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Rates are VERY reasonable (click for info) Man Files Suit Against Catholic Diocese for Alleged Molestation by Now-Deceased Priest CONCORD (7/23/2010) - A second New Hampshire man is filing a lawsuit saying a now-deceased priest sexually abused him at a parish in Colebrook, reports the Boston Herald. The 54-year-old man
is filing the lawsuit anonymously, saying he fears additional
psychological harm if he’s publicly identified.
The suit, which names the Diocese of Manchester as a defendant, alleges the late Rev. George St. Jean sexually assaulted the man on numerous occasions in 1967 and 1968, when the plaintiff was an altar boy at St. Brendan’s Parish from ages 11 to 12.  Click above
to visit site. This space available for YOUR ad.
Priest to Inspect Alleged Image of Jesus in Water Park Flag CANDIA (7/11/2010) (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest in New Hampshire is planning to visit a Candia water park to see if he can see the face of Jesus in the park's lifeguard flag, reports the Associated Press. The owner of the Liquid Planet Water Park says that when the flag was unfurled earlier this season, staff saw what looked to them like a shadowy image of Jesus Christ. Bishop's Charity Raises Funds for Troop Supplies NASHUA (7/6/2010) - MooreMart, a Nashua-based non-profit volunteer organization that provides supplies requested by our troops serving in the Middle East, received a $2,500 gift from the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund to support troops overseas and their families in New Hampshire, according to the Catholic Diocese of Manchester. “Bishop McCormack and the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund have been instrumental in expanding MooreMart’s projects in the Middle East as well as here in New Hampshire,” said Paul Moore, co-founder of MooreMart. MooreMart recently shipped approximately 500 care packages to the United States soldiers serving in the Middle East and to date has shipped over 23,800 care packages to service men and woman serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as supporting two schools in rural Afghanistan, numerous children’s charities and orphanages throughout Iraq and Afghanistan as well as homeless Veterans shelters in New Hampshire. If you would like more information about MooreMart, please go to their Website mooremart.org. Richmond Church Wins Record Settlement In Discrimination Lawsuit Against Town Officials RICHMOND (6/29/2010) - The Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, N.H. won an unprecedented $1.15 million settlement last Friday, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal defense organization. Town officials – who were on record disagreeing with the center's stance on abortion, pornography and homosexual behavior – singled out the center by imposing more the 30 conditions related to the proposed building of a new church and school by the center. The center contended officials singled it out for discrimination after certain officials expressed their view that the church’s moral positions on matters such as abortion and homosexual behavior are "abhorrent." The settlement payment - coming after two state court orders in favor of the church - marks one of the largest settlements in U.S. history involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that protects churches from unequal treatment in land use disputes with local governments “Churches shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination and penalized by a city’s zoning restrictions because of their religious viewpoint,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Doug Napier. “It was right that Saint Benedict Center was compensated for years of unconstitutional restrictions that made it impossible to finish the construction of its church and school building.” MA Priest Pleads No Contest to Nashua Prostitution Charge, Pays Fine NASHUA (6/27/2010) - A Massachusetts priest arrested in a New Hampshire prostitution ring has pleaded no contest and agreed to pay a $500 fine, reports MassLive.com. Rev. William Ventura of Chelmsford, Mass., was one of eight men arrested by Nashua police in April and charged with soliciting an adult for sex, a misdemeanor charge that carries a maximum punishment of a year in prison. NOTICE: Exeter Congregational to Talk Peace EXETER - As part of the We the People Lecture Series, there will be a discussion titled “Promoting Peace with Books not Bombs” on Thursday, June 17 at 7 p.m. at Exeter Congregational Church. The event is sponsored by Water Street Bookstore in conjunction with Exeter-Area Passport to Peace, which believes promoting peace abroad and reading together will tighten the local community. The evening will be full of conversation about promoting peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan, using important novels and nonfiction works as a basis. Participants will discuss the history and future state of this critical region and how people can make a difference through understanding. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg will host the event. Exeter Congregational Church is at 21 Front St. in Exeter. For more information, contact Liz Whaley at Water Street Bookstore at 603-778-9731. Donations to Church at Center of Fraud Investigation Were "Tithes" Not Ill-Gotten Gains, Says Pastor in Court CENTER HARBOR (6/23/2010) - Pastor Robert Farah’s Center Harbor Christian Church did receive a "substantial" amount of money a son’s Financial Resource Mortgage, but the money was the result of "tithings," not ill-gotten gains, the church explained in a court filing last week, reports the New Hampshire Business Review. The
filing in U.S. District Court in Concord came in response to a motion
filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to freeze the
church’s assets. The church, in its first answer to the
SEC
complaint, admitted that his son, Scott Farah, engaged in a Ponzi
scheme that defrauded at least 150 investors of $20 million. The SEC
said that the church received some $669,000 that FRM was supposed to
earmark in certain investments.
