AndersonsInfo
JoinedPosts by AndersonsInfo
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Boston Herald Article: Religious tax exemptions on the line in SJC case
by AndersonsInfo incomment by david a. reed on the fb page cult awareness network:.
every church and apologetics ministry should be aware that the same state high court that first imposed gay marriage a decade ago heard arguments yesterday on a case that could result in shutting down churches across massachusetts, by taxing their land and buildings--a move that could be followed by other states, just as in the case of gay marriage: .
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/04/religious_tax_exemptions_on_the_line_in_sjc_case.
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Steven Hassan's interview on a new fictional cult film, "The Path" Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/the-path-cults.
the path fact-checked: the ugly truth behind real-life cults .
part of hassan's interview: "a lot of the older cults that have been around for a really long time, like the jehovah’s witnesses, for example, and even the mormons, are having a really hard time with young people growing up in the age of the internet, because they’ve been basically telling lies to their followers about their history, and now people can easily find out what’s true and not true, and look at their own literature and copies of their own literature.
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AndersonsInfo
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/the-path-cults
The Path Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults
Part of Hassan's interview: "A lot of the older cults that have been around for a really long time, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, and even the Mormons, are having a really hard time with young people growing up in the age of the Internet, because they’ve been basically telling lies to their followers about their history, and now people can easily find out what’s true and not true, and look at their own literature and copies of their own literature. It’s causing massive defections, which is very interesting for me."
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Steven Hassan's interview on a new fictional cult film, "The Path" Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults
by AndersonsInfo inthe path.
march 30, 2016 .
the path fact-checked: the ugly truth behind real-life cults .
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AndersonsInfo
THE PATH
March 30, 2016
The Path Fact-Checked: The Ugly Truth Behind Real-Life Cults
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/the-path-cults
"A lot of the older cults that have been around for a really long time, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, and even the Mormons, are having a really hard time with young people growing up in the age of the Internet, because they’ve been basically telling lies to their followers about their history, and now people can easily find out what’s true and not true, and look at their own literature and copies of their own literature. It’s causing massive defections, which is very interesting for me."
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USA Today article: Majority of people in Scotland have no religion
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/05/scotland-majority-no-religion/82660980/.
majority of people in scotland have no religion.
trevor grundy, religion news service 6:47 p.m. edt april 5, 2016. .
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AndersonsInfo
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/05/scotland-majority-no-religion/82660980/
Majority of people in Scotland have no religion
Trevor Grundy, Religion News Service 6:47 p.m. EDT April 5, 2016Sheep graze at the base of Ben Nevis in Scotland.(Photo: Lisa Marie Pane, AP)
CANTERBURY, England — More than half of the 5.4 million people living in Scotland have no religion, according to a survey published by Scottish Social Attitudes.
The 52% of unaffiliated Scots represents a 12% jump from 16 years ago, when 40% of survey respondents said they had no religious affiliation.
The proportion of people who say they belong to the Church of Scotland — the Presbyterian Church that for so long dominated almost every aspect of life in that country — has fallen dramatically, to just 20%, down from 39% of the population in 1999.
"The survey’s findings show that Scottish commitment to religion, both in terms of our willingness to say we belong to a religion and to attend religious services, is in decline," said Ian Montagu, a researcher at ScotCen Social research in Edinburgh, which runs the annual surveys.
Montagu added that the change doesn't appear to be affecting all religions equally.
"Affiliation with the Church of Scotland is in decline while levels of identification with other religions remains relatively unchanged," he said
After the Church of Scotland, the largest Christian group is the Roman Catholic Church. Its numbers have recently been boosted by an influx of people from the European Union, particularly Poland.
The 2015 survey interviewed 1,288 people between July 2015 and January 2016.
“We are developing fresh expressions of church alongside traditional forms in order to engage with people,” said Colin Sinclair, convener of the Church of Scotland’s Mission and Discipleship Council. “We have contacted those who have stopped attending church but want to hang on to their Christian faith. We want to hear their stories and understand the lessons we can learn from them.”
