Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Documents Show How Ex-Cardinal Handled Conn. Sex Abuse Claims
Dec 3 2009 // Recently retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan expressed skepticism over sexual abuse allegations against priests when he was a Connecticut bishop a decade ago, saying he found it “marvelous” that so few...
Fire Official Urges Georgia Churches to Be on Arson Watch
Nov 20 2009 // Georgia’s top fire official is urging churches to bolster security after two metro Atlanta churches were set on fire. Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine said officials are investigating...
Savannah Diocese Settles Priest Sex Abuse Case for $4.2 Million
Nov 4 2009 // The Diocese of Savannah said it has reached a $4.24 million agreement through a court-ordered mediation in South Carolina with Allan Ranta who alleged he was sexually molested by former priest Wayland Y. Brown between 1978...
Cleanup Starts After Tornadoes, Storms Slam Midwest States
Aug 21 2009 // Residents began cleaning up Aug. 20 after tornadoes and severe storms slammed a large part of the Midwest, tearing the roofs from buildings and overturning vehicles. The National Weather Service in Davenport, Iowa,...
Insurer Dropped as Defendant in Wisconsin Diocese Case
Jul 20 2009 // A judge has dropped an insurance company from a lawsuit accusing the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wis., of covering up a priest’s sexual assaults. Milwaukee-based Indiana Insurance Co. asked to be dropped from the...
Maine’s High Court Rejects Church Officials’ Charitable Immunity Defense
Jul 9 2009 // Maine’s highest court has ruled against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in a sex-abuse case, concluding that a charitable immunity defense cannot be raised if church officials acted intentionally. In a 5-2...
It Figures
Jun 1 2009 // $9 Million Minimum value of settlements that the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware estimates it will have to pay to over child sexual abuse cases. The diocese says it may have to sell assets to pay them, although...
Delaware Diocese Weighs Selling Assets to Pay Abuse Settlements
May 18 2009 // The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, may have to sell assets to pay for settlements in child sexual abuse cases. Bishop Francis Malooly says settlements will probably exceed $9 million next month. But Diocesan...
Mennonites Seek Auto Insurance Law Exemption
May 18 2009 // The law requires them to buy motor vehicle insurance but their religion keeps them from using it. The small community of Mennonites that multiplied along a web of dirt roads in rural southeast Georgia has steadily grown...
Mennonites Seek Auto Insurance Law Exemption
May 18 2009 // The small community of Mennonites that multiplied along a web of dirt roads in rural southeast Georgia has steadily grown the same way it does just about everything: Quietly. The community’s 100 or so members have...
Religious Group Seeks Exemption From Georgia Auto Insurance Law
May 11 2009 // The small community of Mennonites that multiplied along a web of dirt roads in rural southeast Georgia has steadily grown the same way it does just about everything: Quietly. The community’s 100 or so members have...
Gay Marriage Leaps ahead in Maine, New Hampshire
May 8 2009 // Jennifer Curran could only sit in the pews of her Roman Catholic church over the years and watch as bride after bride — friends, her two sisters — walked down the aisle. Now that her home state of Maine has...
Fargo, N.D., Mayor: More Levees Will Be Breached
Mar 30 2009 // By James MacPherson and Carson Walker The bloated Red River briefly breached a dike in Fargo, N.D. early on March 29, pouring water into a school campus and the mayor called it a “wakeup call” for a city that...
Utah Opens Bars to Public, Increases Liability Coverage Requirements
Mar 11 2009 // Getting into a bar in Utah is about to become a lot easier. Legislative leaders and Gov. Jon Huntsman agreed to eliminate the state’s much-criticized private club system. Utah is the only state in the country that...
Changing Demographics Offer a World of Opportunity for Enterprising Agents
Mar 9 2009 // Minorities Destined to Become Majority by Mid-Century Before the 21st century reaches the half-way mark, more than 50 percent of the population of the United States will be represented by a vast cultural mix of people...
Fort Worth Diocese Settles Abuse Suit Over Priests
Mar 6 2009 // The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, has reached another settlement involving sexual abuse claims against a priest who died in 1999, including one case of alleged abuse by two other now-dead priests. Most of the...
Bill Eliminates Need for Liability Insurance at Homeless Camps
Mar 5 2009 // A bill making it clear that churches can house the homeless inside or outside passed the Washington House and was sent to the Senate. Rep. Brendan Williams of Olympia, Wash., sponsored the bill to counter a homeless...
Demographic Shift Offers Opportunity for Agents
Feb 22 2009 // Minorities Destined to Become Majority by Mid-Century Before the 21st century reaches the half-way mark, more than 50 percent of the population of the United States will be represented by a vast cultural mix of people...
Ex-Georgia Pastor, Son Face Arson, Insurance Fraud Charges
Feb 13 2009 // A former Barrow County pastor and his son have been charged with arson for setting fire to a church three years ago. Barrow County sheriff’s deputies arrested 49-year-old Quincy Arnold of Lawrenceville Tuesday....
Arkansas House Approves Bill Allowing Guns in Churches
Feb 13 2009 // The Arkansas House of Representatives has approved a bill allowing concealed handguns in churches, despite hearing arguments that lawmakers should put their faith in God, not guns. The bill, which passed on a 57-42 vote...
