Search for survivors after high-rise collapse

 

Clergy abuse survivor confronts bishop over homosexual’s parish role

A parishioner in the Diocese of Las Cruces is concerned that his church’s promotion of an active homosexual sends a message to the congregation and to the man himself that homosexuality is morally acceptable.

 

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Emily Mangiaracina

Fri Oct 2, 2026 - 6:50 pm EDT

HOBBS, New Mexico (LifeSiteNews) — A devout Catholic is voicing his concern that an active homosexual is continuing to serve in his church’s music ministry and has been promoted to an administrative church position despite the bishop and pastor’s knowledge that his lifestyle defies Church teaching.

Leo Martinez, a clerical abuse survivor, told LifeSiteNews he requested a meeting with his local bishop, Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces, to discuss three matters, one of which was the public ministry of this openly homosexual man. Martinez requested a private meeting, but the bishop insisted that Martinez’s pastor, Father Joseph Pacquing, also attend. Martinez brought his brother as well.

Martinez said he told Baldacchino during the April 22 meeting that his parish is aware of the music minister’s homosexual relationship and that his position as a music minister has been held “for a long time,” at least 20 years. The pastor, Fr. Pacquing, reportedly told Martinez that the minister does not receive Holy Communion, confirming his awareness of the man’s homosexual lifestyle.

Bishop Baldacchino’s response was to say we must “be merciful,” that they would “investigate and look into it,” and that “we’re all sinners here,” Martinez recalled.

Martinez is concerned that the man holds a position as a music minister because it sends a message to both the congregation and to the minister himself that homosexuality is morally acceptable. While one is not culpable for same-sex attraction, active homosexual behavior is a grave sin according to Catholic Church teaching.

 

No Deaths Among Adventist Members Reported After Colombia Earthquake

A magnitude 7.4 quake damaged an Adventist school and church as leaders assess needs and ADRA assists dozens of families in Cali.

August 10, 2026 | Bogotá, Colombia | Laura Acosta, USC, and Inter-American Division News Staff

Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Colombia reported no deaths or serious injuries among church members today, as they continued checking congregations and institutions after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, killing more than 100 people nationwide.

Pastor Henry Beltrán, president of the South Colombia Union, said the church was maintaining contact with local conference presidents to assess the condition of members, pastors, employees, churches, schools, and other institutions.

ADRA Colombia personnel survey damage to a collapsed building next to CEA Cámbulos Adventist School in Cali, Colombia, following the 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 10, 2026. [Photo: ADRA Colombia]“As of this time, we have received no reports of serious incidents or deaths within our church territory,” Beltrán said. “We continue gathering information and remain attentive to any needs that may arise.”

The earthquake struck at 7:34 a.m. local time on Aug. 10 near San José del Palmar in Colombia’s Chocó department according to the Colombian Geological Service. The shaking was felt across much of the country, including Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Bogotá, and Medellín.

Students Evacuated in Cali

One of the church’s principal concerns was the CEA Cámbulos Adventist School in Cali, where the earthquake damaged portions of the school’s infrastructure. An apartment building next to the campus also collapsed during the shaking.

Jaime Moreno, youth ministries director of the Pacific Colombia Conference, was in the conference offices when the earthquake began. He said students were evacuated to a nearby sports field and later released to their families.

Brown University shooting victims identified...

Brown University shooting victims identified as Ella Cook, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov

Story by Sarah Lynch Baldwin

Updated on: December 15, 2025 / 2:21 PM EST / CBS News

The two people who were killed in a shooting at Brown University on Saturday have been identified as students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov.

The shooting took place in a classroom on the university's campus in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday evening, according to authorities. At least nine other people were wounded.

Authorities have released photos and videos of a possible suspect and offered a reward as the manhunt continues. The school said in a statement that "local police have advised they do not believe there is any immediate threat to Brown or the local community."

Many students stopped by a makeshift memorial to remember the victims before leaving for winter break. 

"It's just heartbreaking for the community, we're all really in shock right now," student Jack Cox told CBS News Boston. 

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brown-university-shooting-victims-ella-cook-mukhammad-aziz-umurzokov/

Jonestown massacre: Why the phrase ‘drink the Kool-Aid’ hurts this cult survivor

She escaped the worst murder-suicide in US history, but one thing still haunts this survivor, even 40 years later.

Emma Reynolds@emmareyn news.com.au


November 17, 20189:26pm




Jonestown, anniversary of a massacre


After she escaped the cult, Deborah Layton wanted to get as far from her past as possible, terrified of being labelled the “Jonestown girl” or “Kool-Aid kid”.


She was the one who warned US authorities they needed to save the People’s Temple church members awaiting death in a remote jungle clearing in South America.

Her testimony was the impetus for Californian Congressman Leo Ryan to lead an investigations party to the Jonestown camp in Guyana, South America — an arrival that triggered a mass murder-suicide that left 913 people dead. That was November 18, 1978, but the images of bodies strewn around the community are still as vivid 40 years on.

But Deborah hates how the phrase “drink the Kool-Aid” has become a euphemism for unquestioning obedience, after Reverend Jim Jones’s followers downed lethal cocktails of grape-flavoured Flavor-Aid, potassium cyanide, Valium and Phenergan at their leader’s command.



The horrifying images of dead bodies strewn around the compound of the People’s Temple cult in Jonestown, after 913 people drank cyanide-laced grape juice at Reverend Jim Jones’s order. Picture: David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images