Circus Priest Brings Church to Clowns

NEW YORK TIMES, Aug. 21 — In 1954, Jerry Hogan fell in love with the colorful world beneath the big top, the New York daily reported.

Now, as Father Hogan, he celebrates Mass and performs baptisms, weddings and funerals for lion tamers and human cannonballs. Father Hogan serves as chaplain to an estimated 10,000 U.S. circus workers. He regularly visits 28 circuses for two or three days at a time.

Father Hogan took the post in 1993. Five nuns also travel with circuses full time.

Florida Death May Prompt New Day-Care Rules

THE ORLANDO SENTINEL, Aug. 20 — After a 2-year-old girl died Aug. 10 at a Daytona Beach, Fla., Christian day-care center, state lawmakers vowed to tighten regulations, the Orlando daily reported.

Child advocacy groups urged legislators to require religious centers to adopt the safety standards needed to get a state license.

Zaniyah Hinson's teacher at the Abundant Life Academy left the toddler in a van for over two hours after a field trip. Investigators estimated that the internal temperature of the van was 140 F. The academy does not check students off on a log as they begin and end field trips, a practice required at state-licensed facilities.

Some religious groups warned that regulation could lead to infringement on religious freedom, by requiring such things as the employment of open homosexuals.

Memorial for U.S. Missionary Who Died in Kenya

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Aug. 22 — The Catholic peace group Pax Christi held a memorial service for an American missionary who died in Kenya last year, the wire service reported.

Father John Kaiser, 67, was found shot dead on Aug. 24, 2000, on a road north of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Kaiser had worked in Kenya for 35 years, mainly in rural areas. He was an outspoken critic of the Nairobi government's human rights abuses.

Kenya ruled Father Kaiser's death a suicide, and in April the FBI, which was asked to investigate by the Kenyan government, reported his death “is more consistent with a suicide than a homicide.” However, some continue to believe the priest was murdered, possibly for political reasons.

Knights Care for Abandoned Children

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Aug. 22 — The Knights of Columbus have held funerals and burial services for six children abandoned in Las Vegas since 1988, the wire service reported.

In 1988, a baby was found in the city's sewer system. Babies have been found in casino trash bins as well; that's where the sixth child, whom the Knights named Francis, was found.

Other chapters of the Knights also arrange funerals for abandoned babies, and in some cities, mortuaries, police and fire departments, and other nonprofit groups pay for such funerals.

Days after Francis was found, Nevada joined 30 other states whose laws allow mothers to drop newborns at safe places like fire or police stations and hospitals. Most states will not prosecute the mothers who use the baby drop-off facilities.