Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- The Supreme Court last week held that a Puerto Rican court lacked the authority to issue an order to seize $4.7 million of assets from the Archdiocese of San Juan to cover pension benefits for Catholic school teachers.
- The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest supporting a Christian wedding photographer in her lawsuit against the city of Louisville (KY) over an ordinance that prohibits businesses from discriminating against gay customers.
- Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled that a Muslim law clerk can be prevented from wearing a headscarf during court proceedings.
- Serbian Orthodox Church clerics led thousands of people in a peaceful march through the Montenegrin capital Podgorica in protest against a new law that allows the state to seize church property if the church cannot show proof of ownership before 1918.
- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo filed for bankruptcy protection, a major step in its effort to recover from a clergy misconduct scandal that has been the basis for hundreds of lawsuits.
- A bill in the Oklahoma Legislature seeks to have the national motto “In God We Trust” displayed in all state buildings except public schools.
- A New York firefighter has sued his boss for sending anti-Semitic and homophobic text messages about him to a coworker.