In the 25 years since the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act became law, “restrictions on religious freedom have been steadily increasing for several years” around the globe, said the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty and international policy committees.
Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, during a recent stop in Brooklyn, said massacres by Fulani herdsmen have continued in Nigeria, even as a new president has taken office.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 18 about a former postal worker who was forced to work Sundays against his religious beliefs.
Colorado baker Jack Phillips — whose refusal to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple led to a Supreme Court case — lost his case before a state appeals court over his refusal to make a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition.
The U.S. Catholic bishops marked Religious Freedom Day Jan. 16 by encouraging Catholics engaged in public life to examine their consciences and heed the late Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis in prioritizing truth and reason.
In a case examining the scope of free speech protected by the First Amendment, the Supreme Court Dec. 5 ultimately seemed to favor a broad view of free speech.
A bill on same-sex marriage advancing in the Senate is “a bad deal for the many courageous Americans of faith and no faith who continue to believe and uphold the truth about marriage in the public square today,” said New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
Experts gathered in Rome this week for a conference organized by the University of Notre Dame contend that religious freedom is under attack all over the world.
Religious freedom advocates are confused over the omission of Nigeria from a U.S. State Department list of countries known for having the world’s worst attacks on Christians. “We’re baffled,” said Ed Clancy, of Brooklyn-based Aid to the Church in Need-U.S. “By every single measure, Nigeria has gotten worse.”
George Pataki, former New York governor, made his personal “state-of-the-state” comments in the wake of Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as governor.
