Free Republic

Wayne and Sean were the answers to a girl named Brittany's prayers. Twenty-five years ago, as the 3-year-old granddaughter of a Philadelphian named Sharonell Fulton, Brittany watched children playing in the playground across from her grandmother's house. She longed for the same companionship. Brittany didn't know Wayne and Sean, two brothers, but their situation was nothing to envy. Living with their uncle and aunt, drug addiction and fighting were constant. The breaking point came when the uncle inadvertently threw boiling water on the boys during a fight with his wife. Both of the boys were rushed to the hospital with...

Conservative Christian legal warrior Kyle Duncan and Chief U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt were nominated Thursday to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Donald Trump will make the announcement this afternoon. The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit hears appeals from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Judge throws out part of suit against Louisiana abortion law A Louisiana native, Duncan practices law in Washington, D.C., specializing in causes involving religious issues and the public sector. He was hired by then Gov. Bobby Jindal to defend a constitutional challenge to a newly passed state law that required doctors who perform abortions...

In the closely watched Supreme Court case, EEOC v. Abercrombie, the Becket Fund a brief debunking Abercrombie's claim that a Muslim job applicant should have explained during her job interview that she was wearing a headscarf for religious reasons in order to be protected by anti-discrimination laws. "Abercrombie's claim is both an absurd and dangerous precedent for all people of faith seeking employment," said Eric Baxter, Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. "Justice may be blind, but that doesn't mean employers can cover their eyes. A job applicant does not have to bring a 'Look at me...

Challenging the Culture as We Celebrate Independence Day By Sister Constance Veit, l.s.p. When we observed the Fortnight for Freedom in 2012, I naively thought it would be a one-time event. I assumed that the HHS Contraceptive Mandate would soon be overturned and our congregation of Little Sisters of the Poor would quickly fall out of the public eye. But this month marks our third Fortnight, and our lawsuit against the federal government over the HHS Mandate is still pending as I write this. In May, a group of Little Sisters attended the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s annual...

A Mennonite couple that owns an art gallery in Iowa has filed suit against the state's Civil Rights Commission over being threatened with punitive action for refusing to host a same-sex wedding on their property. Görtz Haus Gallery, a former church turned art gallery facility, filed a lawsuit Monday against the commission in Polk County District Court. "The Odgaards welcome all customers into the Gallery, regardless of their race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, or disability," reads the suit in part. "The Odgaards may be exposed to financial punishment and other forms of official coercion...

Washington D.C., May 30, 2012 / 02:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A legal group that aims to defend religious freedom has launched a new website offering a wealth of resources on the contraception mandate, and the various lawsuits that have been filed against it. “There was a lot of misinformation out there on the mandate,” said Emily Hardman, attorney and communications director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a D.C.-based organization.Hardman told CNA on May 29 that the Becket Fund “wanted to provide an accurate, concise and useful resource for reporters and the general public.”She explained that when the information...

The female St. John Becket of modern timesAlejandro BermudezFebruary 25th, 2006 The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is strongly encouraging the general audience to watch the movie “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.”According to Jared N. Leland, spokesman for The Becket Fund, “this is a riveting, gripping, a must-see movie about the Becket of the 20th Century. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days depicts Scholl as one committed to her conscience and religious ideals regardless of the fatal consequences. Like Becket, she refused to surrender her religious and moral convictions to that which she could not tolerate in good conscience. Put...