Bankruptcy Judge Threatens San Diego Diocese With Contempt

The Catholic Diocese of San Diego, currently in bankruptcy reorganization, has been threatened with contempt by the bankruptcy judge for misrepresentations and attempts to illegally shift assets. On April 9, the bankruptcy court issued a Order to Show Cause as to why the diocese and various officials should not be held in contempt. At issue are attempts by parishes to obtain new taxpayer identification numbers and transfer parish accounts to them without court approval. The responses filed (1, 2, 3) said that there had been misunderstandings of what the court had approved in a prior hearing.

Yesterday's Washington Post reports that Diocese lead attorney Susan Boswell apologized for misunderstanding how parishes could protect their cash flows, but said: "We are not dealing with a commercial enterprise-- we are dealing with a church. What it does is give money to the parishes. This is not a nefarious function." The San Diego Union-Tribune also reports that Boswell was unaware of Bishop Robert Brom's regularly receiving bank statements for 770 bank accounts of the separate parishes when she told the court otherwise during a March 1 hearing. At an April 11 hearing, bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler ordered an external audit of the Diocese.

History Of Jewish Education In NYC Released Time Program Published

An unusual history of New York City's public school released time program has recently been published. The program, initiated in the 1940's, permitted public school children to be excused from class for an hour each week for religious education. While the program is generally thought of as one used by Christian groups, it turns out that a Jewish organization created by Chabad Lubavitch was active in offering an hour of Jewish education as part of the so-called "Wednesday Hour" program. The new book, Shiurei Limud Hadat: A Historical Review of the Released Time Program, contains information and rare photos of the program, along with Hebrew text. (News Release). Chabad continues the program today as scores of rabbinical students take study sheets, prayer booklets, kosher snacks and prizes to many New York City locations where the released time classes are held.

Iraqi Women Pressed To Follow Islamic Dress Code

Women in Iraq say that they are under increasing pressure to dress according to the dictates of Islamic law. An article in Tuesday's Cleveland Plain Dealer says that women blame the country's two-year old democratically elected parliament for using Islamic law to reduce women's rights. They say that is the only thing that the government agrees on. Baghdad's secular, cosmopolitan tradition has given way to what women call the "Islamic uniform"-- the black abaya that covers the body; the hijab (head scarf); or at least long, dark ankle-length skirts. Abdal-Majeed, who works with Iraq's women's affairs ministry says government officials, police officers and Muslim clergymen often insist she cover her head before they speak with her.

Attorneys Fees Ordered In Auto Sticker Case Settlement

In November, the city of Burbank, Illinois agreed to settle a suit brought by one of its residents who objected to displaying a vehicle sticker that included a picture of a soldier kneeling before a graveside cross. The city agreed not fine the resident for failing to display the sticker. (See prior posting.) However it has taken until now to resolve a dispute on payment of attorneys' fees. Yesterday's Daily Southtown reports that now a federal magistrate judge has ordered the city to pay $3300 in fees and costs to the plaintiff's lawyer for his 10 hours of work on the case. This is a compromise between amounts put forward by each side.

U.S. Senate Memorializes Pentecostal Bishop

On March 28, the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent passed S.Res. 133 memorializing Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson who died on March 20. Patterson led Memphis, Tennessee's Temple of Deliverance Congregation, as well as the Church of God in Christ , a Pentecostal denomination which has 6 million members internationally. The Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, says that "Patterson reached millions across the globe with his direct and spirit-filled messages, encouraging the world to 'be healed, be delivered, and be set free'."

Missouri House Approves Proposed Prayer Amendment

The Missouri House of Representatives yesterday approved and sent to the state Senate a proposed state constitutional amendment on public prayer. HJR 19, Religious Freedom In Public Places, is described as follows by the Legislature:

Upon voter approval, this proposed constitutional amendment guarantees a citizen's First Amendment right to pray and worship in all public areas including schools as long as the activities are voluntary and subject to the same rules and regulations that apply to all other types of speech.

The amendment also reaffirms a citizen's right to choose any religion or no religion at all by prohibiting both the establishment of an official state religion and any state
coercion or endorsement of religion through practices as composing official state prayers.

Public schools receiving state funds are required to display the text of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States in a conspicuous and legible manner.

Reporting on an earlier preliminary vote of approval on the Resolution last week, the AP quotes Democratic state Representative John Burnett as saying that the proposed amendment is an attempt to increase Republican voter turnout in 2008.

Pakistan Mosque Creates Islamic Court In Challenge To Government

In Pakistan, the government has blocked access to the website of Islamabad's Red Mosque. Last week, the governing clerics of the mosque and a related seminary set up a religious court to enforce Islamic law and warned of suicide attacks if authorities ordered raids on the mosque. On Monday, the mosque's court issued a fatwa against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar. It called for her dismissal because of a photo of her hugging a male instructor after a charity parachute jump she made in France last month to raise money for victims of Pakistan's 2005 earthquake. The story is reported yesterday by The Age. The Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) court also is taking aim at prostitution, gambling, sale of liquor, and sale of audio and video cassettes. Gulf News on Monday said that the Sharia court is a challenge to the authority of Pakistan's civil government.

