(Continued from page 19)

day morning to pay their final respects to the six worshippers gunned down by a white supremacist at their Sikh temple over the weekend.
• Organizers initially allocated two hours for a wake and visitation at a nearby high school. But they added two hours to accommodate both mourners from around the world and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder as a last-minute speaker.
• The service will include prayers and hymns. Afterward mourners plan to return to the temple and begin a traditional rite called "akhand path," a ceremony that involves a series of priests reading their holy book aloud from cover to cover. The process, which takes 48 hours, is intended to honor the memories of the six victims.
• "We want to pay homage to the spirits who are still in there," said Harpreet Singh, the nephew of one of the victims.
• Other dignitaries expected to attend the funeral include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan.

• ___

• ST. LOUIS (AP) -- At a pivotal national meeting, members of the largest group for American nuns have been weighing whether they should accept or challenge a Vatican order to reform.
• The national assembly is the first since a Vatican review concluded the Roman Catholic sisters had tolerated dissent about the all-male priesthood, birth control and homosexuality, while remaining nearly silent in the fight against abortion. Officials at the Holy See want a full-scale overhaul of the organization under the authority of U.S. bishops.
• The 900 sisters at this week's meeting in St. Louis "are asking God to show us to the next best step we can take," said Sister Mary Waskowiak, director of development for the Mercy International Association in Burlingame, Calif. The executives of the group have called the Vatican report flawed.
• The Leadership Conference of Women Religious represents about 80 percent of the 57,000 American sisters. The rebuke from the Holy See, issued in April, prompted an outpouring of support for the sisters nationwide, including parish vigils, protests outside the Vatican embassy in Washington and a resolution in Congress commending the sisters for their service to the country. A spokeswoman for the

(Continued on page 21)