News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
The Supreme Court. (Shutterstock via CNA) In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. bishops argued that a Catholic agency should not be banned from participation in the Philadelphia foster care system due to its beliefs on marriage. “The Catholic Church serves orphans through adoption and foster care…
Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a legal battle with leaders of a rural church. (File: KRNV) RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a…
The extraordinary measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to cause constitutional clashes. My last post ’s opening hypothetical about members of a congregation being ticketed for attending church services has now become a reality, and the Supreme Court has given its first hint on how it…
FILE – In this April 12, 2020, file photo, Norma Urrabazo prays while wearing a face mask before speaking at an Easter drive-in service at the International Church of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings…
Washington D.C., Jun 4, 2020 / 04:27 pm ( CNA ).- In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. bishops argued that a Catholic agency should not be banned from participation in the Philadelphia foster care system due to its beliefs on marriage. “The Catholic Church serves orphans…
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a legal battle with leaders of a rural church who say it violates their constitutional right to exercise their beliefs. Attorney General Aaron Ford is urging a federal judge…
Washington D.C., Jun 4, 2020 / 04:27 pm MT ( CNA ).- In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. bishops argued that a Catholic agency should not be banned from participation in the Philadelphia foster care system due to its beliefs on marriage. “The Catholic Church serves…
The Story: The Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to a California pandemic policy restricting occupancy in churches to 25 percent of building capacity or no more than 100 attendees. The Background: South Bay United Pentecostal Church and their senior pastor, Bishop Arthur Hodges III, sought an injunction to prevent…
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow,…
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow,…
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow,…
DOVER, Del. — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow, or…
(Image via Getty) “Assuming all of the same precautions are taken, why can someone safely walk down a grocery store aisle but not a pew? And why can someone safely interact with a brave deliverywoman but not with a stoic minister?” asks the 6th Circuit in an opinion quoted by…
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington.(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is set to decide on a religious freedom claim from a south San Diego County church that wants an exemption from California’s COVID-19 rules, which limit large…
A Hindu devotee with his body pierced with skewers and walk through a road as he takes part in a religious procession during Aadi festival at elephant gate road, in Chennai. (Photo | EPS, R.Satish Babu) CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday rejected a plea to prevent people from…
Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Provisions in Taiwan’s laws that treat adultery as a criminal offense have been ruled unconstitutional and declared invalid effective immediately, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) announced Friday. Hsu and the Constitutional Court determined that the laws that punish adultery infringe on the privacy of…
Move comes amid lawsuits and possible U.S. Supreme Court review SPRINGFIELD – People in Illinois will be allowed to attend worship services starting this weekend without fear of prosecution as the state enters Phase 3 of Gov. JB Pritzker’s “ Restore Illinois ” reopening plan. Pritzker made the announcement during…
Worshippers gather at South Bay Pentecostal Church in a 2019 photo posted to Facebook. SAN DIEGO, California, May 25, 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Southern California’s South Bay Pentecostal Church has petitioned the United States Supreme Court to intervene and issue an emergency injunction against Governor Gavin Newsom’s shutdown of…
The U.S. Supreme Court (by Joe Ravi via Wikimedia – CC-BY-SA 3.0) Other than the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable government searches, I would argue no other constitutional guarantee is more abused or more intentionally distorted in the modern era than the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause . Before I get…
A Baker County judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction to 10 churches, including Elkhorn Baptist in Baker City, who sued the governor. The judge ruled Gov. Kate Brown’s restrictions on religious gatherings “null and void’’ because her emergency order due to the coronavirus pandemic had exceeded its 28-day limit.…
This spring, the novel coronavirus pandemic has raised the issue of the relationship between the blindest kind of religious faith and rational skepticism — this time in two countries that think of themselves as polar opposites and enemies: Supreme Leader Ali Khameini’s Iran and Donald Trump’s America. On the U.S.…
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. — Greenville County School District is reminding district employees about a court order that prevents them from participating in prayer at graduation. It’s an order the district is appealing. On Friday, the district posted the following on its e-bulletin board. "Court Order on Participation in Prayer at…
Whether the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses prevent civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination claims brought by employees against their religious employer, where the employee carried out important religious functions, is the question presented in two consolidated cases before the U.S. Supreme Court: Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru,…
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru , a case in which the Ninth Circuit dramatically reduced the scope of the so-called ministerial exception, which precludes the government from meddling with the church-minister relationship. The oral argument revealed a sharply divided…
A Baker County judge on Monday ruled that Gov. Kate Brown’s restrictions on religious gatherings were “null and void” because her emergency order amid the coronavirus pandemic had exceeded its 28-day limit. Circuit Judge Matthew Shirtcliff granted 10 churches that had sued the governor a preliminary injunction, finding they had…