New York Archdiocese Releases Names of 120 Credibly Accused Clergy

On Friday, the Archdiocese of New York released a list of 120 clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor or possessing child pornography, or against whom a claim was found eligible for compensation by the Archdiocese's Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP).  Timothy Cardinal Dolan announced the release in a Pastoral Letter to members of the Archdiocese. Approximately 75% of the clergy on the list were ordained before 1970. Some 350 victims have been awarded compensation by the IRCP.  Only two cases have occurred since 2002. NPR reports on these developments.

NY Guidelines For Yeshiva Educational Requirements Are Struck Down

Yesterday a New York state trial court judge struck down the state's controversial Guidelines adopted last year aimed at  assuring that yeshivas, as well as other non-public religious and independent schools, comply with state law requiring them to offer an education substantially equivalent to that of public schools. (See prior related posting.) In Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools v. Rosa, (Albany Cty. Sup. Ct., April 17, 2019), the court held that the education commissioner did not comply with the notice and comment requirements of the State Administrative Procedure Act in adopting the Guidelines. Gothamist reports on the decision. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Rockland County Issues New Orders To Combat Measles Spread

Rockland County, New York health authorities are taking new steps to combat the spread of measles in the county.  As previously reported, on April 5 a New York state trial court judge held that the health department's declaration of a state of emergency was invalid. That decision is being appealed. Yesterday the County announced two new Orders by the Commissioner of Health, relying on different legal authority than the basis of the Order that was struck down.

The first new Order (full text) provides that anyone diagnosed with measles, or exposed to someone diagnosed with measles, must be excluded as a public health nuisance from places of public assembly for up to 21 days. Places of public assembly are defined broadly and include the homes of other persons.

The second new order requires schools in two zip code areas to file a notarized statement identifying unvaccinated students who, as required, have been excluded from school. Orangetown Daily Voice reports on these developments.

New York Legislature Passes Bill To Bar Employment Discrimination Based On Religious Attire

The New York State Legislature on Tuesday gave final passage to A4024 (full text) which adds to the state's anti-discrimination law a specific ban on employment discrimination because of a person's attire, clothing, or facial hair worn in accordance  with  the requirements  of  his  or her religion. The employer is excused from this obligation if reasonable accommodation is impossible. AP, reporting on the passage of the bill, says it was particularly supported by a coalition of Sikh houses of worship. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital or the lead.]

UPDATE: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill on Aug. 9.

Anti-Vax Movement Targets Ultra Orthodox Jews In New York

The New York Times in an article posted yesterday reports on the ways in which the anti-vaccination movement, particularly an organization known as Parents Educating and Advocating for Children's Health ("Peach"), is targeting ultra-Orthodox Jews in New York:

Peach’s handbook — with letters signed by rabbis and sections like “Halachic Points of Interest” — has become one of the main vehicles for misinformation among ultra-Orthodox groups, including Hasidim. Its message is being shared on hotlines and in group text messages.....

The majority of ultra-Orthodox rabbis said they ... urged vaccination, citing religious scripture about protecting one’s health and the health of others.

But all of that has not been enough to persuade vaccine skeptics....

Some Hasidim have said that longstanding tension between members of the ultra-Orthodox community and the government have made them wary of officials’ efforts to contain the outbreak.

The past persecution of the Jewish people is still a factor, they said. And more recently, quarrels with secular leaders over a circumcision ritual that has transmitted fatal herpes infections to infants and the government’s oversight of ultra-Orthodox Jewish private schools known as yeshivas have only soured relations.

State of Emergency To Combat Measles Ended By Court

As previously reported, in late March Rockland County, New York declared a state of emergency to combat a growing measles outbreak.  It banned any person under 18 who has not been vaccinated for measles from all places of public assembly. On April 3, a suit was filed in state court challenging the State of Emergency Declaration. The complaint (full text) in Doe v. Day, (Rockland Cty Sup. Ct., filed 4/3/2019), contended among other things that the Declaration will bar those with religious exemptions from vaccination requirements from celebrating Passover or Easter at their houses of worship. On Friday, a trial court judge agreed with plaintiffs.  Rockland/ Westchester Journal News reports in part:

A judge Friday halted Rockland County Executive Ed Day's emergency declaration barring children who are unvaccinated against measles from schools, places of worship and other public areas.

