NEWS STORY
RNS-AlAQSA-Clashes: Israeli police clash with protesters to clear Al-Aqsa complex for Tisha b’av worshipers
AMMAN, Jordan (RNS) — Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa complex was the scene of violent confrontations Sunday (July 18), as Israeli security personnel forcibly cleared the area, the third holiest mosque in Islam, for Jews to observe their day of mourning for the destruction of two temples they believe once occupied the site. By Daoud Kuttab. 643 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-LAVANG-SHRINE: Thousands gather in California for unveiling of Lady of La Vang shrine
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (RNS) — An estimated 8,000 people on Saturday (July 17) attended the unveiling of what is the first major stand-alone shrine to the La Vang virgin in the United States. Our Lady of La Vang is said to have appeared in a remote rainforest in the late 1700s to a group of Catholics fleeing persecution in Vietnam. The $12.6-million, 12-foot-high statue, located at the Catholic Diocese of Orange’s Christ Cathedral, was built to be a gathering place for the 100,000 Vietnamese-American Catholics in the diocese. By Alejandra Molina. 688 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-ACNA-MOTHER: In ACNA abuse case, mother of an alleged victim says she paid a price for coming forward
(RNS) — When Cherin Marie joined Christ Our Light Anglican Church in Big Rock, Illinois, in 2013, she trusted that the community of a few dozen — many of whom were family members, longtime church friends or neighbors — would care for her and her kids. But when her 9-year-old daughter said that the church’s lay minister abused her, church leaders not only did not report the abuse allegations to the police or to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, but according to Cherin, they also pressured her not to report to the police. She reported anyway, and now the lay minister is being charged with felony child sexual assault and abuse. By Kathryn Post. 2,000 words. (category: a)