PHOENIX (AP) – A Catholic priest who clashed with the head of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix over gay issues has left the priesthood after taking a yearlong leave of absence.

Chris Carpenter said he is concerned about the church’s outreach to gay members and “the current state of church leadership.”

“The enforcement of church doctrine and liturgical practice are taking a step backward to the pre-Vatican II era,” he said, referring to the 1960s council on adapting the church to the modern world.

“Attempting to turn back the clock and re-create a time when the Catholic Church enjoyed greater authority and respect culturally is not a realistic way to deal with current problems and challenges.”

In a statement, Carpenter said he does not plan to return to priestly ministry in the church.

“From now on, I won’t formally identify myself as a priest or as ‘Father’ or dress as one,” he said.

Carpenter served for more than eight years as pastor of Christ the King parish in Mesa, Ariz.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Federal drug agents raided nearly a dozen medical marijuana clinics in California, seizing several thousand pounds of processed marijuana, along with weapons and money, authorities said.

Several people were detained, although no arrests were made after five dispensaries in West Hollywood and six others in Venice, Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley were searched Wednesday, said Sarah Pullen, a spokesperson with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The raids highlighted a conflict between a California state law and the federal drug agency.

California voters in 1996 approved the Compassionate Use Act, which makes marijuana available by prescription for medicinal uses. The DEA, which does not recognize California laws legalizing medical marijuana use, has recently increased its enforcement.

Pullen declined to provide details of the latest investigation, saying the search warrants remained under seal.

“But obviously we are looking for marijuana and other illegal drugs, marijuana edibles and evidence of ongoing criminal activity and anything from paperwork to documents – you name it,” Pullen said.

City officials in West Hollywood said they were surprised by the action, learning of the raid as it was happening. City spokesperson Helen Goss said West Hollywood has a “long-standing commitment” to the use of medical marijuana for people suffering from illnesses like HIV and AIDS.

Agents in bulletproof vests, gloves and face masks left a West Hollywood storefront with boxes and trash bags filled, as about 50 protesters booed and shouted “states’ rights.”

At one dispensary, The Farmacy on Santa Monica Boulevard, amateur videographers and others mobbed officers filling three cars with evidence.

“Today’s enforcement operations show that these establishments are nothing more than drug-trafficking organizations bringing criminal activities to our neighborhoods and drugs near our children and schools,” said Ralph W. Partridge, head of the DEA in Los Angeles.

ATLANTA (AP) – When the congregation at St. John’s, Atlanta’s oldest Lutheran church, chose a gay pastor in 2000, some worried it could complicate its relations with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and bring unwelcome notoriety.

By the time the Rev. Bradley Schmeling announced last year that he had found a lifelong companion, he had impressed most in the 350-member congregation. They rejoiced for him and threw the couple a party.

When told of the relationship, the bishop of the ELCA’s southeastern synod didn’t celebrate. Instead, Bishop Ronald Warren asked the 44-year-old pastor to resign. When Schmeling refused, Warren started disciplinary proceedings against him for violating church rules barring sex outside of marriage, which the church defines as only between a man and woman.

The ELCA maintains it’s simply following its own rules. Schmeling and his supporters say they hope his case will lead to changes in those rules, making the church more accepting of relationships involving its gay pastors.

To prepare himself for the hearing, Schmeling said he has been praying more and relying on his partner’s support.

HOUMA, La. (AP) – A man who allegedly confessed to murdering 23 men pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to nine counts of first-degree murder, charges which carry a possible death sentence.

Ronald Dominique was rolled into the courtroom in a wheelchair. He mumbled “not guilty” to each count as his sister and other relatives looked on, along with family members of some of his alleged victims.

The nine charges stem from the rape and murders of nine men between 2002 and 2005 in Terrebonne Parish [County]. The other 12 men were allegedly killed in other parts of the state and charges are being handled by authorities in the various other parishes.

Dominique, 42, has allegedly confessed to 23 murders of men from 1997 to 2005. Victims were found in ditches, sugar cane fields and other remote locations in southeastern Louisiana.

He was arrested at a homeless shelter in December.

Dominique’s public defender, Anthony Champagne, declined comment.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Sen. Ernie Chambers is continuing his fight to ban workplace discrimination against gay people.

