Federal appeals court blocks Cuomo’s restrictions on religious gatherings (CNA) Handing an important religious freedom victory to houses of worship in New York, the state’s Second Circuit ordered that the 10 and 25-person caps to worship had to be suspended while the case is pending. According to the Becket Fund, who represented a group of synagogues and rabbis as well as the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, the court’s decision “effectively means that New York cannot enforce its caps against any house of worship…”
New archbishop for Dublin (Vatican News) Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who had presented his request for retirement at the age of 75, as required by canon law. At the same time, the Pope appointed Bishop Dermot Pius Farrell as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin. He has served as the Bishop of Ossory since early 2018…
Vandals hit Nativity scene outside Indianapolis church (WISH-TV) An Indianapolis church is looking for answers after its Nativity scene was vandalized. Police say the someone on Christmas Day vandalized the Nativity scene at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 126 W Georgia St., and spray-painted on the wall. Authorities say the damage could total up to $1,500…
Pope Francis strips powerful Vatican office of assets (The New York Times) Pope Francis has stripped the Vatican’s most powerful office of its significant financial assets, the Vatican said Monday, after dubious investments squandered millions of euros in church donations, sparking an embarrassing scandal and prompting an ongoing corruption investigation…
Religious issues played large role in SCOTUS in 2020 (CNS) The busy year for the Supreme Court had the attention of the Catholic Church from major decisions it announced this past summer to oral arguments this fall around key issues impacting church belief and practice. The court ended its previous term this summer with rulings on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, and decisions about Catholic school teacher firings, the inclusion of religious schools in a tax credit scholarship program and an opinion about abortion providers…
Middle East patriarchs urge hope amid despair (CNS) Amid suffering and despair, further darkened by the coronavirus pandemic, Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East urged their faithful at Christmastime to hold on to hope. And in Iraq, Christmas was celebrated as a national holiday for the first time; the Iraqi parliament established the holiday in mid-December on the heels of the announcement of Pope Francis’ visit, scheduled for March…