Acting state Supreme Court Judge Rolf Thorsen's injunction stated that the 166 cases cited by the county since the measles outbreak began last October did not rise to the level of an epidemic or constitute a disaster. Day's reliance on executive law in issuing the emergency declaration "may have been misplaced," the decision stated.

UPDATE: Here is the full text of the opinion in W.D. v. Rockland County,   (Rockland Cty. Sup. Ct., April 5, 2019) issuing a preliminary injunction against the emergency declaration. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh for the opinion.]

Parents Failed To Show Sincere Religious Anti-Vaccine Belief

In an administrative decision handed down last month, the New York State Education Department affirmed the denial of a religious exemption from state immunization requirements because parents seeking the exemption failed to show they had a sincerely-held religious belief in opposition to immunization. In In re Appeal of M.W., (NYSED, March 20, 2019), the Commissioner held that the general statements submitted by petitioners regarding their religious beliefs were insufficient to show a sincerely-held religious belief. The students and their family were members of the Temple of the Inner Flame. They argued:

Due to the spiritual beliefs of my families [sic] religion, [the students] cannot receive any medical vaccines.  They are a foreign substance that is not naturally found in the body.  We consider our bodies a temple of God that should be treated as such.

WKBW News reports on the decision.

Zoning Ordinance Violates RLUIPA Equal Terms Provision

In Christian Fellowship Centers of New York, Inc. v. Village of Canton, (ND NY, March 29, 2019), a New York federal district court granted a preliminary injunction, holding that Canton (NY) violated the "equal terms" provision of RLUIPA when it refused to permit a church to locate in a district zoned commercial. The court described the challenged zoning law:

Section 325-11 ... of the Canton Village Code prohibits houses of worship from operating in the downtown zone even though it permits not-for-profit organizations to use nearby properties to meet for secular purposes....

In barring its enforcement against the church, the court said in part:

First, the Ordinance treats religious assemblies less well than secular assemblies that have equivalent impacts on its purposes. Second, the “formal differences” relied on by the Village do not trump the “practical” similarities between churches and the secular organizations the Ordinance treats more favorably.... And third, no compelling interest justifies the unequal treatment.

The court rejected the village's argument that churches could be excluded because the state liquor control laws prevented bars from locating within 200 feet of a church.

Limits On Rescheduling Hearings That Conflict With Religious Holidays Do Not Violate Free Exercise Rights

In Jack Jaffa & Associates v. City of New York, (NY Cty. Sup. St., March 21, 2019), a New York state trial court rejected a claim that rules of New York City's Office of Trials and Hearings violate the First Amendment.  Plaintiff, which represents clients who have been issued administrative summonses by New York City agencies, contended that rules which limit the ability to reschedule hearings that conflict with Jewish and Muslim holidays violate its rights and the rights of its clients.  The court held:

Petitioner has failed to state a claim for violation of its First Amendment right of free exercise of its religion. OATH's rules concerning the rescheduling and adjournment of hearings are neutral in both object and application and therefore "the First Amendment has not been offended."

Rockland County Declares State of Emergency In Measles Outbreak

Rockland County, New York, which is battling a measles outbreak, has issued a 30-day county-wide Sate of Emergency Declaration (full text) banning any person under 18 who has not been vaccinated for measles from all places of public assembly. The Declaration defines the scope of the ban:

A place of public assembly shall be a place where more than 10 persons are intended to congregate for purposes such as civic, governmental, social, or religious functions, or for recreation or shopping, or for food or drink consumption, or awaiting transportation, or for daycare or educational purposes, or for medical treatment. A place of public assembly shall also include public transportation vehicles, including but not limited to, publicly or privately owned buses or trains, but does not include taxi or livery vehicles.

