Covid and Religion, MOVE, John Africa
East Idaho News: Where do major US religions stand on the COVID-19 vaccination?
A recent report from the Public Religion Research Institute says 53% of Americans agree with the statement: "Because getting vaccinated against COVID-19 helps protect everyone, it is a way to live out the religious principle of loving my neighbors."Some religious leaders have cited their faith as a reason to promote vaccination, like doctrinal mandates to love others or to stay as healthy as possible. Others have cited their faith as a reason to allow others to make the medical decisions themselves without getting involved. Some have even cited their faith as a reason to discourage vaccination.So what exactly are official religious beliefs surrounding immunization? Which religions and faith traditions are doctrinally opposed to vaccination? And do these beliefs also apply to the COVID-19 vaccine?Prominent religious leaders like the pope, the dalai lama, the archbishop of Canterbury, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and many others have been vaccinated, often documenting it publicly.
" ... At the beginning of July, three former MOVE members who say they were raised within the Black liberation group renounced it, and released a public statement calling it "a cult."
"They tell you anybody other than MOVE is out to get you," Whit Sims, formerly known as Whit Africa, told Billy Penn about the leaders of the group. "[They'll tell you] they'll rape your kids, they'll kill your kids … So you're scared to do anything. So they stripped you of all your independence."
Sims is part of a trio of former MOVE children who allege witnessing and experiencing widespread abusive behavior within the organization. They cite coercive sexual relationships, child marriages, death threats, financial crimes, and several forms of psychological control.
Their statement comes a few months after outcry erupted over desecration and mishandling of remains of MOVE members killed in the city-led 1985 bombing of the group's West Philadelphia headquarters.
The former members' allegations and stories are being documented on a new blog titled "Leaving MOVE," and an associated podcast called "Murder At Ryan's Run."
Since the allegations were released, another four former MOVE members have since come forward in support, according to an updated statement.
Sims said she is the daughter of Debbie Africa and Mike Africa Sr. Both parents were sent to prison in the 1970s as part of the MOVE 9, and were released on parole in 2018. Sims is also the brother of Mike Africa Jr., who has become one of the prominent voices of MOVE over the past year.
Mike Africa Jr. posted on Twitter in early July that he was "in the fight of his life" and described his family as "a cluster of chaos."
So far, MOVE leadership has not released an official statement regarding the podcast or blog, and has not returned Billy Penn's requests for comment."
True Crime: LEAVING MOVE: Murder at Ryan's Run
" ... For five years he is a true believer and unquestionably loyal until former MOVE member JOHN GILBRIDE is murdered in 2002 leaving Kevin rattled and wondering, WHO KILLED JOHN?"
Leaving MOVE: Reflections of a former MOVE Supporter (new blog)
"I became involved with MOVE in 1997, at the age of 14. In 2001 I moved to the Philadelphia area and became much more deeply involved with the group. I've decided to speak out now both to reconcile my own conscience and pave a path to others who might find themselves in similar circumstances."
" ... In a statement, Mayor Jim Kenney of Philadelphia acknowledged the resolution's importance. "In an effort to learn from our past and do better by our residents in the future, this annual day of observation is a positive step in the healing process our city desperately needs," he said. "This year we saw the pain and trauma caused by the MOVE bombing are still alive in West Philadelphia, so I commend the Council for taking this step toward healing."
The mayor acknowledged missteps in the city's attempts to rebuild the neighborhood in the years immediately following the attack, but said a recent public-private partnership had succeeded in reconstructing homes in the affected area.
MOVE, a group described by members as "a back-to-nature movement" that would return the United States to Native Americans and do away with all government, was deemed an "authoritarian, violence-threatening cult" by city officials, who said that the group used threats, abuse and intimidation to terrify their neighbors and to bring about confrontation. At the time of the attack, the police were acting to clear the group out of a rowhouse at 6221 Osage Avenue in response to neighbors' complaints of filthy conditions in the house and nightlong amplified lectures from MOVE members.
At 6 a.m. on May 13, 1985, the Philadelphia police came under gunfire from people inside the home, which led to a daylong standoff. Throughout the day, the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission later found, the police fired more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition in less than 90 minutes at the rowhouse, which was occupied by men, women and children. Calling the police officers' actions "clearly excessive and unreasonable," the commission's report acknowledged that the police were unable to fully suppress the gunfire coming from the home and that efforts to negotiate with the people inside had been haphazard and fruitless."
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