Sunday, November 24, 2002
Groups want lawmakersto 'rein in' church
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse, frustrated with Catholic bishops' recent revisions to an abuse prevention policy, said Saturday they will lobby legislators to enact protections because they cannot rely on the church to do the job.
"You're not going to reform the church, you have to rein it in," said Joe Gallagher of the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors. He said seeking legislative help is a "sizable shift in strategy" for the seven victims groups that met for the first time Saturday.
The groups proposed reforms including the repeal of states' statutes of limitations for abuse cases and prison time for people who fail to comply with mandatory reporting laws.
"We do not believe bishops are showing moral leadership by not reporting every allegation of child abuse, which is a felony, to police," said Paul Baier, of Survivors First. "All allegations should be turned over to the police, who are experts in this area. This is not a theological issue."
The groups also want to amend a Massachusetts law limiting judgments against charitable organizations to $20,000. It is unclear whether the liability cap applies in lawsuits filed against the Archdiocese of Boston over priests who were transferred from parish to parish after being accused of abusing children.
Minneapolis girl, 11,killed by stray bullet
MINNEAPOLIS -- An 11-year-old girl, playing at her family's computer with her 6-year-old sister, was struck and killed by a bullet that came through the window of their home.
The incident occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Friday in a neighborhood in south Minneapolis. The girl died a short time later at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Mayor R.T. Rybak went to the hospital to meet the girl's family.
"This is a good, decent, hardworking family. It's an unimaginable loss," said Inspector Sharon Lubinski, head of the police precinct that includes the neighborhood.
The girl's identity wasn't released by authorities.
There were no immediate arrests. Police were unsure how many people were involved and whether they were on foot or in a car. A caller to police dispatchers said at least six shots were fired, though neighbors gave conflicting accounts.
There was nothing to indicate the girl's home was the intended target, police said.
"This is a terrible tragedy and these are cowards who have done this," Chief Robert Olson said outside the home. "Somebody needs to come forward and help us solve this case so we can identify who the killers of this child are."
Lifting the veil
TEHRAN, Iran -- About a dozen girls' schools in the Iranian capital have allowed students and teachers to remove their veils and long cloaks in class for the first time since the 1979 revolution, a school principal said Saturday.
Tahereh Ebadi told The Associated Press the Education Ministry approved the change as long as schools put up decorative walls to guard against "lascivious looks" from men.
Students and teachers in all-female schools have attended classes since the academic year began in September without headscarves and chadors, the shapeless long coats women wear in public to conform with Islamic dress code.
Ebadi said the idea was tested in the government-owned Maktab-ol-Ahrar high school for girls in southern Tehran, where she is the principal, for several years before being applied to other schools in the capital. Religious hard-liners criticize the move as "encouraging nudity," but Ebadi said it has been successful.
Food woes worsen
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Food shortages in Zimbabwe have markedly worsened, causing massive profiteering, political interference in distribution and forcing the hungry to survive on wild fruits and roots, relief agencies said Saturday.
An estimated 6.7 million Zimbabweans, more than half the population, are in danger of starvation in the coming months because of food shortages blamed on drought and the government's chaotic program to seize thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black settlers.
The Food Security Network, a grouping of 24 nongovernment organizations, said household food stocks fell to between zero and less than a month's supply in all but one of the country's 52 districts it monitored in October.
Supplies of grain dropped sharply, pushing up the black market prices of 22 pounds of the corn meal staple by 20 times the government's fixed price of 30 cents.
"The collapse in supply have produced huge reported burdens for the poorest but super profits for some," the relief agencies said in a statement.
Associated Press