CHURCH IN LOUISVILLE ORDAINED A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER

A church in Louisville, Ky., ordained a registered sex offender Sunday despite protests from the some in the surrounding community.
Prior to joining The City of Refuge Worship Center, where he was ordained this past Sunday morning, Mark Hourigan had been charged with sodomy, sexual abuse and intimidation of an 11-year-old boy back in 1998.
Following his release from prison in 2006, Hourigan joined City of Refuge and eventually led praise and worship after the Lord touched his heart, according to the Rev. Randy Meadows, City of Refuge’s senior minister.
"No way shape or form does the City of Refuge Worship Center or I as a pastor, condone what Hourigan did 10 years ago. But this man has proven himself and paid his debt to society," Meadows told the local WLKY news station.
Despite assurances by the pastor and an agreement that Hourigan was to sign barring him from ministering to children, some church attendants and members of the community say Hourigan’s ordination concerns them and even “scares” them.
"It's wonderful that he's a member of this church, but he does not need to be ordained as a minister with that kind of position or authority... it's wrong,” Rochelle Fournier, a member of the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), told a local ABC affiliate in Louisville.
In a statement Sunday, SNAP members said the ordination would be "a reckless move that will only put kids in harm's way."
“SNAP is convinced that a truly remorseful and 'reformed' sex offender would not even seek a position like minister, just as a truly repentant and sober alcoholic wouldn't seek a job in a tavern,” they added.
On Friday, SNAP sent a letter to the Lexington-based Kentucky Council of Churches, urging it to speak out against Hourigan's ordination.
The organization also held a news conference outside the church last Thursday asking that the congregation delay its planned ordination and hold an open public meeting before making a final decision.
SNAP reportedly did not receive replies to any of their objections.

DAN BROWN'S ' THE LOST SYMBOL ' SET TO RELEASE

The latest book by author Dan Brown hits bookstores Tuesday with an initial print run of over five million copies.
The Lost Symbol, the direct sequel to Brown’s controversial 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, will once again feature Brown’s trademark protagonist, Robert Langdon, who will turn his attention to Washington, D.C., and a hunt for a legendary Masonic treasure.
“The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller,” commented Sonny Mehta, chairman and editor in chief of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Doubleday, which is publishing Brown’s latest novel in the United States and Canada, is an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
“Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it was well worth the wait,” he added.
The 509-page book, which has been in development for several years, takes place over a period of 12 hours and begins when Langdon is seemingly invited to Washington by his friend Peter Solomon, a wealthy, and high-ranking Mason. When Solomon turns up missing, Langdon finds himself on a rapid chase through the concealed passages of the city in search of a Masonic legend – a map or portal that leads to a body of secret knowledge that, as Langdon puts it, "allegedly enables its practitioners to access powerful abilities that lie dormant in the human mind."
Though not expected to stir the volume of controversy that Brown’s 2003 novel had, The Lost Symbol is still expected to be make a splash for the book industry, which has been hit hard by lower sales, consolidations and layoffs.
According to The Los Angeles Times, by the time The Lost Symbol lands on bookstore shelves Tuesday, pre-orders will have kept it at or near the top of Amazon's bestseller list for the last 148 days.
“Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. The Lost Symbol is full of surprises,” commented Jason Kaufman, Brown’s longtime editor and the vice president and executive editor at Doubleday.
Brown's last novel, The Da Vinci Code, ended up being one of the most popular books in publishing history, selling more than 40 million copies worldwide in 44 languages.
The 2003 thriller, which rankled Christians worldwide, was based on the hotly protested idea that Jesus Christ had married Mary Magdalene and conceived a child with her.
The Da Vinci Code was also the first Brown novel to be adapted to the big screen, though it was published three years after Brown's first bestseller, Angels & Demon.
Angels & Demons was adapted to the big screen earlier this year as the sequel to "Da Vinci Code" the movie.
Aside from Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and The Lost Symbol, Brown also came out with books in 1998 and 2001.

