Catholic Church Sues Over Historic Preservation Designation

 A Catholic church has filed suit in an Indiana federal district court charging that actions of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission and Metropolitan Development Commission designating a former church building as a landmark and prohibiting its demolition violate the church's free exercise rights. The complaint (full text) in St. Philip Neri Catholic Church Indianapolis, Inc. v. Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, (SD IN, filed 12/30/2025), alleges that the historic church building which is in substantial disrepair was deconsecrated in 2019. Catholic canon law imposes specific requirements regarding removal of religious symbols and limits the purposes for which the building can be reused after its deconsecration. The complaint alleges in part:

75. On its face, the Preservation Plan thus invokes the color of state law to unlawfully impose IHPC authority over religious features and aspects of this Catholic Church property, including the immovable religious symbols on the exterior of the Church Building....

95. The October 1, 2025 IHPC hearing was dominated by efforts by officials and commenters to critique and even to ridicule the religious determinations of Plaintiff and individuals associated with the Archdiocese and St. Philip Neri, to substitute their judgments about Roman Catholic religious doctrine for that of the Plaintiff, and to disrupt and intrude on the religious autonomy of the Plaintiff.

96. Multiple governmental officials provided their statements and opinions on what “the Church” is and what Roman Catholicism requires of Plaintiff, creating a decision-making environment for the Demolition Application that was entangled with religious opinions and distorted religious concepts....

168. The MDC’s adoption of 2024-HP-001 requires the Plaintiff to maintain a church that is closed, deconsecrated, and no longer usable as a church at considerable expense and prevents them from selling the property due to the concern that the church building could in the future be put to a forbidden use in violation of Roman Catholic canon law.

World reports on the lawsuit.

Happy New Year 2026! A Letter To Readers.

Dear Religion Clause Readers:

Happy New Year 2026! 

Thank you for your loyal readership. I hope that you continue to find Religion Clause a valuable source of information on the intersection of law, religion and public policy. If you do, please recommend it to your friends and colleagues.

In 2025, issues of religion often took center stage as the President created a federal Religious Liberty Commission, as the IRS concluded that clergy could endorse political candidates in their sermons, and as the President focused on oppression of Christians in countries such as South Africa and Nigeria. The federal government leveraged concerns about antisemitism on college campuses to disrupt research and battle admission procedures at leading universities in the country. The proper response to gender dysphoria in minors was often framed in religious rather than medical terms as Biblical passages were cited to reject the reality of gender transition.

In 2025, free exercise concerns continued to overwhelm anti-establishment objections as the Supreme Court endorsed parents' right to opt their children out of religiously objectionable public-school instruction. Meanwhile states continue to test the limits on religion in publicly funded schools.

Some commentators have suggested that developments at the federal level in 2025 can best be described as promotion of "Christian nationalism.". I continue to wonder whether that term should be seen as pejorative or merely descriptive of those who believe that the United States is or should be a "Christian nation."

Religion Clause has always been a niche blog which has particularly attracted lawyers, social scientists, advocacy organization personnel, law school faculty, journalists, clergy, legislative and executive branch staff, students and others working professionally or avocationally interested in church-state relations and religious liberty issues.  I invite your feedback on whether it continues to serve this purpose.

The Religion Clause website is the most effective way of accessing posts, ad-free.  However, Religion Clause posts are also available through e-mail subscriptions, through X (formerly known as Twitter) and through Facebook, though the format, accompanying advertising, and availability of posts through these channels are handled by third parties over whom I have little or no control.

As always, I have attempted to retain Religion Clause's objectivity and its policy of linking to extensive primary source material. I hope that the blog continues to have a reputation for reliability at a time when the objectivity of social media is increasingly called into question.

I want to extend a special thanks to those of you who have sent me leads to developments of interest.  I have tried to acknowledge them in the posts that they generate. To all my readers, feel free to contact me by e-mail (religionclause@gmail.com) in response to this post or throughout the year with comments or suggestions. All of your emails are read, even though I apologize that I am often unable to respond to all of them.

It seems likely that religion will continue to animate much of the political, social and cultural conversation in 2026.  Religion Clause will try to keep you up to date on all of it.

Best wishes for a year of civil and respectful discussion,

Howard Friedman                 

Puerto Rico Recognizes Fetal Personhood

 As reported by the San Juan Daily Star, on Dec. 21 Puerto Rico's Governor Jenniffer González Colón signed into law Senate Bill 504 (full text in Spanish) (full text unofficial English translation) declaring fetal personhood.  The law provides in part:

 ... Every human being is a natural person, including the one conceived at any stage of gestation within the mother's womb."...

Every human being has personality and legal capacity from the moment of conception and is a subject of law for all purposes that are favorable to him. The hereditary rights that the law recognizes in favor of the unborn are subordinate to the event of birth....

