone who wanted to talk," Sprauer testified Monday in his first public comments about the allegations that were filed against him in a series of lawsuits in 2003 and 2004. He earlier denied the allegations through his attorney.
Sprauer's testimony contradicted courtroom accounts by men who said the chaplain sexually abused them at the reform school in Woodburn.
The plaintiffs settled their cases against the Portland Archdiocese, which recently won approval of a $75 million plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The settlement, however, didn't prevent the plaintiffs from pursuing a civil suit against Sprauer and the state of Oregon, which employed the priest at MacLaren.
Salem attorney Daniel Gatti, representing three of Sprauer's accusers, repeatedly asked Sprauer whether he had access to disciplinary cells. He also pressed Sprauer to describe what kind of counseling he could have provided by talking through a "hole in the wall."
"My job in visiting them there was a very casual contact," Sprauer said. "It was not intended to be private."
The priest said he recalled entering one cell at MacLaren, and it was for a medical emergency.
At least 15 former MacLaren inmates have sued Sprauer for decades-old incidents of sexual abuse. Six lawsuits are pending in Marion County. The three plaintiffs in the Portland case are Randy Sloan, 49, of Aumsville; Robert Paul Jr., 49, of Salem; and Norman Klettke Jr., 44, of Portland.
All three men blame the priest for inflicting psychological trauma on them that caused or contributed to problems ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to relationship problems.
Sloan testified Monday that Sprauer molested him in a segregation cell in February 1975. Sloan also told jurors that Sprauer demanded oral sex while driving the boy to his sister's funeral in July 1975.
Sprauer's attorney earlier told the jury that a different priest, the Rev. Gordon Dickey, drove Sloan to his sister's funeral. Dickey is expected to testify later in the trial.
___
Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com
உட்பர்ன் சீர்திருத்த பள்ளியில் இருந்த சிறுவயது கைதிகளில் பலர் தங்களை இந்த பாதிரியார் வல்லுறவு கொண்டார் என்று புகார் கொடுத்திருந்தனர்.
ஒரு சிறுவனது சகோதரியின் மரணத்திற்காக அவரை கூட்டிச் சென்றபோது அவ்வாறு கூட்டிச்செல்வதற்கு மாறாக வாய்வழி புணர்வை செய்யவேண்டும் என்று வற்புறுத்தினார் என்று அந்த சிறுவர் கோர்ட்டில் கூறினார்.
Accused Ore. priest defends self at civil trial
05/08/2007
Associated Press
A Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing juvenile inmates more than 30 years ago testified that he spoke to the boys through a grate and almost never entered their cells.
The Rev. Michael Sprauer cited safety and security as reasons for not entering cells at the MacLaren School for Boys in the 1970s.
"I was simply there to talk through the grate to anyone who wanted to talk," Sprauer testified Monday in his first public comments about the allegations that were filed against him in a series of lawsuits in 2003 and 2004. He earlier denied the allegations through his attorney.
Sprauer's testimony contradicted courtroom accounts by men who said the chaplain sexually abused them at the reform school in Woodburn.
The plaintiffs settled their cases against the Portland Archdiocese, which recently won approval of a $75 million plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The settlement, however, didn't prevent the plaintiffs from pursuing a civil suit against Sprauer and the state of Oregon, which employed the priest at MacLaren.
Salem attorney Daniel Gatti, representing three of Sprauer's accusers, repeatedly asked Sprauer whether he had access to disciplinary cells. He also pressed Sprauer to describe what kind of counseling he could have provided by talking through a "hole in the wall."
"My job in visiting them there was a very casual contact," Sprauer said. "It was not intended to be private."
The priest said he recalled entering one cell at MacLaren, and it was for a medical emergency.
At least 15 former MacLaren inmates have sued Sprauer for decades-old incidents of sexual abuse. Six lawsuits are pending in Marion County. The three plaintiffs in the Portland case are Randy Sloan, 49, of Aumsville; Robert Paul Jr., 49, of Salem; and Norman Klettke Jr., 44, of Portland.