The county previously excluded all unvaccinated minors for schools.  (See prior posting.) Yesterday Rockland County issued a press release announcing the action. Gizmodo reporting on the ban says in part:

In the case of the Rockland outbreak, it’s thought the original carriers caught measles while visiting Israel. According to health officials, more than 80 percent of local cases have occurred among the unvaccinated. These cases have been concentrated among segments of the Orthodox Jewish community.

Suit Challenges Vaccination Order

The Rockland Westchester Journal News reports that a federal court lawsuit has been filed by parents of 44 students who attend Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge, New York challenging the Rockland County Health Commissioner's order excluding unvaccinated children from schools. According to the paper:

The lawsuit states that Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert's order, imposed during the county's continuing measles outbreak, violates the families' religious objections to vaccinations and is unnecessary because the cases have been largely confined to insular Hasidic Jewish communities.

UPDATE: On March 12, a federal judge denied a temporary injunction that would have allowed the 44 students to return to classes. (Rockland Westchester Journal News).

Yeshivas Sue In Challenge To New York's "Substantial Equivalency" Guidelines

Yesterday, a group of yeshivas, parents and other Orthodox Jewish organizations filed a state-court lawsuit challenging the New York State Education Department's recently adopted Substantial Equivalency Review and Determination Process. The new regulations are aimed at assuring that yeshivas, as well as other non-public religious and independent schools, comply with state law requiring them to offer an education substantially equivalent to that of public schools.  (See prior posting.)  The 50-page complaint (full text) in Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty In Schools, (Sup. Ct. Albany Cty. NY, filed 3/7/2019), alleges in part:

the NYSED’s New Guidelines would effectively frustrate the Petitioners’ constitutionally protected right to the free exercise of religion through a series of onerous requirements; would effectively frustrate the Petitioners’ constitutionally protected free speech rights by dictating what can and cannot be taught in yeshivas; would effectively frustrate the Petitioners’ constitutionally protected due process right to control the upbringing and the education of their children, as recognized by Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925), and Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923); and would hamper and inhibit the educational system that is central to Petitioners’ way of life, raising issues similar, and relevantly indistinguishable, to those addressed by the United States Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972).

The suit challenges the Guidelines on other state law grounds as well. Yeshiva World reports on the lawsuit.

City Settles Firefighter's Religious Discrimination Suit

The city of Utica, New York has settled a religious accommodation lawsuit that was filed against it by a firefighter who refuses to cut his hair after taking a Nazirite vow.  Under the settlement announced Friday, firefighter John Brooks has been granted a religious accommodation from the fire department's grooming policy. A press release from First Liberty announced the settlement. First Liberty's website has more on the case.

Buffalo Diocese Sued By Sex Abuse Victim For $300 Million

WGRZ News reported Monday that the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, New York has been sued for $300 million by a woman who says that she was sexually abused between 1978 and 1981 by the priest who was her high school science teacher.  The accused abuser, Rev. Mark Andrzejczuk, who died in 2011 was a member of a Franciscan order which is also named as a defendant.  New York's recently passed Child Victims Act opened the way for Gail Holler-Kennedy to file the suit.

Class Action Filed Hours After New York's Child Victims Act Is Signed

Just hours after New York's new Child Victims Act extending the statute of limitations for sex abuse claims was signed into law (see prior related posting), a class action lawsuit was filed in federal district court for the Northern District of New York. Rome (NY) Sentinel reports in part:

The Rev. Paul F. Angelicchio, of Rome, has been named in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a teenage altar boy when the priest worked at a church in Onondaga County in the late 1980s.

... Angelicchio was placed on a leave of absence by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse in late 2016 to investigate the claims. Church officials deemed the accusations not credible at the time and Angelicchio soon returned to service.

