
The group of religious sisters founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta is shutting down its thirty orphanages in India as a protest, rather than comply with new state regulations requiring that they place children with single parents. It’s a religious liberty case eerily familiar to Americans.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.12 Oct 2015, 4:32 AM PST0

Pope Francis says that he had wanted to remind U.S. leaders “that the greatest wealth of the country and its people are its spiritual and ethical heritage,” built on the founding principle “that all men are created equal by God and endowed with inalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.30 Sep 2015, 5:29 AM PST0

When asked about religious liberty aboard the papal plane during his return trip from the United States to Rome, Francis said that “conscientious objection is a right” and “if someone does not allow others to object on the basis of conscience, he denies a right.”
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.28 Sep 2015, 7:56 AM PST0

Pope Francis had an unscheduled meeting with the Little Sisters of the Poor, a community of nuns who have been engaged in a major legal battle against the Obama administration’s HHS contraception mandate.
by Dr. Susan Berry24 Sep 2015, 9:39 AM PST0

In what some are decrying as another blow to religious freedom in America, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Little Sisters of the Poor must comply with the HHS mandate that requires their health insurance carriers to subsidize contraceptive and some abortion services for employees or face onerous fines from the IRS.
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.15 Jul 2015, 11:49 AM PST0

Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the Obama administration not to enforce the contraceptive mandate against Catholic organizations from Pennsylvania, making this case the government’s sixth loss in a row at the Supreme Court. Currently, four petitions are before the Supreme Court asking for final resolution of the issue by June 2016.
by Dr. Susan Berry10 Jul 2015, 4:47 PM PST0