UPDATE: On Sunday (April 15), 100,000 moderates who support President Gen. Pervez Musharraf rallied in Karachi against the activities of the Red Mosque. (AP).

6th Circuit: Preacher's Injunction Claim Moot; But Damage Claim Can Proceed

Last week, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed as moot an attempt by a Christian minister to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief against Ohio's Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. In Hood v. Keller, (6th Cir., April 2, 2007), James D. Hood II challenged the requirement that he obtain a permit before preaching on the grounds of Ohio's state house. However, while the case was pending, the 6th Circuit in another case held that the permit requirements are unconstitutional. The 6th Circuit agreed with the district court that now the threat of enforcement of the permit requirement has disappeared. However, the court did remand the case for consideration of Hood's claim for damages and attorneys' fees.

British Court Will Consider Legality Of Hindu Funeral Pyres

In Britain, a High court judge has approved the filing of a case seeking review of a decision barring cremation on a traditional Hindu funeral pyre. Last year, Newcastle City Council refused permission to Davender Kumar Ghai, an elderly Hindu man, to be cremated on a pyre when he dies. The Council ruled that ceremony would violate the Cremation Act 1902. Now, according to The Times yesterday, the High Court will consider the argument that outdoor cremation is illegal only if it creates a public nuisance. Proposed Hindu funeral pyres would only be placed in secluded locations. (See related prior posting.)

Recent Scholarly Articles Of Interest Online

From SSRN:
Ian C. Bartrum, The Constitutional Structure of Disestablishment, (NYU Journal of Law and Liberty, Vol. 2, p. 311, 2007).

Rev. John J. Coughlin, O.F.M., Canon Law and Constitutional Law: The First Amendment, Anthropology, Separation, and Neutrality, (Feb. 1, 2007, Notre Dame Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07-24).

Jesse R. Merriam, Finding a Ceiling in a Circular Room: Locke v. Davey, Religious Neutrality, and Federalism, (Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review, Vol. 16, pp. 103-143, 2007).

Kristen A. Carpenter, The Interests of "Peoples" in the Cooperative Management of Sacred Sites, (Tulsa Law Review, Vol. 42, p. 37, 2006).

From NELLCO:
Jeffrey A. Redding, Slicing the American Pie: Federalism and Personal Law, (April 4, 2007, Yale Law School Faculty Scholarship Series, Paper 10).

Indian Penal Officials Bar Easter Mass At Jail Because Of Wine

UCAN reports that a stir over religious freedom has erupted in the southern Indian state of Kerala. On Easter Sunday, officials at a federal jail in Thiruvananthapuram refused to allow three priests into the jail to conduct Easter mass. Officials said that the wine the priests were bringing in for mass was liquor that was prohibited by jail rules. This is the first time in 94 years that officials have prevented Easter mass from being conducted in the jail.

Easter Rally In Nepal Seeks Easter As Public Holiday

In eastern Nepal on Easter Sunday, a thousand Christians walked through the streets of Dharan demanding that the government designate Easter to be a public holiday. UCAN reports that in newly secular Nepal, normally Sunday is a working day and Saturday is the weekly day off.

Christian Law School's Grads Increasingly Hired By Justice Department

Sunday's Boston Globe carries a story on the growing influence of Regent University Law School graduates in the Bush administration's Justice Department. The school, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson, is focused on graduating Christian leaders who will change the world. Regent graduates began to be hired in significant numbers after the 2001 appointment of Regent's government school dean to be director of the federal Office of Personnel Management. Among the graduates who have been hired by the Justice Department is Monica Goodling, the former aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who resigned Friday in the midst of the growing controversy over the firing of eight US Attorneys. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Celebrity Couple Face Criminal Prosecution In India Over Wedding Rites

English actress Liz Hurley and her new husband, Indian-born businessman Arun Nayar, face criminal charges in a court in India growing out of their wedding ceremony. Today's This Is London and M&C report on the charges brought by Vishnu Khandelwal, a devout Hindu, who claims that the couple's wedding last month at the Meherangarh Fort in Rajastha violated Hindu custom. He alleges that the couple drank alcohol, that Liz refused to remove her shoes and that the couple kissed in front of cameras during the ceremony. It is also claimed that Hurley wore too skimpy a dress. Liz and Arun are charged under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code with intentionally causing outrage the feelings of Hindus by insulting their religious and ritualistic beliefs.

Media also reported that Arun's father, Vinod Nayar, has agreed to testify against the couple. Apparently Vinod has disowned his son because of the way Vinod and his wife were treated at the wedding celebrations. If found guilty, Liz and Arun could be fined and sentenced to up to three years in prison.

The complaint against Liz and Arun was initially filed last month, and ITN reported then that the real concern of those filing charges was that the couple had first been married in a Christian ceremony in England, so they were not eligible for a subsequent Hindu wedding. Their attempt to have a Hindu wedding in India as a second ceremony was seen as an attempt to spread Christianity.