All three men blame the priest for inflicting psychological trauma on them that caused or contributed to problems ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to relationship problems.
Sloan testified Monday that Sprauer molested him in a segregation cell in February 1975. Sloan also told jurors that Sprauer demanded oral sex while driving the boy to his sister's funeral in July 1975.
Sprauer's attorney earlier told the jury that a different priest, the Rev. Gordon Dickey, drove Sloan to his sister's funeral. Dickey is expected to testify later in the trial.
___
Information from: Statesman Journal, http://www.statesmanjournal.com
Thursday, May 24, 2007
பள்ளிக்கூட சிறுமியை கற்பழிக்க முயன்றதற்காக பெல்பாஸ்ட் பாதிரியார் மீது வழக்கு
பள்ளிக்கூட சிறுமியை கற்பழிக்க முயன்றதற்காக பெல்பாஸ்ட் பாதிரியார் மீது வழக்கு. தீர்ப்பு எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது.
நன் ஆக விரும்பி தன்னிடம் வந்த 15 வயது பள்ளிச்சிறுமியை பாலுறவு விரும்பி தாக்கியதாக இவர் மீது குற்றம் சுமத்தப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.
Priest accused of indecent assault: verdict expected
Thursday, May 24, 2007
By George Jackson
A verdict is due today correct in the trial of a Co Londonderry priest who denies four charges of indecently assaulting a schoolgirl.
Fr Patrick Joseph Crilly (63) from Tobermore Road, Desertmartin, denies committing the offences in the Derry diocesan pastoral centre between September 1977 and November 1980, starting when the 15-year-old girl came to him for counselling about becoming a nun.
Evidence in the seven-day trial ended yesterday when, in his second day in the witness box, Fr Crilly told prosecution barrister Geoffrey Millar QC that when he was first informed of the allegations by Fr John Farren on November 5, 2005, he contacted the investigating police officer.
"I wanted to speak to the police. I contacted them after I was made aware of the allegations made against me," he told the jury at Derry's Crown Court.
Asked if he was "still active" as parish priest of Desertmartin when he met Fr Farren, the defendant replied "no".
He also denied the series of allegations made against him.
When the prosecuting barrister put it to the defendant that he "wanted to keep dark and secret that which was going on in the pastoral centre between you", Fr Crilly replied: "That is not true."
Mr Millar put it to the defendant that "throughout this period you used and abused your position of trust and as a minister of religion and as a man towards a vulnerable girl and you abused her in the manner in which she has described."
Fr Crilly replied: "I would disagree with that."
நன் ஆக விரும்பி தன்னிடம் வந்த 15 வயது பள்ளிச்சிறுமியை பாலுறவு விரும்பி தாக்கியதாக இவர் மீது குற்றம் சுமத்தப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.
Priest accused of indecent assault: verdict expected
Thursday, May 24, 2007
By George Jackson
A verdict is due today correct in the trial of a Co Londonderry priest who denies four charges of indecently assaulting a schoolgirl.
Fr Patrick Joseph Crilly (63) from Tobermore Road, Desertmartin, denies committing the offences in the Derry diocesan pastoral centre between September 1977 and November 1980, starting when the 15-year-old girl came to him for counselling about becoming a nun.
Evidence in the seven-day trial ended yesterday when, in his second day in the witness box, Fr Crilly told prosecution barrister Geoffrey Millar QC that when he was first informed of the allegations by Fr John Farren on November 5, 2005, he contacted the investigating police officer.
"I wanted to speak to the police. I contacted them after I was made aware of the allegations made against me," he told the jury at Derry's Crown Court.
Asked if he was "still active" as parish priest of Desertmartin when he met Fr Farren, the defendant replied "no".
He also denied the series of allegations made against him.
When the prosecuting barrister put it to the defendant that he "wanted to keep dark and secret that which was going on in the pastoral centre between you", Fr Crilly replied: "That is not true."
Mr Millar put it to the defendant that "throughout this period you used and abused your position of trust and as a minister of religion and as a man towards a vulnerable girl and you abused her in the manner in which she has described."
Fr Crilly replied: "I would disagree with that."
