from afp:
A French woman claiming to have been brainwashed by the secretive Catholic society Opus Dei is suing it for allegedly keeping her illegally as a domestic servant, she told AFP Tuesday.
Catherine T., who asked not to be identified by her family name, said she joined a hoteliers' school in northeastern France in 1985, aged 14, which she later discovered was run by associates of Opus Dei. She said she was forced to take vows and made to work as a domestic servant for virtually no pay.
Opus Dei responded in a statement that it was "not involved in the charges being brought" and had "nothing to be guilty about."
It will be the first ever trial targeting the organisation, branded a sect by some, which came to wide attention after featuring in the blockbuster novel and film "The Da Vinci Code".
from oregonian:
Not long after the Paranormal Researchers of Oregon Society banded together early this year, the members decided that in addition to investigating strange events and places, they wanted to find a way to give back. They needed a charity. Founder Mark Miner had a suggestion: the Oregon Indigent Burial Fund. "Everyone knew at that moment that this was the one for us," Miner said. "It fit with us all the way around. If we can't help the spirits find their peace through research, then we can do it through their burial." The state of Oregon, which administers the fund, would be glad to have the help -- as soon as the lawyer says it's legal to accept the donation and someone figures out how such a donation would be spent. The fund reimburses funeral providers for cremating the 250 to 300 bodies of those people who are not claimed by relatives or friends every year throughout the state. "It's terrible to turn down money, so we're trying to find a way to accept," said Christine Stone, spokeswoman for the public health section of the Department of Human Services. Miner, 42, an Albany writer, said he has long been interested in forming a group that would look into paranormal activity "geared toward the science of finding proof."
another step closer to a one world religion?:
50 US churches read from the quran on sunday
from nbc washington:
Sunday services at the National Cathedral today included readings from the Torah and the Quran. It was one of dozens of services taking place all across the country today as part of the Faith Shared project. The project is designed to help promote understanding and respect across all religions. Today's service was led by several religious leaders from the DC area, including an Imam, a Rabbi, and a Priest. Similar services also took place in more than 70 other churches today, in 32 different states and D.C. This was the first year for the event and it was organized by the Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First, both based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1994 the Interfaith Alliance has more than 185,000 members across the country that represent 75 different faiths. Human Rights First is a leading human rights advocacy organization. Founded in 1978, it works in the U.S. and abroad to create secure and humane justice, human dignity, and the respect for the rule of the law.
from cnn:
Self-help guru James Ray has been convicted of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony, but he was found not guilty of manslaughter charges. The case will continue June 28, when the jury will convene to make a decision regarding aggravating circumstances in the case.
Prosecutors claimed that Ray's recklessness in operating the sweat lodge caused the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, New York; James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee; and Lizbeth Marie Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minnesota. They died after participating in a the ceremony organized and led by Ray in 2009. At least 15 others who took part in the sweat lodge ceremony became ill. More than 40 others were uninjured.
Prosecutors argued that the lodge, made of willow trees and branches and covered with tarpaulins and blankets, was heated to a perilously high temperature, causing the participants to suffer dehydration and heatstroke. They also said Ray didn't monitor the temperature inside the lodge or the well-being of participants and was indifferent to those clearly having trouble.
Ray's lawyers countered that what happened was a tragic accident, not a crime. They asked witnesses who were in the sweat lodge whether they signed a release form warning them of the dangers. All replied that they signed, but some said they didn't read the form.
Ray's attorneys also suggested that exposure to an unknown toxin in the lodge -- perhaps a pesticide, rat poison or something in the type of wood used to heat the rocks -- could have caused the deaths.
Event participants paid up to $10,000 to seek "new areas of consciousness" at the October 2009 Spiritual Warrior retreat in the desert, according to trial testimony. Many had attended previous James Ray International seminars.
from ncregister:
SGR Games, LLC has created 'Vatican Wars' (formerly 'Priestville'), a new online Facebook game. Think of it as 'Mafia Wars' meets the Church. The game divides players into either Templars (socially conservative) or Crusaders (socially liberal), and then allows them to “serve as Catholic priests,” take positions on social issues, and elect a Pope. According to a press release by SGR Games, the test run of the game, involving 30,000 players, had some shocking results. First, the game’s creators were horrified by the lengths some players were willing to go to become Pope. “It was horrifying,” said Cheyenne Ehrlich, founder of SGR Games. “We had three reports of a player being blackmailed into quitting the race for Pope in the game. And the amount of player bullying we saw turned our stomachs. It was so awful that, on several occasions, we considered ending the game.”
from telegraph:
The last Grand Master of the warrior monks who fought in the Crusades, Jacques de Molay, was executed in Paris in 1314 on charges of heresy, black magic and idolatry. His death was part of a concerted campaign to suppress the chivalric order by King Philip IV of France, who had grown suspicious of the Templars' power and envious of their wealth. Although it was the French king who ordered de Molay to be put to death, the Templars have for centuries accused the Church in Rome of complicity. Pope Clement V initiated an inquest into the order which led to many knights being subjected to heresy trials, before disbanding altogether. The movement was reborn in the early 19th century as a charitable organisation and has branches around the world.
