RNS MONKS CASKETS a

Novices Joseph Eichorn, left and Dustin Bernard install hinges for the lid of a handmade wooden casket in the woodwork shop on the grounds of St. Joseph Abbey outside of Covington, La.  A group of Catholic monks who sued for the right to sell handmade caskets will head back to court this week, fending off an appeal from the state funeral industry after a federal judge last year struck down a state law that permitted only licensed funeral directors to sell coffins.

Novices Joseph Eichorn, left and Dustin Bernard install hinges for the lid of a handmade wooden casket in the woodwork shop on the grounds of St. Joseph Abbey outside of Covington, La.  A group of Catholic monks who sued for the right to sell handmade caskets will head back to court this week, fending off an appeal from the state funeral industry after a federal judge last year struck down a state law that permitted only licensed funeral directors to sell coffins.

RNS MONKS CASKETS a