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Pope's Dying Hours Uplifted Church's Image Pope John Paul II's Dying Hours Uplifted Image of Battered Roman Catholic Church He Led Pope John Paul II gestures during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, in this Sept. 4, 2002 file photo. Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history's most-traveled pope, has died at 84, the Vatican announced in an e-mail Saturday, April 2, 2005. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File) By RICHARD N. OSTLING The Associated Press Apr 3, 2005 — The...

Prosecutors summoned parents of repeatedly truant children to attend a meeting about the law concerning excessive absences, but 241 of the adults didn't show up. Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols mailed letters about the Tuesday evening meeting to 582 parents, and about 41 percent were absent. State law allows prosecutors to to hold parents accountable for their children's school absences. Knox County in February arrested 19 parents whose children had 10 or more unexcused absences from school. Parents found guilty can be punished by a year in jail. ---

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When is it “OK” for an innocent bystander to be brutalized at the whim of a common thug? Amid the collection of worldviews we endeavor to rationalize in our pluralistic cultural, brutalizing ones neighbor and stranger alike is still repugnant to most. Who among us, whether atheist, Christian, or secular humanist will praise and commend the actions of a judge who in the name of love and understanding does not penalize the lawbreaking thief, rapist, and murderer. Why is it so difficult for the average person to apply this simple example of reality to God? If the Creator God...

<p>Pray and Pay A Manhattan church sells advertising space.</p> <p>NEW YORK--Never mind that business about a camel passing through the eye of a needle, said to be analogous, in its difficulty, to a rich man entering heaven. In ads all over town, Citibank has been telling us to "live richly," and it is now doing so on a huge billboard--140 feet long--above the portico of Grace Church, at Broadway and 10th Street. The avenue bends just where Grace Church stands, making the 1846 building visible for miles downtown, a beautiful neo-Gothic jewel nestled among taller structures, a sacred pause before Broadway veers uptown to theatrical fame.</p>

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - If California's Republicans get their way, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis will join a club so exclusive it has only one member - Lynn J. Frazier, governor of North Dakota during World War I.</p> <p>Frazier served from 1917 to 1921, when he became the first - and for now, the only - governor recalled from office.</p>

Learning from Jesus the Martyrby Curtis J. MitchChristians know Christ by several exalted titles: the Messiah, the Lord, the Savior, the Redeemer. But rarely, if ever, do we invoke Christ as "the Martyr." Yet Scripture describes Him in these very words. We read in the Book of Revelation, for instance, how the Spirit introduces the risen Jesus to the church of Laodicea as "the faithful and true witness" (Rev. 3:14). The key term in this verse is "witness," or in Greek, martys, from which we get the English, "martyr."(1) Among other things, this passage tells us that the biblical vision...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 April 6 Vintage Gamma Rays Credit: ESA / IAS / CEA-SACLAY Explanation: Gamma-rays are the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation. But these high energy photons penetrate and interact in normal materials and cannot be focused by lenses and mirrors like those in optical telescopes. So how do you make an image in gamma-ray light? One way is to use a patterned mask of material which can...

Remarks by the President to the NCAA Sports Champions The East Room 3:42 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Welcome. I like a good, short introduction. (Laughter.) Thanks, Chris, for being here. I appreciate you hosting this, and welcome to the White House. We have never had so many champions inside a room in the White House history, so thank you for making history. Not only on -- when you won the championship, but being here, as well. It's such an honor to welcome you here. It's an unimaginable honor to live here and to share this with people...