Vietnam Court Rejects Appeal of Catholic Demonstrators

In Vietnam, a court has rejected an appeal by eight Roman Catholics who had been convicted and given suspended sentences, probation and, in one case, merely a warning, after engaging in demonstrations in Hanoi last year. AP reported Friday on the appeal of the convictions for disturbing public order and damaging property growing out of a prayer vigil seeking return of land once owned by Thai Ha Church in Hanoi. Defendants say their activities were protected speech. Government authorities contend that the land was turned over to the city, and have since turned it into a park. (See prior related posting.)

NY High Court Rejects Claim By Woman Against Priest With Whom She Had Affair

In Doe v Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, (NY Ct. App., March 26, 2009), New York's high court dismissed a lawsuit by a woman (identified only as Jane Doe) against Father Peter DeBellis, a Catholic priest who Doe consulted for counselling. The suit by Doe and her husband alleged that Doe began a sexual relationship with DeBellis that lasted for more than three years. The relationship and the counselling continued despite repeated complaints to the Diocese by Doe's husband, who is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Plaintiffs brought a breach of fiduciary duty claim against Father DeBellis, and claims for negligent supervision and retention against the Diocese. Relying on a case it decided last year (see prior posting), the court held:

The complaint ... falls short of what is necessary to state a claim for breach of fiduciary duty. The bare allegation that Jane Doe was "a vulnerable congregant" is insufficient to establish that plaintiff was particularly susceptible to Father DeBellis's influence. Nor does the complaint provide any other allegations to show that the parties had a relationship characterized by control and dominance. Plaintiffs' claims for negligent supervision and retention against the Diocese likewise fail.

Newsday yesterday reported on the decision.

Sen. Grassley May Subpoena Records of One or Two Televangelists

BNA's Daily Report for Executives [subscription required] today reports that Sen. Charles Grassley says he may subpoena records from those televangelists who have failed to cooperate with him in his investigation of their financial dealings. In 2007, Grassley began an investigation of possible abuse of tax-exempt status by six high-profile "prosperity gospel" ministers. Grassley says that he has received complete information from two ministries and more limited cooperation from two others. Kenneth Copeland Ministries says it will cooperate only if an investigation is carried out by the IRS through a church tax inquiry. Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International and Creflo Dollar Ministries have refused to provide any of the requested data. (See prior related posting.)

Award of Rabbinical Court Vacated For Non-Disclosure of Relationship To A Party

In Matter of Beth Jacob Teachers Seminary Inc. v Le'Bunos, (NY Kings Co. Sup. Ct., March 24, 2009), a New York trial court took the unusual step of vacating an arbitration award made by a Rabbinical Court (bet din) on the ground that the arbitrator failed to disclose facts that may support an inference of bias. Two religious organizations that were parties to a lease agreed to submit a dispute over the scope of the lease to the Rabbinical Court of Tzedek Umishpot. Unknown to the lessee, an employee of the lessor was married to Rabbi Yerachmiel Barash who served as secretary and clerk to the Rabbinical Court. This information surfaced when at a Rabbinical Court hearing, Rabbi Barash-- at the urging of one of the Rabbis on the arbitration panel-- telephoned his wife to obtain verification of certain rental date information. [Thanks to Y.Y. Landa for the lead.]

Archbishop Talks About Obligations of Catholics In the Public Square

The Pew Forum last week published a long interview with Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput on the political obligations of Catholics. Chaput, author of the recent book Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life, says in the interview:

we Catholics serve Caesar best when we serve God first, and that means living our Catholic beliefs vigorously, faithfully and without apologies at home and in the public, at work and in the voting booth. We can’t ignore the sufferings of the poor or the homeless or undocumented immigrants and then claim to be good Catholics. We also can’t ignore the killing of unborn children without struggling to end that daily homicide – not just through supportive social policies, but by changing the law.

