Latest news with #McElwee
The Courier
01-06-2025
- The Courier
Perth county lines dealer caught with rucksack packed with crack avoids jail
A pregnant Perth woman who avoided jail for her part in a county lines drug operation was warned to stay out of trouble 'because no one wants you to be giving birth in handcuffs.' Skye McElwee was caught with thousands of pounds worth of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia at her flat in the city's Viewfield Place. The 23-year-old had been involved with a drugs gang from England who were using her home as a base for selling and packaging the class A substance. The members wore distinctive hi-viz jackets and were regularly seen under surveillance taking a dog called Boss for a walk. McElwee was heard asking after the dog when officers raided her home, inadvertently confirming her connection the drug gang. She returned to Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing, having earlier pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine from her home on June 1 2023. McElwee wept in the dock as the court heard how she had made great progress to get her life back on track since the offence. Sheriff William Wood told her: 'Although your social work report is in very positive terms, there is no escaping the fact you were an active participant in this plan to supply drugs. 'There were messages on your phones that made clear that you were actively involved. 'This would normally attract a custodial sentence.' But the sheriff told McElwee he would not be sending her to jail. 'It is a positive report and I take into account your age at the time. 'I note there has been no further offending over the last three years and it is hoped that that continues.' McElwee was ordered to stay home between 7pm and 7am each night as part of a five-month restriction of liberty order. The sheriff said: 'You do have to be aware that breaching this order might lead to a custodial sentence and no one wants you to be giving birth in handcuffs. 'I don't think that would happen, but stay out of trouble.' The court heard how Police Scotland received intelligence drugs were being dealt from McElwee's address by a group of males, described as Afro-Caribbean, from England. Prosecutor Stephanie Paterson said: 'This intelligence provided that the males wore high visibility vests and were often seen walking a dog named Boss.' One of the gang was spotted by police walking a brown dog near McElwee's home at around 11am on June 1 2023. The 32-year-old ran off as police approached. He darted past KFC, before running over a bridge into Vasart Court and into St Catherine's Retail Park. Police caught up with him when he returned to Viewfield Place. The suspect was found to be carrying a set of keys attached to a lanyard for children's hospice charity CHAS and a soft toy. Officers later discovered a snapbag containing 5g of crack cocaine behind KFC, which the suspect is believed to have ditched in the chase. An arrest warrant has since been issued for the AWOL suspect, whose last known address was in Slough. When police executed a search warrant on McElwee's flat, they did not need a battering ram to get inside. They used the keys obtained from their suspect to unlock the front door later that afternoon and found McElwee in bed. Ms Paterson said: 'The accused asked officers where the dog was. 'A detective constable explained to her that there was no dog in the house. At this, the accused became upset.' McElwee confirmed to police the name of her dog was Boss. 'It became apparent that the same dog had been with the male who was detained earlier,' said Ms Paterson. A forensic sweep of the property was carried out and a tub filled with white powder was seized from a kitchen worktop. Other paraphernalia including scales, a tick list and snapbags – identical to the one dropped behind KFC – were also found. A plastic box in a rucksack was found to contain 41.9g of crack cocaine, with a street value of more than £4,000. McElwee's iPhone was analysed and it contained incriminating outgoing text messages. When she was interviewed, McElwee was unable to provide an explanation for the drugs found at her home, Ms Paterson said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Some women in the Catholic Church push for change amid Pope Leo XIV's election
As cardinals selected American Cardinal Robert Prevost to become the 267th pontiff -- Pope Leo XIV -- on Thursday, one major group was excluded from the decision-making process: women. "Ordained priests will meet behind closed doors to make a consequential decision about the future of the church during the conclave," Kate McElwee, director of the Women's Ordination Conference, told ABC News. "Every woman from the parish worker to the Dicastery leader has to eventually answer to an ordained man." Tune into "The American Pope: Leo XIV," a special edition of "20/20," on Friday night at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on ABC, and streaming later on Hulu and Disney+ McElwee, whose organization has spent 50 years advocating for women to become priests, deacons and bishops, described the conclave as "a textbook old boys club that the Vatican has long upheld." "As a church, we have to really reckon with: do we worship patriarchy or do we worship the life