Tag: religion

US Catholic diocese agrees $320mn sex abuse payout

A US Roman Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York has announced a massive bankruptcy settlement under which it will pay out $323 million to hundreds of alleged survivors of sexual abuse by clergy members.   

The Rockville Center reached a preliminary settlement on Thursday with about 600 plaintiffs who claimed abuse by priests as children, according to a law firm representing the survivors.   

The diocese had previously offered the survivors a $200 million settlement, which they reportedly rejected.  

“After nearly four years we do have a global resolution,” Corrine Ball told US Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn in Manhattan. Glenn said the deal represented “enormous progress” and that it came “within a hair’s breadth” of failure.

Rockville Center will contribute $234.8 million to the settlement fund, while four insurers will contribute $85.3 million, a spokesperson for the diocese said.  

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In an Unprecedented Move, Ohio Is Funding the Construction of Private Religious Schools

The state of Ohio is giving taxpayer money to private, religious schools to help them build new buildings and expand their campuses, which is nearly unprecedented in modern U.S. history.

While many states have recently enacted sweeping school voucher programs that give parents taxpayer money to spend on private school tuition for their kids, Ohio has cut out the middleman. Under a bill passed by its Legislature this summer, the state is now providing millions of dollars in grants directly to religious schools, most of them Catholic, to renovate buildings, build classrooms, improve playgrounds and more.

The goal in providing the grants, according to the measure’s chief architect, Matt Huffman, is to increase the capacity of private schools in part so that they can sooner absorb more voucher students.

“The capacity issue is the next big issue on the horizon” for voucher efforts, Huffman, the Ohio Senate president and a Republican, told the Columbus Dispatch.

Huffman did not respond to ProPublica’s requests for comment.

Following Hurricane Katrina and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some federal taxpayer dollars went toward repairing and improving private K-12 schools in multiple states. Churches that operate schools often receive government funding for the social services that they offer; some orthodox Jewish schools in New York have relied on significant financial support from the city, The New York Times has found.

But national experts on education funding emphasized that what Ohio is doing is categorically different.

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Feds, city to crack down on animal sacrifices in NYC’s Jamaica Bay after dog-carcass with snapped neck, wounded pigs found

City and federal parks authorities are beefing up resources near Jamaica Bay in Queens following The Post’s expose last week of surging animal sacrifices in the area. 

The National Parks Service promised to install a pair of mobile lights by the Addabbo Bridge in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park to ward off people torturing and killing animals under the cover of darkness, Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) announced.

NPS spokeswoman Daphne Yun said the agency would also provide additional parks police patrol in the area, where animal rescuers said at least eight animals were found dead or maimed since late July.

These have included five wounded pigs, a near-dead baby rat stuffed in a bag with chicken bones, and a dog carcass with its neck snapped. 

The city’s Parks Department also pledged to increase overnight patrols in Sunset Cove Park, Broad Channel, where gruesome animal remains also have been found, Ariola’s office said.

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Philippines police say ‘alarming details’ uncovered in new allegations against celebrity preacher

Police in the Philippines said on Wednesday more people had come forward alleging sexual abuse by celebrity pastor Apollo Quiboloy, pointing to what they called an alarming pattern of crimes by the wealthy, self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God”.

Quiboloy, who is facing a raft of charges in the Philippines and the United States including sex trafficking, money laundering and child abuse, was arrested on Sunday after a weeks-long search of his church’s sprawling 30-hectare (74-acre) compound by more than 2,000 security personnel.

Quiboloy for years cultivated an image as a charismatic spiritual leader with divine powers, earning him millions of followers, a lavish lifestyle and powerful friends in the country’s political elite.

“These courageous victims have spoken up, revealing their harrowing experiences. The abuse they endured shows an alarming pattern of manipulation and exploitation,” Philippine police chief General Francisco Marbil said in a statement.

Those included girls as young as 12 and were part of a group of what police called “inner-circle pastorals” who have been crucial in uncovering the full extent of Quiboloy’s alleged crimes, Marbil added.

