Accreditors check BYU policies on gays
SALT LAKE CITY — Law school accreditors are investigating Brigham Young University amid claims that the Mormon church-owned institution violates nondiscrimination standards by expelling students who live in same-sex relationships or leave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before graduation.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the American Bar Association is reviewing a complaint from the activist group FreeBYU.
The group is also appealing a universitywide decision from a different accrediting group, which found no violation on the university’s part in similar complaints on the religious-freedom issue.
A BYU spokesman says the university responded to a request for information from the bar association a few months ago.
— The Associated Press
Man makes plea deal in mosque-threat case
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man accused of threatening to firebomb a mosque last fall has accepted a plea agreement.
Federal court documents filed Monday show that 43-yearold Martin Alan Schnitzler of Seminole has agreed to plead guilty next month to one count of obstructing people in the free exercise of religious beliefs. He faces up to 20 years in prison, but sentencing guidelines will likely call for a significantly lighter punishment. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8.
According to court documents, Schnitzler left a voice mail for the Islamic Center of Pinellas County hours after the November attacks in Paris, threatening to firebomb the center and “shoot whoever is there.” FBI investigators deemed the threats not credible.
— The Associated Press
El Paso OKs plans for pope’s border visit
EL PASO, Texas — El Paso city councilors have unanimously approved plans for the much anticipated visit from Pope Francis to the Mexican city of Juarez next month.
Both border cities will draw hundreds of thousands of visitors aiming to get a glimpse of the pope on Feb. 17.
El Paso will close a portion of Texas 375, its border highway, several downtown neighborhoods and city government. The city estimates these moves will cost about $1 million. At least two El Paso school districts are also closing that day.
The pontiff’s Juarez visit will come at the end of a five-day Mexico trip. He will say Mass on a large Juarez field near the international border that people in El Paso may be able to hear. The Catholic Diocese of El Paso is hosting a viewing at the Sun Bowl.
— The Associated Press
Wife seeks separation from pastor Iran let go
BOISE, Idaho — The wife of an American minister who was imprisoned for nearly four years in Iran filed court documents to legally separate from him the same day he returned home to Idaho, court records show.
Saeed Abedini was one of four Americans released in Iran under a negotiated prisoner exchange Jan. 16. The United States agreed to free seven Iranians as part of the agreement.
Abedini returned to Boise on Tuesday. Court documents indicate his wife, Naghmeh Panahi, filed the petition for separation the same day.
Further details on the filing have been sealed.
Panahi was a tireless advocate for her husband’s release until November, when she told supporters that he had been an abusive husband and that she planned to step out of the public eye for prayer, fasting and more time with her children.
Abedini was detained in Iran for compromising national security, presumably because of Christian proselytizing.