New Jersey church fights council’s plan

OPPOSITION is growing against the Toms River town council’s plans to seize the 11-acre plot of Christ Church Episcopal Church in New Jersey. The church has been waiting approval for a 17-bed homeless shelter. The town council is hoping to buy the land to transform it into a recreational centre, the Episcopal News Service reports. A petition shared on social media by the Bishop of New Jersey, the Rt Revd Sally French, has reached 5567 verified signatures this week. Members of the congregation have also started a GoFundMe page to cover legal fees. The Toms River council town-zoning board is expected to make a ruling this month.

Seven youths killed in Mexico

SEVEN young people, two of them aged under 18, have been shot dead in the central square of San Bartolo de Berrios, a village in Guanajuato, Mexico, in the early hours of Monday, after an event organised by the Roman Catholic church, the BBC reports. Eyewitnesses reported gunmen firing seemingly random shots at people who stayed after the parish event. Messages on signs near by suggest that it was carried out by the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel. No arrests have been made.

Human-rights lawyer arrested in El Salvador

RUTH LÓPEZ, a human-rights lawyer, who leads the Episcopal-affiliated organisation, Cristosal, has been arrested by Salvadoran police, accused of embezzling funds when she held a government position more than a decade ago, the Episcopal News Service reports. Cristosal has called for her immediate release.