Vatican officials defend pontiff

Vatican officials defend pontiff

VATICAN CITY

The Vatican on Saturday denounced what it called aggressive attempts to drag Pope Benedict XVI into the spreading scandals of pedophile priests in his German homeland.

It also insisted that church confidentiality doesn’t prevent bishops from reporting abuse to police.

The Vatican’s campaign to defend the pope’s reputation and resolve in combating clergy abuse of minors followed acknowledgment by the Munich archdiocese that it had transferred a suspected pedophile priest to community work while Benedict was archbishop there.

High winds, rain pound Northeast

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

Strong winds and heavy rain knocked out power for nearly 400,000 customers in the Northeast, diverted international flights and toppled a boom crane at an Atlantic City casino construction site Saturday.

The winds downed trees and power lines throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut. The New York City area and southern New Jersey were among the hardest hit with about 265,000 combined customers without power. More than 85,000 were without power in the Philadelphia area.

Lesbian Air Force sergeant discharged

Jene Newsome played by the rules as an Air Force sergeant: She never told anyone in the military she was a lesbian. The 28-year-old’s honorable discharge under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy came only after police officers in Rapid City, S.D., saw an Iowa marriage certificate in her home and told the nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against the western South Dakota police department, claiming the officers violated her privacy when they informed the military about her sexual orientation. The case also highlights concerns over the ability of third parties to “out” service members, especially as the Pentagon has started reviewing the 1993 “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

“I played by ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” Newsome told The Associated Press by telephone.

Iran says US-backed groups dismantled

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran said Saturday it has dismantled several U.S.-backed opposition networks that were gathering information on nuclear scientists and finding ways to circumvent controls on the Internet meant to deprive the opposition of its most crucial tool.

A judiciary statement carried on the official IRNA news agency said the networks were set up by Iranian opposition groups, including the People’s Mujahedeen, and that 30 of their members were arrested.

Former astronauts criticize US decision

LONDON

Two former astronauts have said they are disappointed with the U.S. government’s decision to cancel NASA’s moon-landing program. Jim Lovell, who led the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, told the BBC the cancellation could be disastrous.

“Personally, I think it will have catastrophic consequences in our ability to explore space and the spin-offs we get from space technology,” Lovell said. “They haven’t thought through the consequences.”

Eugene Cernan, part of the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, said the U.S. has a responsibility to lead the world in space exploration and technology and that he hopes people will be back on the moon “sooner than later.”

Associated Press