ADF: Schools have legal right to permit Bible distribution

After the ACLU threatened Kentucky school districts with lawsuits because of Bible distributions, a legal organization says it stands ready to help the schools. Alliance Defending Freedom has sent letters to the 174 threatened school districts to inform them that the law is on their side if they cooperate with the Gideons.

Rory Gray, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, says the ACLU knows case law exists allowing distribution of religious literature in public schools.

“If the school district enacts a neutral literature distribution policy,” says Gray, “it’s extremely unlikely that the ACLU will sue them because they know the law that’s on the books.”

Pastor can hand out Bibles at city's Harley-Davidson festival

The City of Greenfield, Wisconsin, agreed last week to allow a pastor to continue distributing Bibles on public streets at a Harley-Davidson Festival after receiving a letter from Alliance Defending Freedom. Police had threatened the pastor with arrest for peacefully handing out the Bibles to willing passers-by at the festival.

“No one should be threatened with arrest simply because they choose to exercise their First Amendment freedoms in a public place,” said Legal Counsel Jon Scruggs. “We commend the city for promptly agreeing to respect the constitutionally protected right of this pastor and all Americans to peacefully distribute faith-based literature.”

On Aug. 28, David Murray went to West Layton Avenue to express his religious faith and distribute Bibles during the Harley-Davidson Festival, which is free and open to the public. Security officers and Greenfield police officers ordered Murray to stop expressing his beliefs and to move to the adjacent sidewalk behind the festival vendors, an area no one accesses.

As the Alliance Defending Freedom letter explained, “Lawrence desires to convey his religious beliefs through activities protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. According to the Supreme Court, oral and written dissemination of religious viewpoints are entitled to the utmost constitutional protection.”

The letter also explained that “expression in a traditional public forum deserves the highest level of protection, and any infringement of speech activity there must overcome great scrutiny.”

Greenfield’s police chief responded in an e-mail to Alliance Defending Freedom that “personnel have been advised to allow your client’s activity within the public streets, sidewalks and right of way.”

 “The government should not harass and threaten citizens for exercising their constitutionally protected freedoms in public,” added Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot, a guest on Faith on Trial. “The city of Greenfield has rightly understood this, and we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that this pastor’s freedom to share his faith is respected. The First Amendment specifically protects every American’s freedom of speech and religious expression.”

Veteran airman in religious discrimination case against Air Force

An Air Force sergeant who filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. military claiming he was fired by his lesbian commander for refusing to make a statement of support for same-sex “marriage” may now face prosecution for taking his accusations public.

During a meeting last week, Air Force investigators read Senior Master Sergeant Phillip Monk his Miranda rights, alleging that Monk’s religious discrimination complaint was false. Monk, a devout Christian, believes the claims are a retaliatory act by his former commander, who relieved Monk of his duties and reassigned him after Monk could not agree with his commander’s position regarding same-sex marriage. In the military, making a false official statement is punishable by court-martial.

Sergeant Monk was relieved of his duties as first sergeant at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in August after two separate confrontations with an openly homosexual superior officer, Major Elisa Valenzeula. 

Liberty Institute attorney Mike Berry said, “We are hopeful that the Air Force will do the right thing by clearing Sergeant Monk’s name and reputation, and supporting his and every airman’s right to express, without fear of punishment, their religious convictions.”

New Survey: More Americans Feel Persecuted for Their Faith

According to a recent survey, more American workers feel they are suffering discrimination due to their religious faith. Last week, Tanenbaum released What American Workers Really Think About Religion: Tanenbaum’s 2013 Survey of American Workers and Religion. The results revealed some startling information, including:  

• One in three American workers have actually experienced or personally seen incidents of religious bias when they go to work.
• Six in ten white evangelical Protestants agree that discrimination against Christians has become as big a problem as discrimination against other religious minorities

“Attacks on religious liberty are increasing at alarming and unprecedented rates, and they are occurring whenever people of faith begin to engage the culture around them, including the workplace,” said Liberty Institute General Counsel Jeff Mateer.  “The hostility against people of faith, including Christians, is at an all time high in our nation.  We are faced with intense opposition from radical secularist groups, and even are own federal government, who are seeking to remove God from public life.”
On the heels of that survey, the City of San Antonio, Texas, this week passed an ordinance that targets citizens and businesses who hold traditional religious views about sexuality, and grants special protected status and rights to homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered individuals. Among other items, the ordinance would prohibit membership on any city board or city contract for anyone who has expressed disapproval of the homosexual agenda. Thus, a Catholic RCIA instructor articulating the Church’s teaching on these matters could be removed from office or have their contracts with the city terminated. 

