Daily Archives: July 8, 2010

LifeNews: “Officials in this Alabama city are backing down after facing a lawsuit from a pro-life legal group, Life Legal Defense Fund. LLDF says several Birmingham police officers engaged in ‘outrageous civil rights violations’ against nine pro-life advocates who were arrested last year. … Now, a federal district court in Alabama approved a consent order today ensuring that police in Birmingham will not interfere with the expressive activities of the pro-life youth group.”

Reuters: “Argentina’s government is fighting to get a gay marriage bill through Congress to shore up its leftist credentials ahead of a 2011 vote and to steal the limelight from opposition-led proposals. … But even if opponents and religious groups succeed in blocking the bill, the debate has allowed the government to divert attention from popular opposition proposals that could become a major headache for President Cristina Fernandez, such as a steep hike in pension payments.”

Brant News: “The Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association and the Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic District School Board want a controversial candidate declared ineligible for nomination in the municipal election because they say he is not Catholic. Peter Jones is running for Catholic school board trustee on a platform to abolish separate school boards in Ontario. Jones believes it is a violation of human rights to have publicly funded religious education and that amalgamating public and Catholic boards makes sense.”

Salt Lake Tribune: “Southern Utah University’s recent ad campaign frames its Cedar City campus as a place that supports Mormon cultural values, raising questions about whether a public school should play on faith to recruit students.”

The Arkansas Times posts a press release from the office of the Attorney General: “Attorney General Dustin McDaniel asked a federal appeals court today to uphold a federal law that directs the president to annually declare a National Day of Prayer. McDaniel and fellow attorneys general from across the country urged the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an amicus brief filed today to overturn a lower-court ruling that the law violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.”

ChristianNewsWire: “Today, attorneys from the Thomas More Society, on the eave of seeking emergency injunctive relief in federal court, secured an agreement from the city of West Chicago to allow a pro-life protest to proceed there tomorrow morning.”

The Christian Post: “Attorneys are challenging a proposed policy revision by the North Carolina Bar Association that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. … ‘Christian attorneys shouldn’t be penalized for abiding by their beliefs,’ said ADF Senior Counsel [Joseph P. Infranco]. ‘If the revision is approved, North Carolina attorneys could be forced to choose between advocating legal positions that are contrary to their sincerely held religious beliefs or risk facing professional sanctions from the state grievance committee.’”

Associated Press: “Presbyterian leaders voted Thursday to allow non-celibate gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy, approving the first of two policy changes that could make their church one of the most gay-friendly major Christian denominations in the U.S.”

Family Research Council: “Family Research Council (FRC) Senior Vice President Tom McClusky released the following statement in response to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro declaring the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The Defense of Marriage Act DOMA was enacted in 1996 by an overwhelming majority of 342-67 in the House and 85-14 in the Senate and was then signed by President Bill Clinton.”

“A U.S. judge in Boston has ruled that a federal gay marriage ban is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage.”

Diana Furchtgott-Roth writing at RealClearMarkets: “I was searching the bill for a provision about derivatives. What did I find but Section 342, which declares that race and gender employment ratios, if not quotas, must be observed by private financial institutions that do business with the government. In a major power grab, the new law inserts race and gender quotas into America’s financial industry. In addition to this bill’s well-publicized plans to establish over a dozen new financial regulatory offices, Section 342 sets up at least 20 Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion. This has had no coverage by the news media and has large implications.”

“‘I was told that my services would no longer be needed if I could not offer the opening prayer in the manner prescribed by the House of Representatives, rather that in the manner my biblical faith requires,’ Baity said.”

Dr. Michael New writing at LifeNews: “Tuesday’s Washington Post included an article that shows how health-care reform may result in a contraceptive-coverage mandate on health insurers. … [T]his article nicely shows why the pro-life movement has good reasons to oppose health-care-reform legislation: The contraceptives that might be covered could include abortifacients. These abortifacients would be subsidized by federal tax dollars. Additionally, a contraceptive mandate could effectively invalidate several state laws requiring that minors have parental permission before purchasing contraceptives.” | Washington Post: Health insurers may soon offer contraceptives at no extra cost

Christian Today: “A human rights organisation has learned that members of the Al-Qaeda linked Somali Islamist group, Al-Shabaab, publicly executed a Christian convert from Islam. The execution occurred in Hudur district, Somalia, on July 1. International Christian Concern (ICC) reported that Muhammad Guul Hashim Idiris, a Christian convert from Islam, was travelling from Kalafo, an Ethiopian border town. He planned to visit his mother in Mogadishu.”

