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March 16, 2014 / 1:32 PM

Westboro Baptist Church pastor Phelps near death, son says

Two members from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, chant on a street corner in St. Charles, Missouri while those disagreeing with their views, are kept back by police and barriers on January 6, 2011. The church which preaches against all form of sin, is known for showing up at military funerals to drive home their anti-gay point. St. Charles County has passed a law that the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrators must be atleast 300 feet from any military funeral or burial. The law is now being challanged in Federal court by the ACLU. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Two members from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, chant on a street corner in St. Charles, Missouri while those disagreeing with their views, are kept back by police and barriers on January 6, 2011. The church which preaches against all form of sin, is known for showing up at military funerals to drive home their anti-gay point. St. Charles County has passed a law that the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrators must be atleast 300 feet from any military funeral or burial. The law is now being challanged in Federal court by the ACLU. UPI/Bill Greenblatt | License Photo

TOPEKA, Kan., March 16 (UPI) -- Fred Phelps Sr., pastor of the Topeka, Kan., Westboro Baptist Church, known for its angry anti-gay pickets, is near death, his son said in a Facebook message.

"He is now on the edge of death at Midland Hospice in Topeka," Nathan Phelps, who left the church several years ago, said of his father in a message posted Saturday.

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Phelps Sr., 84, a disbarred attorney, founded the church in 1955, which is noted for demonstrations suggesting the gay lifestyle, which it describes on its website as "soul-damning, nation-destroying filth," will lead to the ruin of America.

A church spokesman said Phelps is a hospice patient and "has a couple of things going on," declining to comment further, the Topeka Capital-Journal said.

Other online sources are reporting Phelps Sr. may be near death, the Kansas City Star said Sunday.

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