Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reorgainzation

The Milwaukee (WI) Archdiocese yesterday became the eighth Roman Catholic diocese in the United States to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The New York Times reports that the filing comes after the collapse of negotiations last month between lawyers for 23 individuals who have sued or are threatening to sue for clergy sexual abuse. Also in November a state appellate court ruled that insurance companies are not bound to contribute to a settlement.  The Archdiocese has offered a settlement of $4.6 million [corrected], but victims insist that there also be a series of reforms including release of the names and personnel files of every priest accused of abuse. The Archdiocese says it has released the names of priests that have been found by independent review boards to have been "credibly accused." The Archdiocese has posted a web page that includes links to extensive information on the reorganization.

9th Circuit: Mt. Soledad Cross Violates Establishment Clause

In Jewish War Veterans v . City of San Diego, (9th Cir., Jan. 4, 2011), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Mt. Soledad Memorial featuring a 43-foot high cross conveys a government message of endorsement of religion that violates the Establishment Clause. The land on which the Memorial sits is currently owned by the federal government which seized it by eminent domain in the midst of state constitutional challenges to the Memorial. (See prior posting.) The constitutionality of the Memorial has been the subject of litigation for the past 20 years. The court held that while Congress' purpose in acquiring the Memorial was primarily secular, the government's action violates the "effects" prong of the Lemon test. Here are some excerpts from the 50-page opinion:

For most of its life, the Memorial has consisted of the Cross alone. The Cross is the third in a line of Latin crosses that has stood on Mount Soledad since 1913..... There was no physical indication that the Cross was intended as a war memorial, however, until a plaque was added to the site in 1989, after litigation over the Cross had begun. At the same time, the Cross’s religious nature has been widely recognized and promoted since it was first erected.... The Cross’s importance as a religious symbol has been a rallying cry for many involved in the litigation surrounding the Memorial.... La Jolla—where the Memorial is located and serves as a prominent landmark—has a history of anti-Semitism that reinforces the Memorial’s sectarian effect....

The use of such a distinctively Christian symbol to honor all veterans sends a strong message of endorsement and exclusion. It suggests that the government is so connected to a particular religion that it treats that religion’s symbolism as its own, as universal. To many non-Christian veterans, this claim of universality is alienating...

In reaching its conclusion, however, the court added:

This result does not mean that the Memorial could not be modified to pass constitutional muster nor does it mean that no cross can be part of this veterans’ memorial. We take no position on those issues.

The Los Angeles Times reports on the decision.

Ugandan Court Enjoins Tabloid From Outing Gays

In Jacquelin v. Rolling Stone Ltd., (Uganda H.C., Dec. 30, 2010), a Ugandan trial court awarded monetary damages to three plaintiffs who were among those exposed by the tabloid Rolling Stone as gay. The paper (no connection to the US publication of the same name) called for gays they named to be hanged  because "they are after our kids." The court held that the tabloid had violated the plaintiffs' constitutionally protected right to privacy and their right to human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment. The court also issued an injunction restraining the tabloid from further publishing the names or identifying the homes of homosexuals. Human Rights First and AOL News report on the decision and the reactions of those on both sides of the controversy.  Rolling Stone editor Giles Muhame says he will defy the court order and publish more names this week end. He also says he plans to appeal the decision.

9th Circuit Issues Opinions on Standing, Recusal In Proposition 8 Challenge

Yesterday in Perry v. Schwarzenneger -- the challenge to the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 that bars same-sex marriage-- the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued two opinions relating to standing of various intervenors. Judge Reinhardt filed a concurrence.  Rinehardt separately filed an opinion explaining his earlier decision to refuse to recuse himself in the case.

In the first per curiam opinion, the 9th Circuit found that that Imperial County, its Board of Supervisors and a Deputy Clerk all lacked standing to appeal the district court's order finding Proposition 8 unconstitutional.  In the second per curiam opinion, the 9th Circuit certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether under California law "official proponents of an initiative measure possess either a particularized interest in the initiative’s validity or the authority to assert the State’s interest in the initiative’s validity, which would enable them to defend the constitutionality of the initiative upon its adoption or appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative, when the public officials charged with that duty refuse to do so."

