#BREAKING: After 8 years and a #SCOTUS victory, nuns are still being bullied in court. The Ninth Circuit just ruled 2-1 against the Little Sisters’ religious exemption from the HHS mandate. (Thread): s3.amazonaws.com/becketnewsite/…
This and another decision against the Little Sisters from the Third Circuit in July mean that it is time for #SCOTUS to *once again* step in and rule definitively on the HHS mandate. 2/
The Ninth Circuit agrees at least on that much, saying it would “welcome guidance from the Supreme Court.” 3/
Judge Kleinfeld dissented from the decision, lamenting that the “public fervor and litigation has never stopped” since the HHS Mandate was first issued. 4/
A 2016 #SCOTUS victory, a 2018 trial court victory, and a 2018 #HHS rule protect the Little Sisters of the Poor from having to provide abortifacients like the week-after pill in their healthcare plans. But CA, PA, and 19 other states sued to take away their religious exemption 5/
The Little Sisters never wanted this fight and have spent 8 years trying to focus on caring for the elderly poor instead of fighting senseless legal battles. The states in these lawsuits should leave the nuns alone. 6/
If the last 8 years have showed us anything, it’s that the federal and state government have ways to get contraceptives to women without using nuns. 7/
The Ninth Circuit decision joins a Third Circuit ruling against the Little Sisters from July 12. We *and the U.S. Solicitor General* have asked #SCOTUS to review that decision. It must step in to fix the mess and secure #religiousfreedom for the Little Sisters. Enough is enough.
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Over the past decade, the Court has faced many First Amendment cases concerning abortion: pharmacist cases, contraceptive mandate cases, sidewalk counselor cases, and pregnancy center cases, to name just four types of cases.
It doesn’t have to be that way—other countries like France, England, and Germany—have experienced much less of this kind of abortion v. religious liberty conflict.
.@TheJusticeDept just came out swinging in defense of Archbishop Cordileone & against San Francisco’s draconian ban on religious gathering. San Fran limits indoor worship to ONE PERSON AT A TIME, no matter how big the building--plainly unconstitutional: 1/ justice.gov/opa/press-rele…
The Archbishop has been saying mass and using creative, and lawful, ways to get his Catholic faithful the sacraments. He wrote this piece last week: 2/ washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Today, DOJ wrote a letter to the City and one line sums it up: "No government in this free country can attack religion by transforming a house of worship arbitrarily into a place for solitary confinement." 3/
Justice Ginsburg passed away yesterday after a long battle with cancer. She fought hard to continue serving as long as she could, including participating in oral arguments from a hospital room in May. She embraced suffering for what she believed to be a just cause. (1/5)
She had a remarkable legal career. A gifted advocate and legal strategist at the ACLU, she then served on the DC Circuit and spent nearly three decades on SCOTUS. She was a trailblazer in a generation in which few women would become lawyers, much less make it to #SCOTUS. (2/5)
“Particularly for us as Catholics, attending the Mass and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in person is the source and the summit of our faith, and we have shown we can celebrate the Mass safely,”
“San Francisco is the only government in the entire Bay Area that restricts public gatherings to 12 people out of doors."
#BREAKING: A federal judge in NY has ruled that Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo have violated the Constitution by discriminating against religious groups, striking down #COVID lockdown orders that prevented outdoor and indoor religious activities.
In a case brought by Catholics & Orthodox Jews, Judge Gary Sharpe said @MayorNYC and @NYGovCuomo treated mass protests better than religious assemblies, which “sent a clear message that mass protests are deserving of preferential treatment” but religious groups were not. (2/x)
Citing “simultaneous pro-protest/anti-religious gathering messages,” Judge Sharpe ruled that the orders violate the #FirstAmendment because they don’t apply equally to religious assemblies and secular assemblies. (3/x)
“...we are called not only to pray but also to act for justice, because faith without works is dead. Faith communities provide leadership by coming together in a sustained way to atone for the sins of our country, including racism...”
“In the United States, such a healing process has never really taken place. Neither a person nor a country can “just move on” from deep woundedness. People and nations need healing to be fully free, functioning, and healthy....”