Lawsuit Argues Publisher's Pension Plan Was Not An Exempt Church Plan

The Wall Street Journal reports on a federal lawsuit filed in Minneapolis yesterday by employees and retirees of Augsburg Fortress, the company that publishes hymnals, theological works and other books for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Plaintiffs are suing the company after it announced it was terminating its seriously underfunded pension plan and would distribute out the remaining assets to employees and retirees. The lawsuit argues that the publisher's pension plan was not exempt from ERISA as a church plan, that Augsburg violated its fiduciary duties under ERISA by allowing the plan to become underfunded and failing to alert plan participants to the plan's financial problems. The complaint alleges alternatively that even if the plan was exempt from federal law as a church plan, Augsburg violated its fiduciary duties under state law to prudently manage the fund's assets. [Thanks to Rev. Chris Duckworth for the lead.]

Jehovah's Witness Loses Unemployment Comp Bid Over Beliefs About Birthday Celebrations

In Calhoun Jewelers, LLC v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, (PA Commnwlth. Ct., April 20, 2010), a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that a Jehovah's Witness employee failed to show that she had a compelling reason based on sincerely held religious belief to leave her job. Without such a showing, her voluntary decision to quit her job as a salesperson in a jewelry store disqualifies her from receiving unemployment compensation benefits. The claimant's religious beliefs prohibit her from celebrating birthdays. She refused to write out personalized messages on birthday cards her employer was sending out to customers. The court concluded that claimant failed to show how the message she was instructed to write conflicted with her beliefs, particularly since she sold customers jewelry for birthday presents.

OIC Will Set Up New Committee On Human Rights

After a meeting Tuesday with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay, the Organization of the Islamic Conference announced that it is setting up a permanent independent committee to deal with issues of human rights. MidEast News Source reports that the new committee will likely begin work following a meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Tajikistan next month. Some critics argue that the committee will be effective only if it does not draw its human rights principles from Shariah law. However OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that universal human rights are in harmony with Islamic values.

Russian Court Says Scientology Titles Are Extremist Literature

A court in the Siberian city of Surgut has approved the request of prosecutors to list 28 works by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to the Russian Federation's list of extremist literature. The Moscow Times reported yesterday that transport prosecutors in Surgut and Khanty-Mansiisk customs officers seized the books and recordings and had them examined by psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists. Prosecutors say the works call for social and religious hatred, undermining Russia's traditional spiritual values. Possession of extremist literature can lead to a jail sentence of up to 15 days and a fine of $100(US).

Bill To Permit Mennonites To Self-Insure Autos Goes To Georgia Governor For Signature

WSAV News reports that yesterday the Georgia state Senate passed, and sent to the governor for his signature, HB 656. The law will allow a 100-member community of Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonites who live in Metter (GA), near Savannah, to self-insure rather than buy auto insurance. Their religion considers insurance to be gambling. The bill provides that a religious organization may qualify as a self insurer for vehicles owned or leased by its members if the organization meets a number of specific requirements, including having been in continuous existence since 1950 and having been exempt from federal social security and medicare since 1970.

French Government Will Propose Burqa Ban In All Public Places

Today Britain's The Independent reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's government has decided that next month it will propose a complete ban on wearing the burqa in any public place. Sarkozy insisted that the ban is needed to protect the "dignity of women." In pressing for the new ban, Sarkozy ignores advice from the Conseil d'Etat that a total ban is unworkable and likely is unconstitutional. It recommended a ban only in public buildings. A report from a French Parliamentary committee also suggested limiting the ban to public buildings and transportation. (See prior posting.) The French State Ombudsman opposes the total ban, as do moderate Muslim groups who say that a ban will make Muslims feel that their religion is resented in France. While only 2,000 women in France wear the full-length veil, it is increasingly seen by a number of politicians across the spectrum as inconsistent with republican values of liberty and equality.

Meanwhile, Voice of America reports that tomorrow debate will begin in the Belgian parliament on similar legislation. Amnesty International urged the Belgian Parliament to reject the proposal, but said that women should be protected from coercion to wear the garment.

Miami Transit Authority Backs Off Decision To Pull Anti-Muslim Ads

In Miami, Florida, the Miami-Dade County Transit Authority has backed off of its original decision to pull ten ads that were set to be placed on Miami buses by an organization known as Stop Islamization of America. Last Friday's Miami Herald reported that the Transit Authority decided to stop the ads after complaints from CAIR that the ads were offensive to Muslims. The ads, carrying a website address, read in part: "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got Questions? Get answers." A press release yesterday from the law offices of David Yerushalmi says that after a lawsuit was threatened, the Transit Authority agreed that it should not have prevented the ads from being run. It agreed to run the original ten ads and to also run twenty more at no additional cost.

