Friday, April 17, 2026

U.S. Catholic Bishops Respond To VP Vance's Criticism of Pope Leo

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In his Palm Sunday Homily last month, Pope Leo XIV said in part: Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects w...

Coast Guard Enters Settlement in Suit Over Religious Exemptions from Covid Vaccine Mandate

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This week the Coast Guard entered a Settlement Agreement ( full text ) with three Coast Guard members who brought a class action contending ...
Thursday, April 16, 2026

Justice Department Report Charges Biden Administration with Weaponization of FACE Act Enforcement

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Yesterday, the Justice Department Office of Legal Policy's Weaponization Working Group published a 37-page report (with over 800 pages o...

9th Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing in Vaccine Mandate Case

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In Detwiler v. Mid-Columbia Medical Center , (9th Cir., April 15, 2926), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied both a panel rehearing...
Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Religious Liberty Commission Holds Final Hearing; Chairman Rejects Church-State Separation

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Yesterday, the President's Religious Liberty Commission held its final hearing, focusing on the past, present and future of religious li...

Ohio AG Sues to Prevent Closing of Reform Rabbinical School in Cincinnati

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Ohio Attorney General David Yost has filed suit in an Ohio state trial court seeking to prevent Hebrew Union College (HUC) from closing its ...

9th Circuit Hears Arguments on School's Anti-Bias Policy Protecting Transgender Students

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 On April 13, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in  Theis v. Intermountain Education Service District - Board of Di...
Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Catholic Hospice Sues Over NY Standards for Care of Transgender Patients

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Last week, Dominican Sisters who operate a home that provides palliative care for indigent, terminally ill cancer patients filed suit in a N...
Monday, April 13, 2026

Recent Articles of Interest

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From SSRN: Dennis Wieboldt, 'But The Original Intent of the Constitution Would be Restored': Catholic Legal Thought and the Emergenc...
Sunday, April 12, 2026

Plaintiff Lacks Standing to Challenge Creation of Taks Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias

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In Hall v U.S. Department of Justice ,  (ND CA, April 9, 2026), a California federal district court held that plaintiff lacks standing to ch...
Friday, April 10, 2026

4th Circuit Upholds West Virginia's Compulsory Vaccination Law That Excludes Religious Exemptions

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In Perry v. Marteney ,  (4th Cir., April 8, 2026), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, held that West Virginia's l...

Florida Appellate Court Questions Hierarchical Deference Approach to Church Property Disputes

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 In First United Methodist Church of Hobe Sound, Florida v. Board of Trustees of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Churc...
Thursday, April 09, 2026

Ministerial Exception May Not Apply to Non-Catholic 1st Grade Teacher in Catholic School

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In Coates v. Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah ,  (MD GA, April 6, 2026), a Georgia federal district court refused at this point in the lit...
Tuesday, April 07, 2026

Nevada Supreme Court Interprets Scope of Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine

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In Singh v. Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada ,  (NV Sup. Ct., April 2, 2026), a 3-judge panel of the Nevada Supreme Cou...

Church Challenges Injunction Barring Use of Its Property for Worship Services

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Suit was filed last week in a Florida federal district court by members and elders of the Coastal Family Church challenging a temporary inju...

California's Marriage Laws Survive Unusual 1st Amendment Challenge

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In Hunter v. State of California ,  (CD CA, March 31, 2026), a California federal district court accepted the findings, conclusions, and rec...

Extra Airport Screening from Placement on Selectee List Does Not Violate Religious Freedom

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In Maniar v. Noem ,  (D DC, April 1, 2026), a D.C. federal district court dismissed a suit brought by plaintiffs, husband and wife, who are ...

Exclusion of Religious Training from College Grant Program Is Upheld

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In Johnson v. Fleming , (ED VA, March 31, 2026), a Virginia federal district court dismissed Free Exercise Clause, Establishment Clause, and...
Monday, April 06, 2026

Military Rule Barring Political Speech While in Uniform Did Not Violate Reservists Free Exercise Rights Under RFRA

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In Yarbrough v. Saltzman ,  (D DC, April 3, 2026), a D.C. federal district court dismissed a claim by a major in the Air Force Reserve that ...

Recent Articles of Interest

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From SSRN: Carl H. Esbeck, Church Autonomy and the Co-Religionist Hiring Practice at Issue in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown, 162 F...