[Thanks to Brad Pardee via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Belarus Appeals Court Rejects Challenge To Religious Registration Law

Forum 18 yesterday reported on a March 2 decision by the Supreme Court of Belarus that rejected a constitutional attack on the country's religion law. The law requires registration of religious groups. (The Supreme Court is not the highest court in Belarus. The highest court for constitutional interpretations is the Constitutional Court.) In the appeal, brought by a Pentecostal pastor who had been fined the equivalent of $149 (US) for leading an unregistered congregation, the court's Vice-chairman Valeri Kalinkovich rejected arguments that the registration provisions violate the religious freedom protections found in Articles 23 and 31 of the Belarus Constitution and in Art. 18, Part 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

8th Circuit Says Missouri's Procedure For Approving Specialty Plates Is Invalid

In Roach v. Stouffer, (8th Cir., March 26, 2009), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held unconstitutional Missouri's statute that gives the legislative Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight broad authority to approve or reject applications for creating new specialty license plates. The statute permits a veto of proposed plates by small numbers of legislators. The Court found that the Joint Committee's unbridled discretion creates the potential for unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. The suit was brought by an organization whose request for a "Choose Life" license plate had been denied after objections from two state senators. In upholding an injunction ordering the state to issue the plates, the court joined three other Circuits in holding that messages on specialty plates are private speech, not governmental speech. The court reasoned:

The primary purpose of Missouri's specialty plate program is to allow private organizations to promote their messages and raise money and to allow private individuals to support those organizations and their messages.... With more than 200 specialty plates available to Missouri vehicle owners, a reasonable observer could not think that the State of Missouri communicates all of those messages.

In a release on the decision from Alliance Defense Fund (which represented plaintiffs) indicates that Missouri has already begun to sell the plates since the Court of Appeals had refused to stay the injunction previously issued by the district court. The Kansas City Star also reports on the decision.

UN Human Rights Council Again Adopts Defamation of Religion Resolution

Yesterday the United Nations Human Rights Council again adopted a non-binding "defamation of religions" resolution by a vote of 23 yes, 11 no and 13 abstentions. (AP report). The resolution was introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and was co-sponsored by Belarus and Venezuela. The lengthy document (full text):

Urges all States to provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general, and to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and beliefs;

A version of the resolution has been adopted in a U.N. body each year since 1999. The Becket Fund reports that this year 180 non-governmental organizations from 50 countries had signed a petition (full text) urging rejection of the resolution. Western countries have opposed the underlying premise of the resolution, arguing that it is individuals, not religions, that have rights. The United States is not a member of the Human Rights Council. (See prior related posting.)

Texas Board Largely Supports Teaching Of Evolution Without Adding Alternatives

Yesterday the Texas State Board of Education again more or less reaffirmed its earlier decision to mandate teaching of evolution in a manner consistent with mainstream science. After hearings in January, the Board preliminarily voted 8-7 to drop prior languge in the state's science curriculum standards that called for students to analyze the "strength and weaknesses" of scientific theories. (See prior posting.) New, more pro-science, language was adopted that says students should "analyze and evaluate scientific explanations using empirical evidence."

The final set of hearings on these standards began Wednesay. (AP). Yesterday, according to the New York Times, the the Board by a vote of 7-7 refused to adopt a proposal to go back to the old "strengths and weaknesses" language. However, social conservatives were able to add new requirements at various specific points in the curriculum that call on teachers to evaluate the sufficiency of current scientific explanations. For example, Biology standards will now call on teachers to "analyze and evaluate the sufficiency or insufficiency of natural selection to explain the complexity of the cell." A final Board vote is to be taken today. It is expected to reaffirm yesterday's result since one additional Board member will participate and she has already indicated that she opposes the changes pressed by social conservatives. (Dallas Morning News.)

Suit Challenges Middle School's Refusal To Recognize Religious Club

On Wednesday, the mother of a middle school student in Atlanta filed suit in a Georgia federal district court challenging the refusal by school officials to give formal recognition and free use of meeting facilities at Sutton Middle School to a Christian student group, the STS Club. In Shelton v. Atlanta Public Schools, (ND GA, filed 3/25/2009), the complaint (full text) alleges that school authorities violated the Equal Access Act, as well as the 1st and 14th Amendments in using various excuses to keep STS Club out of the school. Eventually the club was formed, but it is required to pay rent to use facilities before school, and it is denied other benefits given to recognized student organizations. Alliance Defense Fund announced the filing of the lawsuit.