Suit For Clergy Sex Abuse Relies On Alien Tort Claims Act

The Los Angeles Times reports that on Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Los Angeles (CA) invoking the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act in a clergy sex abuse case. The Act allows foreign victims of human rights violations to sue for damages in U.S. courts. This is apparently the first time that statute has been used in a clergy abuse case. Plaintiff alleges that as a 12-year old altar-boy, he was raped repeatedly by Father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera in Mexico in 1997. Aguilar had fled to Mexico from Los Angeles in 1987 after Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony learned of police suspicions about him. The lawsuit charges that Cardinal Mahony and Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera covered up known charges against Aguilar, and claims that top church officials knew Aguilar was about to flee to Mexico but failed to inform police. Aguilar's was not defrocked until last year, and he is now in hiding, apparently in Mexico where an arrest warrant for him is outstanding.

Ohio High Court Says No Tax Exemption For Church's Low-Income Apartments

In NBC-USA Housing, Inc.–Five v. Levin, (OH Sup. Ct., April 12, 2010), the Ohio Supreme Court held that a federally subsidized apartment complex for low-income tenants operated by the National Baptist Convention (NBC) and a local church does not qualify for the property tax exemption under Ohio Rev Code 5709.12(B). That section exempts property used exclusively for charitable purposes. The court relied on "the consistent and longstanding doctrine that a distinctly residential use of real property defeats a claim of charitable exemption, even where attendant circumstances indicate the existence of charitable motives." It is not enough that NBC was carrying out a religious mission. The exemption depends on the use of the property, not the nature of the charitable institution that owns it. The argument for an exemption under a different section of the Ohio statutes was precluded because it was not properly raised on appeal.

U.S. Sentencing Commission Incorporates New Hate Crimes Law Into Sentencing Guidelines

The U.S. Sentencing Commission announced on Monday that it has voted to send to Congress for promulgation several amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines. One portion of the amendments adds language to incorporate the new provisions of the recently enacted Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (See prior posting.) The Sentencing Commission's proposal broadens the Sentencing Guideline for offenses involving individual rights to include a new offense added by the hate crime law: willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of the person’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The amendment also expands the definition of a hate crime in the penalty enhancement section to now include victims who were targeted because of their gender identity. The proposed changes (full text) were published in the Federal Register last month. Today's National Law Journal reports on the amendments.

Florida Legislature Considering Proposals To Lower Church-State Wall In Schools

Yesterday's St. Petersburg (FL) Times reports on the continuing efforts in the Florida legislature to allow greater mixing of religion and publicly funded education. Yesterday the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee unanimously approved SB 1580 that would "permit the delivery of an inspirational message, including a prayer or an invocation, at a noncompulsory high school activity, including a student assembly, a sports event, or other school-related activity, if a majority of the participating students request the delivery of an inspirational message and select a student representative to deliver the message. Several House committees have approved a similar bill (HB 31). One version of the House Bill would bar school boards from settling litigation that infringes the First Amendment freedoms of school teachers and staff without the individuals' express written consent. This is apparently a reaction to the settlement of litigation by the Santa Rosa school district. (See prior posting.)

The Florida House and Senate are also considering a proposed state constitutional amendment to eliminate Florida's ban on state funds aiding any religious denomination. The amendment would also specifically allow inidividuals to use public benefits at religious service providers. (SJR2550/HJR1399). Significant opposition has developed to this proposal.

City Permanently Enjoined From Enforcing Noise Law Against Church Bells

After issuing a preliminary injunction last month prohibiting the city of Phoenix (AZ) from enforcing its noise ordinance against churches because of their carillon bells (see prior posting), on Monday an Arizona federal district court made the injunction permanent. In St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish Phoenix v. City of Phoenix, (D AZ, April 19, 2010), upon stipulation of the parties, the court enjoined enforcement o the noise law against any sound generated in the course of religious expression and entered a declaratory judgment finding that its enforcement against religious expression violates the 1st and 14th Amendments. Finally the court ordered the city to pay plaintiffs' attorneys, Alliance Defense Fund, fees of $25,000. CBN News yesterday reported on the decision.

Chinese Lawyers Who Defended Falun Gong Face Disbarment

Epoch Times reported yesterday that in China, two human rights lawyers who attempted to defend Falun Gong practitioners are about to have their licenses suspended. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice will be holding a public hearing tomorrow on revocation of the law licenses of Tang Jitian and Liu Wei. They are charged with disturbing court order, interfering with normal legal proceedings, and damaging implementation of the law. Six months ago, the lawyers withdrew from a case when the judge in the city of Luzhow would not let them speak in defense of their client. Some of the charges against the two lawyers stem from their refusal to cooperate with a security check in the courtroom that they say was illegal.

