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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • Bishop James Massa, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, responded to Vice President Vance’s recent criticism of Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday Homily, emphasizing that “When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ.”
  • This week, the Justice Department Office of Legal Policy’s Weaponization Working Group published a 37-page report which concluded, in part, that “the Biden DOJ ‘engaged in biased enforcement of the FACE Act’ and ‘pursued more severe charges and significantly harsher sentences for peaceful pro-life defendants than violent pro-abortion defendants.'”
  • In a press release following the final hearing of the President’s Religious Liberty Commission, Chairman Dan Patrick rejected the notion that the First Amendment requires a total separation of church and state.
  • Ohio Attorney General David Yost has filed suit seeking to prevent Hebrew Union College (HUC) from closing its 150-year-old Cincinnati rabbinical school.
  • The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne and Rosary Hill Home, a hospice care facility in New York, filed suit in a New York federal district court challenging New York’s requirements for care of transgender patients.
  • On April 14th, a settlement was reached between the Coast Guard and three Coast Guard members who had brought a class action after they were denied religious exemptions from the military’s COVID vaccine mandate. Among other things, the Agreement requires the Coast Guard to remove references in personnel records of service members’ decision to remain unvaccinated.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • Vice President J.D. Vance spoke regarding growing tension between the U.S. military and religious leaders and the pushback against current US military operations in Iran.
  • In Perry v. Marteney, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a law in West Virginia that required vaccinations for public school students without religious exemptions.
  • in Singh v. Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, a case regarding the transfer of a Sikh Temple into a trust, the court held that the ‘neutral principles exception’ to the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine can apply outside of church property cases.
  • In Maniar v. Noem, a D.C. District Court dismissed a suit brought by a Pakistani-American couple who claimed that being placed on a Screening List at the airport violated their free exercise rights.
  • In Johnson v. Fleming a Virginia federal district court dismissed Free Exercise claims regarding religious exclusions from a state tuition program.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The Supreme Court revived a lawsuit by a Mississippi street preacher who claims that his arrest for demonstrating near an amphitheater violated his free speech and religious liberty rights. 
  • A federal judge ordered immigration officials to allow clergy and religious workers access to detained migrants in Minneapolis, ruling that denying pastoral visits likely violated religious liberty protections. 
  • The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court arguing that turning away migrants at the border is unlawful and inconsistent with the nation’s moral obligations. 
  • Members of Congress introduced legislation that would protect the tax-exempt status of churches and religious organizations from being revoked based on their views or speech. 
  • India’s Maharashtra legislature passed a new anti-conversion law this week requiring advance notice before religious conversions and imposing criminal penalties for conversions obtained through coercion, fraud, or marriage. The law has drawn criticism from religious minority groups.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Stinson et al v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, et al, regarding an Arkansas law that would require elementary schools to hang the Ten Commandments in classrooms, the Court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining certain school districts from complying with the law. 
  •  In Chaudry v. Thorsen, an Illinois District Court rejected any Establishment Clause claims against a high school teacher brought by the parents of a student, wherein the teacher provided resources to the student who was seeking to convert from Islam to Christianity. 
  • In a case in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Court held that a German Catholic Organization could not dismiss one of its employees on the grounds of leaving the Catholic church.  
  • Earlier this week, the President’s Religious Liberty Commission held a hearing on the topic of religious liberty in the healthcare industry, discussing topics such as vaccine mandates and potential threats to religious liberties in the medical field. 
  • In Arizona Mining Reform Coalition v. U.S. Forest Service, the 9th Circuit again upheld a transfer of land, which includes ceremonial religious grounds of the Apache tribe, to a Copper Mining company. 
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The Supreme Court has blocked a California policy that requires public schools to facilitate students’ gender transitions and keep it secret from parents.
  • In Childs v. Webster, the 7th Circuit held that there was not a violation of a Muslim inmate’s free exercise rights under RLUIPA or the 1st Amendment when his prison refused to distribute corrected prayer-time schedules to Muslim inmates.
  • In State of Washington v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, a Washington state appellate court allowed enforcement of a subpoena issued by the state Attorney General’s Office seeking from the Catholic Archdiocese evidence relating to clergy sexual abuse.
  • The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) declared that the State Department has failed to comply with the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
  • The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported that it has received numerous complaints from military personnel that their commanders are describing the military operations against Iran in Christian eschatological terms.
  • Indiana Governor Mike Bruan signed House Enrolled Act 1389 which prohibits governmental discrimination in adoption and foster care matters.
  • An investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, shows that an estimated 75 priests have abused more than 300 children since 1950.