Judge Reinhardt's concurrence attempted to explain why standing was a problem in the case, and expressed his frustration with the posture of the case. It said in part:

There can be little doubt that when the Plaintiffs filed this action their purpose was to establish that there was a constitutional right to gay marriage, and to do so by obtaining a decision of the Supreme Court to that effect. Yet ... the complaint they filed and the injunction they obtained determines only that Proposition 8 may not be enforced in two of California’s fifty-eight counties.... [I]t is clear that ... Plaintiffs could have obtained a statewide injunction had they filed an action against a broader set of defendants.... Why preeminent counsel and the major law firms of which they are a part failed to do that is a matter on which I will not speculate.

Next, the problem of standing would have been eliminated had the Governor or the Attorney General defended the initiative, as is ordinarily their obligation. Because they believed Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional, they did not do so here. Whether their decision not to defend the initiative was proper is a matter of some debate, although I sympathize with their view that in extraordinary circumstances they possess that right....

Imperial County, one of the counties that voted in favor of Proposition 8, sought to intervene, but for some unknown reason attempted to do so through a deputy clerk who asserted her own rights instead of through the Clerk.... Again, this was a most puzzling legal decision. While we have not ruled as to whether the Clerk would have had standing, we have held that a deputy clerk does not. There are forty-two counties that voted in favor of Proposition 8. Surely [proponents]... could have found a Clerk who would have presented the issue whether a Clerk rather than a deputy has standing.

Finally Judge Reinhardt filed a Memorandum explaining his earlier refusal to recuse himself. (See prior posting.) Reinhardt's wife is head of the Southern California chapter of the ACLU and in that role has been an outspoken opponent of Prop 8. Also the ACLU joined in two amicus briefs filed at the district court level in the case. Reinhardt said in part:

Proponents' contention that I should recuse myself due to my wife's opinions is based upon an outmoded conception of the relationship between spouses.... [H]er views regarding issues of public significance are her own, and cannot be imputed to me, no matter how prominently she expresses them....

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the decisions.

5th Circuit: Late Filing of Religious Discrimination Claim Rejected

In Harris v. Boyd Tunica Inc., (5th Cir., Dec. 20, 2010), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to apply the doctrine of equitable tolling to permit a Title VII religious discrimination claim to be filed more than 90 days after plaintiff received a right to sue notice from the EEOC. The late filing was caused by a clerical error made by a paralegal employed by plaintiff's counsel. The paralegal skipped a month when counting the days and marking the lawyer's calendar to indicate when the filing was due. BNA's Corporate Counsel Weekly (subscription required) reports on the decision.

Governor of Pakistan's Punjab Assassinated Over His Support For Christian Woman Convicted of Blasphemy

The Washington Post reports that Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, was assassinated today by one of his own security guards who was angered by Taseer's support for a pardon for Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman recently sentenced to death for blasphemy. (See prior posting.) Taseer, a close advisor to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zadari, was killed by rifle fire at a shopping plaza near his home in Islamabad. Taseer had been a strong critic of religious extremists. The shooter surrendered to police after the killing.

Underlying Tensions Behind Egyptian Church Bombing Discussed

Spero News yesterday, analyzing the New Year's Eve bombing of the Coptic Church of the Saints in Alexandria, Egypt (see prior posting), says that some of the underlying tensions between Muslims and Christians in the country stem from a false story that has been circulating for four years regarding the supposed conversion of two women who were married to Coptic priests. According to the story, the two women had marital problems and converted to Islam in order to obtain a divorce (which traditionally is not permitted by the Coptic church), and are now being held against their will in monasteries. (See prior related posting.) Spero News says that while the women had marital problems, they never converted to Islam and were given refuge in monasteries out of fear of possible kidnapping by Islamists. The same story was cited by militants after the bombing of a Syrian Catholic Church in Iraq in November. (See prior posting.) Meanwhile, according To Ahram Online, the Shura Council, the upper house of Egypt's Parliament, spent Monday discussing the attack on the Church, with the parties split over whether blame for ignoring concerns of Copts, particularly regarding church construction, should be placed on the Mubarak government.

