Pope thankful
for condolences
VATICAN CITY -- Saying "even the pope has a family," Pope Francis expressed thanks on Wednesday for the prayers and condolences he has received following the death of his nephew's wife and their two young boys in a car crash in the pontiff's native Argentina.
Francis listened as priests expressed condolences in several languages during his weekly public audience at the Vatican.
"I thank you for your condolences for what happened in my family," Francis said. "Even the pope has a family."
The 77-year-old pontiff then explained about his family. "We were five siblings. I have 16 nephews and nieces and one of these nephews had a car accident and lost his wife and two little ones and is in critical condition. I thank you very much for your condolences and prayers."
The pope looked pensive at the start of the audience held in a Vatican auditorium two days after he returned from a six-day trip to South Korea. But Francis, a passionate fan of the San Lorenzo soccer team, brightened when he greeted members of the Buenos Aires squad, which won the Copa Libertadores, South America's prestigious soccer trophy.
"I greet the San Lorenzo champions," Francis said, smiling broadly. The club is "part of my cultural identity."
-- The Associated Press
Worker stabbed
in popular church
SAN FRANCISCO -- Police say one person is in custody in connection with the stabbing of a staff worker at a popular church in San Francisco.
San Francisco Police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy says the worker had nonlife-threatening injuries after being stabbed Monday in the shoulder inside Glide Memorial Church. Glide spokesman Denise Lamott says the worker was treated by his co-workers and then paramedics before being taken to a local hospital.
Police say a man allegedly involved in the stabbing fled from the church but was found on a nearby bus and detained by officers a few blocks away.
The church, located in the city's rugged Tenderloin neighborhood, is nationally renowned for its social activism and its annual Thanksgiving dinner that serves thousands.
-- The Associated Press
School removes
same-sex cards
SALT LAKE CITY -- Greeting cards celebrating same-sex marriages turned up at the Brigham Young University bookstore Tuesday.
Placed by Hallmark, the cards reading "Mr. and Mr." and "Mrs. and Mrs." were quickly removed when bookstore staff discovered them after photos surfaced online. The outside vendor stocked the shelves without realizing the school wouldn't want to sell the cards marketed to buyers celebrating unions between two brides and two grooms, BYU spokesman Carri Jenkins said.
Asked why they were removed, Jenkins referred to the school's honor code. It states that while being attracted to people of the same gender doesn't violate the honor code, acting on those feelings is a violation.
"Homosexual behavior includes not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings," it states.
BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has stood behind its belief that marriage should be only between a man and a woman despite a growing societal movement in support of legalizing same-sex marriage.
-- The Associated Press
Religion on 08/23/2014