ஆஸ்திரேலிய கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார் மீது கற்பழிப்பு குற்றச்சாட்டு
எட்டு வயது சிறுமியை கற்பழித்ததாக ஒரு ஆஸ்திரேலிய பாதிரியார் மீது குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டுள்ளது.
Ex-priest accused of rapes
• Adelrick D’Cruz in a photo taken about 10 years ago.A FORMER Shepparton Catholic priest will appear in Shepparton Magistrates Court next month charged with rape and other offences.
Adelrick D’Cruz, 77, of Clayton South, did not appear at a file hearing yesterday due to ill health.
He has been charged with 10 counts of unlawful and indecent assault of a girl, 8, as well as three counts of common law rape.
The acts were alleged to have been committed at Flemington in Melbourne between January 1, 1969, and December 31, 1971, and in Yarrawonga between December 1, 1978, and January 31, 1979.
D’Cruz was an assistant priest in Benalla in 1984, and was also in Shepparton for three years in the late 1970s.
He was charged on April 26 and will appear in a committal mention hearing at Shepparton Magistrates Court on June 19.
Father D’Cruz was ordained on March 25, 1957, and spent the latter part of his career ministering in the Sandhurst diocese in northern Victoria.
Ex-priest accused of rapes
• Adelrick D’Cruz in a photo taken about 10 years ago.A FORMER Shepparton Catholic priest will appear in Shepparton Magistrates Court next month charged with rape and other offences.
Adelrick D’Cruz, 77, of Clayton South, did not appear at a file hearing yesterday due to ill health.
He has been charged with 10 counts of unlawful and indecent assault of a girl, 8, as well as three counts of common law rape.
The acts were alleged to have been committed at Flemington in Melbourne between January 1, 1969, and December 31, 1971, and in Yarrawonga between December 1, 1978, and January 31, 1979.
D’Cruz was an assistant priest in Benalla in 1984, and was also in Shepparton for three years in the late 1970s.
He was charged on April 26 and will appear in a committal mention hearing at Shepparton Magistrates Court on June 19.
Father D’Cruz was ordained on March 25, 1957, and spent the latter part of his career ministering in the Sandhurst diocese in northern Victoria.
நியூஸிலாந்து பிரதமர் இந்து மாநாட்டில் கலந்துகொண்டதற்கு முஸ்லீம்கள் கோபம்
நியூஸிலாந்தில் நடந்த இந்து மாநாட்டில் நியூஸிலாந்து பிரதமர் கலந்துகொண்டிருக்கிறார்.
இந்த இந்துமாநாட்டோடு விசுவ இந்து பரிஷதுக்கு தொடர்பு உண்டு என்று கூறி நியூஸிலாந்து முஸ்லீம்கள் கண்டனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
Muslim anger over Prime Minister's Hindu meeting
Thursday, 24th May 2007. 3:55pm
By: Sam Forrest.
IT STARTED out as a gesture to the multi-faith character of New Zealand, but the Prime Minister’s visit to a Hindu meeting has sparked protests from Muslim groups.
Helen Clark attended the meeting in Auckland last week that was organised by the Hindu Council of New Zealand. However, the fact that it had links with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and that anti-Muslim views were expressed, has outraged the country’s Muslim population.
Now Muslim leaders are asking how the Prime Minister could have agreed to open the event, which had as its theme ‘the contribution of Hindus to the life of New Zealand.’
One of the complainants was Sapna Samant, a film maker, who said that while she had no problem with Hindus, the tone of the conference suggested that Indians who were not Hindus were not Indians at all.
Religious Intelligence reports that Hindus make up 79 per cent of the population of India, with Muslims coming next at 12.5 per cent. But in New Zealand it is claimed that Hindus make up the second largest religious group, and has grown by 65 per cent in the last five years.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "She expresses no preference or endorsements of any faith, but always brings a message of the need for understanding, tolerance, and inclusion."
Adding that she attends religious events such as this frequently, it was pointed out that Ashraf Choudhary, a Muslim MP, was at the conference with the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile the Hindu Council of New Zealand defended the conference and denied that they were anti-Muslim. Their leader, Vinod Kumar said that while they were ‘morally’ linked to the VHP, there was no physical link.
