Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Pastor Appears in Colo. Court on Fraud Charges
Sep 25 2007 // A prominent pastor accused of filing fraudulent life insurance claims to funnel money to church groups he controlled appeared in court in Centennial, Colo. Acen Phillips, 72, was accompanied by defense lawyer Gary Lozow...
Calif. high court rules discovery does not apply to reinsurance documents
Sep 24 2007 // The California Supreme Court has ruled that a statute authorizing limited discovery of a defendant’s insurance coverage does not include authorization to look into reinsurance agreements as part of facilitating a...
News Currents
Sep 24 2007 // Santa Rosa diocese to pay $5 million in priest sex abuse settlement The Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa has agreed to pay more than $5 million to settle a sex abuse lawsuit involving fugitive priest Xavier Ochoa and 10...
Calif. high court rules discovery does not apply to reinsurance documents
Sep 24 2007 // The California Supreme Court has ruled that a statute authorizing limited discovery of a defendant’s insurance coverage does not include authorization to look into reinsurance agreements as part of facilitating a...
Santa Rosa Diocese to Pay $5 Million in Priest Sex Abuse Settlement
Sep 14 2007 // The Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa has agreed to pay more than $5 million to settle a sex abuse lawsuit involving fugitive priest Xavier Ochoa and 10 alleged victims, lawyers and the diocese said. The diocese will pay the...
Insurer Doesn’t Have to Pay for Miss. Pastor’s Sex Charge Defense
Sep 6 2007 // State Farm Insurance Co. does not have to pay to defend the Rev. Jeffery Stallworth of Jackson, Miss., from a civil lawsuit filed by a Maryland woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2001 in her home, a...
Calif. High Court Rules Discovery Does Not Apply to Reinsurance Documents
Aug 29 2007 // The California Supreme Court has ruled that a statute authorizing limited discovery of a defendant’s insurance coverage does not include authorization to look into reinsurance agreements as part of facilitating a...
Iowa Diocese Asks Court for Time to Negotiate with Insurers
Aug 16 2007 // The Davenport, Iowa Diocese has asked for more time to file its reorganization plan while it negotiates with insurance companies to compensate victims of clergy abuse. The diocese, which filed for bankruptcy last October...
Va. Man Awarded $41 Million for Priest Abuse Files Another Suit
Aug 9 2007 // A Navy doctor who was awarded $41 million in a civil lawsuit against a pedophile priest has filed a second lawsuit against Roman Catholic officials. Attorneys for Cmdr. Kenneth Whitwell, 39, of Quantico, Va., filed the...
$660 million will settle church abuse case
Jul 23 2007 // Negotiations have produced a landmark $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse has concluded, with insurers will be picking up a large...
Cardinal Apologizes to Abuse Victims as $660 Million Settlement Reached
Jul 17 2007 // After a whirlwind weekend, the negotiations that produced a landmark $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse has concluded. Insurers...
L.A. archdiocese to pay $600 million to settle abuse claims
Jul 16 2007 // The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will settle its clergy abuse cases for at least $600 million, by far the largest payout in the church’s sexual abuse scandal, the Associated Press learned...
Delaware Abolishes Statute of Limitations for Sex Abuse Lawsuits
Jul 13 2007 // The ink is barely dry on a new Delaware law aimed at protecting the legal rights of victims of child sexual abuse, but it’s already being tested. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed a law Tuesday that abolishes...
Oxendine: Arson Unlikely in Ga. Church Fire
Jul 10 2007 // Arson is unlikely in a northwest Georgia church fire that broke out early on July 6 – Georgia’s third church fire in less than two weeks, investigators said. Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John...
Hydrant Problems Hampered Efforts to Save Florida Church
Jul 10 2007 // Trouble with fire hydrants in Freeport, Fla., hampered efforts to save a burning church, firefighters said. Firefighters used water from a nearby retention pond to fight the June 6 fire at New Beginnings Church in Freeport...
Iowa Diocese to Review Insurance Policies Dating Back to 1950
Jul 2 2007 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport is seeking to review its insurance policies dating back more than a half century. The diocese filed a joint motion with a creditor’s committee asking a bankruptcy court to...
Figures
Jul 2 2007 // $440,000 The amount Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce received in insurance money in 2002 for injuries he said he suffered in a car accident. The FBI and IRS are reportedly looking into the extent of...
Figures
Jul 2 2007 // 27 The number arrested by Florida officials in an ongoing investigation dubbed “Operation TGIF” because the group perpetrated staged accidents on Fridays. The staged accident ring billed auto insurers more than...
Texas Hill Country Hardest Hit by Torrential Rains, Flooding
Jun 29 2007 // Lisa Schlueter was sleeping soundly Wednesday morning when she was roused by Toots, her rat terrier, barking in the living room. When she flipped on a light, she quickly saw what had gotten Toots so agitated: Flood water...
Mistrial Declared in Va. Man’s Sex Abuse Claim Against Vt. Diocese
Jun 28 2007 // A mistrial was declared this week in the case of a Virginia man who accused the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont of negligence for the alleged actions of one of its priests. Chittenden County Superior Court...
