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RONNIE JAMES DIO's Wife/Manager: 'We Need To Turn The Other Cheek' On WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH

May 21, 2010

Wendy Dio, wife/manager of late heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW),has released the following statement in response to reports that the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) — an independent Baptist church and hate group known for its hatred of homosexuals and its protest activities (which include picketing funerals) — intends to picket Ronnie's upcoming public memorial service:

"Ronnie hates prejudice and violence! We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know. We only know how to love someone we know!"

The church, which was the subject of a 2007 BBC documentary entitled "The Most Hated Family In America", is made up mostly of pastor Fred Phelps and his family. The pastor has 13 children, and at least 54 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. He described himself as an "old-time" gospel preacher in a CNN interview in 2006, saying, "You can't preach the Bible without preaching the hatred of God."

Ronnie James Dio's public memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m. at The Hall Of Liberty located at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California.

For more information on the Westboro Baptist Church, read this entire CNN.com article from June 2009.

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