The rights recognized to the unborn child do not impair the power of the pregnant woman to make decisions about her pregnancy in accordance with the law....

A National Right to Life press release applauding the Governor's action said in part:

... This historic legal recognition marks one of the strongest pro‑life affirmations within U.S. jurisdictions. By explicitly acknowledging the inherent dignity and personhood of the preborn, Puerto Rico has taken a principled and scientifically grounded step to align its civil law with the biological reality that human life begins at fertilization. 

SB 504 amends the Civil Code to recognize the preborn child as a natural person from the moment of conception. While the law does not alter Puerto Rico’s current abortion statutes, it establishes an important legal and moral precedent by embedding recognition of the unborn child within the territory’s legal framework....

Lower Court Applies Supreme Court's Classroom Religious Opt-Out Decision

In Alan L. v. Lexington Public Schools, (D MA, Dec. 30, 2025), a Massachusetts federal district court, relying on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, held that the father of a 5-year-old kindergartener has the right to opt his child out of classroom lessons and activities that deal with sexual orientation and gender identity and violate plaintiff's Christian religious beliefs. Plaintiff identified ten books of concern. The court's injunction (full text) provides in part:

3. Defendants shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that J.L. is not taught or otherwise exposed to the content of the Identified Books, whether in the classroom or any other school setting. 

4. By January 20, 2025, defendants shall provide plaintiff with copies of any Other LGBTQ+ Educational Materials in their possession. 

5. By January 27, 2025, plaintiff shall specifically identify in writing any Other LGBTQ+ Educational Materials that he contends would burden his free-exercise rights by “substantially interfer[ing] with” J.L.’s “religious development” or posing a “very real threat of undermining the religious beliefs and practices” he wishes to instill in J.L.   

6. After receipt of plaintiff’s written response, defendants shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that J.L. is not taught or otherwise exposed to all Other LGBTQ+ Educational Materials identified by plaintiff, whether in the classroom or any other school setting....

9. Defendants shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that J.L. is able to receive reasonable and age-appropriate alternative instruction during any time he is removed from his classroom or any school assembly or activity in order to comply with this order.....

Senate Confirms Antisemitism Envoy; Other Religious Freedom Spots Remain Unfilled

As part of a single Senate vote confirming 97 pending nominations for various federal offices, the U.S. Senate on  December 18, by a vote of  53-43, confirmed the nomination of Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun to be the State Department's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. In a December 23 press release, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom welcomed the Senate's action, and added:

USCIRF has recommended filling other key positions to advance freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) abroad. These include the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Special Advisor for International Religious Freedom at the National Security Council, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, and Special Coordinator on Tibetan Issues. Nominations made in 2025 expire on December 31, requiring reappointments in 2026 should the positions not be filled at that time. In addition to the key IRF related positions, placing ambassadors or special envoys in countries that USCIRF recommends for Country of Particular Concern or Special Watch List designations further facilitates advancing religious freedom.

In April, President Trump nominated Mark Walker, a former Baptist minister and former congressman, to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom (see prior posting), but the Senate has failed so far to hold a hearing on his nomination. According to a December 15 report by NBC News, Walker's confirmation is being blocked by North Carolina Senator Tedd Budd who defeated Walker in the 2022 Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

RFRA Challenge to Connecticut Removal of Religious Exemption from School Vaccines Survives

In We the Patriots USA, Inc. v. State of Connecticut Department of Education, (CT Super, Dec. 16, 2025), a Connecticut state trial court dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds a number of state constitutional and statutory challenges to Connecticut's removal of religious exemptions from its school vaccination requirements. The court dismissed plaintiffs' free exercise, equal protection, right to education, substantive due process, and right to equal educational opportunity claims. However, the court held that the waiver of sovereign immunity in Connecticut's Religious Freedom Law allows a challenge under that statute to move forward.

Bishop Held Personally Liable for Failure of Catholic Hospital's Pension Plan

The Pillar this week reported on an interesting jury award in litigation over the failure of a Catholic hospital's pension plan.  The report says in part:

Albany’s retired Bishop Edward Scharfenberger filed for bankruptcy this month, shortly after a New York court assigned him personal liability for the failure of a shuttered Catholic hospital’s pension plan.

In a December 12 judgement, Scharfenberger, who led the Albany diocese from 2014 until October of this year, was assigned 10% personal liability in a $54 million judgement for compensatory damages against the former board of St. Clare’s Hospital, which closed in 2008.

The bishop immediately filed for bankruptcy protections, with his personal assets estimated to cover between 2 and 5 percent of his liability for the hospital pensions.