Obama Administration Defends Visa Denial To Muslim Scholar

Reuters reports on arguments last Tuesday before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan who is appealing the denial of a visa by U.S. consular officials. Originally Ramadan sought admission to the U.S. to accept tenured position at the University of Notre Dame. After that became impossible, he continued his request, hoping to attend other academic events in the United States. The district court upheld the government's argument that it could exclude Ramadan because he had contributed funds to an organization which he knew, or should have known, provided funds to Hamas, a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. (See prior posting.) Civil liberties had hoped that the Obama administration would reverse what they say was a Bush administration policy to exclude foreign scholars from visiting the U.S. because of their political beliefs. However the government continued to defend the denial, arguing that "consular decisions are not subject to litigation." Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jones said that the decision to continue to deny Ramadan's visa was taken "upwards in the State Department."

Serbian Parliament Passes Anti-Discrimination Law

AP reports that Serbia's parliament today narrowly passed an anti-discrimination bill, despite objections from the Serbian Orthodox Church and others. The bill bans discrimination based on religion, race, gender, sexual orientation and various other grounds. The new law will align Serbia with directives of the European Union and further Serbia's efforts to become a member of the EU-- and its more immediate goal of obtaining rights for Serbian citizens to travel to EU countries without a visa. Church objections focused on a number of provisions, but particularly the ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation. The vote in Parliament was 127-59, with other members absent for the vote. At least 126 votes in the 250-member Parliament were required for passage.

Tajikistan's President Signs Controversial New Religion Law

Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmon today signed a controversial new religion law, according to a report from Reuters. Last week the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom criticized the law, saying:

If signed, the law will legalize harsh policies already adopted by the Tajik government against its majority Muslim population, including the closure of hundreds of mosques and limiting the religious education of children. Moreover, the law will impose state censorship on religious literature, restrict the conduct of religious rites to officially-approved places of worship and allow the state to control the activities of religious associations....

The new religion law places onerous restrictions on the Muslim community, such as limiting the number of mosques based on the number of local residents and imposing state interference in the appointment of imams. The preface to the law singles out the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam for its "special role" in the development of Tajikistan's "culture and moral life," downplaying the significance of the Shi'a Ismaili minority, which lives in Tajikistan's Mountainous Badakhshan Region.

The law will also cause difficulties for Tajikistan's other religious minorities by dramatically increasing the numerical threshold for registration requirements, as well as requiring the founders of a religious group seeking registration to certify that they have lived in their territory for at least five years and adhered to the religion. The law also requires that a religious community obtain consent of the Religious Affairs Committee to invite foreigners or attend religious conferences outside the country.

The new law will come into force once it is officially published by the government.

Arizona Supreme Court Invalidates Two School Voucher Programs

In Cain v. Horne, (AZ Sup. Ct., March 25, 2009), the Arizona Supreme Court held that two school voucher programs-- one for children with disabilities and the other for children in foster care-- violate the state constitutional prohibition on appropriating public money in aid of any private or sectarian school. (AZ Const., Art. 9, Sec. 10). The court concluded that this "Aid Clause" is neither a mirror image of the provision in Art. 2, Sec. 12 of the state constitution that bars the appropriation of public money for religious instruction, nor is it identical in scope to the federal Establishment Clause. Focusing on the Aid Clause, the court stated:

For all intents and purposes, the voucher programs do precisely what the Aid Clause prohibits. These programs transfer state funds directly from the state treasury to private schools. That the checks or warrants first pass through the hands of parents is immaterial; once a pupil has been accepted into a qualified school under either program, the parents or guardians have no choice; they must endorse the check or warrant to the qualified school.

Arizona Capitol Times reported on the decision yesterday.

RNC Chairman Says Future Presidential Run Depends On God's Will

CNN reported yesterday on its interview with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. Asked by reporter Don Lemon whether he might consider running for President some day, Steele replied:

God has a way of revealing stuff to you, and making it real for you, through others. And if that's part of the plan, it'll be the plan….[If I run] it'll be because that's where God wants me to be at that time.