Proposed Legislation Will Permit Expansion of Shariah-Compliant Banking In Afghanistan

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Afghanistan's central bank is drafting legislation to present to Parliament in September to allow existing non-Islamic banks to convert into fully Shariah-compliant banks and provide for the licensing of new Islamic banks. If approved by Parliament, Da Afghanistan Bank plans to issue licenses for up to six Islamic banks by the end of 2012.  The new law will allow banks that now offer only limited Shariah-complaint products (such as loans and savings accounts) to expand to offer Shariah compliant debit cards and investments. The government also plans to sell its own Shariah-compliant bonds in the future.  Only about 10% of Afghanistan's population currently use banks.

Incoming New York Governor Is Asked To Restore Staffing of Kosher Law Enforcement

New York's incoming governor, Andrew Cuomo, is being lobbied  by Jewish leaders, some lawmakers and some businesses to restore cuts made in the Department of Agriculture and Markets budget. The cuts have eliminated all the staff and retain only the director of the Department's Division of Kosher Law Enforcement.  Yesterday's Wall Street Journal reports that the cuts in the Division made by outgoing Gov. David Patterson will save the state approximately $1 million per year.  Since 2004, New York's law has been a disclosure statute, requiring producers, processors, distributors and retailers to identify the person or organization that is certifying their food as kosher. Inspectors monitor grocery stores and restaurants to make certain that they are properly complying with the disclosure requirements.

In Egypt Christian Anger Grows After Church Bombing

An AP article in today's Washington Post reports that in Egypt, protests by Christians have spread from Alexandria to Cairo in the wake of the bombing on New Year's Eve of a Coptic church in Alexandria. Twenty-one people were killed. (See prior posting.) The bombing was the latest in a long series of anti-Christian incidents since 2008, including a drive-by shooting killing 6 Christians and a Muslim guard in January on Coptic Christmas eve. In 2009 the government disrupted the livelihood of a large number of Christian garbage collectors by ordering the destruction of a quarter million pigs to prevent swine flu. The garbage collectors raised the pigs to dispose of organic waste. Perpetrators of anti-Christian incidents have largely escaped punishment. Christians claim they are discriminated against in obtaining government and university jobs, as well as jobs in the private sector. An editorial titled J'accuse in the online version of the English language state-owned newspaper al-Ahram, warned against growing anti-Christian feelings among moderate Muslims and raised the spectre of Christians being driven out of Egypt.

Israeli Police Arrest Suspects In Two Separate Torah Theft Rings

Over the last two weeks, police in Israel have made arrests in what are apparently two separate criminal rings that have been stealing valuable Torah scrolls from synagogues in Israel.  On Dec. 23, Arutz Sheva reported that two men who are suspected of breaking into 17 synagogues in central and southern Israel and stealing a total of 30 Torahs were arrested.  Most of the thefts were from synagogues in moshavim (agricultural communities) where synagogues are more accessible during the daytime. According to the paper, the thieves "would remove the Torah parchments from the rollers they were wrapped upon, replace the rollers in the cases or cover them with the Torah mantles, and put them back in the Ark. The theft would therefore only become known when congregants were in the synagogue and about to read from the Torah."

YNet News reported yesterday that Israeli authorities have made arrests in another case involving the thefts of dozens of valuable Torah scrolls which were then refurbished and resold at discount prices on the haredi market. Arrested were a rabbi from the town of Elad who apparently masterminded the activities, along with three Arabs from whom he would "order" the Torah scrolls. Additional suspects who were thought to have been involved in refurbishing and reselling the scrolls were also arrested.

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Yuksel Sezgin, How to Integrate Universal Human Rights into Customary and Religious Legal Systems?, (Journal of Legal Pluralism, Vol. 60, 2010).
• Yuksel Sezgin, The Israeli Millet System: Examining Legal Pluralism through Lenses of Nation-Building and Human Rights, (The Israel Law Review, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2010).
• Benjamin L. Berger, The Abiding Presence of Conscience: Criminal Justice Against the Law and the Modern Constitutional Imagination, (University of Toronto Law Journal, Vol. 61, No. 4, 2011).
• Quirine Eijkman, Has the Genie Been Let Out of the Bottle? Ethnic Profiling in the Netherlands, (Public Space: The Journal of Law and Social Justice, Vol. 5, pp. 27-48, 2010).

Other Articles:

• Mark L. Rienzi, An Abortion Exception to the First Amendment? Evaluating Recent Efforts to Regulate Speech About Pregnancy Options, Engage Volume 11, Issue 3, December 2010.