Laconia Area Catholic Parishes to
Consolidate - Lakeport Church Set to CloseLAKEPORT (6/21/2010) - In another round of parish closures and consolidations, Our Lady of the Lakes Church in Lakeport is likely to be put up for sale after the city's three Roman Catholic parishes consolidate, reports the Citizen online. Last Sunday, the
"merging committee" appointed by Fr. Marc Drouin in June 2009, made up
of members of each the three current parishes in Laconia — St.
Joseph's, Sacred Heart and Our Lady of the Lakes - voted unanimously to
recommend to Bishop John McCormack that the worship site in Lakeport be
closed and that the church and surrounding property be sold.
The City of Laconia assesses the property, which is made up of five separate parcels, in excess of $2.3 million. NH Sex
Offender: My Religious Rights Are Being Denied
CONCORD (6/19/2010)
- A New Hampshire sex offender is asking the state's highest
court to allow him to go to church with a chaperone, reports
the AP.The case of 35-year-old Jonathan Perfetto of Manchester marks the first time the New Hampshire Supreme Court is being asked to rule on whether a probation condition that effectively bars church attendance violates a person's constitutional rights to religious freedom. NH Catholic Bishop Urges US Sen. Gregg to Support START Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty MANCHESTER
(6/14/2010) (nhreligion.com) - In
a June 11 letter
released by the Catholic Diocese of Manchester (which serves the state
of New Hampshire) Bishop John McCormack has urged US Sen .Judd Gregg to
vote for the START treaty between the US and the Russian Federation,
which would reduce the number of nuclear arms. A similar appeal was
inserting in the church bulletins of the state's Catholic churches
earlier this month - a position the conservative Union
Leader newspaper editoralized against as ill informed.The full letter follows: Dear Senator Gregg:
Keene Mormons to Hold
Open House June 17As the Roman Catholic Consistent with Catholic teaching, the
bishops of the Ratification of the new START Treaty is critical to efforts to address nonproliferation. By reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world, the new START Treaty also reduces the likelihood that nuclear weapons could fall into terrorist hands. Moreover, strong support for the new START Treaty will help build momentum for eventual ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In short, the new START Treaty is an important and essential step toward a nuclear weapons-free future. Please support this effort to make our
nation and our world safer by voting to ratify the new START
Treaty. Ever grateful for your longstanding public service to the
people of
Sincerely, KEENE (6/13/2010) - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has completed renovation of a meetinghouse on Summit Road that will serve nearly 400 members who reside in Keene and nearby communities, reports the Keene Sentinel. To celebrate the renovation and opening of
the chapel, local Latter-day Saints are preparing an open house for the
public, to be held Saturday, June 19, with tours of the meetinghouse
from 2 to 4 p.m. People of all ages, faiths and backgrounds are welcome.