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Boston Herald Article: Religious tax exemptions on the line in SJC case
by AndersonsInfo incomment by david a. reed on the fb page cult awareness network:.
every church and apologetics ministry should be aware that the same state high court that first imposed gay marriage a decade ago heard arguments yesterday on a case that could result in shutting down churches across massachusetts, by taxing their land and buildings--a move that could be followed by other states, just as in the case of gay marriage: .
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/04/religious_tax_exemptions_on_the_line_in_sjc_case.
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AndersonsInfo
Comment by David A. Reed on the FB page Cult Awareness Network:
Every church and apologetics ministry should be aware that the same state high court that first imposed gay marriage a decade ago heard arguments yesterday on a case that could result in shutting down churches across Massachusetts, by taxing their land and buildings--a move that could be followed by other states, just as in the case of gay marriage:
Religious tax exemptions on the line in SJC case
Bob McGovern Saturday, April 02, 2016A blockbuster Supreme Judicial Court case involving an iconic Attleboro shrine could lead to property taxes on every church, synagogue and mosque in Massachusetts.
The case, slated to be heard Tuesday, stems from a decision by Attleboro officials to tax portions of the National Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette for fiscal year 2013.
Tax assessors found that many buildings comprising LaSalette’s massive shrine — including a former convent, a maintenance shed and all of the land surrounding the buildings — were not exempt from taxation under a long-standing state law, according to court documents.
Attleboro’s argument relies on the interpretation of a portion of state law, known as “Clause Eleventh,” which specifically deals with tax exemptions and religious institutions. The city argues that all property in the Bay State should “bear its fair and proportionate tax burden, and that property owned by religious organizations not be singled out for benefits not afforded to other secular entities.”
Religious leaders, needless to say, are taking umbrage with that stance.
“I am concerned that an adverse ruling here could force houses of worship to close down,” said the Rev. Laura Everett, head of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. “It’s a pretty significant case. There is a lot on the line here.”
The city of Attleboro found that more than a third of the shrine’s property did not qualify for the religious tax exemption, and billed the church $92,292.98. The shrine fought the case all the way to the SJC, and nearly every religious sect in the state has filed amicus briefs in support.
“There are religious organizations across the commonwealth that depend on the exemption. If they are denied the exemption they risk not being able to maintain their property or stay in being,” said Heidi Nadel, an attorney who wrote on behalf of 12 religious organizations, ranging from the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
The Roman Catholic Church filed a separate brief pointing out that religious institutions could be forced to cut back on charitable services — activities that sometimes take place on property that may be deemed taxable.
“Religious institutions have long dedicated their resources and efforts to better our communities and the lives of all citizens in the Commonwealth,” attorney Felicia H. Ellsworth wrote in the brief.
“The General Court, like the legislature of every other state in the union, exempts religious institutions from taxation in recognition and appreciation of these important services.”
Attleboro’s attorneys, who declined to comment, argued in court that a tax exempt “house of religious worship” does not extend to the entire piece of property where it sits.
But an attorney for LaSalette said narrowing state law to fit that definition could have disastrous results. “Every community is trying to raise as much tax revenue as possible, but our position is that they stepped over the line and they are taxing things that are clearly part of the shrine religious worship mission,” said Diane C. Tillotson, the shrine’s attorney.
“It could be a huge financial hit,” she said, “and it’s not unique to one religion.”
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NYTimes Article - As Pennsylvania Confronts Clergy Sex Abuse, Victims and Lawmakers Act
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/us/pennsylvania-clergy-sex-abuse.html?emc=edit_au_20160404&nl=afternoonupdate&nlid=60657855&_r=0.
as pennsylvania confronts clergy sex abuse, victims and lawmakers act.
by laurie goodsteinapril 4, 2016 .
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AndersonsInfo
As Pennsylvania Confronts Clergy Sex Abuse, Victims and Lawmakers Act
By LAURIE GOODSTEINAPRIL 4, 2016
LORETTO, Pa. — By the age of 12, Maureen Powers, the daughter of a professor at the local Roman Catholic university, played the organ in the magnificent hilltop Catholic basilica here and volunteered in the parish office. But, she said, she was hiding a secret: Her priest sexually abused her for two years, telling her it was for the purpose of “research.”
