Lead Story
According to a June article in the New York Times, Catholic churches in the U.S., Canada, and Europe are outsourcing certain ritual prayer requests, or mass intentions, from their parishioners to Catholic clergy in India. Indian priests said that this practice has been going on for several decades, and that the requests from the U.S. are typically accompanied by donations of $5 to $10, much more than they are offered by members of their own congregations.
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Least Competent Criminals
In Albany, Georgia, high school English teacher Carla Murray, 32, resigned in April after officials found notes she’d allegedly written to a 17-year-old student indicating they’d had an affair, including the following poem: “The smell of your cologne mixed w/sweat / The sounds you make while [word or words omitted from the Associated Press story] / The touch of your hands / The taste of your mouth / There’s more, but I won’t embarrass myself by mentioning them.”