“The open house is an opportunity for our friends and neighbors to see how we worship and to build bridges within the community,” said Bishop Creg Dance, who leads the Keene congregation. The church has a long history in New Hampshire and Vermont. Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born in Vermont, and Brigham Young was proselytizing in New Hampshire when he learned of Smith’s death in June 1844. Shortly thereafter, Young became the leader of the church and led thousands of converts on the great westward Mormon migration to the Salt Lake Valley. The Keene meetinghouse is located at 130 Summit Road. Information: Matthew Bates at 318-6521 or matthewcarterbates@gmail.com. SEC Seeks to Freeze Assets of Church at Center of Ponzi Scheme Allegations CENTER HARBOR (6/9/2010) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking to freeze the assets of the Center Harbor Christian Church in order to retrieve any ill-gotten gains resulting from the alleged Financial Resources Mortgages Ponzi scheme, reports the New Hampshire Business Review. In
a U.S. District Court filing, the SEC said that FRM (along with related
companies and individuals) transferred $669,000 in assets to the church
over the years, even though that money was supposed to be going toward
specific investments.
The church is run by Pastor Robert Farah, the father of FRM's president, Scott Farah, who also served as the church's treasurer and deacon. The church's assets are the only known assets of FRM that are not already in bankruptcy court, according to the SEC, though the bankruptcy court’s trustee is seeking to attach the church’s property. Church Officials Charged with Failing to Report Allegations of Sexual Abuse of 12-year-old Girl CONWAY (6/5/2010) - Three church officials charged with failing to report sexual abuse claim that their Constitutional rights are being violated, reports the Conway Daily Sun (via the Keene Sentinel online.) A
pastor and two church elders from Valley Christian Church appeared in
Conway’s district court Tuesday on charges of failing to report
allegations of sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.
Three elders from the Baptist church, arrested in February, are Robert Gagnon, 69, of Brownfield, Maine, Michael Wedge, 37, of Conway, and Richard Eland, 61, of Brownfield. Also arrested was church pastor Tim Dillmuth, 33. Dillmuth and Eland spent a night in jail before posting bail. Wedge, who was scheduled for a later court date, did not appear Tuesday. Defense lawyers argued that rigorous religious protections in New Hampshire’s constitution shield the church officials from a “vague and over-broad” law requiring them to report allegations of child abuse to authorities. The lawyers took aim at the law and the Conway police investigation that led to the arrests. Congregational Church of Orford Recognized by New Hampshire Preservation Alliance for Renovations WEST LEBANON (6/2/2010) - The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance recently recognized The Orford United Congregational Church in West Lebanon, NH with a Preservation Achievement Award for the restoration and rehabilitation of the United Congregational Church. Grand Light is proud to have been a part of this project and congratulates the church on receiving the recognition. In the summer of 2006, the church's ceiling collapsed causing a large chandelier to fall to the floor. While reviewing the damage an exciting discovery was made. Entombed in a closed-off section of the bell tower, lay the partial frame of a different 67-inch dodecagonal gothic-style chandelier. This original gas-mirrored reflector chandelier was made circa 1854-1870 and was likely used in the church during an earlier time. Rather than restore the destroyed chandelier, Grand Light's artisans restored & modified the newly discovered frame and fabricated the missing components to restore the fixture to its original form. The Preservation Achievement Awards recognize individuals, organizations and corporations for work or projects in the categories of restoration and stewardship, rehabilitation and adaptive use, compatible new construction and advocacy. Churches Pledge to Work with Organization to Help Homeless in Rockingham County DERRY (6/2/2010) - Three churches have banded together with Family Promise of Greater Rockingham County, an organization dedicated to helping the homeless, reports the Eagle Tribune. Letters of commitment from Calvary Bible Church of Derry, St. Christopher's Episcopal Church of Hampstead and Triumphant Lutheran Church of Salem were accepted by the organization at its monthly meeting last night. The Rev. David Yasenka of Triumphant Lutheran said the organization would help anyone who is homeless, including those who lost homes due to a fire or financial constraints. "We're going to deal with the whole spectrum of homelessness," Yasenka said. "From the chronic homeless to the more acute cases." Woman Claims Church Member Raped Her at Age 15; Church Punished Her for the 1997 Incident CONCORD (5/29/2010) - A woman who says she was raped by a fellow church member at the age of 15 was publicly disciplined by the church for engaging in immoral conduct and shipped away to live in Colorado, reports the Associated Press. Tina Anderson was hauled before the congregation at Trinity Baptist Church in Concord and humiliated, she says, because she allowed herself to be raped. The woman is coming forward to tell her story as a cautionary tale. The alleged rapist, Ernest Willis, now 51, of Gilford, was charged in the rape and will be arriagned on June 16. In the AP article, former members claim the church is controlling of personal behavior and style of clothing. The AP reports that police are considering obstruction-of-justice charges against those who hid the girl and protected her attacker. Plymouth
Man
Claims
Late
Priest Molested Him Repeatedly in the Back of a Car;
Abuse Was "God's Will" Priest Allegedly Told Boy St.
