Religion

News Brief

Gospel tunes rock

the (White) House

WASHINGTON — First lady Michelle and President Barack Obama have welcomed top recording artists to the White House for a celebration of gospel music.

Aretha Franklin, Lyle Lovett, Shirley Caesar, Emmylou Harris and Darlene Love were among the artists participating in Tuesday night’s concert, which the president said would “bring some church to the White House.”

Obama said gospel music was born out of slavery and became the music of the black church. He said it “has an unmatched power to strike the deepest chord in all of us, touching people of all faiths and no faith.”

The event was the latest in the In Performance at the White House series that is broadcast by PBS.

It will be shown nationwide on June 26.

— The Associated Press

UN chief to open

Vatican conference

NEW YORK — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will open a key Vatican meeting this month on Pope Francis’ highly anticipated teaching document on climate change.

The U.N. chief will join American economist Jeffrey Sachs and the pope’s top representative on the environment, Cardinal Peter Turkson, at the April 28 event. Turkson helped write the first draft of the pope’s forthcoming encyclical on climate change and the environment.

Organizers say this month’s “Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity” event will highlight the moral dimensions of environmental protection ahead of the encyclical’s release this summer. Organizers say they aim to build a global religious movement to battle climate change.

— The Associated Press

Police: Texan helped

starve ‘demon’ boy

DALLAS — Authorities say a woman who operated a church in her Dallas-area home helped starve a 2-year-old boy to rid him of a “demon,” then held a ceremony to try to revive him.

Balch Springs police said Tuesday that Araceli Meza encouraged the boy’s parents to feed him only water for 25 days, then tried to “resurrect” him during a ceremony. Investigators believe the boy died but that his parents returned home to Mexico for the burial.

Lt. Mark Maret says the 49-year-old Meza was charged Monday with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission. She’s being held on $100,000 bond and has no listed attorney.

Police say they received a tip about a March 22 ceremony at the home to revive the American-born child.

— The Associated Press

Former Hindu leader

sentenced for fraud

ATLANTA — Federal prosecutors say the former leader of a Hindu Temple in Georgia has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for defrauding his followers and the temple’s creditors.

Annamalai Annamalai of Baytown, Texas, was convicted in 2014 of 34 counts including fraud and obstruction-related charges.

Prosecutors say Annamalai demanded fees for spiritual services and then charged members’ credit card numbers for more than the agreed amount. Prosecutors say he sent false documents to credit card companies and filed lawsuits against the followers who challenged him.

He also was convicted of sending a false email to an IRS agent and submitting false statements to a grand jury and a bankruptcy court.

— The Associated Press

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