Diocese breaks from U.S. church
Clergy and lay members of the theologically conservative Pittsburgh diocese voted overwhelmingly Saturday to break from the liberal Episcopal Church, with which it differs on issues ranging from homosexuality to biblical teachings on salvation.
Assistant Bishop Henry Scriven said the vote meant the Pittsburgh diocese is now more firmly aligned with the majority of the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, which is more conservative.
"I am delighted that what we have done today is bringing the Diocese of Pittsburgh back into the mainstream of worldwide Anglicanism," Scriven said.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the 2.2-million-member U.S. church, criticized the vote in a statement, saying, "There is room in this church for all who desire to be members of it." Schism is not an "honored tradition within Anglicanism" and is "frequently been seen as a more egregious error than charges of heresy," she said.
The votes were 240 in favor of leaving, 102 against. Eight voters either abstained or cast disqualified ballots.
The Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., was the first to leave the U.S. church, in 2006. Dioceses in Quincy, Ill., and Fort Worth, Texas, are set to vote next month on leaving.
NEW YORKClinton neighbor is convicted
A disbarred attorney who lived three doors down from Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton in suburban New York was convicted Saturday of murdering his wife in what prosecutors said was an attempt to collect his wife's life insurance, which totaled nearly $900,000. A Westchester County jury found Carlos Perez-Olivo guilty of second-degree murder. He could get life in prison.
Prosecutors said Perez-Olivo shot his wife, Peggy, in the back of the head as she dozed in their car during a drive to their home in Chappaqua on Nov. 18, 2006. Perez-Olivo then gave himself a gunshot wound, tossed the weapon into a lake and called 911 claiming that a carjacker had attacked them.
Perez-Olivo's claim of innocence failed to convince the jury, which also convicted him of illegal weapons possession.
NEW YORKCitigroup bid for bank is upheld
Citigroup Inc. said Saturday that a New York state court judge granted an order extending the bank's "exclusivity agreement" with troubled Wachovia Corp., after Wells Fargo & Co. on Friday made a competing bid for the North Carolina lender.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Ramos issued the emergency injunction Friday night, extending Citigroup's agreement to negotiate the acquisition of parts of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia "until further order of the court," Citigroup said in a statement.
Citigroup, which has been hobbled by $61 billion of subprime-loan-related losses, is in the midst of a takeover battle with Wells Fargo for control of Wachovia.
Wells Fargo agreed to buy all of troubled Wachovia, whereas the Citigroup deal would exclude Wachovia's brokerage arm and mutual fund units.
Spokesmen for Wachovia and Wells Fargo didn't return requests for comment after Citigroup announced the court order.
From Times Wire Reports
