Israeli Water Company Freezes Bank Account of Church of Holy Sepulchre

AP and AFP both report that in Israel, the bank account of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been frozen in a dispute with the Hagihon water company over payment of some $2.1 million in water bills dating back decades.  The Greek Orthodox Church claims that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre-- believed to be by the site of Jesus' crucifixion-- has always been given special treatment and exempted from water fees. It objects to this change in the status quo, and threatens to shut down the church for a day in protest. It says that an agreement had been reached to cancel the past charges and have the various denominations in the church pay their current water charges in the future. But then unexpectedly the bank account was blocked two weeks ago, interfering with the church's paying priests, monks and teachers. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Religion & State In Israel) for the lead.]

In Tentative Decision, California Court Rejects Rocket Lab Employee's Claim He Was Fired Because of Intelligent Design Views

In California, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has issued a tentative decision in favor of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the widely-followed suit against it by former employee David Coppedge. Plaintiff, who was a lead systems administrator in the Jet Propulsion Lab's Saturn project was demoted and eventually laid off.  He claims the actions were taken because he expressed opinions favoring intelligent design and opposing gay marriage.  The NASA rocket lab says he was demoted and fired because he was a problem employee for reasons that had nothing to do with his religious views. According to the Pasadena Sun, the court on Thursday indicated that it has tentatively decided to rule in favor of JPL on all aspects of the case.

No Florida Schools Have Used New Authority For Student-Led Inspirational Messages

As previously reported, last March Florida's legislature, at the urging of school prayer proponents, passed a new law authorizing school districts to adopt policies permitting inspirational messages to be composed and delivered by students at student assemblies. The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel today reports that so far no school board in the state has implemented the new authority.  Immediately after the governor signed the bill, the ACLU and ADL wrote every school board in the state promising to sue if they adopted rules permitting student prayer.  The Florida Association of School Boards advised districts not to move ahead with implementation, since doing so would open them to litigation.

DC Circuit: Non-Liturgical Protestant Chaplains Have Standing To Pursue Discrimination Claim

In In re Navy Chaplaincy, (DC Cir., Nov. 2, 2012), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a lawsuit by several former and current military chaplains who claimed that non-liturgical Protestant chaplains are discriminated against in the promotion recommendations of Chaplain Corps selection boards. Plaintiffs argued that the small size of selection boards, their secret voting on recommendations, and the appointment of the Chief of Chaplains as president of selection boards allow decisions to be made on the basis of religious bias. Reversing the district court, the Court of Appeals held that at least some of the plaintiffs-- those whose promotions will likely be considered in the future under the challenged policies-- have standing to pursue their claim for injunctive relief. The Court went on to reverse and remand the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction, saying that the trial court had not made factual findings to resolve the disputed claims of the parties as to whether past discrimination has been shown.

Lawsuit Challenges Christian Flag In City Veterans' Memorial Park

A federal lawsuit was filed yesterday against King, North Carolina alleging that flying a Christian flag  over a veterans' memorial in a city park violates the Establishment Clause as well as provisions of the North Carolina constitution. Plaintiff, Steven Hewett, is a decorated Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. The complaint (full text) in Hewett v. City of King, (MD NC, filed 11/2/2012), alleges :

2.... the City has exploited the memory of American soldiers for the purpose of promoting Christianity. When the City built a Veterans’ Memorial in the City’s Central Park, it included a Christian flag; no other religions were represented in the Memorial. When Mr. Hewett objected, the City Manager warned that Mr. Hewett would “answer to God and Jesus Christ”; the Mayor stated—at a City Council meeting, no less—that Mr. Hewett “needs us to pray for him.”

3. After its lawyer warned that its conduct was unconstitutional, the City purported to remove the flag; but it immediately established a sham “limited public forum” as a “plan for returning the Christian flag to the Veteran’s Memorial.” True to plan, under the so-called public forum, the very same Christian flag has flown at the Veterans’ Memorial all but a few weeks of every year. 

4. Flying the Christian flag is not the only way that the City promotes Christianity at the Veterans Memorial. Next to the Christian flag, the City built a statue of a soldier kneeling before a cross.... Official, City-sponsored events to commemorate Veterans’ Day, Memorial Day, and September 11 have consistently featured multiple Christian prayers delivered by City officials and invited clergy.

