Exorcist Priest's Defamation Suit May Move Ahead

In Martins v. Romero, (ED MI, Aug. 21, 2026), a Michigan federal district court refused to dismiss a suit by a Catholic priest against a podcaster and a frequent guest on the podcast, alleging that their podcasts defamed him and cast his exorcism ministry in a false light by falsely claiming that Martins was not an exorcist. On one episode, defendant made the claim by reading only part of an email from Fr. Martins religious order, giving the false impression that Martins had not been authorized to perform exorcisms.

Defendants argue that the issue of whether Plaintiff is an exorcist raises a “substantial danger that the State will become entangled in essentially religious controversies....

Plaintiff contends, on the other hand, that this case does not involve church doctrine and merely involves false statements of fact, made with actual malice....

... [T]he court need only resolve whether Defendants’ statements that Plaintiff’s Order said he was not an exorcist were untrue and thus defamatory.  Whether Fr. Martins is qualified under Catholic doctrine as an exorcist is irrelevant to this inquiry.  Thus, the court finds that at this stage of the proceeding, the affirmative defense of the ecclesiastical [abstention] doctrine does not bar Plaintiff’s claims....

Defendants argue that they had no obligation to read a sentence in an email to which they objected.  However, Defendants’ affirmative statements appear to have crossed the line between an opinion that Fr. Martins is not an exorcist to statements of fact that the email from his own Order says that he is not an exorcist.  And according to the Complaint, such statements are demonstrably false based on the email itself, which does not say that Fr. Martins is not an exorcist.  

For these reasons, the court concludes that the alleged defamatory statements at issue are not opinions protected by the First Amendment.  Accordingly, dismissal on this basis is not appropriate....

(See prior related posting.)

[Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.] 

Massachusetts Supreme Court Says Religious Statues Proposed for Public Building Violate State Constitution

In Fitzmaurice v. City of Quincy, (MA Sup. Jud. Ct., Aug. 20, 2026), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a trial court's preliminary injunction barring the city of Quincy from installing two 10-foot-tall statues on the facade of a new public safety building. One statue depicts Saint Michael stepping on the head and neck of a demon. The other depicts Saint Florian towering above a burning building and extinguishing the fire. The Court concluded that there is a substantial likelihood that this violates Art. III of the Massachusetts Constitution as amended by Article XI, that provides: 

all religious sects and denominations, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good citizens of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.

The Court said in part:

The contested practice here raises concerns at the core of the text, purposes, and history of the amendment of art. 3:  whether the city is singling out a particular religion for special treatment....

The two statues are both of Catholic saints....: the depictions of Saint Michael and Saint Florian in these statues "are consistent with iconography of each religious figure within Catholic tradition"; and the symbols and objects depicted "are all central to the iconographies of each saint, which are not intelligible without reference to Catholic tradition."  ...

The likelihood that these statues of religious figures closely associated with the Catholic faith could be viewed by the public as endorsement of a particular religion, and thus subordination of others, is enhanced by the fact that the statues are not part of a larger collection of statues and monuments that includes nonreligious ones, or statues of figures of particular importance to other religions.  ...

These statues are also not long-standing historic monuments important to our common history, unlike many of the examples highlighted by the city.....

In sum, the preliminary injunction record reflects that the statues are large and will stand alone, they are brand new rather than long standing, they are closely affiliated with a particular religion, and they thus may convey to observing members of the public implicit government support for that religion and, as a result, subordination of other religions....

Americans United issued a press release announcing the decision.

Suit Challenges Illinois End of Life Options Act

Suit was filed yesterday in an Illinois federal district court by four Catholic doctors, a Catholic bishop and a Lutheran skilled nursing facility objecting to the requirement that they comply with Illinois' recently enacted End of Life Options Act. The complaint (full text) in Kirchoff v. Treto, (ND IL, filed 8/11/2026), alleges in part:

... Illinois’s “End-of-Life Options” Act ...—which takes effect on September 12th—both legalizes assisted suicide and mandates that doctors who conscientiously object to it nonetheless promote its alleged “benefits” to “terminally ill” patients and, if requested, refer or transfer those patients to someone who is “able and willing” to help them commit suicide..... 

