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ALESSANDRATARANTINO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Pope Francis gives the thumbs up as he is driven through the crowd during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Wednesday. ByNicoleWinfield The Associated Press VATICAN CITY The Vat- ican conceded Thursday that most Catholics reject its teachings on sex and contraception as intru- sive and irrelevant and of- ficials pledged not to "close our eyes to anything" when it opens a two-year debate on some of the thorniest is- sues facing the church. Core church doctrine on the nature of marriage, sexuality, abortion and divorce isn't expected to change as a result of the debate that opens in Oc- tober. But Pope Francis is well aware that the church has lost much of its rele- vance and credibility in today's secular world and he is seeking to redirect his ministers to offer fam- ilies, and even gays in civil unions, a "new language" that is welcoming and re- sponds to their needs. The Vatican on Thurs- day issued the working document for the synod discussions, which in itself marked a sharp change from past practice: The Vatican sent out a 39-point questionnaire seeking in- put from ordinary Catho- lics around the world about their understanding of, and adherence to, the church's teaching on sexuality, ho- mosexuality, contraception, marriage and divorce. Thousands of ordinary Catholics, clergy and aca- demics responded, provid- ing the Vatican with an un- precedented compilation of grass-root data to guide the discussion. Usually, such working papers are compiled by bishops alone. The responses, which were summarized in the working document, were brutally honest. "A vast majority" of re- sponses stressed that "the moral evaluation of the different methods of birth control is commonly per- ceived today as an intru- sion in the intimate life of the couple and an en- croachment on the auton- omy of conscience," the document said. "Many responses rec- ommend that for many Catholics the concept of 'responsible parenthood' encompasses the shared re- sponsibility in conscience to choose the most appro- priate method of birth con- trol." Confronted with such a reality, Vatican officials were asked at a press con- ference if the church might actually change its posi- tion to align itself with the practice of most of its faith- ful rather than hold onto teachings that so many Catholics reject. Based on Francis' own wishes to open the discus- sion at all, deliberate for so long and canvass ordinary Catholics for their input, "We will not close our eyes to anything," said Monsi- gnor Bruno Forte, a meet- ing organizer. "These prob- lems will be considered." That said, the document makes clear the value of the church's core doctrine. It laments that the me- dia and its own priests have failed to communi- cate the "positive" aspects of the Vatican's key docu- ment banning artificial con- traception, the 1968 encycli- cal Humanae Vitae. And it stresses that what is needed is better pastoral outreach and a "new language" to communicate the complete vision of marriage and fam- ily life that the church es- pouses. Many Catholics ignore teachings about sex VATICAN By Balint Szlanko The Associated Press IZVARYNE, UKRAINE As a shaky cease-fire in the east entered its final hours Thursday, thousands of Ukrainians in cars stuffed with belongings lined up at the border to cross into Russia, some vowing never to return. Many said they were most frightened for their children and desperate to take them to safety. A commander at the rebel-controlled border post outside the city of Luhansk said 5,000 people had left by evening, joining a stream that he said has continued unabated during the week- long truce that has failed to end the gunfire and shell- ing. Russia says tens of thou- sands of Ukrainians have come in the 2 months since Ukraine's govern- ment began fighting sepa- ratists in the east, a heav- ily industrial region with a large population of ethnic Russians, many of whom feel strong ties to Moscow. Air strikes and artil- lery attacks by the Ukrai- nian military have infuri- ated many residents, and many crossing the border on Thursday said they were fleeing the fighting, which has killed more than 400 people since mid-April by the United Nations' esti- mate. Those who talked to As- sociated Press journalists, however, said nothing to in- dicate that they supported the armed separatists, who have seized government buildings, declared inde- pendence and asked Rus- sia to annex the region. With the cease-fire set to expire on Friday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on Russia to support his peace plan "with deeds, not words." He urged Mos- cow to stop the flow of fight- ers from Russia. German Chancellor An- gela Merkel and U.S. Sec- retary of State John Kerry said they, too, were looking for more action from Mos- cow ahead of a summit on Friday of European Union leaders, who will be consid- ering a new round of sanc- tions against Russia. "It is critical for Russia to show in the next hours, lit- erally, that they're moving to help disarm the separat- ists, to encourage them to disarm," Kerry said in Paris. The summit also will see Ukraine sign a sweeping trade agreement with the EU that will bind it more closely to the West. Russian President Vlad- imir Putin has urged Poro- shenko to extend the truce and hold talks with the separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk re- gions. Poroshenko announced Thursday that representa- tives of the