WMFY News reported on the filing of the lawsuit.

Christian College Sues Challenging Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

Add one more lawsuit to the dozens already filed challenging the contraceptive coverage mandate under the Affordable Care Act.  Yesterday, Criswell College in Dallas, Texas filed suit. The complaint (full text) in Crisell College v. Sebelius, (ND TX, filed Nov. 1, 2012), describes Criswell as "a Christ-centered institution of higher learning."  It alleges:

Criswell believes that the procurement, participation in, facilitation of, or payment for abortion (including abortion-causing drugs like Plan B and Ella) violates the Sixth Commandment and is inconsistent with the dignity conferred by God on creatures made in His image as stated in his Word.

The suit alleges RFRA, 1st and 14th Amendment, and Administrative Procedure Act violations. Liberty Institute issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Church Gets Preliminary Injunction Under RLUIPA Against Zoning Ban

In Opulent Life Church v. City of Holly Springs, Mississippi, (ND MS, Nov. 1, 2012), in a case on remand from the 5th Circuit (see prior posting) a Mississippi federal district court granted a TRO and a preliminary injunction against enforcement of a total zoning ban on religious congregations in the area where plaintiff church's property is located. Invoking the "equal terms" provision of RLUIPA, the court, echoing the 5th Circuit, held that the city's justification of the ban as creating a commercial district fails because it permits other non-commercial, non-tax generating uses in the area. The court also concluded that the threatened injury to the church outweighs any harm the city will suffer from the temporary injunction. Liberty Institute issued a press release announcing the decision.

Bishop Issues Pre-Election Letter To Be Read At All Masses In Peoria Diocese

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, head of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, has issued a letter on religious liberty and the election (full text) which is to be read at all masses on Nov. 3-4, the weekend before election day. The letter reads in part:

Since the foundation of the American Republic and the adoption of the Bill of Rights, I do not think there has ever been a time more threatening to our religious liberty than the present. Neither the president of the United States nor the current majority of the Federal Senate have been willing to even consider the Catholic community’s grave objections to those HHS mandates that would require all Catholic institutions, exempting only our church buildings, to fund abortion, sterilization, and artificial contraception....

Today, Catholic politicians, bureaucrats, and their electoral supporters who callously enable the destruction of innocent human life in the womb also thereby reject Jesus as their Lord. They are objectively guilty of grave sin. For those who hope for salvation, no political loyalty can ever take precedence over loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his Gospel of Life....

I therefore call upon every practicing Catholic in this Diocese to vote. Be faithful to Christ and to your Catholic Faith. 

The Chicago Tribune yesterday reported on the Bishop's letter.

Preliminary Injunction Granted In Catholic Business Owner's Challenge To Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

In Legatus v. Sebelius, (ED MI, Oct. 31, 2012), a Michigan federal district court issued a preliminary injunction under RFRA barring the government, at least for the time being, from enforcing the contraceptive coverage mandate under the Affordable Care Act against Weingartz Supply Co., a family-owned business, and Daniel Weingartz who serves as the company's president. Weingartz, as a Catholic, has religious objections to his company participating in or providing health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage. (See prior related posting.) Another plaintiff in the lawsuit was Legatus, a non-profit organization devoted to reinforcing the Catholic faith in its members' business, personal and professional lives.  The court concluded that Legatus lacks standing to challenge the mandate because it is covered by the government's temporary non-enforcement safe harbor. However, that safe harbor is unavailable to for-profit businesses, and the court held that the remaining plaintiffs thus had standing:

Weingartz Supply Co. was founded as a family business and remains a closely held family corporation.  Accordingly, the court need not, and does not, decide whether Weingartz Supply Co., as a for-profit business, has an independant [sic.] First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.  For the purposes of the pending motion, however, Weingartz Supply Co. may exercise standing in order to assert the free exercise rights of its president, Daniel Weingartz, being identified as “his company.”