British Equality Commission Publishes List of Most Powerful Muslim Women In UK

Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission this week, in cooperation with The Times and Emel magazine, has published Muslim Women Power List 2009. The list honors Muslim women who are leaders in business, civil service, arts, media or the public sector. (Background). Ranked as the most powerful Muslim woman in Britain was Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action. The full list is on a website devoted to the award. However, writing in the Telegraph, columnist Damian Thompson asks "why is public money being spent" or this project that seems more appropriate for funding by the Muslim community.

NY Court Says Contract To Sell Church Land Was Valid Without Court Approval

In Hermandad Y Asociados, Inc. v Movimiento Misionero Mundial, Inc., (NY Sup. Ct., March 6, 2009), a New York state trial court interpreted Sec. 12 of the New York Religious Corporations Law. The section requires court approval for the sale, mortgage or long-term lease of church property. The court concluded, however, that the section does not prohibit a church from contracting to sell its property, so long as judicial approval is obtained before the property is actually conveyed. Ultimately, however, the church was excused from performance under the contract because the other party to it, a developer, had committed material breaches.

Court Invalidates Rule On Green Card Applications By Foreign Religious Workers [Revised]

In Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, (WD WA, March 23, 2009), a Washington federal district court invalidated a federal regulation (8 CFR 245.2) that makes it more difficult for foreign religious workers to obtain permanent residency status than various other foreign workers. The court concluded that the rule is "an unreasonable and impermissible construction of the governing statute." The rule was apparently adopted because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service believes that there is a higher incidence of fraudulent applications among religious workers. An AP report explains:

Under the Department of Homeland Security's policy, religious workers who came to the U.S. on a typical five-year temporary visa were not allowed to file for permanent residency — their green card — until a separate visa petition by their employer had been approved. The problem was that it frequently took a long time for the government to approve those visa petitions — and by the time it did, the religious workers had left the country because their temporary visas had expired....

Workers in other categories, such as aerospace and technology, are allowed to file for permanent residency before, not after, their employer's visa petition is approved, and can remain in the country while their application is pending....

(See prior related posting.)

Court Says Property of Break-Away Parish Remains With Colorado Episcopal Diocese

In Grace Church and St. Stephen's v. Bishop and Diocese of Colorado, (CO Dist. Ct., March 24, 2009), a Colorado state trial court held that all the property of a break-away Colorado Springs parish belongs to the Episcopal Church of the United States and the Diocese of the State of Colorado. The parish, now aligned with the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America, was ordered to cease using the parish property immediately and to turn over financial records and other documents within 30 days. In reaching its decision, the court concluded that:

the founding documents, various bylaws, relevant canons of the general church and consistent parish loyalty to the Diocese over most of its 135 year existence ... reflects the intent that all property held by the parish would be dedicated to an utilized for the advancement of the work of ECUSA.

Virtue Online says that the building at issue is a majestic Gothic style church that is an historic landmark valued at $17 million. It reports on the reaction of Father Donald Armstrong, rector of Grace Church & St. Stephen's. Episcopal Life reports on the reaction of Diocese of Colorado Bishop Robert J. O'Neill and other officials of the continuing congregation. It also says that "Armstrong, who became rector of the congregation in 1987, is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations he misappropriated parish funds." Today's Washington Times also reports on Tuesday's court decision. (See prior related posting.)

Israel's Chief Rabbinate Charges Wedding Ad By Masorti Movement Is Fraudulent

In Israel, an attorney for the Chief Rabbinate has written the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) complaining about a radio ad it is broadcasting on behalf of the Masorti Movement. Yesterday's YNet News reported on the ad which encourages couples to consider marrying in a wedding ceremony performed by a Conservative rabbi instead of in an Orthodox ceremony performed by the Chief Rabbinate. The Rabbinate's chief attorney, Shimon Ullman, told IBA that the ad is fraudulent and deceitful because it does not inform listeners that Conservative weddings performed in Israel are not recognized by governmental authorities in the country. Ullman's letter called the Masorti Movement "an organization that undermines official state institutions." A spokesman for the Masorti Movement says that it advises all marriage applicants that its ceremonies are not recognized by the state, and it recommends that couples also hold a civil ceremony outside the country so that their marriage can be registered with the Interior Ministry.