Religious groups have a rooting interest in the health care law arguments continuing today before the U.S. Supreme Court, but there are a couple of other judicial developments worthy of note:

Such as the start of the trial of Msgr. William Lynn, who oversaw priest assignments for the Philadelphia archdiocese and is now the first church official to be tried for endangering children by allowing known abusers to operate in parishes.

In Missouri, a county judge is to consider motions today to dismiss a misdemeanor charge against a Catholic bishop, Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, who is accused of violating Missouri’s mandatory reporter law for failing to notify authorities about a priest who had child pornography and was the subject of numerous complaints.

In Massachusetts, meanwhile, a district court judge sides with the ACLU and ruled that the Health and Human Services Department violated the Establishment Clause by contracting with the U.S. bishops’ Office of Migration and Refugee Services, or MRS, because MRS does not refer victims to contraceptive or abortion services.

So the HHS, which as you recall is that terrible government bureaucracy crushing religious freedom with the contraceptive mandate, is in fact being too accommodating to the Catholic Church. And HHS and the Catholic Church are fighting on the same side of this litigation. Does your head hurt too? Dumb and dumberer, says Michael Sean Winters.

Lapsed Catholics explain why they left the church, but their reasons don’t seem likely to gain much traction with the hierarchy.

The top hierarch, Pope Benedict XVI, is in Cuba, and today is to meet with Raul Castro, and perhaps with his brother, the ailing Fidel. Flies on the wall can contact us via email or Facebook.

Veepstakes: Rick Santorum is playing nice with Mitt Romney, when he’s not calling him the worst thing to happen to America since Barack Obama. Makes sense: Mitt needs Rick to get evangelicals, and Rick needs Mitt to pull in Catholics. Match made in Heaven.

Get this: New York City is banning the term “dinosaur” from school tests (along with some 50 other words) to avoid offending students who believe in creationism.

So the city that won’t let congregations rent space after hours in public schools because it doesn’t want to send a religious message won’t use dinosaurs on tests for kids. I guess this means class trips to the Museum of Natural History are out.

Does this also mean Tim Tebow’s influence is already taking hold in Babylon-on-Hudson? So soon?

Philosopher Alain de Botton wants his fellow unbelievers to have a little faith, or at least some religion.

Try telling that to the atheist prophet Richard Dawkins, who is taking no prisoners when it comes to religious believers, and offering no apologies for his lack of respect.

Spooky, because it could work: Jane Fonda is to play Nancy Reagan in a movie. Not sure what the religion angle is here, but I just had to mention it.

— David Gibson

Photo credit: KenRockwell.com