Pennsylvania County's No-Smoking Law Impacts Churches

Last Friday's Pittsburgh Catholic reported on a memo sent by the Office for Legal Services of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh on Allegheny County, Pennsylvania's new no-smoking ordinance. The memo attempted to clarify when the no-smoking ban applies to church properties. It applies to parish offices, but not to priests' living quarters. There is an exemption for fund-raising events on parish premises if only unpaid volunteers are used to run the event and if no one under 18 years old is admitted to the premises during the event.

8th Grader's Book Report Creates Church-State Issue

Mt. Washington Middle School in Bullitt County, Kentucky is in the midst of a new church-state battle, according to today’s Louisville Courier-Journal. An 8th grade teacher had given an assignment for each student to write a book report on a book of the student’s choice. Alex Thomas wrote his report on the Bible’s Book of Acts. The teacher videotaped the students reading their reports and began broadcasting them to the school during morning announcements. However, the school's principal, Denise Allen, ended the broadcasts saying that broadcasting young Thomas' report might violate the Establishment Clause and that some of the other 8th grader's book choices might not be appropriate for younger students. However, Thomas' mother says that this violates her son's constitutional rights. She said: "I feel that Christian kids should be allowed to speak about their faith and not be ashamed." She said she has contacted the American Center for Law and Justice that says the school should have merely attached a disclaimer saying that the reports do not necessarily reflect the school's views, instead of ending the broadcasts of the reports.

European Court Rules For Scientologists Against Russia

Last week, the European Court of Human Rights held that Russia had violated provisions in the European Declaration of Human Rights that protect freedom of religion, conscience , and association when it repeated denied re-registration under Russia’s new Religions Law to the Church of Scientology. The Court awarded damages, and said that it was up to the government of Russia to determine how to meet its obligations under the ECHR. It could grant re-registration, remove the requirement to obtain re-registration from the Religions Act, or re-open the domestic proceedings on the Church’s application. The full opinion in Church of Scientology Moscow v. Russia (ECHR, April 5, 2007) is available online, as is a Press Release summarizing the judgment.

A report by Religion News Service says that the judgment will force other European countries to change policies that do not treat Scientology as favorably as other religions.

Preliminary Injunction Against U. Wisconsin Clarified

[Revised] A Wisconsin federal district court has clarified a preliminary injunction that it originally issued on March 9 . The injunction was intended to prevent the University of Wisconsin- Madison from enforcing its non-discrimination policy against the Roman Catholic Foundation in a way that would have prevented its campus chapter from limiting membership to Catholics. However the original order might have been read more broadly than that. So in University of Wisconsin- Madison Roman Catholic Foundation v. Walsh, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25670 (WD WI, April 4, 2007), the court issued a new order apparently intended to enjoin enforcement of the Board of Regents' Non-Discrimination Resolution only insofar as it forces inclusion of non-Catholic members in the Foundation. The court also held that it is irrelevant that the Foundation might voluntarily allow non-Catholics to become members since the court's order is concerned with preventing the University forcing non-Catholic members on the group.

Bills On Religion In Schools Introduced In Texas

Jews On First on Friday carried a long posting on Texas House Bill 1287 which would require all Texas school districts to establish elective courses in the history and literature of the Old and New Testaments eras. The bill requires that the Bible itself be used as the basic text for the courses-- a requirement that the Texas Freedom Network recommends be dropped. It also recommends other safeguards be added, such as appropriate training for teachers. The bill has elaborate provisions to protect teachers' and students' choice of the version of the Old and New Testament they will use in the course. It allows teachers to assign other supplemental readings, including material from outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. The bill requires that the courses be taught in an objective, non-devotional manner that does not promote commitment to particular religious beliefs. Critics of the pending bill nevertheless argue that it is tailored to promote a conservative Christian agenda.

Meanwhile, another Texas legislator has introduced the Religious Viewpoint Anti-Discrimination Act (H.B. 3678) into the Texas legislature. OneNewsNow reports that the bill's sponsor, Rep. Charlie Howard, says that the bill is aimed at preventing schools from censoring the religious speech of students. The bill sets out a Model Policy that schools may adopt in order to comply with the bill's provisions.

3 NYPD Officers Fail To Plead That AA Infringed Rights; One Pleads Enough

In four separate cases decided on March 30 by the federal district court for the Eastern District of New York, the court considered claims by New York City police officers that the Establishment Clause was violated when they were forced into participating in Alcoholics Anonymous. In three of the cases, the court held that plaintiffs had failed to adequately plead that their First Amendment rights were infringed. They alleged only that the program was "religious based," but did not indicate whether they were forced to pray or acknowledge God, or whether there were any references to God at all in the program. The cases are Bueno v. City of New York, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24766 ; MacShane v. City of New York, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25014; and Miller v. City of New York, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25016. However, in a fourth similar case decided the same day, the court held plaintiff's allegations that his rehabilitation program made "references to God" to be sufficient to state a claim for a violation of his freedom of religion because a reference to any god is a preference of "religion to irreligion." McNamara v. City of New York, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25015. [Revised.]