On Wednesday, Chambers introduced a bill, LB475, which add sexual orientation to the list of reasons employers may not use in their hiring decisions. Other reasons include race, color, religion, sex and age.

Chambers has introduced similar legislation in the past with mixed success.

Two years ago the Legislature rejected a ban on sexual-orientation discrimination for anyone who works for the state or any entity that gets state money. The Legislature did approve a ban on discrimination at four institutions: The University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton University and Boys Town National Research Hospital.

All four have said they already had such policies in place.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – New Jersey’s first openly gay governor isn’t the only member of his family putting pen to paper.

James McGreevey’s estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, plans to publish her version of life with the former governor, according to a press release put out Thursday by the publisher.

She stood next to McGreevey when he announced in a nationally televised speech in 2004 that he was a “gay American” and would resign. Her story, Silent Partner, is scheduled for publication May 1, said Hyperion spokesperson Beth Dickey.

“I’ve had a lot of requests for interviews and appearances, but thought it best for my daughter [Jacqueline] and myself to stay out of the public maelstrom,” Dina McGreevey said in a statement released Thursday by Hyperion.

“But two years have passed and still I am the subject of much speculation as to the nature of my relationship with my husband. Enough is enough.”

James McGreevey’s memoir, The Confession, came out last fall. He wrote in the book that he was forced to resign as governor after a man he loved threatened to reveal his homosexuality unless he was paid millions to stay quiet.

That book has sold 36,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks book sales excluding those from discount retailers and specialty stores.

Dina McGreevey did not return calls for comment Thursday. McGreevey and his partner, Australian-born financier Mark O’Donnell, declined to comment. The two share a home in the central New Jersey city of Plainfield.

In his tell-all book, McGreevey revealed that he was having an affair with Golan Cipel, a former aide who would become a central figure in his downfall, while his wife was hospitalized after the birth of their child. Cipel has denied he and McGreevey had a consensual relationship, asserting that the former governor sexually harassed him.

Dina McGreevey, who has declined repeated interview requests since McGreevey resigned, refused to comment when his book was released.

Hyperion would not disclose contents of Dina McGreevey’s book, only to say she “will speak openly and honestly of her life with the former governor.”

She lives in Springfield with the couple’s daughter, who is 5.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Sen. John McCain said Tuesday he hopes to patch things up with conservative Christian leader James Dobson, who recently said he wouldn’t support the Republican’s presidential bid under any circumstances.

In a radio interview with KCBI, a Dallas Christian station, Dobson argued that McCain didn’t support traditional marriage values and campaign finance legislation he co-authored hurt Christian broadcasters.

“Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances,” Dobson said on KCBI.

McCain responded Tuesday during a stop in Columbia.

“I’m obviously disappointed and I’d like to continue and have a dialogue with Dr. Dobson and other members of the community,” McCain said.

McCain has said same-sex marriage should not be legal but has angered some conservatives with his opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. The Arizona senator said the issue should be left to the states.

McCain has reached out to conservatives he once crossed. Last May, he spoke at Falwell’s Liberty University in Virginia. In 2000, Falwell opposed McCain’s campaign for the GOP nomination and supported George W. Bush. At the time, McCain labeled Falwell and others on the right and the left as “agents of intolerance.”

During his 2000 presidential bid, McCain also criticized Bob Jones University, a Christian fundamentalist college, for its ban on interracial dating.

In a GOP debate with Bush, McCain said that given the opportunity to speak at the school as Bush had, he would have said, “Look, what you’re doing in this ban on interracial dating is stupid, it’s idiotic and it is incredibly cruel to many people.”

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Legislation requiring students at public high schools to obtain a parent’s written permission before joining an extracurricular club failed on a tie vote in committee Wednesday.

Despite the House Education Committee’s 9-9 vote on Del. Matthew Lohr’s bill, the issue is not dead. A similar bill introduced by another lawmaker has been referred to the same committee, which was missing four members when Lohr’s bill was rejected.

Gay-rights advocates have said the legislation is part of a campaign by conservative activists to undermine gay-straight alliances, clubs formed to encourage tolerance and provide a safe haven for gay students to discuss their problems.

But Lohr, R-Harrisonburg, said he merely wants to ensure that parents have a say in their children’s extracurricular activities.

“It’s a way to allow parents to be more aware, more involved in what their children are participating in at school,” Lohr said.