and works of Jesus Christ?" McElwee asked. The Vatican didn't immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. MORE: Pope Leo XIV live updates While Leo XIV's predecessor Pope Francis made historic strides in appointing women to leadership roles -- including Sister Raffaella Petrini as executive of Vatican State, the highest-ranking position ever held by a woman in the Catholic Church -- McElwee said these changes didn't go far enough. "He started to change a culture. There are more opportunities for men and women to be in collaboration with each other," McElwee said. "And I think that's the start. You know, it's an incomplete project." The Catholic Church maintains that only men can be ordained as priests, viewing this not as a cultural tradition but as unchangeable divine law. In 1994, Pope John Paul II declared this position as official doctrine, writing that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women." MORE: Pope Leo XIV: How his views compare to those of Pope Francis However, women played crucial roles in Catholic history since the church's beginning. Walking through Rome, churches named after female saints tell stories of unwavering faith. "Women have always been strong pillars, custodians of faith," Alessandra Morelli, who spent 30 years working with refugees for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told ABC News. In a 2023 interview with Vatican Media, Leo XIV highlighted his experience with having women in church leadership, particularly discussing the three women appointed to help select bishops -- a reform he oversaw under Francis."Their opinion introduces another perspective and becomes an important contribution to the process," he told Vatican Media, emphasizing that their roles represent "real, genuine, and meaningful participation." When asked if she would want to become ordained as a deacon or priest, Morelli responds with a firm "Absolutely." Drawing from her experience mediating in conflict zones, Morelli believes women bring unique qualities to leadership. "Power is out of the game," she said. "We listen with a much more non-judgmental attitude. We open spaces, we generate spaces and we know how to manage the unknown." Some women in the Catholic Church push for change amid Pope Leo XIV's election originally appeared on
09-05-2025
- Politics
Some women in the Catholic Church push for change amid Pope Leo XIV's election
As cardinals selected American Cardinal Robert Prevost to become the 267th pontiff -- Pope Leo XIV -- on Thursday, one major group was excluded from the decision-making process: women. "Ordained priests will meet behind closed doors to make a consequential decision about the future of the church during the conclave," Kate McElwee, director of the Women's Ordination Conference, told ABC News. "Every woman from the parish worker to the Dicastery leader has to eventually answer to an ordained man." McElwee, whose organization has spent 50 years advocating for women to become priests, deacons and bishops, described the conclave as "a textbook old boys club that the Vatican has long upheld." "As a church, we have to really reckon with: do we worship patriarchy or do we worship the life and works of Jesus Christ?" McElwee asked. The Vatican didn't immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. While Leo XIV's predecessor Pope Francis made historic strides in appointing women to leadership roles -- including Sister Raffaella Petrini as executive of Vatican State, the highest-ranking position ever held by a woman in the Catholic Church -- McElwee said these changes didn't go far enough. "He started to change a culture. There are more opportunities for men and women to be in collaboration with each other," McElwee said. "And I think that's the start. You know, it's an incomplete project." The Catholic Church maintains that only men can be ordained as priests, viewing this not as a cultural tradition but as unchangeable divine law. In 1994, Pope John Paul II declared this position as official doctrine, writing that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women." However, women played crucial roles in Catholic history since the church's beginning. Walking through Rome, churches named after female saints tell stories of unwavering faith. "Women have always been strong pillars, custodians of faith," Alessandra Morelli, who spent 30 years working with refugees for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told ABC News. In a 2023 interview with Vatican Media, Leo XIV highlighted his experience with having women in church leadership, particularly discussing the three women appointed to help select bishops -- a reform he oversaw under Francis."Their opinion introduces another perspective and becomes an important contribution to the process," he told Vatican Media, emphasizing that their roles represent "real, genuine, and meaningful participation." When asked if she would want to become ordained as a deacon or priest, Morelli responds with a firm "Absolutely." Drawing from her experience mediating in conflict zones, Morelli believes women bring unique qualities to leadership. "Power is out of the game," she said. "We listen with a much more non-judgmental attitude. We open spaces, we generate spaces and we know how to manage the unknown."
