Priest killed as he finishes preaching Larry Penzes, the 50-year-old priest of Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York, was shot to death at the altar yesterday while celebrating Mass. Eileen Tosner, a 72-year-old parishioner, was also killed. Their murderer reportedly just walked in, pulled a .22-caliber rifle out of his coat, and opened fire. Others in the congregation—there were about 40 at the time, most of them elderly—chased the shooter out of the church and took his gun. He reportedly ran home. Police arrested Peter Troy, a 34-year-old with no apparent connections to the church.
"National Catholic officials said they could recall no other killing of a priest in this country while he was celebrating Mass," reported The New York Times, though "the killing of Father Penzes prompted some to compare the circumstances of his death to the killing of the archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was shot while saying Mass in 1980. In 1985, a deranged man killed a priest in Onalaska, Wis., inside his church."
"This appears to be a fatal mix of a grievance, mental illness and a firearm," says an editorial in Long Island's Newsday. "Penzes was known as a man with a large heart, who succeeded in drawing large numbers of people into active roles in the parish. At 50, he had many productive years ahead of him, but a spasm of violence, aided by the barrel of a rifle, has cut him down and broken the heart of his people."
The editorial has an implied call for gun control, but a column in the paper calls for spiritual reflection. This sad event, writes Matthew Carolan, "reminds us of why we must pray. Because there is evil in the world. And because we do not know the day or the hour, but only that we must someday die. … For a time, fear of what happened yesterday may frighten some people away from their houses of worship. Security may be re-evaluated. These would be understandable reactions. But, at some point, faith in one's community must be restored. Otherwise, worship will be impossible."
That sentiment was also made by some of the church's parishioners. "If we're not safe in a church, that's pretty bad," Karen Aker told The New York Times. "This is where people get peace. It's where they go to pray. This is awful." Indeed it is.
A child's death raises questions about faith | A couple who prayed instead of seeking medical care for their daughter face charges of involuntary manslaughter. (Los Angeles Times)
Eugene Rivers accused of discriminating against Muslim
Ex-con Gerald Jones has filed a discrimination complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against one of America's best-known ministers, Eugene Rivers, reports The Boston Globe. Jones says he was kicked out of Rivers's Ella J. Baker House, which includes rehabilitation for convicts among its programs, because he was a Muslim. Andre Norman, a Baker House worker also named in the complaint, says Jones left because of a drinking problem. "The charges are groundless, but it's a free country and people can sue who they wish," Rivers told the Globe. The Baker House, a frequentexample for supporters of Bush's faith-based initative, has posted its nondiscrimination policy on its Web site. The Globe doesn't note that Rivers's father was personally recruited to the Nation of Islam by Malcolm X.
Young Asian churches are booming in America
In the northwest, where Asian populations are growing quickly, The Seattle Times noticed that a lot of young Asian-Americans have formed their own churches. "Although experts don't have exact numbers, they say that in this region, and nationwide, more pan-Asian-American Christian churches are being established, mainly by those in their 20s to 40s," reports Janet I. Tiu. (Actually, Weblog would wager that someone out there has more exact numbers.) "Some are not just pan-Asian but intentionally multiracial. … The new congregations typically prefer casual worship styles. Denominational affiliations don't particularly matter to them, but an egalitarian sense of brotherhood and sisterhood does. They are community- and social-justice-oriented, although not necessarily political, and they are open to diversity while retaining a thread of common experience."
Ruling dismays lesbian couple | Sheriff grants parental rights to the gay man who was sperm donor for their child (BBC)
Government axes funds for pro-marriage groups | Funding for National Marriage Week has been cut off by the Government as part of a shift towards supporting non-marital relationships, including homosexual ones. (The Daily Telegraph)
Article continues below
Church ousts Boy Scout troop | United Church of Christ at Dartmouth College upset because the national organization won't admit homosexuals (Associated Press)
Ties to Scouts stains group's teachings | Learning for Life, part of Boy Scouts of America, shouldn't be allowed in schools (Rob Perez, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Church using matchbooks to heat up attendance | From matchbooks to movie previews to urinal screens, churches are aggressively reaching out to tap into a specific demographic group: men ages 18 to 34 (Daily Press, Hampton Roads, Virginia)
Michiana mosque educating Christians | Many students attend, not so much to worship God, or Allah, but to understand the Islam religion (South Bend [Ind.] Tribune)
Freedom of religion likened to garden | Constitutional scholar Stephen L. Carter says government's role is to protect the right to worship, not regulate it. (The Tucson Citizen)
'I had to stand up and pray the word' | The Rev. David Meek did not plan to pray for legislators to make abortion illegal when he spoke to the state Senate on Tuesday (Greeley [Colo.] Tribune)
Vouchers: Was a poll question 'cooked'? | A Stanford professor has accused the influential Phi Delta Kappa education association of "cooking the questions" in its closely watched annual survey of attitudes toward school vouchers so it could produce an anti-voucher result (The Washington Post)
Schools iffy on wall art | While politicians push for posting the Ten Commandments and "In God We Trust" in classrooms, some educators question the value of simply tacking writings on walls (The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Human origin debate hasn't evolved much | Is anything that lacks a scientific explanation a miracle - or the direct handiwork of some "intelligent designer"? (Tom Feran, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Is science calling God back to center stage? | For Christians, science may raise the questions but Jesus is the surer path to God. (David Wilkinson, The Canberra Times, Australia)
Abuse:
Faiths share misdeeds by clergy | The Roman Catholic church's history of hushing up such scandals appears to be the norm, regardless of denomination. (Amy Pagnozzi, The Hartford Courant)
Homosexuality is true plague on priesthood | Militant homosexuals and their timorous allies in the politically correct movement are hell-bent on perpetuating the disingenuous notion that the crisis engulfing the Catholic Church has its roots in pedophilia (Joe Fitzgerald, Boston Herald)
Secrecy over abusive priests comes back to haunt church | The tough legal tactics that Roman Catholic dioceses employed for decades to keep incidents of sexual abuse by priests secret have now come back to haunt the church (The New York Times)
An overeager clergy watchdog | First, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly wanted to run the Boston Red Sox. Now, he wants to run the Archdiocese of Boston (Joan Vennochi, The Boston Globe)
Catholics hear message on sex abuse | L.A. Cardinal Mahony's statement denounces 'scandalous evil.' Priests' deliveries-- and parishioners' responses--vary widely. (Los Angeles Times)
Predator and victim struggling to heal | Today, some 16 years after he was sent to a treatment center for abusive priests, Neil Conway says he shares the private hell he created for others. (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Teens' faith in fashion is their cross to wear | In recent months, sales of necklaces, earrings and other items bearing a cross or a crucifix have increased. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Miracle at the box office | Amateur moviemakers score blockbuster with drama about faith healing (The Courier News, Elgin, Illinois)
W.W.J.E.? | To stay healthy, adopt the kind of diet Jesus would have followed—not the rich potluck fare of church socials, a doctor advises (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
At 13 he had an exorcism | The Anglican Church doesn't call what it did to David Hicks an exorcism. But he certainly thought it was one. (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)
With corporate consolidation in worship music, more entities are invested in the songs sung on Sunday mornings. How will their financial incentives shape the church?
With CBN, “The 700 Club,” Regent, the Christian Coalition, and a run for president, he changed evangelicals’ place in public life.FrançaisIndonesianрусскийУкраїнська
With corporate consolidation in worship music, more entities are invested in the songs sung on Sunday mornings. How will their financial incentives shape the church?español
Presbyterians expect less fight and more fatigue as they gather following the Covenant shooting and the deaths of Harry Reeder and Tim Keller.
