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FIVE Thai Buddhist monks have been defrocked and fined after a brawl with monks from a nearby temple, police and newspapers said today. The street fight was the culmination of years of antagonism between monks from the two temples who had often exchanged curses, insults and rude gestures as they collected alms on different sides of a road, the Manager newspaper said. "When an ordinary person is given a middle-finger sign, he will be mad. So am I," the paper quoted one of the defrocked monks, Boonlert Boonpan, as saying after the brawl in the north-eastern state of Nong Khai...

2 men testified in church court about the former HISD official Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle A Greek Orthodox priest and retired Houston school district official has been defrocked by church leaders after an investigation into sexual abuse allegations stemming from incidents in the 1970s in Ohio. Gabriel Barrow, who was suspended from duties at St. John the Theologian Church in Webster last year, was permanently removed from the priesthood, said Nikki Stephanopoulos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. --snip-- He started at HISD in 1979 as a history teacher at Barbara Jordan High School.

BROOKLYN, NY (5/6/2005)--A Nigerian priest in the Diocese of Long Island has had his license revoked by Bishop Orris Walker because he wrote and told the bishop he opposed the consecration of V. Gene Robinson an openly gay man to be the bishop of New Hampshire. As a result, the priest who is a U.S. citizen and married with four children now finds he is without income, his car could be repossessed, is $9,000 in arrears in rent, and faces being evicted from his home. The Rev. Emmanuel Sunday Nduka told VirtueOnline that after completing his Master's degree in theology...

PHILADELPHIA - A Methodist minister who had been defrocked for being in a lesbian relationship, then was reinstated, called for an end to discrimination against gays in a speech to hundreds of supporters Sunday. "Other faith traditions out there have tried to shut us down and tell us we're not worthy," said the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, who spoke along with the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, at an interfaith service. "I pray for a day when no one will experience discrimination." Stroud, who was defrocked after she told her Philadelphia congregation that she was in...

Panel votes against earlier decision to defrock Philadelphia woman LINTHICUM, Md. - The United Methodist Church reversed itself Friday, deciding to reinstate a lesbian minister who was defrocked after revealingher relationship with another woman. A church panel voted 8 to 1 to set aside an earlier decision to defrock Irene “Beth” Stroud for violating the church’s ban on openly gay clergy.

A Philadelphia preacher who told her congregation that she is in a lesbian relationship has gotten back her credentials as a United Methodist minister. A regional appeals panel of the church court voted 8-1 on Friday to reinstate Beth Stroud's credentials. She is associate minister at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown. In December, a lower church court had upheld a church law saying that gay men and lesbians must be celibate to be United Methodist ministers. But an appeals panel has ruled there were technical errors in the previous ruling -- that the church’s General Conference never dealt...

BALTIMORE (UMNS)—Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud, who was found guilty of violating United Methodist church law for being a practicing lesbian and lost her clergy credentials last December, won her appeal in a decision announced April 29. Stroud had appealed the Dec. 2 verdict in her clergy trial to the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals, which met April 28-29 at the Sheraton International Hotel near Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The clergy court had found her guilty of violating denomination law, which forbids the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals." Stroud had disclosed that she was living in a committed relationship with...

Methodists to Reinstate Defrocked Minister Updated: Friday, Apr. 29, 2005 - 11:51 AM By FOSTER KLUG Associated Press Writer LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) - The United Methodist Church reversed itself Friday, deciding to reinstate a lesbian minister who was defrocked after revealing her relationship with another woman. A church panel voted 8 to 1 to set aside an earlier decision to defrock Irene "Beth" Stroud for violating the church's ban on openly gay clergy. The Philadelphia minister said she was relieved by the ruling and hopes the church will become more inclusive to people regardless of sexual orientation. After Stroud disclosed...

Six Episcopal Priests to be Defrocked for Opposition to Homosexuality HARTFORD, April 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Six Episcopal priests were warned Sunday that their opposition to the ordination of the first openly homosexual bishop would mean their dismissal as pastors of their parishes, and eventually even to their being defrocked. The six had "abandoned the communion of the church" by their opposition to their bishop, who supported the ordination of New Hampshire's Bishop Gene Robinson, according to a letter from the bishop, Andrew D. Smith. The six have been vocal in their condemnation of Bishop Smith since Robinson's ordination in...

(Hartford-AP, Apr. 9, 2005 10:50 AM) _ Episcopal priests at six churches in Connecticut are being warned they may be removed from their parishes next week because they oppose the church's first openly gay bishop. Bishop Andrew Smith says the priests have, quote, "abandoned the communion of the church." The Hartford Courant reported the story today. The letters were sent to the Rev. Christopher Leighton at St. Paul's Church in Darien; the Rev. Ronald Gauss of Bishop Seabury Church in Groton, the Rev. Gilbert Wilkes of Christ and the Epiphany Church in East Haven, the Rev. Don Helmandollar of Trinity...

