legal issues
Kenya court sentences priest convicted of abuse to preach on sexual crimes
By Fredrick Nzwili — April 5, 2024
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — The sentence requiring a priest to preach monthly about the country’s sexual crimes law has ignited a debate about whether courts should be able to dictate the contents of a sermon.
Why Jerusalem’s Latin patriarch opened church courts to non-Catholic lawyers
By Daoud Kuttab — September 11, 2023
(RNS) — A courageous decision gives more people access to the law.
Connecticut lawmakers apologize for ‘miscarriage of justice’ in colonial-era witch trials
By Susan Haigh — May 30, 2023
(AP) — The lone senator to vote against the bill exonerating women convicted of being witches said. 'I don’t want to see bills that rightfully or wrongfully attempt to paint America as a bad place with a bad history'.
Ex-principal of Jewish school found guilty of sexual abuse
By Associated Press — April 5, 2023
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Malka Leifer, 56, a Tel Aviv-born mother of eight, was convicted on 18 counts, including rape, and acquitted of nine other charges.
Pastors sue AME Church over missing retirement funds
By Mike Schneider — April 13, 2022
(AP) — “When you take advantage of my money, you lose my trust,” said one AME pastor. “You lose the trust of your employees.”
Future liability releases at center of Boy Scouts bankruptcy
By Randall Chase — April 13, 2022
(AP) — Plaintiffs' lawyers argued that the BSA’s current plan unfairly strips them of their rights to pursue abuse claims against Catholic church officials.
Jordan’s Orthodox archbishop moves to deny evangelicals full legal recognition
By Daoud Kuttab — February 16, 2021
(RNS) — In a Jan. 26 letter to the country's Judicial Council, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Christophoros Atallah called evangelical churches 'a danger' to society.
Under guise of protecting workers, California defines (and demonizes) Hinduism
By Kavita Pallod Sekhsaria — February 2, 2021
(RNS) — In defining caste as we know it as a Hindu concept, the state paints a major world faith as inherently discriminatory.
Lawmakers debate bill to rout out radical Islam in France
By Elaine Ganley — February 1, 2021
PARIS (AP) — Critics say the bill covers ground already addressed in current laws, while far-right leader Marine Le Pen says the bill doesn't go far enough.
Court upholds California ban on church services in pandemic
By Brian Melley — May 6, 2020
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom had the right to ban church assemblies in the interest of public health during the coronavirus outbreak, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
How Jay Sekulow got to the floor of the US Senate
By Mark I. Pinsky — January 22, 2020
(RNS) — Jay Sekulow, a lawyer with an outsized reputation for First Amendment defenses, may have another high-profile slam-dunk on his hands.
Israel’s Netanyahu charged in corruption cases
By Aron Heller — November 21, 2019
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general on Thursday formally charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, throwing the country’s paralyzed political system into further disarray.
Hindu nationalists open self-styled religious courts as a rebuke to Sharia law
By Priyadarshini Sen — October 4, 2019
ALIGARH, India (RNS) — Last year, the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha Party demanded the closure of all Muslim Sharia courts in India. When their petition was denied, the party set up its own unsanctioned courts across Uttar Pradesh, based on Hindu principles of justice.
Arizona Supreme Court gives Christian artists a lot less than they asked for
By Mark Silk — September 23, 2019
(RNS) — Two graphic artists claim that the ruling means that Phoenix's anti-discrimination law "cannot compel us to imagine and create custom artwork that violates our beliefs." Actually, that's not the case.
California lawmakers threaten to break confidentiality of confession to find abusers
By Jack Jenkins — May 31, 2019
(RNS) — The bill extends the debate over 'clergy-penitent privilege' provoked by similar provisions passed or considered in other states since at least 2002.
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