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Pope Francis stirs debate yet again

WASHINGTON - In an interview Pope Francis said Tuesday that each person “must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them” and called efforts to convert people to Christianity “solemn nonsense.”

The interview with atheist Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari set off another round of debate about what the pope meant: Was he saying that people can make up their own minds, even if they disagree with church teachings?

Or was he just using casual language to describe classic church teaching about how people need to come to Catholic doctrine of their free will?

The Rev. Russell Moore, a top official with the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, took the unprecedented step of rebuking Francis, writing that the pope’s interview was “a theological wreck” and that Francis was dabbling dangerously in relativism.

Clergy unit to fight East Boston casino

BOSTON - More than 30 religious leaders from a variety of faiths have joined a new group to fight a proposed casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.

The group, called the Friends of East Boston, is made up of clergy, business leaders and members of nonprofit groups who have been meeting to discuss strategies for defeating the proposed casino.

One opposition leader is Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church pastor the Rev. Thomas Dormurat. He told The Boston Globe that a casino would be “one of the worst things” that could happen to the community.

The clergy are promising to pray, preach and canvass to defeat the project, which goes before East Boston voters on Nov. 5.

Sheriff: Rape report filed before slaying

LAKE CHARLES, La. - A Louisiana sheriff says the wife of a man accused of killing a pastor in front of his congregation filed a rape complaint against the preacher two days before he was killed.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said Monday that investigators are trying to determine whether the woman’s relationship with the minister was consensual.

Woodrow Karey is charged with fatally shooting Ronald Harris during a service Sept. 27 at the Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center in Lake Charles. The rape complaint was filed Sept. 25.

Authorities say Karey called to surrender minutes after the shooting.

  • The Associated Press

Israel museum honors Arab who saved Jews

JERUSALEM - Israel’s Holocaust memorial says it is posthumously honoring an Egyptian doctor who risked his life to rescue Jews during World War II, the first Arab to receive the prestigious recognition of “Righteous Among the Nations.”

Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev says a German researcher found German archival evidence last year that Mohamed Helmy, an Egyptian physician in Berlin, hid a young Jewish woman and provided medical care to her relatives.

The memorial awards the honor to non-Jews who risked great danger to save Jews during the Holocaust. Shalev says a few dozen Muslims have been recognized, but no Arabs because Nazi Germany occupied North Africa only briefly and locals helping Jews faced little physical threat.

  • The Associated Press

Religion, Pages 14 on 10/05/2013

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