Family Sues Man Who Killed Catholic

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Dec. 13 — Mary Stachowicz, 51, was killed in November allegedly by a 19-year-old co-worker, Nicholas Gutierrez, after she asked him about his homosexuality. Reportedly Gutierrez said the deceased reminded him of his mother and had enraged him with her question.

Stachowicz, a devout Catholic, was found stabbed, strangled and left in the crawl space of Gutierrez's Chicago apartment. Now Stachowicz's family is filing a wrongful-death civil suit against Gutierrez to make sure he does not profit by writing a book or taking part in a movie about his crime, according to newspaper.

Gutierrez has been charged with first-degree murder, burglary and concealment of a homicide but so far not of a hate crime. Stachowicz's family has insisted the murder qualifies for such charges since it was inspired by her religious beliefs about homosexuality.

Her gentle questioning was part of a religious outreach, her children told the paper, and an attempt to help the troubled young man.

Post Offices Ordered to Trust in God

AFA.NET, Dec. 13 — After a lawsuit filed by the American Family Association, the U.S. Postal Service has been ordered by a judge to put up framed posters containing the official U.S. motto, “In God We Trust,” in some 38,000 post offices across the country.

Association member Frank Williamson filed the suit after he donated three framed copies of the motto to Texas post offices in a national American Family Association initiative and they were taken down.

“The U.S. Postal Service decided to design the poster after researching Williamson's complaint and discovering that the U.S. House of Representatives had adopted a resolution two years ago that supported putting the motto in every public building possible,” said Postal spokesman David Lewin.

American Family Association chairman Don Wildmon praised the decision, saying, “We have distributed over 400,000 posters since the campaign started, with tens of thousands now hanging on public classroom walls, in city halls and other public buildings because of individual citizens like Mr. Williamson.”

Man Acquitted of Shooting Alleged Abuser

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Dec. 17 — Former altar boy Dontee Stokes, 26, was acquitted of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and assault by a Baltimore jury, the wire service reported.

Stokes admitted to shooting Father Maurice Blackwell, a priest whom he said had raped him 10 years before — an act he had reported to the Church. The Archdiocese of Baltimore had sent Father Blackwell to three months of psychiatric observation and then returned him to duty under restrictions — a decision the archdiocese has said it regrets.

The jury accepted Stokes' plea of temporary insanity brought on by the psychological damage caused by the abuse. He was convicted of three gun charges, although the jury requested a lenient sentence.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a statement that “one sad chapter is concluded,” and it hoped that this verdict would bring a “greater measure of reconciliation and peace.”

Of the man he shot, Stokes said: “I have no message for Maurice Blackwell; I'll pray for Maurice Blackwell.”