mutinous re- gions have agreed to talks with Russian, Ukrainian and European envoys. It will be the second round of talks since Monday in which the rebel leaders have participated. Russian news agen- cies quoted Andrei Pur- gin, a leader of the self-pro- claimed Donetsk People's Republic, as saying the next round would be held Friday in Donetsk. Poroshenko has shown no willingness to extend the cease-fire, and his next step may hinge on the out- come of the talks. It was unclear how many Ukrainians will end up set- tling in Russia. Russia's mi- gration service said last week that it had registered the arrival of 90,000 Ukrai- nians, but few asked for ref- ugee status, which would oblige them to stay in Rus- sia at least six months. Many of those at the Iz- varyne crossing on Thurs- day were taking household items, including refrigera- tors. One family from a vil- lage near Slovyansk, a sep- aratist stronghold that has come under frequent shell- ing from the military, said they "hated Ukraine" and would not return. UKRAINE Thousands flee, head toward Russia border By Hamza Hendawi The Associated Press BAGHDAD Prominent Shi- ite leaders pushed Thurs- day for the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki as parliament pre- pared to start work next week on putting together a new government, under in- tense U.S. pressure to rap- idly form a united front against an unrelenting Sunni insurgent onslaught. Increasingly, the Shiite al-Maliki's former allies be- lieve he cannot lead an in- clusive government that can draw minority Sunnis away from support for the fight- ers who have swept over a large swath of Iraq as they head toward the capital, Baghdad. In a further sign of Iraq's unraveling along sectarian lines, a bombing on Thursday killed 12 peo- ple in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad that houses a revered shrine, and po- lice found the bullet-rid- dled bodies of eight Sunnis south of the capital. Most crucially, though, backing for al-Maliki is weakening with his most important ally, neighbor- ing Iran. A senior Iranian general who met with Shiite politi- cians in Iraq during a 10- day visit this month re- turned home with a list of potential prime minister candidates for Iran's leader- ship to consider, several se- nior Iraqi Shiite politicians who have knowledge of the general's meetings said. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wants al-Maliki to remain in his post, at least for now, the politicians said, but Iran's moderate pres- ident, Hassan Rouhani, believes al-Maliki must go or else Iraq will frag- ment. Khamenei holds fi- nal say in all state matters in Iran, but the politicians expressed doubt he would insist on al-Maliki against overwhelming rejection of him by Iraq's Shiite parties. The general, Ghasem So- leimani, is expected to re- turn within days to inform Iraqi politicians of Tehran's favorite, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal de- liberations. IRAQ Shiites push for al-Maliki ouster By Jill Lawless The Associated Press LONDON Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks said Thursday she is innocent of phone hack- ing and other crimes and feels vindicated by a jury's unanimous decision to ac- quit her. The ex-tabloid editor made her first public state- ment since being cleared after an eight-month trial on charges of conspiring to hack phones, bribe officials and obstruct police. Standing outside her London home beside her husband Charles — who was also acquitted — Brooks said the last few years "have been tough." "It has been a time of re- flection for me," she said. "I have learned some valuable lessons and hopefully I am the wiser for it. "I am innocent of the crimes that I was charged with and I feel vindicated by the unanimous verdicts." Brooks, 46, said she would offer support to for- mer colleagues who still face trial. Dozens of journalists have been arrested since the revelation that Rupert Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World tabloid eavesdropped on the voice- mails of thousands of peo- ple in a law-breaking quest for scoops. Brooks has said she was unaware of phone hacking while she was editor of the tabloid between 2000 and 2003. Brooks, her husband and four of her former em- ployees were acquitted of wrongdoing on Tuesday. But ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson — Brooks' sometime deputy and for- mer lover — was convicted of conspiring with other staff to hack phones. He faces up to two years in jail when he is sentenced next week. The hacking scandal sent tremors through the top of British politics. Brooks is a friend and neighbor of Prime Minister David Cam- eron, and Coulson was his director of communications for years. JOURNALISM Editor 'vindicated' by hacking acquittal DMITRY LOVETSKY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS People carry their belongings as they walk to cross the border into Russia at the Ukrainian-Russian border checkpoint in Izvaryne, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine on Thursday. Thousands of Ukrainians in cars stuffed with belongings lined up at the eastern border to cross into Russia. KARIM KADIM — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Iraqi federal policemen patrol in the town of Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the country's second largest city 10days ago. N EWS D AILY REDBLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530)527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. 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