Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Vlazny Tells Oregon Catholics of Cash-Flow Problem
May 4 2006 // Portland, Ore., Archbishop John Vlazny is warning Catholics throughout Western Oregon that the Archdiocese is facing “serious cash flow problems,” and needs to cut $1 million from its budget for the upcoming...
Diocese Settles Claims With More Insurance Companies
Apr 24 2006 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane has reached settlements totaling $4.25 million with two of its insurance carriers in a dispute over coverage of sex-abuse claims, Bishop William Skylstad says. It is the second time in...
Vermont Church Settles Abuse Lawsuit
Apr 21 2006 // A lawsuit filed by a former altar boy who claimed he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in the 1970s has been settled for $965,000 as the case was due to go to trial. Michael Gay, 38, of South Burlington had claimed...
Ind. Pastor Mom Charged with Stealing Soldier’s Life Insurance Money
Apr 21 2006 // A pastor whose soldier son died in Iraq was charged with spending $250,000 in insurance money meant for the soldier’s young daughter. Prosecutors said Janie Lee Espinoza spent all the cash on cars, jewelry, a Florida...
Insurers Paid $43 Million of $150 Million Boston Clergy Abuse Settlements
Apr 20 2006 // The Roman Catholic Church in Boston has paid a total of $150.8 million through June 2005 to settle claims of sex abuse by clergy, with $43.3 million of that paid by insurance companies, according to financial information...
Archdiocese uses reserves to settle sex-abuse claims, pays $5.25 million
Apr 17 2006 // News Currents The Seattle Archdiocese looked deep into its reserve funds to cover the cost of settling sex abuse claims, church officials said. Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Wash., and one of its main...
Ala. Officials Arrest 3 Following February Church Arson Fires
Mar 8 2006 // Authorities and residents of Alabama got some good news on Wednesday following a series of church fires last month. Three college students from Birmingham were arrested in connection with nearly a dozen church fires in the...
Bell says tenth Ala. church fire ‘unrelated’ to previous nine
Mar 6 2006 // It’s likely that the 10th fire at a the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church near the Mississippi line was started by an arsonist whose actions are totally unrelated to the arsonists responsible for any of the other...
Commissioner Bell: 10th Alabama Church Fire ‘Unrelated’ to Previous 9
Feb 16 2006 // It’s likely that the tenth fire at a the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church near the Mississippi line was started by an arsonist whose actions are totally unrelated those of the arsonists responsible for any of the...
10th Alabama Church Torched, Authorities Suspect ‘Bosom Buddies’
Feb 13 2006 // Investigators believe a pair of men in their 20s or 30s, likely “bosom buddies,” are responsible for a string of church fires in rural Alabama, as authorities confirmed the latest blaze at a Baptist church on...
Insurance Companies Offer Rewards in Ala. Church Fires
Feb 10 2006 // Two companies insuring several rural churches burned in Bibb County and west Alabama are offering rewards that could total more than $77,000, in addition to state and federal rewards totaling $10,000. Five church fires...
Burned Ala. Churches File Claims as Fires Ruled Arson
Feb 8 2006 // The five rural Alabama Baptist churches either damaged or destroyed in fires last week were able to begin filing insurance claims Feb. 6 after all the fires were formally ruled arsons by the state insurance commissioner,...
N.Y. Church Sues Insurer Over $1.2 Million Thefts Blamed on Priest
Jan 26 2006 // A Roman Catholic church in Manhattan has sued the Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. charging breach of contract, claiming the insurance carrier has improperly refused to pay $1.22 million stolen by a priest. The Church of...
All But 1 West Virginia Miners Found Dead; Early Reports Said 12 Survived
Jan 4 2006 // Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 3 a.m. EST. News prior to then indicated that early reports were 12 miners in a West Virginia coal mine explosion had been found alive. Hours later, officials said that was...
Living Near Restaurants, Medical Buildings, Grocery Stores Has Risks
Jan 2 2006 // If you live within a mile of a church, you’re far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a church. But if you live within a mile of a restaurant, you face a significantly...
Drivers living near restaurants pose higher risks than church neighbors
Jan 2 2006 // Why people who live close to restaurant are more likely to pay more for auto insurance. Drivers who live within a mile of a church are far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a...
Living Near Restaurants, Medical Buildings, Grocery Stores Has Risks
Jan 1 2006 // If you live within a mile of a church, you’re far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a church. But if you live within a mile of a restaurant, you face a significantly...
Drivers living near restaurants pose higher risks than church neighbors
Jan 1 2006 // Why people who live close to restaurant are more likely to pay more for auto insurance. Drivers who live within a mile of a church are far less likely to have a car accident than drivers who live more than a mile from a...
News Briefs
Dec 18 2005 // Massachusetts Auto Producer Reassignments Delayed: Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler has asked that a plan for reassignment of auto insurance producers doing business with the state’s residual...
Conn. High Court Asked to Rule on Catholic Church Abuse Documents
Dec 9 2005 // In a case that could have implications for New York Cardinal Edward Egan, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport asked the Connecticut Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that newspapers can ask for documents related...