By her high school years, she felt so tied up in knots of betrayal and shame that she confided in a succession of priests. She said the first tried to take advantage of her sexually, the second suggested she comfort herself with a daily candy bar and the third told her to see a counselor. None of them reported the abuse to the authorities or mentioned that she could take that step.
So when a Pennsylvania grand jury revealed in a report in March that the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, which includes Loretto, engaged in an extensive cover-up of abuse by as many as 50 church officials, Ms. Powers, now 67, decided to finally report her case. She called the office of the state attorney general and recounted her story, including the name of her abuser, a prominent monsignor who was not listed in the grand jury report.
“I just felt like now, someone will believe me,” said Ms. Powers, who retired after 30 years in leadership positions at the Y.W.C.A. in Lancaster, Pa.
PhotoAs a child, Ms. Powers played the organ at St. Michael the Archangel in Loretto and volunteered in the parish office. When she told other priests she had been sexually abused, she says, one tried to take advantage of her sexually, another suggested she comfort herself with a daily candy bar and a third told her to see a counselor. Credit Nicole Bengiveno/The New York TimesShe was not alone. Ms. Powers was among more than 250 abuse survivors and tipsters who called a hotline set up by the Pennsylvania attorney general, Kathleen G. Kane. Twenty agents were needed to answer the phones, and a voice mailbox was set up to handle the overflow.
Nearly 15 years after Boston suffered through a clergy abuse scandal dramatized in the recent movie “Spotlight,” Pennsylvania is going through its own painful reckoning. From the State Capitol in Harrisburg to kitchens in railroad towns, people say they have been stunned to read evidence that priests they knew as pastors, teachers and confessors were secretly abusing children — findings the grand jury report called “staggering and sobering.” Victims are coming forward for the first time to family and friends, and alumni of parochial schools are pulling out their yearbooks, marveling at how smiling faces hid such pain.
Multiplying the outrage, the grand jury report supplied evidence that the police, district attorneys and judges in the Altoona and Johnstown area colluded with bishops in the cover-up, quashing the pleas of parents who tried to blow the whistle on priests who sexually abused children. Some of those officials are named in the report, and some still hold public office.
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Yesterday, Colorado JW, Ralph Candelario, found guilty (of murdering his JW wife) on all counts & tampering w/evidence
by AndersonsInfo inralph candelario is a jw.
he murdered his jw wife (his second wife) around january 2014 in walsenburg, colorado.
his first wife disappeared and has never been found but the jury was not permitted to know this.
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AndersonsInfo
Evidence that Ralph Candelario is a JW:
4. During the investigation, Ralph Candelario was questioned by the Pueblo Police Department, and passed a polygraph test indicating that he had nothing to do with Dena Candelario’s disappearance. It was discovered that Dena Candelario had been corresponding with numerous men online, including some with lengthy criminal histories, and there were indications that Dena Candelario had gone to visit one of these men and never returned. She has never been found. Mr. Candelario was never charged with anything involving Dena Candelario. The Pueblo Police Department’s investigation is attached as Exhibit A.
5. After her disappearance, Ralph Candelario sought a legal divorce from Dena Candelario. During this time, he began a relationship with Dana Franklin that continued for several years. Near the end of their relationship, Ralph Candelario was also seeing Pamela Candelario (nee Palmer); Ralph ultimately left Dana Franklin for Pamela Candelario and married her.
6. Dana Franklin was extremely angry when Ralph Candelario left her for Pamela, and reported the fact of Ralph’s simultaneous relationship with two women (her and Pamela Candelario) to the church elders. Notably, she also slashed all of his tires.
7. Ralph was sanctioned for the cheating; however Pamela Candelario, also a Jehovah’s Witness, stood by him until they were able to work their way back into the church’s good graces. Ralph and Pamela Candelario were legally married. Eventually the church also recognized their marriage. -
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Yesterday, Colorado JW, Ralph Candelario, found guilty (of murdering his JW wife) on all counts & tampering w/evidence
by AndersonsInfo inralph candelario is a jw.
he murdered his jw wife (his second wife) around january 2014 in walsenburg, colorado.
his first wife disappeared and has never been found but the jury was not permitted to know this.