இந்த இந்துமாநாட்டோடு விசுவ இந்து பரிஷதுக்கு தொடர்பு உண்டு என்று கூறி நியூஸிலாந்து முஸ்லீம்கள் கண்டனம் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.
Muslim anger over Prime Minister's Hindu meeting
Thursday, 24th May 2007. 3:55pm
By: Sam Forrest.
IT STARTED out as a gesture to the multi-faith character of New Zealand, but the Prime Minister’s visit to a Hindu meeting has sparked protests from Muslim groups.
Helen Clark attended the meeting in Auckland last week that was organised by the Hindu Council of New Zealand. However, the fact that it had links with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and that anti-Muslim views were expressed, has outraged the country’s Muslim population.
Now Muslim leaders are asking how the Prime Minister could have agreed to open the event, which had as its theme ‘the contribution of Hindus to the life of New Zealand.’
One of the complainants was Sapna Samant, a film maker, who said that while she had no problem with Hindus, the tone of the conference suggested that Indians who were not Hindus were not Indians at all.
Religious Intelligence reports that Hindus make up 79 per cent of the population of India, with Muslims coming next at 12.5 per cent. But in New Zealand it is claimed that Hindus make up the second largest religious group, and has grown by 65 per cent in the last five years.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "She expresses no preference or endorsements of any faith, but always brings a message of the need for understanding, tolerance, and inclusion."
Adding that she attends religious events such as this frequently, it was pointed out that Ashraf Choudhary, a Muslim MP, was at the conference with the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile the Hindu Council of New Zealand defended the conference and denied that they were anti-Muslim. Their leader, Vinod Kumar said that while they were ‘morally’ linked to the VHP, there was no physical link.
சிறுவர்களை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்கு கத்தோலிக்க சபை 16 மில்லியன ஈடு
ஒன்பது சிறுவர்களை 16 வருடங்களாக பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்துவந்த பாதிரியார் மார்க் ஃபால்வே என்பவர் சார்பாக அந்த சிறுவர்களுக்கு 16 மில்லியன் டாலர் கொடுக்க கத்தோலிக்க சபை ஒப்புக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது.
கத்தோலிக்க சபையின் ஏராளமான பாதிரியார்கள் இவ்வாறு குற்றம் சாட்டபப்ட்டிருக்கின்றனர். அவர்களில் ஒருவரே இந்த பாதிரியார்.
இவை அனைத்தும் அமெரிக்காவில் நடந்த பாலுறவு பலாத்காரங்களே. இந்தியாவிலும் மற்ற நாடுகளிலும் அமெரிக்கா போல விசாரணை செய்யப்படவில்லை.
Jesuits agree to sex case payout
Nine people who say they were molested by Father Mark Falvey between 1959 and 1975 will divide $16 million from the order.
By John Spano, Times Staff Writer
May 18, 2007
The Jesuit order has agreed to a tentative payout of $16 million to settle claims that one of its priests sexually abused nine Los Angeles children over 16 years ending in 1975.
Mark Falvey was accused of molesting four girls and five boys between 1959 and 1975 at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in Hollywood. Falvey died 31 years ago and was never charged with a crime.
"One of his victims, an 8-year-old girl, tried to commit suicide," said the lawyer for the victims, Raymond P. Boucher.
"This guy brought a lifetime of misery to a group of young children. They'll never get over it," Boucher said.
The agreement in principle was confirmed by the Rev. Alfred Naucke of the California Province of the Society of Jesus. All of the parties still must sign the pact to make it official. Each victim will receive between $1.4 million and $1.6 million.
"I look forward to meeting the victims to apologize to them on behalf of the Society of Jesus," the Rev. John P. McGarry, who heads the order in California and the West Coast, said in a phone interview.
