Global Church Crime News 07/23/2023

(July 17) Holy Heist: Armed Robbers Raid Roman Catholic Church, Take Priests Hostage, And Make Off With Valuables | ZIMBABWE

In a shocking incident that unfolded recently, armed robbers targeted two separate Roman Catholic Church premises in Bulawayo, leaving priests and residents traumatized.

The first attack took place at the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity Parish, where the suspects, armed with machetes, forcibly entered the residence and held the priests hostage.

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(July 16) I Stole In Order To Survive Because I Had No Means Of Livelihood – Pastor Okeneji | NIGERIA

P.M.EXPRESS reports the 29-year old Pastor Okeneji has been sentenced to two years imprisonment by an Akure Magistrate’s Court in Ondo State for breaking into a shop and stealing items.

The incident happened on 2nd July, 2023, at Iwaro Oka Akoko, Ondo State.

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(July 15) Parksville Church Sued Over Mid-’80s Sexual Abuse Allegations | CANADA

A Parksville church is being sued by a Surrey woman who alleges a former church youth leader had a sexual relationship with her when she was 15.

Brenda Tombs filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court alleging psychological, spiritual, and sexual grooming, abuse and exploitation by Charles Aiken when she was a youth group member in 1985 and 1986 at Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church, known as Parksville Regular Baptist Church at the time.

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(July 15) Russia Demands Release Of Orthodox Cleric Detained In Ukraine | RUSSIA

Russia on Saturday demanded the immediate release of a senior Orthodox cleric detained in Kyiv on suspicion of inflaming religious hatred and justifying Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A Kyiv court ordered pre-trial detention on Friday for Metropolitan Pavlo, a senior figure in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who had been under house arrest since April.

"We demand strict compliance by the Kyiv regime with its international legal obligations, the immediate release of Metropolitan Pavlo, who is suffering from a serious illness, and the provision of proper medical care for him," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

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(July 15) Lighthouse Chapel Drags Former Bishop To Police, Revokes Car Gift | GHANA

The Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI) has withdrawn a car it gifted a former bishop of the church, Kwame Yirenkyi Ampofo, during his service to the church.

Mr. Kwame Ampofo, an engineer by training, says the Auto Theft Unit of the police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is currently investigating him for stealing the car in contention.

He said the Chevrolet Tahoe was given to him in 2016 after it had been used by the wife of the founder of the church, Mrs. Adelaide Heward-Mills, from 2013 to 2016. He said the Healing Jesus denomination of the church then gave it to him as a gift in 2022 after it dismissed him over a misunderstanding between him and the leadership of the church.

The church said while it was yet to transfer the ownership of the car to Bishop Ampofo, he had begun to attack the church, hence, the decision to revoke the gift.

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