OneNewsNow: “This past weekend, Repent America President Michael Marcavage, along with fellow evangelists Mike Stockwell and Ken Fleck, were sharing the gospel and singing hymns outside an Islamic mosque in Philadelphia. The three were approached by a security guard from the University of Pennsylvania who told them they could not preach on the public sidewalk.”

Gavel Grab: “The Wisconsin Supreme Court, bitterly divided 4-3, has formally issued new rules stating that lawful campaign donations from a litigant shall not alone require a judge’s recusal in a case. The new rules were accompanied by stinging, dueling statements in which justices on opposing sides belittled each other.”

WOWT: “Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns has announced he will not support the President’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a news release, the Nebraska Republican described Kagan’s background as alarming, disturbing and troubling.”

LifeNews: “More senators announced their opposition to pro-abortion Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on Wednesday. The list now includes eight senators who officially oppose Kagan, including Senator John McCain of Arizona who wrote an editorial in USA Today. … Others senators saying they are voting against Kagan include Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia and pro-life Sens. Bob Bennett of Utah, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina. They join senators who have already announced their opposition, including Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Orrin Hatch of Utah.”

ADF Attorney Roger Kiska writing at The Christian Post: “The Wall Street Journal reported on July 6, following Congressional hearings on the subject of the mass deportation of Christian volunteers in Morocco, on the continuing and tragic situation of the Village of Hope orphanage deportees: http://www.online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704911704575327310647304110.html?mod=rss_opinion_main. The Alliance Defense Fund, representing the Village of Hope internationally in the matter of the deportations, affirms the Wall Street Journal’s story that no evidence whatsoever was presented to substantiate the claim that the orphanage workers were guilty of criminal proselytism.”

WAZ / EU Observer: “Western diplomats and religious experts have voiced concerns about the spread of radical Islam among Muslim communities in the Balkans, after it transpired that alleged Wahabist radicals are operating and increasing their influence in Macedonia. The foreign-inspired religious group is active in the area around Skopje, Macedonia’s capital. It has tried to perform a putsch in the Islamic religious community (IRC) after an incident in the Isa-Bey Mosque in Skopje last week.”

Leesburg Today: “This week, the courthouse committee urged supervisors to reinstate its prohibition on displays so that government leaders won’t be in the position of determining which requests are for ‘appropriate’ use of the grounds and which are not. ‘In our documents that we presented to you, [we say] we will not be a party to nor will we ask the Board of Supervisors to be a party to religious displays on our lawn,’ committee Chairman Ben Lawrence said.”

Radio Free Europe: “Moldova’s Supreme Court has rejected a proposal by former Defense Minister Valeriu Pasat to hold a nationwide referendum on making the study of Orthodox Christianity compulsory in schools, RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service reports.”

KRTV: “A new health curriculum under consideration in Helena Public Schools is causing quite a controversy. … It lays out sex education topics for each grade, K through 12. In the first grade, children would be taught that human beings can love people of the same gender; in second grade, kids are taught not to make fun of people by calling them ‘gay’ or ‘queer.’”

Christian Post: “A Muslim mob in Jhelum, Pakistan murdered the wife and four children of a Christian last month, but local authorities are too afraid of the local Muslim leader to file charges, according to area Muslim and Christian sources.”

C-FAM: “At the United Nations (UN) last month, several U.S. representatives attacked Egypt for asking for further investigation into a homosexual advocacy organization which has applied for special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. These attacks culminated in a sharp rebuke delivered last week by U.S. ambassador Susan Rice. The actions seem to contravene President Obama’s strategy of engaging Egypt and other Muslim societies in key foreign policy aims such as Middle East peace.”

KBC: “The Interim Independent Dispute Resolution court on Thursday ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear any matter that touches on the proposed constitution. The Committee of Experts, Attorney General and the Interim Independent Electoral Commission had sought to have a case seeking to have the referendum postponed dismissed arguing that the court had no power to hear the suit.”

“Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed House Bill 444 Tuesday, which would have given all of ‘the same rights, benefits and responsibilities’ of married couples to same-sex couples. Lingle stated that such an important issue impacting all families across the Islands should be decided by voters, not by elected officials or in the courts.”