Illinois’s conscription of objecting practitioners into its new assisted suicide regime blatantly violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Indeed, EOLO plainly compels or restricts speech based on content and viewpoint by requiring such practitioners to (a) discuss assisted suicide’s alleged “benefits” and make specific “referrals” for the same....

EOLO also violates the First Amendment right of expressive association by forcing health care entities to hire and otherwise associate with health care professionals who promote or even directly participate in assisted suicide. 

EOLO additionally violates the First Amendment’s protection for the free exercise of religion and church autonomy. Put simply, requiring only a narrow class of “health care professionals” to discuss the “benefits” of and “refer” for assisted suicide with respect only to “terminally ill” patients, contrary to those professionals’ deeply held religious beliefs, is neither neutral nor generally applicable. And requiring health care entities to hire and retain employees who promote and even participate in assisted suicide violates the internal governance of religious institutions in deciding whom they authorize to carry out their religious mission to save and promote the dignity of every patient’s life....

Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Sex Abuse Claimants May Sue to Access Parish and School Assets in Vermont Diocese Bankruptcy

In In re Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington Vermont, (Bkrptcy VT, July 28, 2026), a Vermont federal bankruptcy court issued an order allowing the Creditors Committee representing more than 100 sex abuse claimants to sue to attempt to recover assets of 70 Vermont parishes, Parish Trusts, schools and other Catholic-related social and community service organizations. The Committee claims that these organizations are not separate legal entities from the Diocese and that their assets should be available to satisfy creditors' judgments against the Diocese. The litigation authorized by the court will determine whether this claim is valid. The court warned however:

Regardless of its outcome, the proposed litigation will be expensive and time consuming. Unless settled, there may be years of litigation ahead and millions of dollars spent in attorneys’ fees and costs that could have been paid valid abuse claims. 

More clarity about the rights of the parties and what constitutes estate property could help the ongoing efforts to reach a global settlement in this case. For that reason, some litigation is necessary. Its cost may eventually outweigh the benefit if no settlement is reached and as one Court has recognized, “Debtor, the parishes and the abuse victims will be the poorer for it.” 

AP reports on the court's decision. [Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.]

Florida AG Tells Catholic Schools to Grant Religious Exemptions from Vaccine Requirements [Corrected]

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier last week sent a letter (full text) to Florida's Conference of Catholic Bishops complaining that some Catholic schools in Florida may be adopting what Uthmeier describes as the position of the National Catholic Bioethics Center that "Catholic schools ... cannot grant an exemption from vaccination on religious grounds since the Catholic Church does not teach that the use of vaccinations produced in cell lines derived from tissue from an aborted fetus is intrinsically evil."

The Attorney General's letter stated in part:

Of course, a religious school may itself be able to claim an exemption from the requirement to grant religious exemptions if granting such an exemption would violate the religious tenets of the school. But as a Catholic, I am confident that the teachings of the Catholic Church do not require Catholic schools to compel students to take vaccines derived from the tissue of aborted children against the sincerely held religious objections of their parents....

Because Church teaching obligates the Church to respect the right of conscience of persons who, for moral or religious reasons, object to the use of abortion-derived vaccines, there is no religious basis on which to reject a person's claim of religious conscience for refusing to take such vaccines.... I therefor urge Catholic schools to comply with Florida law and grant religious exemptions to school vaccine policies. Failure to comply could jeopardize eligibility for state educational scholarship programs. If the Conference nevertheless refuses to comply with Florida law, then please state clearly the religious grounds on which Catholic schools may force persons to take vaccines derived from abortions against their deeply held moral and religious objections.

Please provide a response in writing no later than August 7, 2026.