HARTFORD, April 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Six Episcopal priests were warned Sunday that their opposition to the ordination of the first openly homosexual bishop would mean their dismissal as pastors of their parishes, and eventually even to their being defrocked. The six had "abandoned the communion of the church" by their opposition to their bishop, who supported the ordination of New Hampshire's Bishop Gene Robinson, according to a letter from the bishop, Andrew D. Smith. The six have been vocal in their condemnation of Bishop Smith since Robinson's ordination in 2003. Rector of St. Paul's Church in Darien, Rev. Christopher...

Press release from the Mission Province Gothenburg and Karlstad February 25, 2005 As expected, the Cathedral Chapter in Karlstad, in session yesterday, February 24, has taken away from the bishop in the Mission Province, Arne Olsson, the authority to exercise the pastoral office in the Church of Sweden. Arne Olsson was consecrated on February 5 as bishop in the Mission Province. The Cathedral Chapter's justification is that Arne Olsson has violated his pastoral vows which bear upon loyalty to the Church of Sweden's orders, with reference to Church Order 2000, chapter 31, paragraph 12.1. During the meeting with the Cathedral...

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - The New Brunswick Theological Seminary has ousted its president and reprimanded him for officiating at his gay daughter's wedding. The Rev. Norman Kansfield, 64, performed the ceremony in Massachusetts, which last year became the first state to sanction same-sex marriage. He could face a church trial later this year. In a letter sent shortly before the June 19 wedding, Kansfield informed the board of his decision to officiate, and said he wasn't seeking its permission. His daughter, Anne, married her partner, Jennifer Aull. The board voted Jan. 28 not to renew Kansfield's contract. "We decided that...

Lexington Episcopal Bishop Stacy Sauls has taken the first step toward defrocking three priests and one deacon. All four have stepped away from the Episcopal Church USA because of theological differences that came to the surface after the consecration of openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. The Rev. Martin Gornik, who recently left Lexington's Church of the Apostles to form Apostles Anglican Church; the Rev. Anna Gulick, a deacon at the church; the Rev. David Brannen, pastor of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Versailles; and the Rev. Alice Linsley, a former rector in Lexington who has been teaching adult...

07:47 PM CST on Monday, February 7, 2005 Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Defrocked priest Paul Shanley, the most notorious figure in the sex scandal that rocked the Boston Archdiocese, was convicted Monday of raping and fondling a boy at his Roman Catholic church during the 1980s. The conviction on all four charges gives prosecutors a high-profile victory in their effort to bring pedophile priests to justice for decades of abuse at parishes around the country. Mr. Shanley, 74, could get life in prison for two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child when...

LONDON - The man who disrupted the men's marathon at the Athens Olympics was defrocked as a Roman Catholic priest Thursday. Neil Horan tackled Brazilian runner Vanderlei de Lima in the men's event. De Lima, who was in the lead when Horan jumped out of the crowd, resumed running but finished third. ''I now cannot preach, I cannot give out communion - I am little more than a pagan,'' Horan said Thursday. He also disrupted the British Grand Prix Formula One race in 2003 by doing what he called a peace dance on the track. In October, Horan was acquitted...

A Methodist minister who was defrocked for declaring that she’s a lesbian living with her partner is taking her case to a church appeals court. The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, of Philadelphia, was ousted Dec. 2 for violating the United Methodist Church’s law against "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" in the clergy. She decided last week to appeal but delayed the announcement until after Christmas weekend: Notice of appeal must be filed this week.

A Methodist minister who was defrocked for declaring that she's a lesbian living with her partner is taking her case to a church appeals court. The Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, of Philadelphia, was ousted Dec. 2 for violating the United Methodist Church's law against "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" in the clergy. She decided last week to appeal but delayed the announcement until after Christmas weekend: Notice of appeal must be filed this week. Stroud said she hesitated to appeal because she's tired and dislikes being in the spotlight, but "there are questions the larger church needs to discuss and wrestle with."...

A Methodist minister who was defrocked for declaring that she is a lesbian living with her partner is taking her case to a church appeals court.     The Rev. Irene Stroud, of Philadelphia, was ousted Dec. 2 for violating the United Methodist Church's law against "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" in the clergy.     Ms. Stroud decided last week to appeal, but delayed the announcement until after Christmas weekend. Notice of appeal must be filed this week. [snip]She said one factor in her decision was something retired Bishop Joseph Yeakel, the judge who presided at her church trial, said to her after the...

A Methodist minister who was defrocked for declaring that she is a lesbian living with her partner ... Ms. Stroud decided last week to appeal, but delayed the announcement until after Christmas weekend. ... Ms. Stroud said she hesitated to appeal because she is tired and dislikes being in the spotlight, but "there are questions the larger church needs to discuss and wrestle with." She said one factor in her decision was something retired Bishop Joseph Yeakel, the judge who presided at her church trial, said to her after the verdict. Bishop Yeakel told Ms. Stroud "the day will come...