Moving to whether on the merits a preliminary injunction under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act should be granted, the court said:

Plaintiffs have made some showing, but not strongly so, of a likelihood of success on the merits, and the Government has made some showing, but not strongly so, of advancing a “compelling” interest by the “least restrictive means.” ... The harm in delaying the implementation of a statute that may later be deemed constitutional must yield to the risk presented here of substantially infringing the sincere exercise of religious beliefs.  The balance of harms tips strongly in Plaintiffs’ favor.  A preliminary injunction is warranted.

Thomas More Law Center issued a press release announcing the court's decision. Reuters reports on  the decision. [Thanks to Rabbi Michael Simon for the lead.]

UN Special Rapporteur Focuses On Right To Religious Conversion and Freedom From Forced Conversion

According to a UNHR press release, last week United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, presented to the General Assembly a report prepared in August (full text) that focuses on the right of religious conversion, as well as the right not to be forced to convert. The report says in part:

Countless reports of grave violations  of the right to freedom of religion or belief relate to converts and those who try to convert others by means of non-coercive persuasion. This has become a human rights problem of great concern which occurs in various parts of the world and seems to stem from different motives. For instance, abuses are perpetrated in the name of religious or ideological truth claims, in the interest of promoting national identity or protecting societal homogeneity, or under other pretexts such as maintaining political and national security. While some undue restrictions on the rights of converts or those trying non-coercively to convert others are undertaken by State agencies, other abuses, including acts of violence, stem from widespread societal prejudices. Violations in this sensitive area also include forced conversions  or reconversions, again perpetrated either by the State or by non-State actors....

Is "Vote the Bible" T-Shirt Electioneering By Voter?

Texas Election Code Sec. 85.036 prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of an early polling location.  Apparently based on this section, a poll worker in Williamson County, Texas last week required a voter to put on a jacket to cover the words "Vote the Bible" on her T-shirt before the worker would allow the voter to cast a ballot.  According to a press release and complaint letter yesterday by Texas Values, the poll worker told voter Kay Hill that her shirt might be offensive to some people. The Williamson County Election Administrator later told Hill that the worker probably felt that the phrase meant "vote Republican." Texas Values says it will file a formal complaint with the Texas Secretary of State's Office if county election officials do not issue an apology and inform the public and election workers that "Vote the Bible" T-shirts are permissible. Texas Election Code Sec. 61.003 imposes the same ban on electioneering at polls on election day.

Poland's Supreme Court Rules "Offending Believers" Prosecution Does Not Require Specific Intent

The Guardian reports on an Oct. 29, 2012 decision (full text in Polish) by Poland's Supreme Court which held that a member of the heavy metal band Behemoth can be prosecuted under Polish Criminal Code Sec. 196 for offending religious sensibilities even if he did not have the "direct intention" of offending believers. The court held that:

The crime of offending religious sensibilities is committed not only by he who intends to carry it out, but also by he who is aware that his actions may lead to offence being taken.

The prosecution grew out of a 2007 concert in which band member Adam Darski (also known as "Nergal"), appearing in full costume, tore up a Bible and said the Catholic church is "the most murderous cult on the planet." Apparently the defendant argued both that this is protected artistic expression, and second, that because this was a well-known part of their act, fans came expecting it and would not be offended. (See prior related posting.)

Massachusetts High Court Grants Direct Review In Pledge Case

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week granted an application for direct appellate review of a trial court's decision in Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, a case brought by an atheist-humanist family challenging the constitutionality of the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in Massachusetts schools. The trial court rejected a challenge under the Massachusetts state constitution to the practice, holding that insertion of the phrase "under God" was a reference to the historical and religious traditions of the United States and did not turn the Pledge into a religious exercise nor violate anti-discrimination requirements. No student is required to take part in the recitation, but plaintiffs argued that the recitation marginalizes them and classifies them as unpatriotic. (See prior posting). The American Humanists Association issued a press release announcing the Supreme Judicial Court's grant of review, as did the Becket Fund on the other side of the case. [Thanks to Bob Ritter for the lead.]

Another Suit By Small Business Challenges ACA Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

The number of lawsuits challenging the Obama administration's mandate requiring businesses to include contraceptive coverage in their health insurance policies continues to grow.  On Monday, an Indiana limited liability company that manufactures vehicle lighting and safety systems, along with its Catholic owners, filed suit claiming that complying with the mandate would violate the owners' religious beliefs. The company employs over 1100 people in several countries. The complaint (full text) in Grote Industries, LLC v. Sebelius, (SD IN, filed 10/29/2012), alleges 1st and 14th Amendment, RFRA and Administrative Procedure Act violations. Alliance Defending Freedom issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

In Israel, Park Closure To Outsiders Leads To Religious Discrimination Suit Against City

Arutz Sheva reported yesterday on a religious discrimination lawsuit filed in Israel against the city of Modi'in because it closed its popular Anabe Park to non-residents of the city last month during the holiday of Sukkot.  The move was seen as directed against the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) residents of the neighboring city of Modi'in Illit.  Apparently Modin mayor Chaim Bibas was reacting in part to a threat last summer by haredi to bar secular Israelis from visiting a heritage site in Modi'in Illit. Also residents of Modi'in have complained that the park is being taken from them by the many haredi that visit the park. The suit was filed by the Association for Civil Rights In Israel.

Ethiopia Files Terrorism Related Charges Against Muslim Demonstrators

AFP reports that in Ethiopia yesterday, 29 Muslims (including 9 prominent leaders) were formally charged with "intending to advance a political, religious or ideological cause" by force and "planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt of terrorist acts." Two NGO's were also charged with rendering support to terrorism. The 29 charged were jailed in July after a demonstration in which they charged the government with trying to impose the moderate Al Ahbash Sufi branch of Islam on them. They also claim that the government fixed the results of elections for leaders of the Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs. 34% of Ethiopia's population is Muslim.

Statute of Limitations Ruling In Milwaukee Archdiocese Bankruptcy Upheld

In In re Archdiocese of Milwaukee, (ED WI, Oct. 29, 2012), a Wisconsin federal district court ruled on appeals of 3 claimants from orders of a bankruptcy judge relating to claims by abuse victims filed in the bankruptcy reorganization of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The claims generally allege that the Archdiocese knowingly allowed pedophile priests to continue in their positions without warning victims or their families. The court held that the bankruptcy court applied the correct standard in denying summary judgment on a statute of limitations defense in the claims of two victims who alleged fraud. Issues of fact remain on whether the statute has run. The court affirmed the bankruptcy court's dismissal on state statute of limitations grounds of same two claimants' failure to warn claims, saying: "The federal courts are not the appropriate forum to re-write Wisconsin tort law." The court upheld the bankruptcy court's dismissal of claims by a third victim who had settled his claims in mediation. While he alleged fraudulent statements, he did not allege he relied on them in settling.

Reporting on the decision, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says that the dismissal of the claim by the victim who settled allows the Archdiocese to file similar objections to 90 other claimants in the bankruptcy proceedings. An attorney for 350 of the 574 claimants in the bankruptcy says he will now press the archdiocese to pursue coverage under two recently discovered insurance policies.

Supreme Court Denies Cert In Oklahoma Personhood Amendment Case

Th U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Personhood Oklahoma v. Barber, (Docket No. 12-145, cert. denied 10/29/2012) (Order List).  In the case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court in In re Initiative Petitition 395, (OK Sup. Ct., April 30, 2012) held that a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have defined as a person "any human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being to natural death" was inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's abortion rights rulings and thus the proposed amendment could not appear on the Oklahoma ballot. The Oklahoman reports on the Supreme Court's refusal to review the decision.

White House Sends Best Wishes To Muslims Celebrating Eid al-Adha

Last Friday, President Obama released a statement sending best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world who were celebrating  Eid al-Adha, as well as to those who are performing the Hajj. The statement said in part:

Throughout the year, Muslims join members of many faiths in serving  those suffering from hunger, disease, and conflict.  Muslim communities will continue this practice as they celebrate Eid by distributing food and charity to those in need.  Such acts of compassion underscore the shared values of the Abrahamic religions and people of all faiths.

Texas Parochial School Group Will Provide Religious Accommodation In Tournament Scheduling

The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools has changed its rules to provide for religious accommodation for teams in basketball tournament scheduling. JTA reported last week that the move was taken after the association began facing pressure from members to become more inclusive.  Last February, TAPPS became embroiled in a high profile controversy over its refusal initially to reschedule a Friday evening game for a Houston Jewish day school. (See prior posting.)