NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The highest court in the United Methodist Church will review its 2005 ruling that allowed a clergyman to bar a noncelibate gay man from joining a congregation.
The Judicial Council will take up the issue when it convenes Oct.
27-30, in New Orleans, according to United Methodist News Service.
The ruling came in the case of Ed Johnson, who was senior pastor at South Hill United Methodist Church in Virginia. He had refused to allow a homosexual, who said he was not celibate, to become a member of the congregation. At the time, the Judicial Council effectively ruled for Johnson.
Three other regional church districts - Northern Illinois, Minnesota and Arkansas Annual Conferences - are now asking the high court to reconsider.
Cow-head protest gets Muslims fined
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian court fined 12 Muslims on Tuesday and sentenced one of them to a week in prison for illegally protesting the construction of a Hindu temple and parading a severed cow’s head.
The protest last August stoked tensions among Malaysia’s three main ethnic groups - the Malay Muslim majority and Chinese and Indian minorities, most of them Buddhists, Christians or Hindus who have complained that their religious rights are often sidelined in favor of Islam.
The 12 men were among scores of Muslims who marched with a bloodied cow’s head from a mosque to the central Selangor state chief minister’s office to denounce the state government’s plan to build a Hindu temple in their largely Muslim neighborhood. The cow is the most sacred animal in Hinduism.
Abortion doctor subject of complaint
WICHITA, Kansas - A Kansas doctor who provided second opinions for a late-term abortion provider who was gunned down last year could face disciplinary action from a state medical regulatory board.
Dr. Ann Neuhaus provided the second opinions for Dr. George Tiller that are required under Kansas law for any abortion performed after the 21st week of pregnancy when a fetus is viable, or can survive outside the womb.
The Kansas Board of Healing Arts filed an 11-count disciplinary complaint against Neuhaus over some of her second opinions, alleging the Nortonville woman failed to properly evaluate whether an abortion of a viable fetus was necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.
Baptized baby dies; police investigate
CHISINAU, Moldova - Moldovan police say they are investigating the case of a 6-week-old baby who died minutes after his baptism, apparently due to having inhaled water during the ceremony.
The baby’s relatives say he died after gulping water during his baptism on Friday in a Moldovan village.
In the Orthodox Christian religion, babies are baptized by being briefly immersed three times in water. Priests cover the infant’s mouth and nose.
Church spokesman Epistimia Goncearenco said Tuesday the priest who performed the baptism is being investigated for manslaughter.
Religion, Pages 25 on 07/29/2010