CONCERNS RISE AS NEW PAKISTAN CHURCH ATTACKED

ISLAMABAD — A rights group raised concern Monday that vigilante attacks were increasing against religious minorities in Pakistan when another church was damaged, weeks after an angry mob killed seven Christians.
About 100 people, mostly youths, attacked a Catholic church in the Sambrial district near the Indian border on Friday after accusing a young Christian man of desecrating the Koran, police said.
"They set fire to prayer mats and some religious books but the timely arrival of police prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn," local police official Rafaqat Ali told AFP by telephone.
"The church suffered no major damage," he said. Police arrested a man accused of "snatching and desecrating" a copy of the Koran from a girl while she was going to school, he added.
Pakistan's Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti visited the area Monday and vowed that the government would "reconstruct" the church.
"No one from minorities can even think of desecration of the holy Koran," he said in a statement released in English.
"Some people want to destabilise the country by doing such things, but the government will not allow anyone to play with the lives and properties of the minorities," he added.
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law carries the death penalty although no one has ever been sent to the gallows for the crime.
Human rights activists say the legislation is often exploited for personal enmity and encourages Islamist extremism and have demanded it be repealed.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed concern Monday over the "increasing frequency of violent attacks on religious minorities" and demanded the government prosecute those responsible and act to prevent such violence.
"The Commission has been warning the government of the growing intolerance of religious minorities' rights and pointing towards the increasing frequency of vigilante actions against them.
"It is unfortunate that our fears of recurrence of such violence again proved to be true in Sambarial," said Pakistan's leading rights group.
The organisation slammed the government's offers of financial compensation and encouraging local reconciliation as "insufficient".
"The Commission would emphasise that another attack targeting the minorities is a question of when, not if, unless the government acknowledges in a meaningful manner the threat extremism and intolerance pose," it said.
"Effective prosecution would serve as a deterrent to future attacks, while a lack thereof would encourage impunity," it added.
Last month, an angry mob of Muslims torched 40 houses and a church in the remote village of Gojra in Pakistan's central Punjab province.

ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE FOUND IN ISRAEL

JERUSALEM -- In what was slated to be the site of a new 122-room hotel, archaeologists say they have discovered one of the world's oldest synagogues in Northern Israel.
The site, which was unearthed as preparations were being made for construction of the hotel near the Sea of Galilee, is believed to date back some 2000 years from 50BCE to 100CE.
In the middle of the 120 square meter main hall of the synagogue archaeologists discovered an unusual stone carved with a seven branched menorah . "We are dealing with an exciting and unique find," said excavation director and Israeli Antiquities Authority archaeologist Dina Avshalom-Gorni.
The menorah engraving is the first of its kind to be discovered from the Early Roman period according Avshalom-Gorni who said the site joins just six synagogue locations that are know to date from the same time.
She said synagogues from this period were extremely rare in part because many Jews during that time were in the habit of visiting the main temple in Jerusalem three times a year as opposed to attending local houses of worship.
Avshalom-Gorni posited that the engraved menorah was done by an artist who had visited the main synagogue in Jerusalem known as the Second Temple where the actual menorah was believed to be kept.
In addition to the engraved stone Avshalom-Gorni said they discovered preserved frescoes on the walls with "vivid" colors.
The synagogue was discovered in area called Migdal, historically an important settlement along the Sea of Galilee, which researchers say was mentioned in ancient Jewish texts as playing a prominent role during what is known as the Great Revolt, when Jews attempted to rebel against Roman rule. Migdal also figures in early Christian writings as the place where Mary Magdalene accompanied Jesus and the Apostles.
Jose Miguel Abat, a legal representative for the company developing the land, Ark New Gate, said the company was thrilled at news of the find and planned to establish a multi-cultural and multi-religious center at the location.
"We are sure this finding and the planned center will attract tourists and visitors from Israel and from around the World," Abat said in a statement.