Free Republic

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A three-member U.S. appeals court panel appeared sympathetic Tuesday to arguments by lawyers for two Nevada churches that say state COVID-19 restrictions treating churches differently than casinos and other secular businesses violate their First Amendment rights. The 9th Circuit panel in San Francisco heard arguments via video from lawyers for Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley east of Reno and Cavalry Chapel Lone Mountain in Las Vegas who want the appellate court to reverse earlier district court rulings upholding hard attendance caps Gov. Steve Sisolak has set on the size of indoor worship services. They say churches should...

On Nov. 10, in Spell v. Edwards, a Louisiana federal district court dismissed a suit by megachurch pastor Tony Spell challenging the state's COVID-19 limits on worship services. Plaintiff filed an Emergency Application for an Injunction Pending Appeal with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, contending: This case presents a threshold question that other applicants did not present to this Court in prior religious liberty challenges: Whether the First Amendment places the decision of whether to assemble solely within the jurisdiction of the Church and not the State.

As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide the Supreme Court late Wednesday temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit by the virus. The justices split 5-4 to bar the state from enforcing the restrictions against the groups for now, with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the majority. It was the conservative's first publicly discernible vote as a justice. The court’s three liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts dissented

(Origianl language is German. I used Google translate and did some editing for readability) The Bremen district court has convicted the pastor of the St. Martini Protestant congregation in the Hanseatic city, Olaf Latzel, of sedition. The presiding judge Ellen Best said on Wednesday that the 53-year-old theologian had incited hatred against homosexuals in a "marriage seminar" posted on YouTube. She joined the public prosecutor's request and imposed a four-month prison sentence, converted to a fine of 90 euros a day for 90 days. The defense had pleaded for acquittal. (AZ: 96 Ds 225 Js 26577/20) The punishment is in...

Thousands turned out for pro-Mass rallies in front of churches in nearly forty cities across France last Sunday, November 15. France is currently enduring another round of lockdowns in which public Masses have once again been declared illegal. Schools are open, supermarkets are open, public transit is available, and you can even go into a church to pray, which you couldn’t during the last lockdown. But you can’t be there while Mass is going on. Not unless you want to be fined 130 euros and see the priest taken away by the police for questioning, as just happened in southern...

New York's dictatorial governor, Andrew Cuomo, may have met his match. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn is asking the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down Cuomo's Oct. 6 executive order shutting down "houses of worship " in areas of Brooklyn and Queens, while allowing "essential" businesses, like pet stores, groceries and big-box stores to stay open. Cuomo insists he's battling COVID-19. The Diocese says Cuomo's making a value judgment that going to Target is "essential" but taking communion isn't. Truth is, for devout communicants who are already suffering social isolation during the pandemic, finding the church...

Santa Clara County is suing a San Jose-based church in an attempt to bring the church into compliance with the county's COVID-19 health orders. The county District Attorney's Office and County Counsel filed a joint action in Superior Court this week targeting Calvary Chapel San Jose, an evangelical Christian church. County attorneys allege the church has been hosting weekly indoor church services that draw 600 people without any use of masks or social distancing. Under Santa Clara County's current health order, attendance at indoor religious gatherings is capped at 100 people, and places of worship must implement mask and social...

A federal judge granted Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s request for a preliminary injunction against Mayor Muriel Bowser allowing the congregation to resume worship services in the District of Columbia. “The Court determines that the church is likely to succeed in proving that the District’s actions violate [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993] RFRA,” wrote U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Trevor McFadden in a decision late Friday. “The District’s current restrictions substantially burden the church’s exercise of religion. More, the District has failed to offer evidence at this stage showing that it has a compelling interest...

Haredim, as ultra-Orthodox Jews are called, translates to “those who tremble.” But as New York’s leaders are learning, the Haredim tremble before God—not politicians. This week they are protesting in the street and courts against new harsh lockdown restrictions on ZIP codes in Brooklyn, Queens, Binghamton, and Rockland and Orange Counties, including several Haredi neighborhoods. Imposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, the rules also shut down schools, restaurants, bars and gyms. But the Governor singled out religious institutions in “hot zones” for special limits. No more than 10 people allowed. A quorum of 10 men is the bare minimum...

California Democrat Sen. and 2020 VP nominee on the “Harris-Biden” ticket Kamala Harris,, fresh from her epic character assassination attempt during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, seems to have been designated the lead in trying to derail the Supreme Court nomination of 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Harris’ partner in crime on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Maize Hirono of Hawaii, who plans to make her home visits by taxi after the Green New Deal kills airline travel, has said she will not meet with Barrett, lest her limited intellect be confused with the facts...