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AndersonsInfo
Ralph Candelario is a JW. He murdered his JW wife (his second wife) around January 2014 in Walsenburg, Colorado. His first wife disappeared and has never been found but the jury was not permitted to know this.
Prosecutor called in Canadian Professor and former JW, Jim Penton (author of Apocalypse Delayed), to testify as an expert witness. He answered questions about the JW culture. Judge and jury paid rapt attention to his answers as he clarified JW disfellowshipping policies, etc.
Dateline covered the trial which ended yesterday.
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Posted: Thursday, March 10, 2016 11:24 pm
Candelario found guilty of murder on all counts Steve Block The Chronicle-News
Ralph Candelario was found guilty of First Degree Murder and Tampering with Evidence Thursday afternoon at the Las Animas County Courthouse. Candelario, showed no visible signs of emotion as Third Judicial District Chief Judge Claude A. Appel read the unanimous verdict.
Candelario was found guilty in the bludgeoning death of his wife, Pamela Candelario, at their Walsenburg home on the night of Jan. 15-16, 2014. His sentencing hearing will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, at the Huerfano County Courthouse in Walsenburg.
Chief Judge Appel polled each individual member of the jury after the verdict was announced, and asked them if they had voted Candelario guilty, and each of them said they had voted guilty. Judge Appel thanked the jury members and met with them after the verdict was announced, giving each of them a certificate of appreciation for their service and a small gift. In his instructions to the jurors after the verdict was announced, Judge Appel told them they could speak to anyone they wanted about what had happened during the trial, but told them that if they faced any criticism, they should immediately report it to him. He also thanked all of the prosecution and defense attorneys for their thoroughness and professionalism throughout the course of the nearly two-week trial.
“I just want to say publicly to the attorneys present that I want to thank you for your professionalism and thoroughness in this case,” Judge Appel said. “All of you did great jobs, and it’s been a pleasure sharing this courtroom with all of you.”
Afterwards, Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Brackley of the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, was asked about Judge Appel’s compliments. Attorney Brackley said he was pleased to hear what the judge had to say.
“It felt great. We found the defense to be excellent trial attorneys,” Brackley said. “They did a great job, and Mr. Candelario deserved the best defense that could be afforded to him and they certainly gave him that.”
Candelario published a lengthy letter in an area newspaper, claiming he was innocent of the crime. Brackley was asked if he felt that letter had helped or hurt his defense on the murder charge.
“It never helps anyone when they lie,” he said.
He was asked what he thought of the spacious courtroom in Trinidad, and he said it was the most beautiful he had ever seen.
“In a long legal career that’s taken me all over the country, this courtroom is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It was a fantastic setting for a trial,” he said.
Asked if he felt justice had been served in the Candelario murder trial, he had this to say.
“Justice is always served every time a jury comes down with a verdict.”
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Reveal article by Trey Bundy:A reader's guide to the Jehovah's Witnesses child sexual abuse scandal:
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.revealnews.org/blog/a-readers-guide-to-the-jehovahs-witnesses-child-sex-abuse-scandal/
a reader’s guide to the jehovah’s witnesses child sex abuse scandal.
topics: hidden abuse under the watchtower / religion / religion and government
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AndersonsInfo
https://www.revealnews.org/blog/a-readers-guide-to-the-jehovahs-witnesses-child-sex-abuse-scandal/A reader’s guide to the Jehovah’s Witnesses child sex abuse scandal
Topics: Hidden Abuse Under the Watchtower / Religion / Religion and Government
By Trey Bundy / February 29, 2016
The Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization governs its more than 14,000 U.S. congregations from its headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y. Credit: Damon Jacoby/Reveal i
Jehovah’s Witnesses leaders are fighting on multiple fronts to hide what they know about child sexual abusers in their religion.