Objections Raised To Pentagon's Speaker For National Day of Prayer

AP reported yesterday that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is objecting to an invitation extended by the Pentagon to evangelist Franklin Graham to speak on May 6 for the National Day of Prayer. MRFF president, Mikey Weinstein, says that Graham has offended Muslims who work for the Department of Defense by describing Islam as "a very evil and wicked religion." Weinstein, while not objecting to the National Day of Prayer, does object to the close ties between the Pentagon and the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a private group that organizes Christian event for National Day of Prayer. Graham is this year's honorary chairman of the Task Force. Last week a federal judge held that the statute authorizing a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, but did not enjoin this year's activities while an appeal is pending. (See prior posting.)

Government Policy and Poverty Encourage Polygamy In Gaza

Palestine Note reported yesterday that societal pressures and government policies are encouraging polygamy in Gaza. Permitted by Islam, the difficult economic conditions in Gaza are encouraging poorer women to become second wives. Also the Hamas government is backing the Palestine Marriage Fund which encourages men to marry the widows of so-called "martyrs." The Fund gives $2800 plus gifts for the home to each couple. One hundred of these marriages have taken place already.

Islamist Website Threatens "South Park" Creators Over Muhammad Episode

CNN reports that the radical Islamic website Revolutionmuslim.com on Sunday posted an entry that can be seen as a physical threat to the creators of the television cartoon series South Park . The posting was triggered by an episode of the program that included a satirical discussion of whether the image of the Prophet Muhammad could be shown. In the end, he was portrayed in a bear costume. The website warned that program creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone "will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh," the Dutch filmmaker who was murdered by an Islamic extremist. The website also runs audio of a sermon by radical U.S.-born Muslim preacher Anwar al-Awlaki which justifies assassinating anyone who defames the Prophet Muhammad.

UPDATE: Thursday's New York Times reports that an episode of South Park aired on Wednesday on Comedy Central continued a story line involving the Prophet Muhammad but included a number of audio bleeps and image blocks reading "CENSORED". Many of the audio bleeps were added by Comedy Central. Meanwhile Thursday's Musalman Times ran a long article titled South Park: A Muslim Perspective justifying strong Muslim opposition to the South Park episode.

Tennessee AG Opinion Says "Jesus Is Lord" Plates Violate Establishment Clause

Tennessee Attorney General Opinion 10-52 (April 15, 2010) concludes that the state's issuance of a specialty license plate carrying the motto "Jesus is Lord" would violate the Establishment Clause. The Opinion relied on a 2006 decision in a 6th Circuit case holding that Tennessee's messages on specialty license plates are government speech. The Attorney General's Opinion concluded that the proposed specialty plate would amount to an unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion.

Brazil Is Latest Focus In Church Sex Abuse Scandal

AP today reports that the latest focus in the clergy sex abuse scandal is Latin America with charges against three Brazilian priests, including 83-year old Monsignor Luiz Marques Barbosa. Last month, a Brazilian television network broadcast a video of Barbosa in bed with a 19-year old former altar boy. The video was widely distributed on the Internet. Brazil's legislature launched an investigation in which witnesses charged that Barbosa and two other priests in the same archdiocese abused boys as young as 12. A judge requested Barbosa's immediate detention to prevent him fleeing the country. Prosecutors will now decide whether to file charges. Meanwhile the church has suspended all three priests and is conducting its own investigation.

Indonesia's Constitutional Court Upholds Blasphemy Law

Yesterday in an 8-1 decision, Indonesia's Constitutional Court upheld the country's blasphemy law. (Background.) The New York Times and Human Rights Watch both report on the decision. Section 156a of the Indonesian Criminal Code, which supplements a 1965 presidential decree, recognizes six religions, and imposes penalties of up to five years in prison for anyone who deliberately in public expresses hostility, hatred or contempt against one of these religions. The 1965 Presidential Decree prohibits deviant interpretations of any of these religions, and allows the Attorney General's office to dissolve deviant sects. The six recognized religions are Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. The law was challenged as violating Indonesia's Constitution which guaranties freedom of expression and religion, and human rights treaties. The suit was filed by a group of Indonesian NGOs and individuals, led by former president Abdurrahman Wahid. The Constitutional Court justified the law as a way of protecting against violence by intolerant members of the public.

White House Reaches Out To Muslim Americans

Yesterday's New York Times carried a length front-page story titled White House Quietly Courts Muslims in U.S. It reports that while the President himself has not visited an American mosque or met with U.S. Muslim or Arab-American leaders, others in his administration are meeting extensively with U.S. Muslims. Topics have included health care, the economy, foreign policy, immigration and national security. Muslims are particularly encouraged that the White House has appointed Muslims to government positions and have supported them against criticism. They point especially to the case of Rashad Hussain who was appointed U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference.