GOP senator backs Ex-Sen. Donnelly’s pick for Vatican post
One of Indiana’s Republican U.S. senators has endorsed the nomination of Democratic former Sen. Joe Donnelly as the country’s ambassador to the Vatican.
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Indiana Catholic churches plan Red Mass celebrations
As the month of October begins, Catholic dioceses around Indiana will be celebrating the annual Red Mass to honor and pray for members of the legal profession.
Fired Roncalli counselor Starkey appeal brings ‘ministerial exception’ back to 7th Circuit
Lynn Starkey, the long-time educator fired from Roncalli High School for being married to a woman, is appealing a decision from the Southern Indiana District Court that is potentially the first to extend the “ministerial exception” to cover school guidance counselors.
Union Gospel Mission seeks high court ruling on hiring case
Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission filed a petition Monday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a case in which the Washington Supreme Court ruled in favor of a bisexual lawyer who sued the mission over its anti-LGBTQ hiring policy.
High court declines to hear church’s attack on COVID restrictions
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a lawsuit by a Maine church that sought to take a preemptive strike against future restrictions associated with a variant of the virus that’s spreading across the country.
7th Circuit says Archdiocese premature in seeking dismissal of Roncalli counselor case
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal in the lawsuit brought by former Roncalli High School counselor Lynn Starkey, saying the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ turn to the appellate court was premature.
7th Circuit ruling expands ministerial exception, potentially impacting Indiana high school cases
Shelly Fitzgerald and Lynn Starkey, former guidance counselors at Roncalli High School, and Joshua Payne-Elliott, a former foreign language and social studies teacher at Cathedral High School, all filed separate lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis after they were all terminated from their jobs because they are in same-sex marriages. This month’s decision from the 7th Circuit in Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, 19-2142, could change the trajectory of each of those cases.
Indianapolis Archdiocese uses new 7th Circuit ruling to counter Roncalli lawsuit
Days after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the ministerial exception protects a Chicago Catholic Church from a lawsuit brought by a fired employee, the Indianapolis Archdiocese is citing the decision to bolster its argument that the employment lawsuit filed by former Roncalli High School counselor Lynn Starkey should be dismissed.
En banc 7th Circuit splits over reach of ministerial exception
An Illinois church organist who claimed he was fired as part of a hostile work environment has split the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals over the interpretation of recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent as to how far the ministerial exception protects religious organizations.
Youth minister charged with statutory rape, sexual battery
A youth minister and former volunteer coach has been arrested in Tennessee on child sex charges, authorities said.
California to pay $2M church legal fees over virus closures
The state of California has agreed not to impose greater coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings than it does on retail establishments in a pair of settlements that provide more than $2 million in fees to lawyers who challenged the rules as a violation of religious freedom.
Fired Cathedral teacher appeals dismissal of his lawsuit against archdiocese
Joshua Payne-Elliott, a foreign language and social studies teacher, sued the archdiocese after his contract with Cathedral was terminated in June 2019.
Fired Cathedral teacher’s suit against archdiocese over same-sex marriage dismissed
In a one-page order, Marion Superior Special Judge Lance Hamner did what a previous special judge and the Indiana Supreme Court had not done – dismiss the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a gay teacher against the archdiocese of Indianapolis.
Local refugee organizations prepare to rebuild after Biden raises cap
Only 21 refugees have been resettled to Indiana so far this fiscal year, in the midst of a global pandemic and a historically low federal annual cap on the number of refugees allowed in the United States. On Monday, the Biden administration quadrupled that limit, from 15,000 to 62,500, effective May 15.
Man charged in pastor’s wife’s slaying sentenced to 29 years
A man charged in connection with the fatal shooting of an Indianapolis pastor’s pregnant wife in 2015 has been sentenced to 29 years in prison under a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against two co-defendants.
High court halts Calif. virus rules limiting home worship
The U.S. Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings.
Indiana Legislature OKs religious activities as essential
The Indiana Senate approved a bill Thursday that designates religious activities as essential services and prohibits any restrictions on them during a declared emergency.
Indiana House OKs bills to give local officials, churches more say over public health restrictions
The Indiana House on Tuesday approved two bills giving local and county government officials more say over restrictions imposed during health emergencies and protecting churches from state or local orders more restrictive than those imposed on other essential businesses.
Druidism must be recognized in Department of Correction, judge rules
Druidism could soon become a formally recognized religion within the Indiana Department of Correction after a federal judge granted injunctive relief to a prisoner who claimed his religious rights were violated by the lack of communal Druid services in the DOC.
High court revives ex-student’s suit against Georgia college
The Supreme Court is reviving a lawsuit brought by a Georgia college student who sued school officials after being prevented from distributing Christian literature on campus. Chief Justice John Roberts was the lone dissenter, lamenting that the ruling risked “turning judges into advice columnists.”