Facing more than a dozen civil lawsuits in the United States and a government investigation in the United Kingdom, the Witnesses are continuing to withhold court-ordered documents from authorities. In England this month, the religious organization went to court for a fourth time attempting to block investigators from looking at their child abuse records.
It’s been just over a year since Reveal began publishing and broadcasting stories about Jehovah’s Witnesses covering up child sexual abuse. Since our first story aired, hundreds of Witnesses and ex-Witnesses have contacted us, mostly to share their stories.
We’re continuing to report on the issue, but in the meantime, here’s a quick rundown of nine major findings so far:
READ MORE: https://www.revealnews.org/blog/a-readers-guide-to-the-jehovahs-witnesses-child-sex-abuse-scandal/ -
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Reveal article: 6 ways religious exemption laws are exploited - Excellent!
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.revealnews.org/article/6-ways-religious-exemption-laws-are-exploited/.
by amy julia harris / february 29, 2016 .
6 ways religious exemption laws are exploited.
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AndersonsInfo
https://www.revealnews.org/article/6-ways-religious-exemption-laws-are-exploited/
By Amy Julia Harris / February 29, 2016
6 ways religious exemption laws are exploited
The religious freedom loophole
Religious freedom is one of the basic rights guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution. But just how far should that freedom extend?
Across the country, lawmakers have carved out exemptions from common rules for religious groups, ranging from immigration to land use. According to an analysis by The New York Times, more than 200 exemptions for religious groups were folded into congressional legislation from 1989 to 2006.
These loopholes are meant to give church groups the freedom to practice their religion without government interference. But religious exemptions also can lead to problems, as we explore in our latest episode: Scam artists who claim to be religious have taken advantage of these exemptions, and children have been hurt.
Here are a few troubling examples of these exemptions, several of which you can hear about in this week’s episode of Reveal.
Some states exempt religious day cares from licensing rules
In 16 states, religious day care facilities are exempt from some rules designed to protect children. At licensed day cares, all workers must be trained on child safety and must follow specific child-to-staff ratios. But six states give religious day cares a pass from some of these rules, allowing workers with no training and no staffing requirements to care for children.
Our interactive map offers a state-by-state breakdown (click the image below for the full version):
Many of these church day cares aren’t inspected unless parents complain – and in a few states, regulators can’t even investigate allegations regarding inadequate supervision or overzealous discipline because those decisions are considered church matters. Hundreds of children have been injured and a few have died in preventable ways at the thousands of religious, unlicensed day cares around the country.
In our new episode, you’ll hear one example of how a woman who was jailed for child endangerment started her own church and continued to run dangerous day care facilities free of oversight.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’re continuing to investigate the hazards at religious day cares in the coming weeks, so sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the stories.
Corporal punishment is allowed in many religious schools
While physical punishment is banned in most public schools around the country, many private religious schools and residential care facilities are free to hit, paddle and spank children in accordance with their religious beliefs.
On this week’s episode, reporter Abigail Keel looks at Heartland, a Christian school in Missouri, where children were punched, hit so hard that they dislocated shoulders, and were forced to stand in cow manure pits as punishment.
The state raided and evacuated children from the facility in 2001 over concerns for child safety, but a judge ultimately ruled that the officials went too far. Today, Heartland can physically discipline children according to their religious beliefs.
Employment discrimination laws don’t apply to religious groups
Thanks to a legal doctrine called the “ministerial exception,” religious groups are exempted from anti-discrimination rules in hiring and firing.
In a case that made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, a religious school was allowed to fire a teacher in 2004 after she was diagnosed with narcolepsy – which the woman claimed was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a unanimous decision in 2012, the high court said the teacher qualified as a minister, so standard employment discrimination laws didn’t apply.
Religious leaders in many states can withhold info on child abuse
Clergy are mandated to report child abuse in 45 states, but 32 of those states have a loophole called “clergy-penitent privilege.” These exceptions allow them to withhold information from authorities if they hear about abuse from members of their congregation who are looking for spiritual advice.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently fighting lawsuits over failing to report child sex abuse.
Churches can often circumvent zoning rules
read more: https://www.revealnews.org/article/6-ways-religious-exemption-laws-are-exploited/