OSV News. reports on Notre Dame Professor Rick Garnett's criticism of Uthmeier's letter. It also says that documents on the National Catholic Bioethics Center’s website do not appear to take the position that Uthmeier attributes to it.

[Corrected. An earlier version of this post named the Florida Attorney General incorrectly, transposing his name with that of the Executive Director of Florida's Conference of Catholic Bishops].

Trump Honors Memory of First U.S.-Born Martyr Beatified by the Catholic Church

Yesterday, the White House posted a Presidential Message on the 45th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Father Stanley Rother (full text). It reads in part:

Today, Melania and I join with American Catholics and people of faith all across the world in honoring the towering legacy of Father Stanley Rother—an Oklahoma farm boy, the first American-born martyr beatified by the Catholic Church, and a champion of human dignity who heroically laid down his life to bring the light of Jesus Christ to a people plagued by horrific darkness....

In 1968, just years after his ordination, Father Rother answered God’s call to missionary life, departing the United States for the war-torn highlands of Guatemala, then ravaged by conflict.  Though thousands of Catholics were forcibly disappeared and viciously murdered during the Guatemalan Civil War, Father Rother nonetheless spent 13 years bringing the Gospel to those devastated by poverty and violence—translating sacred Scripture and helping to build a school, a hospital, and the region’s first Catholic radio station—fearlessly embodying Christ’s commission to “make disciples of all nations.”...

Today, we are reminded that Father Rother’s life and martyrdom are the fruits of America’s rich tradition of religious liberty.  In his honor, we recommit to remaining vigilant so that our birthright of freedom endures in the face of every trial.  We acknowledge with deep pride that America’s missionary zeal and generous spirit were, are, and will continue to be among the greatest forces of peace, justice, and flourishing in human history....

Catholic Sisters Sue To Invalidate New York's Assisted Suicide Counseling Requirement

Last week, four Orders of Catholic Sisters along with the Catholic Diocese and Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York, filed suit in a New York federal district court challenging, at least as applied to them, the constitutionality of New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act as it interacts with the state's Palliative Care Information Act. Labelling these a "Suicide Counseling Mandate", the 102-page complaint (full text) in Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, Inc. v. James, (ND NY, filed 7/17/2026) alleges in part:

13. The many New York nurse practitioners, doctors, mental health professionals, hospitals, and care homes with religious or moral objections to participating in assisted suicide will have nowhere to go, because New York’s purported “opt-out” is among the narrowest in the nation, and doesn’t apply at all to independent assisted living facilities, including those run by the Benedictine Sisters. The Catholic patients who wish to die without being offered the chance to kill themselves at their lowest moment will be left out in the cold.....

15. First, the First Amendment’s protected sphere of church autonomy requires the government to respect and stay out of matters of governance within religious institutions, such as how the Catholic Church chooses to implement its beliefs on the sanctity of human life and the decision of religious communities to form themselves around those same principles. 

16. Second, its protection of the free exercise of religion prohibits the government from burdening the sincere religious beliefs of Plaintiffs and the patients they serve unless the state is furthering an interest of the highest order and using the least restrictive means to do so—an exceedingly high bar Defendants cannot meet.  

17. Third, its protections against religious gerrymanders prohibit the government from enacting legal burdens that fall uniquely on religious adherents—such as those who object to providing assisted suicide. 

18. Fourth, its protections against compelled speech prevent the government from forcing Catholic doctors and nurses to speak the government’s preferred, supportive message of assisted suicide. 

19. And fifth, its protections for freedom of association allow the Catholic Church, its various communities, and the patients they serve, to organize themselves into like-minded communities with the same values and beliefs—the mission of which is to live faithfully according to those beliefs, for however long or short a time....

Becket issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

White House Posts Presidential Message on Birthday of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini

Yesterday, the White House posted a "Presidential Message on the Birthday of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini," which reads in part:

... Arriving in New York City in 1889 with nothing but their unshakable faith in Almighty God, Mother Cabrini and her sisters opened hospitals, orphanages, and schools that comforted the sick, cared for children, and provided for the weary.  Mother Cabrini’s work rekindled the faith of thousands of Catholics and prepared generations to flourish as proud Americans....

