Religion news in brief

Plans for an Islamic community center and mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks moved forward as a city panel opened the way for developers to tear down a building that was struck by airplane debris during the attack.

Even as the project's backers celebrated the decision, a conservative advocacy group founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson announced it would challenge the panel's vote in state court Wednesday.

Brett Joshpe, an attorney for the American Center for Law and Justice, said the group would file a petition alleging that the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission "acted arbitrarily and abused its discretion."

The panel voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny landmark status to a building two blocks from the World Trade Center site that developers want to tear down and convert into an Islamic community center and mosque. The panel said the 152-year-old lower Manhattan building isn't distinctive enough to be considered a landmark.

The decision drew praise from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who stepped before cameras on Governor's Island with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop shortly after the panel voted and called the mosque project a key test of Americans' commitment to religious freedom.

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Minority Islamic sect 'prepares for war' as religious tensions flare in Indonesia

MANISLOR, Indonesia (AP) — A minority Islamic sect has told followers to prepare for war after rock-throwing mobs attacked one of their mosques in central Indonesia, calling its members heretics.

The weeklong violence in Manislor, a village in West Java province, peaked Thursday after more than 500 hard-liners from the Islamic Defenders Front, known as FPI, clashed with 3,000 Ahmadiyah sect followers.

At least eight people were injured, including three police.

Deden Sujana, who heads security for the sect, said Friday: "We have to defend ourselves and our mosques," adding that hard-liners have "gone too far."

Sujana said: "We call on Ahmadiyah followers to fight against them in the name of Allah."

Indonesia, a secular state of 235 million, has more Muslims than any other in the world.

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Groups seek resignation of Cardinal Law as basilica head in Rome

ROME (AP) — Groups representing victims of clergy sex abuse in the United States are urging Pope Benedict XVI to remove Cardinal Bernard Law as head of a Rome basilica, issuing their appeal shortly before the former Boston archbishop leads an annual high-profile ceremony in the church.

Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, named Law as archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica after his 2002 resignation as Boston archbishop. Law quit to quell an outcry over handling of sex abuse cases in his diocese, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. church official to fall in the scandal that rocked the American church.

The traditional ceremony Thursday includes the release of white petals from the basilica's ceiling to recall a legendary August snowfall in Rome in 352.

Kristine Ward of the National Survivors Advocates Coalition called the ceremony a "bread and circuses" approach in the church at a time of crisis over sex abuse.

Victims groups have been lobbying for years to get Law removed, accusing the Vatican of giving a major culprit in the crisis a soft landing. The 78-year-old prelate also sits on a number of Vatican congregations and councils.

Law did not return a phone call seeking comment.

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Ministry holds Jesus Shore concert as alternative to `Jersey Shore' show

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) — A free concert promoting "PTL," or praise the lord, took place near where the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore" enjoy "GTL," or the gym, tan and laundry lifestyle.

The Move the Earth ministry organized a "Jesus Shore" event Monday on the Seaside Heights boardwalk as an alternative to the "fighting and fornicating" organizers say the reality TV show celebrates.

Abundant Grace Church Pastor Anthony Storino says they're not against the TV program. But Storino says there's another side to the Jersey shore.

The concert featured Christian bands and a Christian-themed tattoo contest. Vendors also sold Christian books and T-shirts.

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Florida church that feeds homeless destroyed in fire

HUDSON, Fla. (AP) — A Florida church dedicated to feeding the homeless has been destroyed in a fire.

Fire rescue crews were called to the Lakeview Baptist Church in Hudson, about 45 miles north of Tampa, on Tuesday. Flames were shooting from the roof and the nearest hydrant was six blocks away.

Forty firefighters battled the flames, which took about an hour to get under control.

Pastor Harry Buckwalder says the church feeds about 180 families a week.

Investigators do not believe the fire is suspicious. They are examining whether an electrical problem in the kitchen started the blaze.

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Senators offer gay marriage bill in conservative Chile, but left and right predict failure

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Two leftist senators introduced a bill to legalize gay marriage Tuesday, drawing predictions from colleagues on both the left and right that the measure has little chance of approval in conservative Chile.

Chile adopted a law allowing divorce only six years ago, and the influential Roman Catholic Church is sure to oppose the legislation. Santiago Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz sharply criticized Argentina's recent legalization of gay marriage.

The two senators who introduced the proposal defended it as a matter of fairness.

"What we are doing today is to deepen democracy. We want to separate fundamental human rights as the right to marry from external conditions such as sexual status," said one sponsor, Sen. Fulvio Rossi, who is president of the Socialist Party.