Wallis supports path to citizenship
WASHINGTON - Evangelical leaders said Monday they will support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants as part of immigration legislation, the first time they’ve taken an affirmative stance on the contentious issue.
Jim Wallis, head of the Christian social justice group Sojourners, said it’s part of a “sea change” in the evangelical community, driven in part by the increasing numbers of immigrants in congregations.
Sojourners is part of a coalition of evangelical groups called the Evangelical Immigration Table that has been lobbying for an immigration overhaul to bring the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants into legal status. Before Monday the groups had stopped short of advocating for citizenship.
- The Associated Press Mugabe to pope: Please visit Africa
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe says he wants Pope Francis to visit Africa because he is “a man of God who will be praying for all of us, praying for the sinful world to repent.”
Mugabe attended the pope’s inaugural Mass on Tuesday despite a ban on him traveling to most European countries in protest of his human rights record and alleged vote rigging in violent elections. Vatican City is not affected by the ban. Vatican officials said no formal invitations were sent out and representatives of all world governments were welcome to come to the pope’s installation.
Pope John Paul II visited Zimbabwe on an African pilgrimage in 1988. At his request, Mugabe suspended criminal executions, but hangings resumed nearly a decade later.
- The Associated Press County to auction
Jeffs compound
SALT LAKE CITY - Washington County officials are planning to auction a compound belonging to polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to pay a judgment to a former spokesman for the sect Jeffs led.
Willie Jessop, a former spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, sued Jeffs and other leaders of the sect, alleging they arranged a break-in at his business, where several computers, hard drives and other property were stolen.
The FLDS leaders did not respond to the suit and a judge awarded Jessop a $30 million judgment.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports officials will auction the $2.65 million, 6-acre complex in Hildale, Utah, on April 25.
Jeffs is serving a life sentence in prison in Texas after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two of his underage brides.
- The Associated Press Discrimination lawsuit settled
LINCOLN, Neb. - A Nebraska-based company accused of refusing to hire an Oklahoma man because of his religious beliefs has settled a discrimination lawsuit in the case.
Voss Lighting agreed to pay $82,500 to former job candidate Edward Wolfe, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Lincoln company over the allegations last year in federal court in Oklahoma.
The lawsuit says Wolfe was subjected to numerous questions about his religious beliefs and practices during the interview, including where and when he was “saved,” according to the lawsuit.
Religion, Pages 14 on 03/23/2013