The Liberty institute is promising a legal challenge to the new law.

This week: A bakery closing and “crimes against humanity”

This week on Faith on Trial: We will be discussing the dangers of the militant homosexual agenda to faithful Christians.  Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, will discuss the closing of a bakery in Oregon that refused to bake a “wedding” cake for a lesbian couple.  We’ll go behind the bare details of the case to see how Sweet Cakes by Melissa was hounded out of business because its owner did not want to violate her religious beliefs. Following Bryan we will have Harry Mehet, attorney with Liberty Counsel, who is representing a pastor from Massachusetts who is being sued for “crimes against humanity” for statements the pastor made in Uganda supporting traditional marriage. Normally, a case like that would be dismissed for failure to state a recognizable claim; however, in this case the federal judge denied the pastor’s motion and set the matter for trial.

All of this, this week on Faith on Trial on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM, and 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming live on IowaCatholicRadio.com.  Tune in Saturday at 8 a.m.; Sunday at 2 & 7, and Monday at 9 p.m. (Central).  

Cardinal Dolan, Bishop Pates call faithful to a day of prayer for peace

The U.S. bishops are encouraging Catholics in the country and all those concerned about ongoing violence in Syria to join with Pope Francis in a worldwide Day of Fasting and Prayer for Peace.

“We are anguished by the terrible suffering of the Syrian people and again affirm the need for dialogue and negotiation to resolve this conflict that has wrought so much devastation,” said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, in a Sept. 3 statement.

“As our nation's leaders contemplate military action, it is particularly appropriate and urgent that we in the United States embrace the Holy Father's call to pray and fast on September 7 for a peaceful end to the conflict in Syria and to violent conflicts everywhere,” they continued.

Cardinal Dolan is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Pates chairs the conference’s Committee on International Justice and Peace.

The two Church leaders echoed the words of Pope Francis, who called on the whole Catholic Church to take part in a day of fasting and prayer this Saturday, Sept. 7, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace.

“There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming,” the Holy Father said in his Sunday Angelus message on Sept. 1.

His call for prayer and fasting comes as nations including the United States discuss the possibility of military action following reports that chemical weapons were recently used against civilians in Syria, killing more than 1,400 people.

Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Pates asked “all U.S. Catholics and people of goodwill to join us in witnessing to the hope we have in our hearts for peace for the Syrian people,” uniting themselves to those praying and fasting in Rome.

In their statement, they affirmed that the use of “chemical weapons is particularly abhorrent and we urgently pray for the victims of such atrocities and for their loved ones.”

 

But despite the atrocity of the reported use of such weapons, the bishops reiterated their earlier warnings against the use of military force as a response, instead stressing that “the path of dialogue and negotiation between all components of Syrian society, with the support of the international community, is the only option to put an end to the conflict.”

Sex education for kindergarteners will teach “diverse” family structures

OneNewsNow is reporting that the Chicago Public Schools are this year mandating that kindergartners receive sex education lessons. Opponents say it's a way of exposing them to the homosexual lifestyle.

The CEO of the Chicago Public Schools is emphasizing that this curriculum will be age appropriate. But Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute says that is misleading.

“What all the talk about is that from the perspective of those on the left, there is virtually nothing that is considered inappropriate,” she points out. “But they believe that it’s appropriate to talk to kindergarteners about diverse family structures. And what that means is talking about families that are led by homosexuals.”

She says that sex education lessons for young students just beginning school are out of place.

“Five-year-olds are not sexual beings, except in the world of progressives,” she says. “They’re not thinking about sex, they’re not having sexual feelings. And so this is completely unnecessary, and parents are capable of handling this.”

She says parents of Chicago-area public school students should opt their children out of any lessons involving homosexuality or gender confusion.

More available here.