France 24
07-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Habemus protestatio: Pink smoke over Rome denounces male-dominated Church
Cardinal electors are yet to cast their first ballots in the papal conclave – and yet they've already been beaten to the smoke race. Just hours before the "princes" of the Catholic Church gathered in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope, members of the Women's Ordination Conference lit pink smoke flares on a nearby hill in protest at rampant gender inequality in the Church. "While the world may be waiting for white or black smoke, our pink smoke is a signal that women should be included in every aspect of the life of the Church," said Kate McElwee, executive cirector of Women's Ordination Conference. "A woman's place is in the conclave," she added. The women said they had been arrested in the past when they brought their protests closer to St. Peter's Square, so they held their pink smoke event on the Ganicolo Hill behind the Vatican instead, with the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica visible in the distance. "The exclusion of women from the conclave, and from ordained ministry, is a sin and a scandal," McElwee said in an earlier statement. "A group of ordained men meeting behind closed doors to make a consequential decision about the future of the church is textbook 'old boy's club'." The protesters carried a list of potential female candidates for pope, which included former Irish President Mary McAleese. In an interview with FRANCE 24 earlier on Wednesday, McAleese warned that the Church would be in "even graver trouble than it is now" if cardinals elected a conservative pontiff, rolling back on tentative progress under Pope Francis. 10:44 "They've been kicking so many cans down the road (...), in particular the issue of women and gender equality," said the former Irish president, a doctor of Canon Law, warning that without the late pontiff's efforts the Church would have been "overwhelmed by a tsunami of discontent". She added: "We need a man of courage, real courage, who can lead the Church to the egalitarianism, the equality that many of us believe Christ promised and stands for but the Church does not."
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration terminates Maine's U.S. attorney
Feb. 17—Maine's U.S. attorney has been terminated by the Trump administration, her office announced Monday. Darcie McElwee has served as Maine's lead prosecutor in the U.S. District Court since 2021, when she was nominated by then-President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. McElwee worked in Maine's U.S. Attorney's Office for nearly 20 years before taking it over. She was notified of President Donald Trump's decision Sunday night, according to a spokesperson. McElwee said Monday that the job "has been an extraordinary honor." "I am overwhelmed with appreciation and gratitude for the support, talents, integrity, and commitment to the rule of law of my current and former colleagues at the U.S. Attorney's Office and at partner law enforcement agencies across Maine, many of whom I have worked with for more than two decades," McElwee said in a written statement. "Having the opportunity to pursue justice alongside dedicated professionals has been a truly humbling and rewarding experience," she added. "I could not be more proud of the important work we did together for the people of Maine." While she was U.S. attorney, McElwee served on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's advisory committee. She was a liaison to the Bureau of Prisons for the committee and also served on various subcommittees for Terrorism & National Security, Native American Issues, Violent Crime and Civil Rights dealing with Human Trafficking. Craig Wolff, a career prosecutor who served as McElwee's first assistant U.S. attorney, is taking over the top job on an acting basis under procedure established in federal law. Before coming to Maine, Wolff worked for the federal prosecutor's office in Maryland. The Trump administration will eventually nominate its own pick for the office, and that person will have to be confirmed by the Senate. A Caribou native, McElwee previously worked as an adjunct professor of advanced trial advocacy at the University of Maine School of Law. She earned her bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1995 and her law degree from the UMaine law school in 1998. Copy the Story Link