...  Her tireless pursuit of the common good, her unceasing devotion to Jesus Christ, and her measureless generosity embody the very virtues that have made America the greatest force for good the world has ever known.

In recognition of her incredible life of service to God and country, Pope Pius XII canonized Mother Cabrini in 1946, making her the first American citizen ever proclaimed as a Catholic saint.  As we celebrate her enduring legacy today, we pledge to safeguard the precious freedoms she cherished so deeply, to usher in a historic resurgence of faith across our land, and to steward the full glory of the American promise for generations to come.

Supreme Court Denies Review in Case of Attorney Held in Contempt for Disclosing Information About Abusive Priest

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review in Trahant v. Roman Catholic Church, (Docket No. 25-1260, certiorari denied, 6/29/2026). (Order List.). In the case, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in a January 2026 opinion (full text of opinion) upheld a finding of contempt and a $400,000 sanction imposed on an attorney representing victims of clergy sexual abuse. The 5th Circuit explained in part:

Richard Trahant received confidential information regarding sexual abuse allegations against a New Orleans priest while serving as state court counsel for several alleged victims of sexual abuse who were also members of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.  Despite a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of confidential information revealed during discovery, Trahant contacted the principal of a local high school to confirm that the priest remained the high school’s chaplain.  Trahant then sent an email to a journalist listing the priest’s name in the subject line, identifying where the priest was employed, and advising the journalist to “[k]eep this guy on your radar.”  The bankruptcy court held Trahant in contempt for violating the protective order and sanctioned him for his conduct.  The district court affirmed....

Notwithstanding the fact that the record fully supported the bankruptcy court’s finding that Trahant violated the protective order, Trahant maintains that he “acted in the utmost good faith at all times” and that the sanctions are “disproportionate” to the alleged conduct.  To support this argument, Trahant points to his “legal, moral, and ethical obligation . . . to keep [the priest] away from children.”  He also points to his belief that the $400,000 sanction is “not causally related to any actual damage or prejudice to any party.”  These arguments are without merit.

The Guardian has additional information on the case.

Michigan Catholic Charities Sues State Officials Over Ouster as Provider of Women's Substance Abuse Services

Last week, Catholic Charities serving the Lansing, Michigan area filed suit against the director of Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan's Attorney General and other Michigan officials as well as Mid-State Health Network that administers the Department's Medicaid and federal Substance Use Block Grant funds. Catholic Charities, through Cristo Rey Counseling Center, offers federally funded services for women with substance use disorders. The complaint (full text) in Catholic Charities of Ingham, Eaton & Clinton Counties v. Hertel, (WD MI, filed 6/26/2026), alleges that Mid-State discontinued Cristo Rey as a provider under the program after questioning the Counseling Center's requirement that its staff not discuss or make referrals for abortions, contraception, gender identity, or adoption placements with same-sex couples. It alleges that Michigan state Attorney General Dana Nessel is providing legal guidance to the Department of Health and Human Services, and that "Nessel harbors ... hostility toward Catholic and other religious organizations that hold sincere religious beliefs about abortion and contraception...." The complaint alleges that discontinuing Cristo Rey as a provider violates its 1st and 14th Amendment rights as well as federal statutory provisions. ADF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Michigan AG Releases Report on Sexual Abuse in Saginaw Catholic Diocese

On June 25, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released a 258-page report titled Diocese of Saginaw: A Complete Accounting (full text). It is the sixth of what will be seven reports on allegations of sexual abuse or assault and other sexual misconduct by priests or deacons in each of Michigan's seven dioceses. Last week's report contains information on complaints against 37 Catholic priests and one deacon in the Saginaw diocese. The Attorney General says:

To date, eleven cases have been brought by the Department of Attorney General for all seven dioceses.  Nine have resolved with convictions.  Of these eleven cases, none of them related to priests ministering in the Diocese of Saginaw.