Robert Maginnis writing at Human Events: “The Democratic congressional majority will soon decide whether taxpayers should subsidize abortions at military hospitals. Their decision will test President Obama’s trustworthiness and the voters’ patience. … The measure will likely pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and then be conferenced with the House’s version of the bill which doesn’t have a similar provision. It’s not clear that Obama, the nation’s most pro-abortion president ever, would honor his commitment against funding abortion by vetoing the bill.” | For more information see this ADF Alliance Alert compound tag: http://www.alliancealert.org/tag/topic-military+topic-abortion/

Catholic News Agency: “A recent letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to investigate and take action against Catholic hospitals who refuse to provide abortions. However, critics have said that the letter misrepresents the Church’s teaching in its claim that Catholic hospitals are violating their patients’ right to health care.”

Irish Times: “Ireland is among the worst performing states in the EU in combating child sex trafficking, a new report has found. The report, Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People , published by ECPAT International found that only Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal performed worse than Ireland when it came to showing progress in ending sex trafficking of children.” | ECPAT International

John F. Cullinan writing at National Review Online: “There are fewer than 60 Catholic priests in all of Turkey, and yet Bishop Luigi Padovese was the fifth of them to be shot or stabbed in the last four years, starting with the murder of Fr. Andrea Santoro in 2006, also by an assailant shouting, ‘Allahu Akbar!’ … What’s going on? Why has traditionally secularist Turkey, with its minuscule Christian community (less than 0.2 percent of the population), lately become nearly as dangerous for Christians as neighboring Iraq? And why has this disturbing pattern of events so far escaped notice in the West? In a nutshell, all these violent acts reflect a popular culture increasingly shaped by Turkish media accounts deliberately promoting hatred of Christians and Jews.”

Catholic News Agency: “Seven foreign embassies in Peru have expressed support for protests organized by homosexual activists groups demanding the legalization of same-sex unions by claiming they are being discriminated against. The statement of support was signed by the Embassies of Australia, Belgium, the United States, Holland, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS.”

Telegraph: “The poll by The Children’s Society also found that only a third of adults thought being slapped posed a ‘high risk’ to young people. A similar proportion thought that being hit by their parents had little effect on children, with pensioners particularly likely to think that it was physically or emotionally damaging.” | The Children’s Society Press Release

The Christian Institute: “The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) has been forced to delay its controversial proposals after concerns were raised over its legality. Last month church leaders in Northern Ireland warned that the Charity Commission’s plans could pose a threat to the charitable status of churches.”

Christian Post: “The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s highest legislative body voted Wednesday to approve a new Form of Government that will help the denomination adapt to the 21st century. … The revisions do not change the denomination’s constitutional standards but they are intended to return the Form of Government to its role as a constitution rather than a regulatory manual.”

USA Today: “Eight Republican senators who voted in favor of President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee last year are not yet ready to say what they are going to do about the second. A USA TODAY survey of the Senate offices Wednesday found none of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s Republican supporters ready to commit on Elena Kagan’s lifetime appointment. A Judiciary Committee vote on Kagan’s nomination is likely by July 20, setting the stage for a confirmation vote in the Senate.”

AFP: “The United States is launching a program to detect cyberattacks on private US companies and government agencies running critical infrastructure such as the electricity grid and nuclear power plants, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. … A US military official told the newspaper the program was ‘long overdue’ and would not constitute a violation of privacy.”

Angus Reid: “The vast majority of people in Guatemala oppose the notion of allowing homosexuals to marry, according to a poll by Cid-Gallup. 85 per cent of respondents disagree with same-sex marriage.”

Boston.com (AP): “Malaysia’s Islamic Shariah courts have appointed their first female judges — a move praised by women’s rights activists Thursday as a boost for a judicial system often accused of favoring men.”

BBC: “Cameroon’s government has rejected the claim by a gay asylum seeker in the UK that he would face persecution if he returned home. … ‘Homosexuality is forbidden by the law, there is not doubt. But what I can emphasise is the fact that no homosexual is persecuted in Cameroon,’ Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma said.” | “Gay asylum seekers win UK appeal”

BBC: “Sark’s homosexual age of consent will be lowered from 21 to 16, the same as the heterosexual age of consent.”

AFP: “A court in Beijing has thwarted attempts by a Chinese man to sue a Red Cross centre in the capital after his blood donation was turned down because he was gay, state media reported Thursday.”

LifeSiteNews: “In a letter made public today, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development & Peace (D&P), the official development arm of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued an apology to Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). The letter comes in response to an April 20 CLC lawyer’s letter noting slanderous statements in a document produced by D&P and threatening legal action. D&P has now retracted the statements in question and apologized.”

