78 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
78 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
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presents
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MIAMI (AP) 8/1/89
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Keyed by Fetal Juice
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Toxic File #80
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Church Challenges Animal Sacrifice Laws
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An afro-Cuban sect that slaughters chickens, turtles and
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sometimes goats as part of its ritual is challenging a town's ban on
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the practice, saying it violates religious freedom.
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A trial began last week in the federal lawsuit filed by Santeria
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priest Ernesto Pichardo and his Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye in
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suburban Hialeah, the first known church in the usually secretive
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sect.
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The dispute between the Santeria church and the town of Haileah
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raises questions of religious persecution and animal cruelty as it
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delves into the most unsetteling Santeria ritual - animal sacrifice.
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Experts on Santeria and its practitioners have said that human
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bones are not part of any Santeria ritual. But chickens, pigeons,
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doves and turtles, and occasionally goats and pigs, are sacrificed for
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the initation of priests, in faith-healaing and for help in love,
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buisness and family affairs.
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Sometimes, the animal remains are cooked and eaten, but in some
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cases they are left by roadsides or in other public places.
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The trial in Pichardo's lawsuit began Monday (7/30/89) and will
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continue this week. U.S. District Judge Eugene Spellman is hearing the
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case without a jury.
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Officals in Hialeah, a predominatly Hispanic city on the edge of
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Miami, deny that their efforts to limit Santeria rituals amount to an
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attack on religion. Instead, they cite such factors as the
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possibility of infection spread by animal carcasses, cruelty to
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animals, and the danger that childern who witness the sacrifices will
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be psychologically scarred.
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In court documents, city attorneys noted that bans on snake
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handling and mairjuana smoking have been upheald even when the acts
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are considered an integral element of religion.
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Santeria, believed to have more then 50,000 followers in the
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Miami area, had its origins in the region of Africa that is now
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Nigeria. It was carrid by slaves to Cuban sugar plantations, adopted
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many Roman Catholic saints as guardians and evolved into a folk
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religion that remains largely underground. Most adherents are Cubans
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or Cuban-Americans.
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Pichardo, 34, says he is trying to remove the stigma against the
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religion as a low-class practice and institutionalize its rituals,
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which previously have been performed largely in private homes.
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After he announced plans for his church in 1987, the city delayed
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its opening with extensive zoning and building code requirements.
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"Once we complied with everything they threw at us, then it
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became an animal sacrifice issue," said Pichardo
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The council voted to outlaw sacrifices, allow animal slaughter
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only for human consumption, prohibit the possession of animals for
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slaughter or sacrifice, and incorporate the state animal crulty law in
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city ordinances.
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(c)opied from the goddamn NEWSPAPER!! Fetal Juice/Toxic Shock July 1990
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