Bishop Robert Guss responded to the Report through a posting on the Diocese's website that says in part:

• For the 37 priests and one deacon, 30 are known or presumed to be dead. For the 8 who are living or presumed to be living, none are in active ministry.
• For the 37 priests and one deacon, other than a few entries, the conduct as alleged that may have violated Michigan criminal law all occurred before 2002, the year of the U.S. Bishops’ Charter.
• The vast majority of reported abuse cases in our diocese are very old, with most occurring in the 1970s and 1980s.

He also held a news conference and issued a letter responding to the Report and saying in part:

I want to express my deepest sorrows to those who have been victims of abuse by members of the clergy. Please accept my sincere apology for the pain and suffering you have experienced by those who were entrusted with your care. I'm deep]y saddened by it all. And, again, I apologize to you on behalf of the Church and our Diocese.

The Abuse Survivors Coalition issued a statement saying in part:

The Bishop’s words ignored the systemic problem and minimized what occurred during the time period covered in the report. For example, Bishop Gruss apologized for the trust that has been broken by the “misconduct of a few.” But childhood sexual abuse by clergy is not “misconduct.” It is serious criminal behavior resulting in life-long damage to the victims. Moreover, the Bishop completely ignored the issue of highly placed Catholic officials who allowed identified abusers to remain in ministry and harm additional young lives.

President Issues Message on Catholic Bishops' Honoring of US 250th Anniversary

Yesterday the White House posted a Presidential Message on U.S. Catholic Bishops Honoring the 250th Anniversary of American Independence (full text). The Message reads in part:

Today, Melania and I join in prayer with Catholic Bishops gathered in Orlando, Florida, as they consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the occasion of our 250th year of American Independence—a powerful moment in our national story and a poignant reminder that America has always been guided by the loving hand of God....

This year’s Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus also fittingly marks the anniversary of one of the most momentous days in Western civilization’s long twilight struggle against atheistic communism.  On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered his historic address at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, in which he famously implored Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

Toward the end of his remarks, President Reagan identified what he called “the most fundamental distinction of all between East and West:  The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship.”...

Thanks to the moral leadership of President Reagan and Pope Saint John Paul II, the tireless work and determination of free men and women around the world, and the moral witness of millions who endured prolonged suffering within the Captive Nations, the godless forces of Soviet communism were vanquished—and the human spirit triumphed.

Today, nearly four decades later, our Nation and our culture confront a new set of menacing ideologies seeking once again to cast God out from our society.  But today, as Catholic Bishops consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in this 250th year of our Independence, we recommit ourselves, like President Reagan and Pope Saint John Paul II, to defending our spiritual identity and great civilizational inheritance.  Above all, we pray that America will continue for the next 250 years, and beyond, to be a land of faith, a country of miracles, and a light and glory to all nations.

TRO Under RFRA Extends Legal Immigration Status of Nigerian Deacon

In Archdiocese of Santa Fe v. Mullin, (D NM, June 2, 2026), a New Mexico federal district court issued a temporary restraining order ex parte staying the expiration of the F-1 student visa issued to Martin Umeatuegbu, a citizen of Nigeria who obtained an MA degree in Theology and then was granted temporary employment authorization as a Deacon in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. That authorization expired on June 4, 2026. On December 31, 2025, the Archdiocese petitioned to sponsor Father Martin for an R-1 religious worker visa. However, on January 1, 2026, USCIS issued a new Policy Memorandum that placed on hold all applications for visa adjustments for foreign nationals of countries identified as "high risk" in two Proclamations that had been issued by President Trump. Nigeria was one of those high-risk countries. The court said in part:

... [T]he Archdiocese is likely to succeed on the merits under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.... USCIS’s policy infringes on the Archdiocese’s right to select its minister of choice.  USCIS’s indefinite hold on the adjudication of any visa status change petitions is “depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs.” ... USCIS’s action therefore “prevents participation in conduct motivated by a sincerely held religious belief,” and thus imposes a substantial burden on the Archdiocese's sincere religious exercise.... 