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Bulgarian Member Of European Parliament Calls Out European Commission For Tacitly Condoning Zelensky’s War On Religion In Ukraine

Petar Volgin, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament from the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, has sent a written request to the European Commission questioning it position on  the law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

On 20 August 2024 Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law against various religious organizations, including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the largest Christian Church in the war-torn country. The unelected Zelensky regime justifies this law by alleging ties between the UOC and Russia and claims it is a danger to national security, however, there is no evidence to substantiate these allegations. The move is clearly designed to subordinate religion to state control.

As a result, serious concerns have arisen that the new Ukrainian law violates fundamental human rights by jeopardizing religious freedoms, and creating further deepen public division within the country. The law is in direct violation of article 10 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees the right of people to profess their religion and beliefs.

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Copyright Is Not a Tool to Silence Critics of Religious Education

Copyright law is not a tool to punish or silence critics. This is a principle so fundamental that it is the ur-example of fair use, which typically allows copying another’s creative work when necessary for criticism. But sometimes, unscrupulous rightsholders misuse copyright law to bully critics into silence by filing meritless lawsuits, threatening potentially enormous personal liability unless they cease speaking out. That’s why EFF is defending Zachary Parrish, a parent in Indiana, against a copyright infringement suit by LifeWise, Inc.

LifeWise produces controversial “released time” religious education programs for public elementary school students during school hours. After encountering the program at his daughter’s public school, Mr. Parrish co-founded “Parents Against LifeWise,” a group that strives to educate and warn others about the harms they believe LifeWise’s programs cause. To help other parents make fully informed decisions about signing their children up for a LifeWise program, Mr. Parrish obtained a copy of LifeWise’s elementary school curriculum—which the organization kept secret from everyone except instructors and enrolled students—and posted it to the Parents Against LifeWise website. LifeWise sent a copyright takedown to the website’s hosting provider to get the curriculum taken down, and followed up with an infringement lawsuit against Mr. Parrish.

EFF filed a motion to dismiss LifeWise’s baseless attempt to silence Mr. Parrish. As we explained to the court, Mr. Parrish’s posting of the curriculum was a paradigmatic example of fair use, an important doctrine that allows critics like Mr. Parrish to comment on, criticize, and educate others on the contents of a copyrighted work. LifeWise’s own legal complaint shows why Mr. Parrish’s use was fair: “his goal was to gather information and internal documents with the hope of publishing information online which might harm LifeWise’s reputation and galvanize parents to oppose local LifeWise Academy chapters in their communities.” This is a mission of public advocacy and education that copyright law protects. In addition, Mr. Parrish’s purpose was noncommercial: far from seeking to replace or compete with LifeWise, he posted the curriculum to encourage others to think carefully before signing their children up for the program. And posting the curriculum doesn’t harm LifeWise—at least not in any way that copyright law was meant to address. Just like copyright doesn’t stop a film critic from using scenes from a movie as part of a devastating review, it doesn’t stop a concerned parent from educating other parents about a controversial religious school program by showing them the actual content of that program.

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U.S. to Spend Record $454M Securing ‘Mostly Jewish Institutions’

The US will spend a record $454 million this year to secure religious organizations, with the majority of the funds going to Jewish institutions and a minority being given to other religious groups, the Times of Israel reports.

From The Times of Israel, “US to spend record $454 million securing religious institutions as antisemitism spikes”:

The US federal government will spend nearly $150 million more this year than it did in 2023 to secure religious organizations, a jump aimed at addressing a rise in antisemitism since October 7.

The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that it had allocated $454.5 million this fiscal year toward the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds security enhancements at houses of worship and religious organizations. It is the largest sum ever allocated toward the program, and a significant increase from last year’s figure of $305 million.

“The funds announced today will provide communities across the country with vital resources necessary to strengthen their security and guard against terrorism and other threats,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who is Jewish, said in a statement. “The impact of these grants will be measured in lives saved and tragedies averted.”