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that Nevada can legally limit attendance at indoor religious services to just 50 persons. At the same time, casinos, restaurants, bars, theme parks, and gyms are allowed to operate at 50% capacity. This is a double standard. Why are houses of worship restricted to an arbitrary number — no matter how big the venue is or what safety precautions are in place — while business capacity is regulated based on the size of the venue? This ruling unfairly targets churches and other institutions of faith. It tells the American people that the economy is...

New Jersey residents can now gather in outdoor groups of up to 250 people and rules on indoor groups were also relaxed Monday as Gov. Phil Murphy continues to gradually lift restrictions he ordered to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The easing on gathering limits comes on the same day Murphy announced indoor dining and Atlantic City casinos can reopen to customers with 25% capacity limits on July 2, just in time of the busy Fourth of July weekend. Murphy had set Monday as the date he would likely increase the gathering limits, which now stands at 250 outdoors, up from...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are using coronavirus restrictions as a "blatant double standard" to discriminate against people of faith, using threats of fines and criminal prosecution, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. “Why is a large worship gathering deemed more dangerous than a mass protest, full of shouting, arm-waving people in close proximity to one another?” Christopher Ferrara, Thomas More Society special counsel, said in a statement to Fox News. “These orders, both the emergency stay-home and reopening plan declarations, clearly discriminate against houses of worship,"...

Pastor Larry Ihrig had a message for congregants as he greeted them with elbow bumps Sunday morning at the entrance to the sanctuary at Livermore’s Celebration Church. “Welcome home again, guys. I wish we could hug, but we can’t do any of that.” One congregant rejoiced as they arrived at the doors: “Thank the Lord. We’re finally back.” More than 100 worshipers came out to the church Sunday morning for the first in-person service in more than two months, curtailed in March by the region’s public health orders, put in place nearly two and a half months ago to curb...

There have been violent riots in Wisconsin's capital of Madison, where a group of about 150 demonstrators threw rocks at police officers on Saturday night, according to WITI-TV. At least 75 stores were damaged or looted overnight. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel politics and statehouse reporter Patrick Marley tweeted, "Police chief says they aren't arresting people tonight." Interim Madison Police Chief Vic Wahl said his officers stood back during the protests. While Madison didn't do much to prevent the barrage of looting in the city, officials want citizens to know that church services of more than 50 people will absolutely not be...

President Donald Trump stepped up to declare houses of worship "essential places that provide essential services" to the American people. "The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now for this weekend," he said. The president raised eyebrows by declaring that he will "override" governors if they don't do it. Where's the president's authority to override governors on this matter? I'm not a constitutional attorney, but I do have common sense. The president takes an oath of office during which he swears to "preserve, protect and defend the...

Chicago Pastor Courtney Lewis said he was in the middle of delivering a sermon to his congregation Sunday when he heard loud banging on the church doors. It was the police sent by the city's Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Lightfoot had allegedly dispatched officers in three squad cars along with two unmarked vehicles in order to shut down the service at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Lewis claimed in a letter of grievance to U.S. Attorney John Lausch.

Raleigh, N.C. — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest told Christian pastors in a video conference Thursday that the political left is using COVID-19 restrictions to hurt the church and that the last chance to fight back is rapidly approaching. Forest, a Republican running this year for governor, cast stay-at-home restrictions limiting indoor church gatherings in North Carolina as part of a larger, escalating culture war against religious freedom. "There is no doubt that there are people that are on the left that are using this to pull certain levers to see how far that they can go," Forest said. "How far...

The Rev. Anna Reeves considers herself fortunate that her church, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Silver Spring Twp., sits on sprawling property. “It’s just a wonderful place for outdoor activity,” she said. On Sunday, Reeves is going to take advantage of that ample outdoor space and use it to gather with her congregation in worship while adhering to strict social distancing protocol to protect her faith community from the coronavirus. “I don’t think it’s safe yet to go into the sanctuary. It’s really not,” she said. “Our plan is to abide clearly by the state’s guidelines of having no...

Minnesota Catholics and Lutherans tell @GovTimWalz they are reopening churches on May 26—after the Governor announced malls, salons, tattoo parlors, & casinos can open, but churches can’t. The leadership of over 700 Catholic and Lutheran churches, represented by @BECKETlaw & @SidleyLaw, told @GovTimWalz and AG @keithellison that the First Amendment doesn’t let the government put churches at the back of the line during reopening. Minnesota’s re-opening plan lets people seek retail therapy at the mall, but not spiritual solace at church. Today’s press conference underscored @GovTimWalz’s failure to appreciate the integral role of faith in the well-being of the community....