SCOTUS appears to lean toward Catholic agency in LGBTQ dispute (Reuters) Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices Wednesday appeared sympathetic to religious rights claims against Philadelphia brought by a Catholic Church-affiliated agency after the city refused to use the group in its foster care program because it would not accept same-sex couples as prospective foster parents. The almost two-hour argument via teleconference was the first major case to be heard by President Donald Trump’s appointee Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed to the court last week and participated in cases argued Monday and Tuesday…
Issues of interest to Catholics were on the ballot; here are the results (CNS) Lousiana voters by a wide margin Nov. 3 passed a measure declaring there is no state constitutional right to abortion, while Colorado voters defeated a proposal to ban abortion beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy. Unofficial results show that the Louisiana measure, known as the Love Life Amendment, passed 62.1% to 37.9%. It will add language to the state constitution that declares a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be included in the document…
Mississippi family sues school for banning ‘Jesus Loves Me’ mask (AP) A Mississippi couple is suing a school district because they say their 9-year-old daughter was told she could not wear a mask with the phrase “Jesus Loves Me.” Their lawsuit accuses the Simpson County School District of discriminating against the third grader because she wants to express her religious beliefs. The district requires students to wear face masks to try to reduce the spread of COVID-19…
Iconic cathedral in Turkey damaged in quake (CNS) A Catholic priest expressed gratitude that parishioners are safe, but their iconic cathedral sustained damages from a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey’s western city of Izmir Oct. 30…
Vatican shuts down museums as COVID surges (CNS) As COVID-19-related deaths in Italy reached their highest daily level since early May and Italy began enacting new restrictions to slow the spread, the Vatican decided it will once again close its museums to the public. The Vatican Museums, the necropolis tours and the museum of the pontifical villas at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, will be closed to the public Nov. 5-Dec. 3 “as a precautionary measure,” a Vatican communique said Nov. 4…
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