Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Vermont Statute of Limitations at Issue in Priest Abuse Case
May 12 2008 // A Vermont judge said a jury in Burlington can consider awarding punitive and compensatory damages to a former altar boy suing the state’s Roman Catholic diocese over sexual abuse he says he suffered at the hands of a...
100-Year-Old Baptist Church in Georgia Burns to Ground
Mar 3 2008 // State fire investigators were sifting through the charred remains of a central Georgia church that burned to the ground. “The only thing standing is the face of the church,” McIntyre, Ga., police Sgt. Bernard...
Oklahoma Fires Destroy Buildings, Vehicles
Feb 27 2008 // Several firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported as fires whipped by fierce winds charred thousands of acres of Oklahoma grassland and destroyed buildings and vehicles. At least...
Report: Free Smoke Detector Distribution Lags in Rural Areas
Feb 20 2008 // They’re among the most effective lifesaving devices a homeowner can have, cutting the risk of death from a fire nearly in half. But rural communities — where people are at greatest danger of dying by fire —...
S.C. Church Fire Causes $300,000 Damage, Arson Ruled Out
Feb 20 2008 // Sumter County, S.C. fire officials are investigating the origin of a church fire that caused about $300,000 in damages and destroyed the sanctuary. No foul play is suspected. Sumter Fire Captain Brian Horton said the fire...
People Flee as Fires in Rain-Starved Carolinas, Va. Burn Homes
Feb 12 2008 // Wind-whipped wildfires chased churchgoers from worship, forced hundreds of residents to flee homes and closed highways across the rain-starved Carolinas and Virginia on Sunday. Twelve small structures, including at least...
Georgia Pastor Charged for Arson in Church Fire
Jan 21 2008 // The pastor of an Albany, Ga., church has been charged with first degree arson in connection with a fire that did severe damage to the church, the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s office said. The Rev....
Latest Ala. Church Fire Accidental, Officials Look for Arson Link in 2 Others
Jan 17 2008 // Alabama investigators said a blaze that gutted a Blount County church on Tuesday was an accident, but they are still trying to determine whether there was a link between two church fires in Chilton County. Flames burned...
Two Charged in East Alabama Church Fires
Jan 8 2008 // Two Smiths, Ala., men have been charged on arson and burglary charges in connection with three church fires that occurred since Jan 1, State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk announced Monday. Geoffrey Parquette, 21, was charged with...
Oregon Man Alleges Omaha Diocese Ignored Abuse Reports
Jan 8 2008 // A second man from Springfield, Ore., has filed a lawsuit in Nebraska alleging that the Omaha Archdiocese ignored reports that one of its priests was having improper contact with children. The lawsuit was filed this week in...
Judge Rules Vt. Statute of Limitations Not a Defense for Diocese
Jan 7 2008 // A Superior Court judge has overturned a jury ruling that Vermont’s Roman Catholic Diocese isn’t liable for a pedophile priest because a victim’s lawsuit was filed after the statute of limitations had...
3rd Alabama Church Arson in 2 Days Prompts Command Post
Jan 7 2008 // Investigators are trying to determine what started separate fires that gutted a church and two houses in rural Lee County, Ala. Authorities said a man was seriously injured in a house fire reported about 1 a.m. on Jan. 3,...
Fire Heavily Damages South Carolina Church
Jan 4 2008 // A fast-moving fire destroyed the sanctuary of a Spartanburg County, S.C. church, bringing down its steeple. The employees and construction crew inside escaped without injury when the Abner Creek Baptist Church caught fire...
Ga. Church Heavily Damaged, 2nd Church Arson in a Week
Jan 3 2008 // State and local authorities are investigating an apparent burglary and arson that left an Albany, Ga., church heavily damaged. The fire was reported about 7:30 a.m. Monday at Metropolitan Baptist Church. The Georgia...
N.C. Man Sentenced in Fires at 3 Greenville Churches
Dec 20 2007 // A man who pleaded guilty to setting fires at three Greenville, N.C., churches last year has been sentenced to 10 years to 12 years in prison. A Pitt County Superior Court judge sentenced 28-year-old Seth Parker Price of...
Man Sues over Alleged Sexual Abuse by Franciscan Brother
Nov 30 2007 // A former Carlsbad, New Mexico, resident who claims a Franciscan brother sexually abused him as a teenager in the late 1970s is suing the brother, the order he belongs to and two local parishes. The civil lawsuit, filed...
Lawsuit Filed Against Iowa-based Insurer for Churchgoing Christians
Nov 29 2007 // Two fair-housing groups have sued an Iowa insurance company that pays policyholders’ church tithes if an injury at home leads to lost income. The insurance company also doubles medical limits if someone is hurt while...
Community Spirit and Insurance Money Rebuilding Pa. Church into Jewel
Nov 5 2007 // Surrounded by gold leaf, the brightly painted image of Christ on a donkey glowed through scaffolding under an artist’s lamp. The almost complete religious icon is a victory for the 105-year-old All Saints Orthodox...
Insurer for Norwich, Conn. Diocese Settles Another Abuse Case
Oct 30 2007 // Bishop Michael Cote of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. says a settlement of $170,000 will be paid to a Pawcatuck man who claims he was molested by a priest in a Stonington church. The word of the settlement came in a letter...
Western Mass. Diocese, Abuse Victims Near Settlement
Oct 29 2007 // Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Mass., clergy abuse victims and the insurance carriers confirm that the sides have agreed to enter nonbinding settlement talks in a two-year old lawsuit. More than...