Recent Books:

• Frank S. Ravitch, Marketing Intelligent Design-- Law and the Creationist Agenda, (Cambridge Univ. Press, Oct. 2010).
• Timur Kuran, The Long Divergence-- How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East, (Princeton University Press, Nov. 2010).
• Olivier Roy, Holy Ignorance: When Religion and Culture Part Ways, (Columbia Univ. Press, Dec. 2010).
• Jean Porter, Ministers of the Law: A Natural Law Theory of Legal Authority, (Eerdmans, Oct. 2010).

Nevada Supreme Court Dismisses Personhood Amendment Appeal As Moot

In Personhood Nevada v. Bristol, (NV Sup. Ct., Dec. 30, 2010), the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed as moot an appeal from a lower court ruling that held a proposed ballot initiative to be in violations of state law because it embraces more than one subject. (NRS 295.009). The proposed constitutional amendment read: "In the great state of Nevada, the term 'person' applies to every human being." The trial court also suggested that proponents' description of the effect of the amendment was improper. After the lower court opinion, proponents did not go ahead with collecting signatures on their initiative petition. The Supreme Court concluded that this made the case moot, even though proponents are planning to file a similar initiative petition in 2012.  It also made clear that because appellate review was precluded, the lower court ruling will have no preclusive effect in later litigation. The Las Vegas Sun reports on the decision. [Thanks to Pew Sitter for the lead.]

Congressional Hearings Planned On Radicalization of US Mosques

The Forward reported last week that New York Congressman Peter King, who will become chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security when the new Congress convenes, is planning to hold hearings on claimed radicalization of mosques in the United States.  Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the hearings promise to be a "show trial" that will "serve to marginalize American Muslims." King, once a supporter of the Irish Republican Army, cites some who contend that that extremists are in leadership positions in at least 80% of American mosques.

Egyptian Church Bombed; Pope Calls For Religious Freedom

Pope Benedict XVI's New Year's message focused on the need for religious freedom around the world, condemning both secularism and fundamentalism. (Zenit.)  Fox News reports that the pope's message was delivered shortly after a New Year's Eve bomb blast at a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt killed at least 21.  BBC News reports that at least 70 others were injured in the blast which was condemned a few hours afterwards by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.  In a rare television broadcast, Mubarak said the attack was a "terrorist operation which carries, within itself, the hallmark of foreign hands which want to turn Egypt into another scene of terrorism like elsewhere in the region and the wider world." Hundreds of Copts clashed with police and local Muslims in reaction to the bombing. Today, President Obama issued a statement (full text) condemning the Alexandria bombing, as well as a terrorism attack on an army barracks in Nigeria.

Happy New Year 2011 To Religion Clause Readers!

Dear Religion Clause Readers:

Happy New Year! As we enter 2011, I want to again thank all of you who read Religion Clause-- both long time followers and those who have joined us more recently. And thanks to all of you who send me leads to new developments or who alert me to needed corrections or to your concerns about coverage of particular developments. These help me in my attempts to be complete and accurate. I read all of your e-mails and appreciate receiving them, even though I cannot always acknowledge them. Normally when I blog on a story sent to me by a reader, I mention the sender. If you do not want me to mention you, I will be happy to honor that request if you let me know when sending me information.

It has been a good year for Religion Clause blog. It was nominated by the American Bar Association as one of the top 100 legal blogs in 2010.  The site meter shows that the blog has attracted nearly 917,000 visits since I created it in 2005. Approximately 244,000 of these visits were registered in 2010-- a small increase over 2009. Accessing Religion Clause through its Twitter feed (@ReligionClause) appears to be increasingly popular.

Religion Clause's established format of neutrality, broad coverage and links to extensive primary source material has made it a widely-recognized authoritative source for keeping up on church-state and religious liberty developments around the world. I am pleased that my regular readers span the political and religious spectrum.  If you have any general comments or suggestions for Religion Clause's upcoming year, feel free to e-mail me at religionclause@gmail.com .

Best wishes for 2011!