Religion Clause: “The majority held that the feeding activities do not amount to symbolic expression under the First Amendment because a reasonable observer would not see them as communicative. It rejected a Free Exercise challenge, finding the Ordinance to be a neutral law of general applicability that serves a rational basis. It rejected void-for-vagueness and equal protection challenges. Finally it concluded that the law does not violate the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it does not substantially burden the church’s exercise of its religious belief in sharing food during services.” | First Vagabonds Church of God v. City of Orlando, (11th Cir., July 6, 2010)

“[T]he Board told the court that on June 29 it had begun a rule-making proceeding to adopt an amended rule that would permit facilitated referrals for all pharmacies and pharmacists when they are unable or unwilling to fill a prescription for any reason, including conscientious reasons.”

Associated Press: “The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said Thursday that troops could be accidentally exposed by answering the survey and that the Defense Department has not agreed to grant immunity should that happen. … The Pentagon says the survey is confidential and is being done by an outside contractor who will strip out all identifying data. ‘They cannot be outed,’ said Cynthia Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman.”

ADF attorney Greg Baylor appeared on Chris Fabry Live to discuss Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. | mp3 9:53 mins.

Andrew C. McCarthy writing at National Review Online: “While Kagan was at the law school, her patron, Harvard’s president Larry Summers, accepted a stunning $20 million donation for the creation of a program of studies to lionize Islam’s history and jurisprudence. The cash came from the Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the billionaire investor whose attempted $10 million contribution to the Twin Towers fund had been refused by New York mayor Rudy Giuliani when bin Talal blamed the 9/11 atrocities on American foreign policy. … Yet there were no condemnations from Dean Kagan over the prince’s lavish gift. To the contrary, she proceeded to forge the law school’s ‘Islamic Finance Project.’ Its purpose is to promote sharia compliance in the U.S. financial sector.”

John Fund writing in the Wall Street Journal: “J. Christian Adams . . . made some news yesterday in testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. … [He] leveled an even more explosive charge beyond the Panther case. He testified that last year Deputy Assistant Attorney General Julie Fernandes made a jaw-dropping announcement to attorneys in Justice’s Voting Rights section. She said she would not support any enforcement of a key section of the federal ‘Motor Voter’ law — Section 8, which requires states to periodically purge their voter rolls of dead people, felons, illegal voters and those who have moved out of state.” | Full transcript of Adams’ testimony via Pajamas Media.

AFP: “Egypt’s highest judiciary body on Wednesday overturned a ruling ordering the Coptic church to allow its faithful to remarry, the official MENA news agency said, in a move welcomed by the church.”

ADF Attorney Travis C. Barham writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Hayon’s first brush with Kingsborough came last March, when officials blocked him from distributing pro-life newsletters on campus to other students. Attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter affirming Hayon’s constitutionally protected right to do so, and college administrators quickly backed down. However, that same month, they managed to derail his first attempt at the marriage forum. In May, Hayon tried again, hoping to see the event happen before the end of the school year. Shortly before the event, though, the dean came up with some restrictions—including letting a Kingsborough official moderate the event—and threatened to cancel the whole thing, again, if Hayon didn’t play along.”

Dakota Voice: “‘Government officials should not be allowed to ignore the law, the Constitution, and supporting court precedents to target a church for exorbitant taxes it doesn’t truly owe,’ said Stephen J. Wesolick, one of nearly 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance. ‘At least three South Dakota court decisions have ruled that such taxes should not be levied.’”

CitizenLink: “[Joe Infranco], senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), has seen a marked uptick in the number of cases handled by ADF’s 1,800 allied attorneys, who represent churches free of charge. ‘Whether out of ignorance or malice, (municipalities) are slowly chipping away at the Church’s tax exemption when and where they are able,’ said Infranco. ‘This is a very dangerous trend.’ Just this week, an ADF-allied attorney filed an appeal in a South Dakota state court on behalf of First Evangelical Free Church of Rapid City, S.D., after the Pennington County Board of Commissioners refused to dismiss a $17,000 property tax bill for land the church purchased in 2006.” | ADF News Release

Catholic.net: “The U.S. bishops’ conference pro-life committee chairman is urging lawmakers to uphold current policy prohibiting U.S. military hospitals, and other federal health facilities, from performing abortions. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, stated this in a letter sent Tuesday to the U.S. senators. He asked that the lawmakers, when they review the National Defense Authorization Act for 2011, would ‘remove from the bill a misguided committee amendment’ that authorizes abortions at military hospitals both in the United States and worldwide.” | Full text of DiNardo’s letter.