Another Catholic firm sues over HHS Mandate

Barron Industries, Inc., its Chairman Paul Barron, and its President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Barron, this morning filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration’s HHS Mandate.  The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The following statement is posted on the Barron Industries website: “Barron Industries is a family-run organization with a strong Catholic Christian foundation. Our Guiding Principle is our faith in God. We appreciate that everyone is created equal. Our belief is that we are placed here to serve the Lord and one another with honesty and integrity. It is our collective goal to use our work, professional and personal lives to lead each other to eternal salvation.”

Erin Mersino, one of our former guests, and the TMLC’s lead attorney on several cases the Law Center has already filed challenging the HHS Mandate, stated: “Barron Industries supports numerous Catholic charities, holds optional mass for its employees, and houses an on-site chapel.  Paul and Bruce Barron are devoted Catholic businessmen who strive to follow the mission of the Church in their daily lives, which includes their business practices.”

Barron Industries, started in 1923 by Joseph H. Barron, Sr., is a family owned and operated casting, machining, fabrication and assembly facility located in Oxford, MI, and managed today by Paul Barron and his son Bruce Barron.  Catholic Mass is regularly celebrated in the main conference room of the plant facility.  Visitors, customers and staff are openly invited to join in the services.

Paul Barron is also a member of Legatus, the Nation’s largest organization of top Catholic business CEOs and professional leaders. Legatus calls its members to be “ambassadors for Christ” through the three key areas of a Catholic business leader’s life – Faith, Family and Business. The Thomas More Law Center is also representing the Legatus organization itself in a separate federal lawsuit.   

Iowa Board of Medicine axes telemed abortions on an 8-2 vote

The Iowa Board of Medicine on Friday approved a rule this afternoon to prohibit telemed, or webcam, abortions.  Adopted by an 8 to 2 vote, the rule requires a physician to be physically present with the mother while abortion drugs are being adminstered, as opposed to simply pushing a button from a remote location following a video consultation.

Some 3,000 babies have lost their lives to this new Planned Parenthood money-making venture and 3,000 mothers and families have been forever damaged.

"The pro-life movement is often falsely accused of only caring for the baby," said Iowans for LIFE Executive Director Maggie DeWitte. "Yes, we dearly care for the baby, but we also dearly care for the mother."

"This issue is about women's health care, and in the case of telemed abortion, lack of adequate women's health care," she said.

"I would think every woman in the state of Iowa who considers herself a feminist would be supporting the efforts of the Iowa Board of Medicine in looking into this practice and realizing that this is a safety issue for our mothers, sisters, aunts, friends and any woman we know," DeWitte continued. "I wouldn't want to subject my worst enemy to the shoddy care of telemed abortion, where they never see a doctor in person during the entire procedure."

That was a point made by an ER doctor. She pointed to the lack of follow-up care with telemed abortions.  She pointed out that women were told to go to the ER if they have complications, but the ER doctors don’t know these patients or their history and therefore they are not getting the best level of care they could.

During a hearing on the matter, a Planned Parenthood representative was asked who administers the pre-telemed ultra-sound. He first stated that typically it is an RN. He later corrected himself and admitted that not all Planned Parenthood clinics have RN’s on staff. In some cases it was a certified medical assistant (CMA). Yet Planned Parenthood’s chairman, Dr. Robert Shaw refused to answer if he ever relied on a CMA’s evaluation to conduct a procedure or provide medication in his practice.

The rule is set to become effective Nov. 6.

Bishop Pates urges Secretary Kerry to work for ceasefire in Syria

WASHINGTON—Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, called on Secretary of State John Kerry to work with other governments to "obtain a ceasefire" in Syria and create "a future for all Syrians, one that respects human rights and religious freedom."

Bishop Pates made the call in an August 29 letter to Secretary Kerry.

Bishop Pates addressed the Syrian crisis the same day Jordan's King Abdullah II and Pope Francis met at the Vatican. There Pope Francis spoke of Syria's "tragic situation" and said that "the path of dialogue and negotiation between all components of Syrian society, with the support of the international community, is the only option to put an end to the conflict and to the violence that every day causes the loss of so many human lives, especially amongst the helpless civilian population."

