NEWS BRIEFS

Obama says no plans for immigration fix

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has told religious leaders that he has no plans to make unilateral changes to the nation’s immigration laws.

That’s according to the Rev.

Luis Cortes, president of the Hispanic faith-based organization Esperanza. He was among six religious leaders who met with Obama in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Wesleyan, Baptist and Mormon leaders also were there.

Cortes says Obama told them that “he would not be doing anything to change the law as it currently exists.” The president’s comments come as advocates press the White House to take executive actions to halt some deportations given that immigration reform efforts on Capitol Hill are stalled.

The White House says Obama told the religious leaders that while his administration can take steps to administer immigration laws, only Congress can permanently fix the broken system.

  • The Associated Press

Church: Treaty applies only in Vatican City

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has responded to the latest round of U.N. sex abuse inquiries by suggesting it is only responsible for implementing a U.N.

treaty against torture within the confines of the tiny Vatican City State.

The Vatican issued a statement Tuesday ahead of a May 5-6 hearing that will likely delve into the Vatican’s failures to stop clergy sex abuse around the globe. In January, another U.N. committee interrogated the Holy See about abuse.

In an indication that it will seek to limit its responsibility, the Vatican said it signed the torture treaty in 2002 “exclusively in the name of and on behalf of” the 110-acre Vatican City State, where fewer than 1,000 people live.

  • The Associated Press

City probes allegations of Islamic school plot

LONDON - The English city of Birmingham has expanded its probe into an alleged Muslim plot to greatly expand Islamic influence in the city’s schools.

The investigation announced Monday will look into 25 schools after more than 200 complaints were received.

The complaints focus on allegations made in an anonymous letter known as Operation Trojan Horse that was leaked. It claimed that a group of radical Muslims had plans to force out teachers and administrators who resisted plans to increase the observance of Islamic customs in schools.

The letter’s authenticity has not been verified.

Birmingham’s City Council and the Department for Education are both investigating complaints that boys and girls have been segregated in class, that sex education has been banned and that non-Muslim staff have been bullied.

  • The Associated Press

Dobson wins round in birth control fight

DENVER - Christian radio broadcaster James Dobson has won a temporary injunction preventing the federal government from requiring his ministry to include the morning-after pill and other emergency contraception in its health insurance.

A federal judge in Denver issued the injunction Thursday.

Dobson sued in December, saying the Affordable Care Act mandate to provide the contraception violates the religious beliefs of his Colorado Springs based ministry, called Family Talk.

Dobson is best known as founder of the conservative Focus on the Family ministry.

Religion, Pages 12 on 04/19/2014

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