Pope salutes China in bid to mend ties
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has expressed admiration for China and has declined to criticize its longtime onechild policy in a bid to heal decades of estrangement between Beijing and the Holy See and open a new era of dialogue.
Francis expressed respect for and awe of China, its culture and its role in the world in an interview with the Hong Kong online daily Asia Times. It was published Tuesday in advance of Monday’s Chinese New Year.
The pope explained that his view of dialogue is one in which neither side compromises or carves out its foothold, but both decide to “walk together” while respecting differences.
Francis has continued the Vatican’s outreach to China that started under Pope Benedict
XVI. Relations were severed in 1951 when the Communists took over.
— The Associated Press
Pastor sentenced in child-custody case
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Mennonite minister — who was convicted of helping a former Vermont woman flee the country rather than share custody of her child with her former same-sex partner — has been ordered to prison.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York issued a mandate Monday upholding the conviction of Kenneth Miller, of Stuarts Draft, Va., for his role in helping Lisa Miller flee the country in 2009 with her daughter Isabella. The Millers are not related.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions ordered Kenneth Miller to surrender to prison on March 1 to begin serving a 27-month prison sentence that had been delayed pending his appeal.
Lisa Miller and her daughter Isabella fled the country rather than share custody with her former Vermont civil union partner Janet Jenkins.
— The Associated Press
Bell sounded at church slaves founded in 1776
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A church in Williamsburg that was founded by slaves has marked its 240th anniversary with the sounding of a restored bell to mark the beginning of Black History Month.
First Baptist Church of Williamsburg, which was established by slaves in 1776, welcomed descendants of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings at a ceremony Monday attended by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other dignitaries. Jackson said the bell’s sounding “represents the cry of liberty.”
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation lent some of its famous conservators to restore the bell, which had been silent since the era of segregation.
The church’s commemoration will continue throughout this Black History Month at Colonial Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary.
— The Associated Press
China inspects pastor, thinks funds misspent
BEIJING — China’s state-sanctioned Protestant church body says a pastor in a province where authorities have been cracking down on churches is under investigation, suspected of misappropriation of funds.
The Zhejiang province branch of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement said on its website Monday that Gu Yuese was also accused of other unspecified economic crimes.
The notice expressed “deep shock and regret” over the news and said Gu’s alleged crimes were his personal behavior and were unconnected to the movement in general.
Gu has openly opposed the provincial government’s destruction of church crosses and other outward symbols of the Christian faith.
His Chongyi Church in the provincial capital of Hangzhou is among the largest in China.