Jean,
who
is
dead, was a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary
Immaculate, a Roman Catholic religious order that assigned St. Jean to
the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace in Colebrook. St. Jean also received
permission to minister in the Manchester diocese and served at St.
Brendan Church in Colebrook, the suit alleges.
Labbe, 53, who is married and works in the construction industry, filed suit in Hillsborough County Superior Court North against the diocese and the U.S. Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. In the suit, Labbe claims St. Jean began abusing him when he was nine years old in 1965. The alleged abuse progressed from fondling to sodomy and continued until 1969 when Labbe "got older and told the priest to stay away from him," Labbe's attorney Jessica D. Arbour of the Miami law firm of Mermelstein & Horowitz said. More than once, St. Jean allegedly told Labbe not to tell anyone about the alleged abuse because it was "God's will," the suit claims. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Manchester
Church
Wants
to
Make
Space
for
Mental Health Group's "Clubhouse" Granite Pathways -- a nonprofit agency that wants to introduce a new mental health support and recovery program to New Hampshire -- plans to work with Brookside Congregational Church ... [The group] was formed last year by a group of relatives and consumers, intends to open its first clubhouse model of recovery in Manchester by June 30, the agency wrote in papers filed with the city. Priests
Resign
from
Knights
of
Columbus
After
Pro-Abortion
Group
Offered
Use
of
Facility Local Catholics reacted in shock after it was discovered that NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire was scheduled to hold the event, titled "Choice Chocolate 2010: Celebrating Your Choice for 25 Years," at the Casey Function Center, which is a Knights of Columbus Council 140 entity. After the news broke, Rev. Michael Kerper, pastor of Portsmouth's Corpus Christi Parish, issued a statement saying that he would immediately resign from the local chapter of the Knights, together with parochial vicar Rev. Marcos Gonzalez. "Some faithful Catholics may assume that the decision to rent the hall to NARAL means that members of the Knights of Columbus, including us, are indifferent to NARAL's stated purposes," said Kerper in a statement cited by the Herald. "As a result, we find ourselves compelled to resign immediately from Council 140." National officers had learned of the event over the weekend, and it has since been cancelled, said Patrick Korten, vice president of communications for the Knights, to the local news service. Korten acknowledged that the Knights urge chapters with function halls to protect against arrangements with organizations in conflict with the Catholic faith, and that "this event was very much at odds with that." Korten blamed the decision on the facility manager's status as "relatively new on the job." But Richard Spead, the president of the Casey Home Association, said he has been at his post nine months and insisted that the function hall had been consistently used "without regard to any political or religious beliefs or otherwise." Saying that he would rent to any group because "that's what it means to be a good Christian," Spead told the Herald that steps were being taken to sever the function hall from the Knights of Columbus - and that he, a Knight himself, intends on withdrawing from the organization and possibly the Catholic Church. Spead called it "hypocrisy" that the Catholic church concerned itself over the issue of hosting a pro-abortion group while, in the words of the Herald, "it continually pays little to no consideration to problems with pedophilia within the church." NARAL interim executive director Pilar Olivo told the Herald that the group was disappointed over the cancellation, but would not fight the decision. In remarks to LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) Korten
bashed Spead's accusation
of hypocrisy as an "outrageous statement." "We have a very clearly
stated