"We wish these brave victims well and hope that others who were hurt by clergy — Jesuits or others — will come forward so they can heal," said Barbara Blaine, an official with SNAP, a support group for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
"We also hope that anyone with suspicions or knowledge of Falvey's crimes will call the police. Even though he is deceased, prosecution of church officials who may have covered up his crimes may still be possible," Blaine said.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which has been sued by more the 500 people claiming they were victims of clergy sexual abuse, did not contribute to the settlement.
Falvey served in Asia and was assigned in 1959 as assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament in Hollywood, where he apparently served until 1975, when he died.
The legal issues in the Falvey case, like in other clergy abuse lawsuits, turned on what the Jesuit order knew about the priest's sexual proclivities, and what its hierarchy did to protect churchgoers in Hollywood.
The evidence against the order was strong, Boucher said.
One victim was ready to testify that while he was being molested by Falvey in Hollywood, another priest blundered into the room.
"Why don't you close the door," Boucher said the priest scolded Falvey.
Boucher, who is the lead lawyer for all of the Los Angeles victims, called Falvey "one of the most evil priests that has ever walked the halls of a church."
"I agree with Mr. Boucher that Father Falvey was not handled correctly by the Jesuit order," McGarry said.
"He should have been removed from ministry" after the first victim.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
john.spano@latimes.com
கத்தோலிக்க சபையின் ஏராளமான பாதிரியார்கள் இவ்வாறு குற்றம் சாட்டபப்ட்டிருக்கின்றனர். அவர்களில் ஒருவரே இந்த பாதிரியார்.
இவை அனைத்தும் அமெரிக்காவில் நடந்த பாலுறவு பலாத்காரங்களே. இந்தியாவிலும் மற்ற நாடுகளிலும் அமெரிக்கா போல விசாரணை செய்யப்படவில்லை.
Jesuits agree to sex case payout
Nine people who say they were molested by Father Mark Falvey between 1959 and 1975 will divide $16 million from the order.
By John Spano, Times Staff Writer
May 18, 2007
The Jesuit order has agreed to a tentative payout of $16 million to settle claims that one of its priests sexually abused nine Los Angeles children over 16 years ending in 1975.
Mark Falvey was accused of molesting four girls and five boys between 1959 and 1975 at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in Hollywood. Falvey died 31 years ago and was never charged with a crime.
"One of his victims, an 8-year-old girl, tried to commit suicide," said the lawyer for the victims, Raymond P. Boucher.
"This guy brought a lifetime of misery to a group of young children. They'll never get over it," Boucher said.
The agreement in principle was confirmed by the Rev. Alfred Naucke of the California Province of the Society of Jesus. All of the parties still must sign the pact to make it official. Each victim will receive between $1.4 million and $1.6 million.
"I look forward to meeting the victims to apologize to them on behalf of the Society of Jesus," the Rev. John P. McGarry, who heads the order in California and the West Coast, said in a phone interview.
"We wish these brave victims well and hope that others who were hurt by clergy — Jesuits or others — will come forward so they can heal," said Barbara Blaine, an official with SNAP, a support group for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
"We also hope that anyone with suspicions or knowledge of Falvey's crimes will call the police. Even though he is deceased, prosecution of church officials who may have covered up his crimes may still be possible," Blaine said.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which has been sued by more the 500 people claiming they were victims of clergy sexual abuse, did not contribute to the settlement.
Falvey served in Asia and was assigned in 1959 as assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament in Hollywood, where he apparently served until 1975, when he died.
The legal issues in the Falvey case, like in other clergy abuse lawsuits, turned on what the Jesuit order knew about the priest's sexual proclivities, and what its hierarchy did to protect churchgoers in Hollywood.
The evidence against the order was strong, Boucher said.
One victim was ready to testify that while he was being molested by Falvey in Hollywood, another priest blundered into the room.
"Why don't you close the door," Boucher said the priest scolded Falvey.
Boucher, who is the lead lawyer for all of the Los Angeles victims, called Falvey "one of the most evil priests that has ever walked the halls of a church."
"I agree with Mr. Boucher that Father Falvey was not handled correctly by the Jesuit order," McGarry said.
"He should have been removed from ministry" after the first victim.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
john.spano@latimes.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)