The ruling is unique in that it held personally liable the bishop, as well as his deceased predecessor Howard Hubbard and deceased former diocesan vicar general, but not the Diocese of Albany as a corporation.

The ruling could end up reshaping the landscape of Catholic institutions in America — and will almost certainly trigger a national rethink about bishops’ involvement with Catholic institutions.

[Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.] 

Top 10 Religious Liberty and Church-State Developments of 2025

Each year in December, I attempt to select the most important church-state and religious liberty developments of the past year.  My choices are based on the importance of the development to law or policy. With each pick, I link to one or a few of numerous postings on the topic. Appraising the likely lasting significance of developments in 2025 has been particularly difficult. The selection of top stories obviously involves a good deal of subjective judgment. Indeed, as religion, culture and politics increasingly overlap, there are even questions about whether certain developments should be seen as "religion" stories at all. I welcome e-mail comment at religionclause@gmail.com on my choices. Here are my Top Ten picks:

1. President Trump issues an Executive Order on Combatting Antisemitism. The Trump Administration reaches settlements with some universities, such as Columbia and UCLA, that were charged with antisemitism. The Administration continues to pursue other universities, such as Harvard, for Title VI violations charging antisemitic discrimination.

2. President Trump issues an Executive Order eliminating the recognition of transgender individuals by federal agencies in their policy statements and rules, requiring instead recognition only of immutable biological classifications. The Supreme Court upholds Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The 6th Circuit says Michigan's ban on conversion therapy for minors is unconstitutional. Battles continue over disclosure to parents of students' social transitioning in school. HHS proposes to bar hospitals receiving federal funds from performing gender-affirming care for minors.

3.The Supreme Court says parents have the right to opt children out of class discussions that undermine their family's religious beliefs.

4. Texas and Oklahoma attempt to introduce more religious content into public school classrooms.

5. The IRS says houses of worship can endorse political candidates.

6. Abortion access continues to be the subject of controversy after the reversal of Roe v. Wade.  The 4th Circuit says state abortion bans are not pre-empted by FDA regulation of mifepristone. Texas bans mail-order abortion drugs.  The 2nd Circuit says information about abortion pill reversal is protected speech.

7. President Trump issues an Executive Order creating the Religious Liberty Commission.

8. The Supreme Court splits 4-4 on the constitutionality of state-funded religious charter schools. A new test case is being assembled.

9. The Department of Homeland Security rescinds its "Sensitive Locations Policy" that severely limited the situations under which immigration enforcement actions could take place at churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship, as well as at various other locations. Suits challenge the DHS action with initial success.

10. The Defense Secretary says he will strengthen the military Chaplain Corps by requiring it to focus on religious faith rather than emotional support.

The Religion News Association has focused on a rather different list of developments for its Top 10 Religion Stories of 2025. Its picks are not limited to legal developments.

President Issues Christmas Message

The White House today posted a Presidential Message on Christmas (full text). It reads in part:

... The birth of Jesus revealed the perfect expression of God’s boundless love and His desire to be close to His people.  More than two centuries later, we continue to rejoice in the gift of God’s only begotten Son as the graces of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection continue to pour out upon all who believe.

This Christmas, we also give thanks for the many blessings that God has bestowed upon our great Nation.... As President, I will never waver in defending the fundamental values that make America the greatest country in the history of the world—and we will always remain one Nation under God.

Today, especially, we also remember the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who are unable to be with their families.....

... To every American, and to those celebrating around the globe, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Catholic Bishop Excuses Those Who Fear ICE Detention from Attending Christmas Mass

The Catholic Bishop of Columbus (Ohio) this week issued a Decree (full text) granting a dispensation from participating in Christmas Mass to parishioners who fear being detained by ICE on their way to or from Mass.  The Decree reads in part:

Recent days have seen an increase in immigration enforcement in the Diocese of Columbus, causing a rise in fear and feelings of anxiety among out immigrant communities....

The Christian faithful have an obligation, which is disciplinary law of the Church, to participate in Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, including the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord.... The fear associated with this recent activity of immigration enforcement may deter some of the Christian faithful from fulfilling their obligation to assist at Mass, which would be detrimental to their spiritual welfare.

The diocesan bishop is able to dispense the faithful from disciplinary laws ... when it contributes to their spiritual welfare....

... I hereby dispense from the obligation to attend Holy Mass, all those persons who reasonably fear being detained, even those with proper legal documentation, who fear separation from the families, experience intimidation because of their status or ethnic background, or other actions of immigration enforcement. This dispensation will last through the Christmas Season, which ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 11, 2026.

The Christian faithful who make use of this dispensation are strongly encouraged to engage in spiritual practices during this time....

A video statement from Bishop Fernandes announcing and expanding on the dispensation is available on the Diocese's website.