Moreover, the Government is unlikely to demonstrate that the policy is the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest.  The Government’s interest in restricting the entry of noncitizens from “high risk” countries and imposing stricter screening processes for resident noncitizens is likely a compelling government interest.  However, USCIS has already lifted its adjudicative holds on certain categories of petitions....  So, USCIS’s policy is likely not the least restrictive means of implementing more robust screening processes for visa status change applications....

 ... [T]he Court orders a stay on the expiration of Father Martin’s F-1 visa and OPT employment authorization, which preserves Father Martin’s legal status and permits him to continue working until the Government responds to Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction....

St. John's Challenges Jurisdiction of NY PERB Over Its Relations with Its Faculty Union

St. John's University filed suit this week in a New York federal district court challenging on 1st Amendment grounds jurisdiction of the New York State Public Employment Relations Board over the University's relations with it faculty's union. The complaint (full text) in St. John's University v. Connick, (ED NY, filed 6/1/2026), alleges in part:

1. For over 150 years, St. John’s University operated as an institution of Catholic and Vincentian higher education—a Mission-driven religious institution founded by the Congregation of the Mission of St. Vincent de Paul to provide the youth of New York with intellectual and moral formation rooted in the Gospel and the teachings of St. Vincent de Paul....

5. New York’s Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”), however, seeks to subject St. John’s to a regime of mandatory collective bargaining that impermissibly entangles the government (and the faculty Union) in its internal governance of religion- and Mission-related matters....

6. Under St. John’s expired collective bargaining agreement with the faculty Union, faculty committees controlled significant aspects of hiring, tenure, promotion, discipline, and curricular decisions—the very decisions that define how St. John’s carries out its Mission.  

7. When St. John’s sought to reassert its First Amendment right to govern itself in accordance with its Catholic and Vincentian identity by withdrawing recognition from the faculty Union, the Union filed an unfair labor practice charge with PERB—asking the state agency to force this religious institution back to the bargaining table under New York’s State Employment Relations Act (“SERA”). ...

10. The First Amendment, the church autonomy doctrine, the prohibition against excessive government entanglement with religion, the ministerial exception, and the Free Exercise Clause all forbid precisely what PERB seeks to do here: transfer St. John’s authority to govern its religious affairs and to fulfill its sacred educational Mission from its religious leaders to PERB and the faculty Union.

EWTN News reports on the lawsuit.

Certiorari Denied in Interlocutory Appeal of Church Autonomy Ruling

The Supreme Court yesterday denied review in Conference of Catholic Bishops v. O'Connell, (Docket No. 25-849, certiorari denied 5/26/2026) (Order List). Plaintiff in the case charged the USCCB with fraudulent solicitation of donations, claiming that it misrepresented where money donated to Peter's Pence Collection would go. USCCB sought dismissal of the suit on church autonomy grounds. The district court refused. A 3-judge panel of the DC Circuit held that the district court's ruling could not be appealed until the district court had rendered a final decision in the case. Subsequently (over a lengthy dissenting opinion) the 3rd Circuit denied en banc review. (See prior posting.).

DHS Seeks Land Near Catholic Shrine for Border Wall Construction

 As reported by Axios, the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to take by eminent domain 14 acres of land belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico. According to the complaint (full text) in United States v. 14.259 Acres of Land, (D NM, filed 5/7/2026), the land is being acquired to use for roads, fencing, vehicle barriers, security lighting, cameras, sensors, and structures that will be part of President Trump's border wall. The land is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey. At the top of the mountain is a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus. Each Fall, on the Feast Day of Christ the King, thousands climb the mountain to participate in a Mass. According to Mint, the Diocese will raise defenses under the Free Exercise clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

UPDATE: In a May 14 post on X, the Department of Homeland Security says in part: "The cross is located approximately A QUARTER MILE — 1,300 to 1,400 feet — north of the border ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. Access to the shrine will NOT be affected, as all attendees enter from the U.S. side."