Jewish organizations have historically championed the program, which began in 2005 with an allocation of $25 million and has since grown exponentially. Most of the funding has historically gone to Jewish institutions such as synagogues, day schools, and other religious organizations — a trend that continued this year, according to the Orthodox Union.

The funds are available to all denominations facing credible threats, and in recent years Muslim and Black Christian institutions have applied for funds, often with the guidance of Jewish groups more experienced in the application process.

In related news, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has already spent over $100 million this election cycle.

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‘Totalitarian and Unconstitutional’: Tim Walz Ban on Christian Teachers Set to Hit Schools in Just Months

Gov. Tim Walz’s ban on faithful Christians from teaching in Minnesota’s public is set to hit the state’s schools in just months.

It also bans adherent Jews and Muslims.

And a report at the Federalist warns that he is “poised to make similar bigoted, totalitarian and unconstitutional policies” for the entire nation, “should he be elected vice president.”

The report from the publication’s executive editor, Joy Pullmann, explains the state has new teacher licensing rules that will take effect in July 2025, and they will “ban practicing Christians, Jews, and Muslims from teaching in public schools.”

It’s because under the plans of the leftist governor, the state will demand that teacher license applicants “affirm transgenderism and race Marxism.”

No license? No job for anyone to teach in the state’s public schools. Or private schools if they require that certification.

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Diversity Is A False Religion To Destroy America

This week, the National Association of Scholars (“NAS”) and the Heritage Foundation are sponsoring a panel discussion on diversity ideology in higher education. A number of reports have recently been published on the topic, with most documenting monies spent by state universities on “diversity, equity and inclusion” (“DEI“). The Maryland affiliate of the National Association of Scholars released the most recent such report this summer, but the Virginia affiliate issued one last year, while Idaho, North Carolina, Maine, and Tennessee produced similar documents before that.

The Maryland report reminds state officials that “diversity” is usually a cover for race-based practices that are now likely illegal under the 2023 United States Supreme Court case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (or “SFFA”). That opinion found that racial preferences in university admissions were a violation of federal civil rights laws and also the Constitution’s Equal Protection clause. SFFA means that any race-based practice in college is presumptively unlawful. As the Court said, “Eliminating discrimination means eliminating all of it … distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are by their nature odious.”

Virginia’s report is similar to the others with its focus on money, asking Should Virginians Pay for University “Diversity” Leftism? It found that DEI expenditures at Virginia’s state universities have exploded with the University of Virginia (UVA) probably the worst offender. In 2020, for example, UVA spent $4,149,732 on DEI programs with 38 DEI administrators; but within one year, both those figures had nearly doubled. In 2021, UVA spent $6,924,279 on DEI and had 77 DEI administrators. Incredibly, more recent findings show that UVA’s DEI expenditures have skyrocketed even more, with over $20 million spent in 2023 including for 235 DEI employees.

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Zelensky Officially Bans The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, has adopted a law allowing a ban on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The law was backed by 265 MPs with 226 needed for a majority.

The chairman of the Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that as a result of the adoption of this law, the UOC “will be prohibited”, and that “the bill provides for its immediate ban.” The law is expected to come into force 30 days after its publication. The move is the latest example of the outright disdain for democratic values and the freedom of religion exemplified by the regime of Ukraine’s unelected leader Volodomir Zelensky.

The bill was drafted on direct instructions from Zelensky. It passed a first reading in the Rada in October 2023, but a second reading was delayed due to fears that it would not have enough votes from MPs and that it would cause discontent in the West. On 16 August 2024, final amendments to the document were made, giving it a new Orwellian name, “For the protection of constitutional order in the field of religious organizations.”

The new state sponsored church organized by the Ukrainian regime had forcibly taken over the churches of the UOC, as well as those of ethnic minorities, and attacked priests. Local authorities deprived the canonical church of the right to lease land to churches. The Security Service of Ukraine, as of November 2023 admitted that authorities have opened 70 criminal cases against the clergy of the UOC, 19 of which resulted in convictions and stripping the clergy of citizenship, something unheard of in the civilized world.

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