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The U.S. and Israel carried out strikes on Iranian leadership and military targets, and Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. bases in the region. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial attack.
  • St. John’s University said it will withdraw recognition of its faculty unions, writing that it had become clear the school lacked “the flexibility required to fulfill its Catholic-centered mission” while core academic decisions were tied to collective bargaining. 
  • Two Jewish advocacy organizations filed suit Thursday against California, its Department of Education, and state officials, alleging that authorities failed to address widespread antisemitic harassment targeting Jewish and Israeli students on campus. 
  • Attorney General Pam Bondi announced federal civil rights charges against 30 additional individuals in connection with a January protest inside a Minnesota church where a pastor works for ICE, stating that 25 people are in custody and more arrests are expected. 
  • The New York City Council held its first hearing this week on a package of bills focused on protecting houses of worship and schools and addressing antisemitism and other religious hate. The proposals, part of Speaker Julie Menin’s action plan, would require the NYPD to create a response plan for credible threats that block access to religious institutions and schools. 
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • Sitting en banc, the 5th Circuit overturned a panel decision declaring a Louisiana law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of the state’s public schools and universities unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that the dispute was not yet ripe for review.
  • A Woman’s Concern, Inc. v. Healey, (D MA, Feb. 17, 2026) was an action brought by Your Options Medical Centers (YOM), a religiously affiliated pregnancy resource center, wherein they alleged that the state of Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health violated their free speech, free exercise and equal protection rights when it disseminated information critical of pregnancy resource centers. This week, the federal district court for the District of Massachusetts rejected this claim, primarily reasoning that YOM was not targeted for actual or threatened enforcement action.
  • President Trump posted a Presidential Message on Ash Wednesday, calling for all Americans to remember that the Lenten themes of the “prayer, fasting, and almsgiving have been foundational to our strength from the earliest days of our national story.”
  • The Department of Justice announced that it is opening Title IX investigations into three Michigan school districts “to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.” If the districts are including such content, “the investigations will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction.”
  • The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released its “Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty in the United States.” “The report summarizes developments on national questions and federal policies affecting religious liberty in the U.S., including the role of religion in American public life, and the challenges and opportunities of the present moment.”
  • Earlier this month, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas received a draft constitution “that aims to transition the PA to a full-fledged state”. The draft contains a number of provisions on religion and religious freedom.

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Illinois District Court, a Child Evangelism Fellowship sued a school district alleging violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments for several acts, like their exclusion from literature distribution forums.
  • This past December, an appeal was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Arroyo Castro v. Gasper, where a district court in Connecticut previously denied a teacher’s preliminary injunction after she was disciplined for displaying a crucifix in her classroom.  
  • In Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a district court refused to dismiss claims against the Defendant, which alleged that Plaintiff’s land use rights were violated by industrial pollution, going against the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. 
  • In Davenport v. Episcopal Health Services, Inc., a district court in New York held that the ministerial exception barred Title IX and Fair Labor Standard Acts claims by a student Chaplain. 
  • On Tuesday February 10th, the House Subcommittee on Early Education held a hearing to discuss Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case regarding parental opt-outs in the Maryland public school system. 

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil-rights investigation after vandals broke into and desecrated Holy Innocents Catholic School in Long Beach, California, destroying religious statues, damaging the tabernacle, and causing extensive property loss.
  • The Archdiocese of New York alleges in a state-court filing that its longtime insurer, Chubb, secretly operated a victims’ advocacy website called the “Church Accountability Project” as part of a “shadow campaign” to pressure the archdiocese and gain leverage in ongoing litigation over insurance coverage for clergy abuse claims.
  • A year after Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde publicly urged President Donald Trump to show mercy toward immigrants and other vulnerable groups during an inaugural prayer service, she joined hundreds of clergy in Minneapolis protesting the administration’s escalating immigration enforcement and mass-deportation efforts.
  • Italian church and government authorities launched investigations after a restored cherub in Rome’s Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina appeared to resemble Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, sparking controversy about politicizing sacred art and drawing crowds that disrupted Mass.
  • As the Vatican appeals court reviews the high-profile financial scandal known as the “trial of the century,” defense lawyers are scrutinizing Pope Francis’ role, focusing on secret decrees he issued in 2019-2020 that granted prosecutors sweeping investigatory powers, including warrantless wiretapping, raising concerns about fairness and transparency.
  • A federal indictment filed in Wisconsin accuses four individuals of participating in a years-long scheme to defraud Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by issuing fraudulent checks, fabricating work payments, and attempting to conceal the theft, with hundreds of thousands of dollars potentially subject to forfeiture.

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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • A student pro-life group from Noblesville School District filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, after the Seventh Circuit upheld the school’s refusal to permit the group to post flyers because of the political content. The action, E.D. v. Noblesville School District followed after the school suspended the students for several months.
  •  In Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction sought by a substitute teacher who objected on free speech and free exercise grounds to the school district’s Guidelines for Student Gender Identity. The majority rejected plaintiff’s free exercise and free speech claims, concluding that the Guidelines are neutral and generally applicable and that they satisfy the rational basis standard.
  • Coastal Family Church filed an emergency motion seeking to stay a temporary injunction issued by a Florida state court which would bar the use of its strip mall unit for religious services.
  • The Third Circuit Court heard oral argument in Anash, Inc. v. Borough of Kingston. The lower court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva whose property was condemned, noting that plaintiff had not suffered irreparable harm, and that it was unlikely plaintiff would succeed on the merits of its challenge to zoning ordinances. Now, on appeal, the Yeshiva claims violations of RLUIPA and the due process clause.
  • A new report from Open Doors, a Christian advocacy organization, entitled World Watch List 2026, was released last week. The report assesses the persecution of Christians around the world, covering the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Topping their list of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution are North Korea (#1), Somalia (#2), and Yemen (#3).
  • The NIH recently announced that it will no longer fund research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions. Support for such research has declined steadily since 2019, while advances in breakthrough technologies “have created robust alternatives that can drive discovery while reducing ethical concerns.”