Saturday, April 6, 2013
Focus of visa talks
is families vs. jobs
WASHINGTON -Religious and labor leaders are criticizing plans by senators writing a bill to boost employment-based immigration and limit visas granted to people because of family ties.
On a conference call Wednesday, officials representing the Roman Catholic Church, the AFL-CIO and others said that family immigration is a cornerstone of the nation’s immigration policy and that shouldn’t change.
AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka says immigration reform should work to unite families, not divide them.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and others involved in writing the bill say U.S. citizens should only be able to sponsor immediate family members to join them in the U.S. - not siblings and others as is now allowed. Instead they want more visas for people with job prospects or educational achievements.
Philippines, rebels foresee pact soon
MANILA, Philippines -Philippine officials and the largest Muslim rebel group in the country said Wednesday that they expect to conclude a peace accord as early as next month despite unresolved issues, including the delicate task of disarming the 11,000-strong guerrilla force.
Government negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer and rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front separately said that a peace pact could be reached in May or June.
They expressed confidence that the remaining issues could be resolved in the next round of negotiations this month.
The Muslim separatist uprising in the country’s south, homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, has left more than 100,000 people dead since the early 1970s.
School removes picture of Jesus
CINCINNATI - A Jesus portrait that has hung in a southern Ohio school district’s buildings since 1947 has been taken down because of concerns about the costs of a federal lawsuit.
Superintendent Phil Howard of Jackson City Schools said the decision was made after the district’s insurance company declined to cover litigation expenses. He said a student club that the school says owns the portrait took it down Wednesday morning at his direction.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom from Religion Foundation had sued on behalf of a student and two parents, calling the portrait an unconstitutional promotion of religion in a public school.
Vandal destroys statue of Christ
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Police are investigating after a man destroyed a 100-year-old statue of Jesus outside a Catholic church.
The 6-foot-tall concrete statue was damaged on Easter.
A surveillance video shows a man pushing and pulling the 750-pound icon to the ground.
When church members surveyed the damage the statue was lying on the ground, with both arms broken off, a shoulder missing and a crack running the length of its body.
The head of security at Sacred Heart Church told the Rock Island Argus that the damage is “heartbreaking.”
Parishioners plan to raise money to try to replace the statue, which is valued at $20,000.
Religion, Pages 12 on 04/06/2013