policy that he chose to ignore," he said. Korten also clarified to LSN that the division between the function hall and the Knights was not "a matter that was settled or resolved." The bylaws operating such facilities, he said, "cannot be changed just because one guy says we're going to change it." Regarding the priests who resigned, Korten said that "we certainly hope that there will be" reconciliation - although he added that he was unsure whether the priests withdrew from the entire organization, or the local council only. According to C.J. Doyle, the executive director of Massachusetts' Catholic Action League, the near-scandal was far from an isolated case with the Knights. "The Knights of Columbus has to have a pro-life position that is more than academic and rhetorical," Doyle told LSN, noting that the organization has previously caused scandal by allowing pro-abortion public figures to join their ranks, and offering venues to pro-abortion entities, in conflict with their own policies. "When somebody reports it or exposes it, then retroactively they will enforce the policy," said Doyle. "How can you have a Catholic, allegedly pro-life organization when the members themselves seem so willing to make these compromises?" "This policy ought to be pre-emptive and preventative, and instead it's reactive and retrospective." He urged both the national and local levels of the Knights become "thoroughly and authentically pro-life." "They need to have a policy that is really enforced vigorously, and doesn't require somebody to dime them out," Doyle added. Historic Claremont Church Seeks to Sell
Building NASHUA (4/22/2010) - A Massachusetts parochial priest has been banned from public ministry after he was nabbed in Nashua last week after trying to obtain a prostitute on Craigslist reports the Boston Herald. Thirty-one-year-old
William Ventura of Chelmsford, Mass., was one of
eight men arrested by Nashua police after responding to a Craigslist ad
indicating prostitutes were operating out of the hotel. They weren’t,
but the police were.
Ventura took a leave of absence from St. John’s Parish in Chelmsford and the Boston Archdiocese has banned him from public ministry until the misdemeanor case is over. The maximum penalty is one year in jail.
Church ordered to "Disgorge Itself" of
$669,000 of "Ill-gotten gains" By SEC In Lawsuit; Pastor, Son, Released
on Bond, Forced to Give DNA Sample Pastor Robert Farah has said repeatedly his
church is a poor church,
that his own involvement with his son Scott's company was one of
investor and that he is as much a victim as the nearly 500 other
investors who were allegedly bilked out of what bankruptcy trustee
Steven Notinger said was between $80 and $100 million. Church
Named In Indictment; SEC Seeking Return of Donations; Pastor Unaware
Son's Donations Were from Alleged Investment Scam The Federal Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit Friday accusing Scott Farah of defrauding investors at the former Financial Resources Mortgage in Meredith. Also sued was Center Harbor Christian Church run by Robert Farah, saying over $660,000 was diverted to it and should be returned. Robert Farah says he received an offering each week from his son’s company and the church has used the money to pay bills for electricity and heat. He told WMUR-TV he
wasn’t aware of allegations that the money came from the same account
into which Scott Farah’s investors paid.
Union Leader Calls for Bishop McCormack to Step Down MANCHESTER (4/2/2010) - In an editorial, “McCormack's Mess: More Secrecy and Untruth,” the New Hampshire Union Leader Thursday called for Catholic Bishop John McCormack to step down following what the paper said were misleading statements to parents about the possible closure of St. Joseph Junior High School in Manchester. The paper has repeatedly called for McCormack to step down since 2002, at the height of the priest-child sex abuse scandal. The paper said: “The
bishop owes the diocese more than an apology. He owes it his
retirement. From hiding pedophile priests to misleading parents and
children about the fate of a beloved school, he has proved that he is
fundamentally unworthy of his flock's trust. A shepherd who cannot be
trusted with
the well-being of his flock is one undeserving of the title and the
job."
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