June 21, 2019: ISIS terror plot to attack Pittsburgh church; SCOTUS cross ruling; UK abortions on rise
Daily Radio Script - Friday, June 21, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— Supreme Court says World War I memorial cross can stay
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 on Thursday that a 40-foot tall cross erected to honor World War I soldiers can stay on public property in Bladensburg, Maryland.
Justice Samuel Alito authored most of the multi-part majority opinion overturning a lower court’s decision in the case American Legion v. American Humanist Association.
Justice Alito wrote that while the cross is a Christian symbol, the Bladensburg Cross has for nearly a century “expressed the community’s grief at the loss of the young men who perished.”
Alito added that if the cross were to be removed, it would be seen “not as a neutral act but as the manifestation of ‘a hostility toward religion that has no place in our Establishment Clause traditions.’”
Alito was joined in his decision by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Clarence Thomas filed a concurring opinion, while Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
—Syrian refugee arrested for planning to bomb Pittsburgh church
On the eve of World Refugee Day, the Trump administration announced the arrest of a Syrian refugee accused of plotting to bomb a church in Pittsburgh.
21-year-old Mustafa Mousab Alowemer was arrested Wednesday after being charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, and two counts of distributing information about explosive weapons related to his plot to attack a church.
The FBI identified the church as Legacy International Worship Center on Wilson Avenue in Pittsburgh.
Assistant Attorney General John Demers of the Justice Department said: “Targeting places of worship is beyond the pale, no matter what the motivation. He added that the defendant is alleged to have plotted to attack the church “in the name of ISIS.”
— Christian organizations join new global water campaign
The Christian charity World Vision says it will be giving $100 million dollars toward a new international campaign to ensure patients and health care workers in impoverished nations have access to clean water at medical facilities to decrease the risk of infection.
Leaders from humanitarian agencies and religious organizations say they are committed to the global initiative called "WASH in Health Care Facilities."
The movement seeks to ensure that all health care facilities worldwide have access to running water, sanitation, and hygiene services by 2030.
According to a report from the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina, 50% of health care facilities in low and middle-income countries lack piped water, while 33% lack access to improved sanitation facilities, and 66% lack access to hand-washing soap and running water.
—Abortions in England and Wales hit 10-year high
The number of abortions performed in England and Wales rose last year to an estimated 205,000, according to a report released by the U.K.’s Department of Health & Social Care.
These are the highest abortion numbers seen in the two countries since 2007.
The report, titled “Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2018,” represented reported abortions performed last year on women aged 15 to 44.
The report also found that 39% of women who had an abortion last year had at least one previous abortion.
— Eritrea shuts down all Catholic run health care facilities
The Catholic Church has accused the Eritrean government of shutting down all Catholic-run health care facilities in the East African nation, leaving thousands without access to medical care.
The Eritrean Catholic Church sent a letter to the ministry of health condemning the closure of its health centers last week, the BBC reports, as crackdowns against Christians and other religious minorities continue.
The Catholic Church operates as many as 22 health centers in Eritrea and also accused the government of deploying soldiers to monitor its facilities.
Eritrea ranks as the 7th worst persecutor of Christians in the world, according to the persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA.
To read more stories from a Christian perspective, visit christianpost.com.