The Italian chapter of the order has written to Pope Benedict XVI asking him to issue a pardon for de Molay and to acknowledge that he was a victim of false accusations. "There was an enormous degree of complicity because Clement V, who was Pope at the time, was under huge pressure from King Philip," Walter Grandis, 64, the current head of Grand Prior of the Knights Templar in Italy, told The Daily Telegraph. "This was an appalling crime and a miscarriage of justice that the Church allowed to happen... We're asking for de Molay to be pardoned so that we can finally turn a page in history and work towards reconciliation," said Mr Grandis, who recently wrote a book on the order, called The Templars: The Real Secret.
from catholic.org:
Long Beach Police announced the arrest Thursday night. The stolen relic, a bone from St. Anthony's body, was housed in a 16th century reliquary, or case, which is used for the display of such relics. Typically reliquaries are made of gold or silver and are virtually priceless for their exquisite workmanship, not to mention the relics they contain... The police were contacted and they promptly began their search. A suspect was described as a woman in her late thirties who had been seen at all of Sunday's masses, and who took what was described as an unusual interest in the relic. The break in the case came from a surveillance video obtained from a nearby business. Police did not say what information from the video they used to identify the suspect, 41 year-old Maria Solis who was arrested and questioned on Thursday. Police have not suggested a motive in the case. The parishioners of the church prayed for the return of the relic, and were very grateful to see it return undamaged. Perhaps surprisingly, St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things.
harold camping's stroke a sign from god?
from beliefblog:
Harold Camping, the leader of the apocalyptic movement that predicted the end of the world would begin on May 21, has suffered a stroke, according to a statement on his ministry's web site on Tuesday. Camping suffered a "mild stroke" last Thursday, according to the statement posted on the website of Family Radio, Camping's California-based broadcast ministry.
"Mr. Camping is receiving excellent care, and the doctors treating him are encouraged with the progress he is making," the statement said. "Mr. Camping's family appreciates everyone's thoughts and prayers."
“This was all we were told to tell everyone,” an operator at Family Radio said Monday, after she read the same statement that later appeared on Family Radio's website. The operator, who would not give her name, said she and Family Radio’s other operators came to work Monday morning to find the statement from the Camping family on their desks.
from beliefnet:
The irreverent and hilarious The Book of Mormon musical dominated the 65th annual Tony Awards on Sunday (June 12), winning the award for Best Musical and becoming one of the most honored productions in Broadway history.
Broadway neophytes Trey Parker and Matt Stone thanked their South Park fans and the audiences who are packing the show. “You guys made this show what it is,” Parker said. “And therefore, you’re going to have to atone for it one day.” He went on to jokingly thank the “co-writer who passed away. Mr. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion. He couldn’t be here tonight, but — you did it, Joseph! You got the Tony!”
from guardian:
Police in Texas are investigating whether a tip-off from a woman claiming to be a psychic that sparked a hunt for a mass grave of dismembered bodies, including children, was a hoax. Officers raided a rural farmhouse in Hardin, north-east of Houston, after receiving a report that up to 30 bodies were hidden inside. But police gave up the search hours later after nothing untoward had been found. "There's no crime scene," said Liberty County judge Craig McNair as deputies, Texas Rangers and FBI agents ended their fruitless search that was beamed live to millions on national TV. Captain Rex Evans, spokesman for the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, said the woman, who twice called in the tip, would be investigated for making a false report.
Lexicon:
eu,
eugenics,
homosexual,
music,
new york,
pop occulture,
prince harry,
royals,
satya sai baba,
weddings
evangelicals see declining influence in US* 
belgians molested by catholic priests to file suit against vatican* 
from spirited atheist: The study, conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York at a cost of $1.8 million (mainly borne by the church and Catholic organizations) relied heavily on data provided by the church. The report suggests that Catholic priests who came of age in the 1940s and 1950s were unprepared for the sexual revolution of the 1960s, lost their ethical moorings and violated children because of the confusion and stress created by an altered social and sexual climate. I’ll buy just one part of that theory—the part about priests being unprepared not only for the greater sexual openness of the Sixties but also for any understanding of the importance of pleasurable, consensual sex in adult life. 
from god discussion: NASA reports that there will be a partial solar eclipse and a partial lunar eclipse during the month of June. For June 1, a partial solar eclipse began at sunrise in Siberia and northern China. Most of Alaska and northern Canada will be able to see the event. On June 15, there will be a partial lunar eclipse that will not be visible in North America. However, the entire event will be seen from the eastern half of Africa, the Middle East, central Asia and western Australia. The new moon tonight and the partial solar eclipse is a Biblical event, according to Indiana pastor Paul Begley, because it is the 44th anniversary of Jerusalem. Mixed with other events taking place in the Middle East and various Jewish holy days, Begley goes on to say that a blood red moon over Jerusalem on June 15 is a Biblical sign.