U.S. Catholic Bishops Respond To VP Vance's Criticism of Pope Leo

In his Palm Sunday Homily last month, Pope Leo XIV said in part:

Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).

Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance, speaking at a Turning Point USA Conference (video of the Vice President's remarks), criticized Pope Leo's statement, saying in part:

In the same way that it's important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.

The Vice President's statement led to a response (full text) posted yesterday by Bishop James Massa, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine. The Bishop's Statement said in part:

“When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars.”

Catholic Hospice Sues Over NY Standards for Care of Transgender Patients

Last week, Dominican Sisters who operate a home that provides palliative care for indigent, terminally ill cancer patients filed suit in a New York federal district court challenging New York's requirements for care of transgender patients. The complaint (full text) in Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne v. Hochul, filed 4/6/2026) alleges in part:

New York’s LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights ...  require long-term care facilities to assign patients to rooms based on stated “gender identity” rather than biological sex even over the opposition of the roommate, to permit residents and their visitors of one sex to access bathrooms set aside for those of the opposite sex, to use patients’ “preferred pronouns” even when the patient is not present, to use language and to “create communities” affirming patients’ sexual preferences, to accommodate patients’ desire for extramarital relations, and to post notices affirming compliance with these requirements....

... The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and Rosary Hill Home operate in accordance with the Ethical and Religious Directives and the teachings of the Catholic Church. They cannot comply with the Mandate without violating these sincerely held religious beliefs.....

Requiring a person to identify another by a sex other than his or her God-gifted sex would therefore require such a person to act against central, unchangeable and architectural teachings of the Catholic faith. It would contradict the teachings of the Bible concerning God’s creative sovereignty, contradict reason and truth, and betray our sacred obligation not to knowingly harm other persons, particularly the most vulnerable. The implications are so much greater than whether to utter the words “he” or “she.” Indeed, to demand that a Catholic deny another’s sex is to require him or her to affirm another religious worldview....

The complaint alleges 7 counts: Free Exercise; Religious Autonomy Doctrine; Ministerial Exception; Establishment Clause; Equal Protection; Free Speech; and Expressive Association.

NewsNation reports on the lawsuit.

Cert. Petition Filed in RLUIPA Zoning Case

 A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed yesterday seeking U.S. Supreme Court review in Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, Inc. v. Frederic. In the case, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that RLUIPA was not violated by denying a conditional use permit to a church that wished to build a grotto in Park Hills, Kentucky to honor the Virgin Mary’s appearance at a grotto in Lourdes, France. The Kentucky Supreme Court concluded that denial of a permit and variances did not impose a substantial burden on the church's religious exercise. (See prior posting.) First Liberty issued a press release announcing the filing of the petition for review.

4th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In 3 Employment Discrimination Cases Involving Religiously Affiliated Institutions

On March 17, the U.S.4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in three cases of interest:

(1) In Zinski v. Liberty University, Inc., (audio of full oral arguments) the court heard an appeal in a Virginia federal district court case. The district court had refused to dismiss a Title VII sex discrimination lawsuit against Liberty University brought by a former employee whose employment as an IT Apprentice was terminated because she underwent a male to female sex transition. (See prior posting).

(2) In Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, (audio of full oral arguments), the court heard an appeal in a Maryland federal district court case that held that the religious corporation exemption from the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act does not apply to the termination of spousal health care benefits of the same-sex spouse of a data analyst and advisor working for Catholic Relief Services. (See prior posting.)

(3) In General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists v. Horton, (audio of full oral arguments) the court heard an appeal in a Maryland federal district court case which denied a preliminary injunction in a suit challenging the Maryland Supreme Court's interpretation of the religious exemption in the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act. The Maryland Supreme Court has held that the exemption is limited to claims brought by employees who perform duties that directly further the core mission of the religious entity. (See prior posting).