This is a copy of the bishop’s letter:

Dear Secretary Kerry:

Today Pope Francis met with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Regarding their meeting, the Holy See reported: “Special attention was reserved for the tragic situation in which Syria finds itself. In this regard, it was reaffirmed that the path of dialogue and negotiation between all components of Syrian society, with the support of the international community, is the only option to put an end to the conflict and to the violence that every day causes the loss of so many human lives, especially amongst the helpless civilian population.”

With the Holy Father, we abhor the “acts of atrocity” that he decried in the wake of the attack with chemical weapons. We make our own his admonition: May the “clash of weapons…be silenced. It is not conflict that offers prospects of hope for solving problems, but rather the capacity for encounter and dialogue.”

The longstanding position of our Conference of Bishops is that the Syrian people urgently need a political solution that ends the fighting and creates a future for all Syrians, one that respects human rights and religious freedom. We ask the United States to work with other governments to obtain a ceasefire, initiate serious negotiations, provide impartial and neutral humanitarian
assistance, and encourage building an inclusive society in Syria that protects the rights of all its citizens, including Christians and other minorities.

Sincerely yours,

Most Reverend Richard E. Pates
Bishop of Des Moines
Chair, Committee on International Justice and Peace
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

On this week’s program

On Faith on Trial this week: Dr. Jerome Corsi, a well-known conservative writer who has written several controversial books that have topped the New York Times best seller list (he has another one on it way about the Kennedy assassination). He will discuss the identity and influence the Socialist Labor Organizer Saul Alinsky has on today’s national policies and how that affects the Obama Administration’s relations with the Church. 

Also on the program is Attorney Jim Campbell from the Alliance Defending Freedom.  Jim represented the New Mexico photographer whose $7,000 fine for not photographing a lesbian “commitment ceremony” was upheld by that state’s supreme court.  What was so offensive about that decision was the language used by one of the justices who wrote that even though the photographer had moral reservations about taking the job, she was obligated to violate her conscience as part of the price she had to pay as a citizen.

All this week on Faith on Trial on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming live on IowaCatholicRadio.com.  There are three air times for you: 8 a.m. Saturday; 2 & 7 Sunday, and 9 p.m. Monday.  All times are Central.

9th Circuit deals major blow to free speech & religious freedom

In a major setback for free speech & religious freedom in America, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this morning against an order granting preliminary injunctive relief from California Senate Bill 1172. This bill makes it illegal for licensed therapists to give counseling to minors that in anyway dissuades them from unwanted same-sex-attractions.

In addition to making it illegal for licensed counselors to dissuade minors from same-sex-attractions, it also makes it illegal to dissuade them from same-sex sexual activities. While proponents of this bill have erroneously noted that this law does not apply to clergy in general, it has a chilling effect by placing clergy who are also licensed therapists in a legal quagmire when giving counseling that coincides with their beliefs and doctrines.

“This decision is a dark day for those who believe in the first Amendment and the rights of parents over the proper upbringing of their children. Make no mistake, we are not finished in our efforts to overturn this outrageous legislation,” said Brad Dacus, President of Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) and a frequent guest on Faith on Trial.

PJI will be evaluating options for appealing this ruling, he said.

Judicial Watch: DOD documents call conservative views “Extremist”

Judicial Watch has obtained educational materials from the Department of Defense (DOD) depicting conservative organizations as “hate groups” and advising students to be aware that “many extremists will talk of individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place.” The documents repeatedly cite the leftwing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a resource for identifying “hate groups.”

Judicial Watch obtained the documents in a response to a Freedom of Information Act request that asked for “Any and all records concerning, regarding, or related to the preparation and presentation of training materials on hate groups or hate crimes distributed or used by the Air Force.” Included in the 133 pages of lesson plans and PowerPoint slides provided by the Air Force is a January 2013 Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute “student guide” entitled “Extremism.”  The document says that it is “for training purposes only” and “do not use on the job.” Highlights include:

• The document defines extremists as “a person who advocates the use of force or violence; advocates supremacist causes based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or national origin; or otherwise engages to illegally deprive individuals or groups of their civil rights.”
• A statement that “Nowadays, instead of dressing in sheets or publically espousing hate messages, many extremists will talk of individual liberties, states’ rights, and how to make the world a better place.”
• “[W]hile not all extremist groups are hate groups, all hate groups are extremist groups.”
• Under a section labeled “Extremist Ideologies” the document states, “In U.S. history, there are many examples of extremist ideologies and movements.  The colonists who sought to free themselves from British rule and the Confederate states who sought to secede from the Northern states are just two examples.”
• In this same section, the document lists the 9/11 attack under a category of “Historical events.”
• "[A]ctive participation …with regard to extremist organizations is incompatible with military service and, is therefore prohibited.” [Emphasis in original]
• The document details the “seven stages of hate” and sixteen “extremists’ traits.”
• The SPLC is listed as a resource for information on hate groups and referenced several times throughout the guide.
• Of the five organizations besides the SPLC listed as resources, one is an SPLC project (Teaching Tolerance) and one considers any politically or socially conservative movement to be a potential hate group (Political Research Associates).
• Other than a mention of 9/11 and the Sudan, there is no discussion of Islamic extremism.

In April 2013, following a terrorist shooting at the family Research Council (FRC) headquarters that occurred in August 2012, Judicial Watch filed multiple FOIA requests to determine what, if any, influence SPLC’s branding of hate groups had on government agencies. On its website, the SPLC has depicted FRC as a “hate group,” along with other such mainstream conservative organizations as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, and Coral Ridge Ministries and Catholicism. At the time of the shooting, FRC president Tony Perkins accused the SPLC of sparking the shooting, saying the shooter “was given a license to shoot … by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center.”

The document was obtained by Judicial Watch was from the Air Force, but it originated in a DOD office and is, therefore, thought likely to be used in other agency components.

You might remember that earlier an Army training sessions, that also obtained its information from SPLC, listed Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity as extremist organizations along with Hamas and the Ku Klux Klan:

“The Obama administration has a nasty habit of equating basic conservative values with terrorism.  And now, in a document full of claptrap, its Defense Department suggests that the Founding Fathers, and many conservative Americans, would not be welcome in today’s military,” said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.  “And it is striking that some the language in this new document echoes the IRS targeting language of conservative and Tea Party investigations.  After reviewing this document, one can’t help but worry for the future and morale of our nation’s armed forces.”

American Family Association calls for resignation of Oregon official

As reported earlier, a Christian-run bakery in Oregon, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, is now under fire from the state’s labor commission for making a conscience-driven decision not to participate in a lesbian wedding ceremony. The Oregon Labor Commission has launched an official investigation, which in turn could lead to the prosecution of the Christian couple which runs this bakery. 

Most egregiously, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian said, “Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, but that doesn't mean that folks have the right to discriminate. The goal is never to shut down a business. The goal is to rehabilitate. For those who do violate the law, we want them to learn from that experience and have a good, successful business in Oregon.” 

American Family Association has condemned those comments. AFM president Tim Wildmon said, “This is an unconscionable and unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. The Constitution doesn’t just guarantee a right to religious belief, it guarantees a right to the free exercise of religion. That’s what Oregon is trying to deny. 

 “To say that this couple needs to be rehabilitated for believing and practicing the values on which this nation was founded is entirely beyond the pale. This sounds like Stalinist Russia or China under Mao, where those who thought for themselves were forced under government coercion into re-education camps. This is not the America that was given to us by our Founders. 

 “The natural question to ask is what happens if the Kleins refuse to be ‘rehabilitated?’ What happens if they maintain their faith and their values, and refuse to convert to political correctness? The next logical step would be for the government to shut down their business altogether, which would be an act of Nazi-esque tyranny. 

 “The AFA is calling for the immediate resignation of Commissioner Avakian. A government official who is so fundamentally ignorant of the Constitution and its protections has no business in public office.” 

On this week's program ...

This week on Faith on Trial:  Robert Tyler of the Advocates for Faith and Freedom about a Christian pastor who was arrested for reading the bible outside the Department of Motor Vehicle office (before it opened!). We will also have Charles LiMandri of the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund about the recent legal attacks on your freedom of conscience. Saturday at 8 a.m.; Sunday at 2 & 7 p.m., and Monday at 9 p.m. (times Central) on Iowa Catholic Radio, 1150 AM; 88.5 & 94.5 FM and streaming live on IowaCatholicRadio.com.