Free Republic

A long, long time ago, I was the religion writer and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. It’s a fascinating city in a beautiful region (heaven, you know) and I envy people who get to work out there. The person who holds that position these days, and has for many years, is Jean Torkelson. And I must say that I do not envy her right now. Or maybe I do envy her. That’s what I cannot figure out at the moment. You ask, “Why?” At the moment, Torkelson is covering what has to be one of the strangest...

Global Destiny Ministries members on Sunday circled their spiritual wagons around their pastor, Bishop Thomas Weeks III, now charged with beating his estranged wife, the nationally known evangelist Juanita Bynum. Members of Global Destiny Church in Duluth urged people to cautious about taking sides in the dispute between Bishop Thomas Weeks III and his wife, Juanita Bynum. Most congregants approached for interviews after Sunday's 8 a.m. service declined to comment on the marital problems of Weeks, 40, and Bynum, 48. Those who did urged caution in taking sides in the issue and passing judgment on two people they consider spiritual...

The first openly gay Anglican bishop, Gene Robinson, has called for the Roman Catholic church's attitude to homosexuals to be confronted. The Bishop of New Hampshire said the Vatican's ban on ordaining gay men was "vile", in a speech in London. He received a standing ovation after his speech, in which he spoke of how he had faced prejudice in his role. Some Anglican conservatives had called for the St-Martin-in-the-Fields church venue to be changed to a secular one. Battle for soul of church Bishop Robinson said: "We are seeing so many Roman Catholics joining the church. "Pope Ratzinger may...

All is not well in the Archdiocese of Miami. Attorney Sharon Bourassa of Sunrise, Fla. sent the following (edited) e-mail to a number of individuals, including Pope Benedict XVI: “I was told the Archbishop of Poland met here in the Archdiocese of Miami with Archbishop John Favalora and Monsignor William Hennessey [vicar general of the archdiocese] concerning the firing of a good and holy priest, Andrew Dowgiert. According to one of my priest sources, Archbishop Favalora is requesting that the polish archbishop suspend Father Andrew from the priesthood. “This is an abomination. This is retaliation because we, the faithful, are...

Irish Bishop Resigns Amid Scandal By Shawn Pogatchnik Associated Press Writer Monday, April 1, 2002; 4:13 PM BELFAST, Northern Ireland –– A Roman Catholic bishop announced his resignation Monday after admitting he hadn't done enough to stop a pedophile priest in his diocese, becoming Ireland's most high-profile casualty from sex abuse scandals. Bishop Brendan Comiskey said he had tried but failed to control the Rev. Sean Fortune, who committed suicide in 1999 before his planned trial on 66 criminal charges of molesting and raping boys over nearly two decades. Church superiors accepted the resignation of the 66-year-old Comiskey, who had...