The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 14, also accuses two Syracuse-area priests who were named by the Diocese in December as having “credible” accusations of sexual abuse made against them. Those priests, Charles Eckermann and James F. Quinn, are both deceased.

Angelicchio was not among the priests listed by the Diocese in December.

New York Extends Statute of Limitations For Childhood Sexual Abuse Cases

AP reports that the New York state legislature yesterday gave final passage to A02863, the Child Victims Act (full text). Last week, the Catholic Church dropped its opposition to the bill when it was amended to treat public and private schools the same.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that he will sign the bill. A press release from Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie summarizes the bill's provisions:

The Child Victims Act would give childhood sexual abuse survivors an additional five years to seek criminal charges against perpetrators by changing when the statute of limitations clock begins to run. Under the bill, the five year period within which charges could be brought would not start until the victim reaches age 23, rather than 18.

For civil cases involving sex offenses against a child, the statute of limitations would be tolled and a lawsuit by a victim would be permitted up until the victim turns 55 years of age. The legislation includes a one year look-back window for survivors who are not able to seek recourse under current law. This one-year look-back window would take effect six months after the bill is signed into law.

[Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.]

Despite Urging, No Excommunication For Gov. Cuomo Over Abortion Rights Law

On Jan. 22, New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed A00021, the Reproductive Health Act (full text) which protects abortion rights.  As reported by the Washington Post on Friday, "some prominent Catholics have urged Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York to declare Cuomo excommunicated." CNN Religion Editor Daniel Burke received this reaction from a spokesman for Cardinal Dolan:

I will not discuss any individual. Anything that follows is a statement of some general principles, and should not be considered a comment on any specific person.

First, excommunication should not be used as a weapon.  Too often, I fear, those who call for someone's excommunication do so out of anger or frustration.

Second, notable canon lawyers have said that, under canon law, excommunication is not an appropriate response to a politician who supports or votes for legislation advancing abortion.

Third, from a pastoral perspective, if a pastor-- and a bishop is certainly a pastor of a diocese-- knows of a grave situation involving a parishioner, it is his duty to address that issue personally and directly with the parishioner.  That was the approach of Cardinal O'Connor and Cardinal Egan (both of whom I served), and it is Cardinal Dolan's approach as well.

Fourth, and finally, from a strategic perspective, I do not believe that excommunication would be effective as many politicians would welcome it as a sign of their refusal to be "bullied by the Church", thinking it would therefore give them a political advantage. (See, for example, the case of Bishop Leo Maher and Lucy Killea).

NY Court Orders Death Certificate Changed After Religious Objections To Brain Death Test

Hamodia reports that a New York state trial court judge has ordered Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital to change the date on the death certificate of an Orthodox Jewish patient in order to accommodate the family's religious objection to brain death as a definition of death. The patient, Yechezkel Nakar, was transferred to a nursing home after the declaration of brain death. He stopped breathing there some three weeks later.  Normally medical insurance will not cover treatment after a death certificate has been issued.

New York Legislature Passes Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act

Last week, the New York legislature passed and sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his signature A00747, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (full text).  As reported by the National Law Review, the bill amends New York's anti-discrimination laws to expressly ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression, and adds to the list of offenses subject to treatment as hate crimes offenses regarding gender identity or expression. The Governor is expected to sign the bill.

Conversion Therapy Ban Challenged In Maryland, Enacted In New York

The Baltimore Sun reports that a lawsuit was filed in Maryland federal district court on Friday challenging Maryland's ban on conversion therapy for minors.  Plaintiff Christopher Doyle contends that the ban violates his free speech and free exercise rights, as well as his clients' right "to prioritize their religious and moral values above unwanted same-sex sexual attractions, behaviors, or identities."

Meanwhile, on Jan. 15, the New York state legislature gave final passage to A00576 (full text) which prohibits  mental health  professionals  from  engaging  in  sexual  orientation  change efforts with patients under the age of eighteen. NBC News says that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to promptly sign the bill.