Howard M. Friedman

Bowing To Pressure, Pakistan Government Says It Will Not Propose Change In Blasphemy Law

In the face of a call by Islamic political parties for a general strike today (see prior posting), Pakistan's Federal Minister for Labor and Religious Affairs told a press conference yesterday that the government would not amend Pakistan's blasphemy law.  Pakistan's Daily Times reports that Minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah asked that the strike call be cancelled after giving assurances Wednesday on the floor of the National Assembly that no proposal regarding the blasphemy law was being presented. Nevertheless, according to Dawn, the strike was being observed today in major cities around the country, with religious leaders saying assurances that no repeal is planned need to come from the President or Prime Minister. (Dawn).  Because of the strike, no public transportation was available in Karachi, and major markets and business centers were closed in a number of other cities.  Reuters says the strike has more to do with politics than religion, as the ruling Pakistan People's Party works to keep its coalition from breaking up. Meanwhile, civil society organizations are protesting against the blasphemy law and the judicial structures that enforce it. Protesters in Islamabad yesterday demanded that the government stand up to religious forces and repeal the law. They also called for the immediate release of Aasia Bibi, the high profile Christian defendant who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. (See prior posting.)

Lebanese Official Proposes Ban on Land Sales Between Christians and Mulsims

In Lebanon, Labor Minister Butros Harb, concerned about demographic changes being caused by the sale of Christian-owned land to Muslims, has proposed a new law that would prohibit Christians and Muslims from selling land to each other for a period of 15 years. Lebanon's Daily Star today reports that the proposal, which will be submitted to the Cabinet for discussion, will likely draw criticism. However proponents say it is necessary to reassure Christians and safeguard national co-existence in the face of large scale land sales which some say have political and military objectives.

Vatican Adopts Anti-Money Laundering and Other International Monetary Rules

The Vatican yesterday took several related steps to come into compliance with the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing norms created by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force. The moves, which implement the 2009 Monetary Convention Between the Vatican City State and the European Union, were previewed by a USA Today article on Wednesday.  The Vatican's action comes as Italian courts refused to release funds of the Vatican Bank seized in September by Italian authorities in a money laundering investigation. (See prior posting.)  As summarized by a communique issued yesterday by the Vatican's Secretariat of State (full text), the Vatican adopted four new laws: (1) a law to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism; (2) a law on fraud and counterfeiting; (3) a law on Euro banknotes; and (4) a law regarding Euro coins.

In a related action, Pope Benedict XVI yesterday issued an Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio (full text) decreeing that the new laws implementing the Monetary Convention are to apply to all entities related to the Vatican, which includes the Vatican Bank. [corrected- thanks Marc Puckett]. The Pope also set up a new agency, the Autorita di Informazione Finanziaria (AIF), to implement the new laws, and conferred jurisdiction on Vatican judicial bodies to to exercise penal jurisdiction over money laundering and terrorism financing offenses. The new laws take effect April 1, 2011.

A release from the Vatican Press Office commenting on the new laws says in part:

Today's publication of new laws for Vatican City State, for the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and for the Institutions and Entities dependent on the Holy See, is an important normative development, but also has far-reaching moral and pastoral significance.

As of today, all organisations associated with the government of the Catholic Church - and with the Church's "support": Vatican City State - have, in a spirit of sincere collaboration, become part of that system of juridical principles and instruments which the international community is creating with the aim of guaranteeing just and honest coexistence in an increasingly globalised world... 

New York Times Pans Architectural Developments In Mecca

The New York Times carries an article, appearing on the front page of its print edition today, that is highly critical of the architectural design of the many new projects being built in Saudi Arabia in the center of the holy city of Mecca. Here is a sampling of the criticism:

It is an architectural absurdity. Just south of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Muslim world’s holiest site, a kitsch rendition of London's Big Ben is nearing completion.... [I]t will be ...  the centerpiece of a complex that is housing a gargantuan shopping mall, an 800-room hotel and a prayer hall for several thousand people. Its muscular form, an unabashed knockoff of the original, blown up to a grotesque scale, will be decorated with Arabic inscriptions and topped by a crescent-shape spire in what feels like a cynical nod to Islam’s architectural past. To make room for it, the Saudi government bulldozed an 18th-century Ottoman fortress and the hill it stood on....

The city’s makeover ... reflects a split between those who champion turbocharged capitalism and those who think it should stop at the gates of Mecca, which they see as the embodiment of an Islamic ideal of egalitarianism.

The Saudi government says the new construction is needed to accommodate the growing number of Muslims who make the pilgrimage to Mecca.