1. Removing Hurdles for Religious College Athletes, New state laws are ensuring college and school athletes are allowed to wear clothing with religious significance along with their team uniforms., By Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed, August 10, 2022 A new law went into effect in Maryland this summer permitting college and school athletes to wear articles of clothing with religious significance while playing, or to make changes to their uniforms in line with their religious ideals. The Inclusive Athletic Attire Act, requires the governing bodies of public colleges and universities, community college boards of trustees and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association to allow athletes to “modify an athletic or team uniform to make the attire more modest to conform to the requirements or preferences of the student athlete’s religion or culture.” This means athletes can now wear head coverings, such as a kippah, hijab or turban, or wear additional clothing such as undershirts or leggings for religious reasons. … The law was drafted based on a similar law passed in Illinois last year which prevents public K-12 schools, colleges and universities from requiring athletes to obtain a waiver to wear ritual clothing or modify their uniforms for religious reasons. Utah also adopted a resolution this March that encourages colleges and universities and public and private K-12 schools “to allow youth to wear religious clothing or headwear or to modify their uniforms to accommodate religious beliefs or personal values of modesty without barriers or limitations.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/08/10/state-laws-allow-college-athletes-wear-religious-garb __________________________________________________________ 2. Vatican cardinal honors Jewish convert, tells his own story, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, August 9, 2022, 11:30 AM A Vatican cardinal marked the 80th anniversary Tuesday of the gas chamber killing of the Jewish-born Catholic convert Edith Stein by celebrating a Mass near the former Auschwitz death camp and telling the story of his own family’s Jewish origins and their fate under the Nazis. Michael Czerny is one of cardinals most closely associated with Pope Francis’ pontificate. A Jesuit who ministered in El Salvador, Czerny heads the Vatican office responsible for Francis’ priority portfolios of migration, the environment, development and social justice. A Czech-born Canadian, Czerny recently joined Francis on his landmark visit to Canada to apologize to Indigenous peoples for the Catholic Church’s role in running the country’s notorious residential schools. On Tuesday, Czerny commemorated the anniversary of the day Stein was killed in Auschwitz’s gas chambers by celebrating Mass in a nearby Carmelite convent in Oswiecim, a Polish town under Nazi German occupation during the war. There, he delivered a homily that recounted Stein’s story and how it intersected with his own and that of his relatives, who hailed from Brno, in the former Czechoslovakia. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/vatican-cardinal-honors-jewish-convert-tells-his-own-story/2022/08/09/427c60b4-17f8-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html __________________________________________________________ 3. Justice Department asks judge to pause Idaho abortion ban, By Rebecca Boone, Associated Press, August 9, 2022, 5:51 PM The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge this week to bar Idaho from enforcing its near-total abortion ban while a lawsuit pitting federal health care law against state anti-abortion legislation is underway. Meanwhile, the Republican-led Idaho Legislature is asking for permission to intervene in the federal case, just as it has done in three other abortion-related lawsuits filed in state courts. The complex legal maneuvering playing out in Idaho is becoming increasingly common in red states as the American landscape of reproductive care continues to feel the aftershocks from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning decades of abortion rights rulings. Judges in the neighboring states of Montana and Wyoming were weighing similar requests, with the Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday keeping three abortion laws on pause and the Wyoming judge expected to issue a ruling soon. … The Justice Department sued Idaho last week over the state’s strict abortion ban, saying it would force doctors to violate the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a federal law that requires anyone coming to a medical facility for emergency treatment to be stabilized and treated. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-asks-judge-to-pause-idaho-abortion-ban/2022/08/09/ed951730-181a-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html __________________________________________________________ 4. Pro-lifers react with dismay to news that Irish government plans to fine for praying near abortion clinic, By Madeleine Teahan, Catholic News Agency, August 9, 2022, 9:51 AM Pro-life campaigners and advocates for religious freedom in Ireland have expressed dismay following the news that the Irish Government intends to introduce fines and prison sentences for people who pray, hold signs, or try to persuade women not to have abortions while they are within the vicinity of an abortion clinic. The proposed legislation would mean that individuals would not be allowed to express pro-life views within 100m of abortion clinics while also prohibiting silent prayer, the holding of placards, and any peaceful offers of alternatives to abortion. Pro-life activists have reacted by highlighting that there is no evidence that pro-life vigils near abortion clinics in Ireland are dangerous or unlawful. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251998/pro-lifers-react-with-dismay-to-news-that-irish-government-plans-to-fine-for-praying-near-abortion-clinic __________________________________________________________ 5. UK court says Mincione-Vatican lawsuit can go ahead, By The Pillar, August 8, 2022 The Court of Appeal for England and Wales has ruled that a lawsuit brought against the Vatican Secretariat of State by its former investment manager can continue, even while the plaintiff is under a criminal trial in Vatican City. Raffaele Mincione first filed suit against the Vatican state department in June 2020, petitioning the High Court of England and Wales for declaratory relief against the Secretariat of State, and asking judges to rule he “acted in good faith” in his dealings with the Vatican, managing hundreds of millions of euros in investments for the secretariat over a period of years and selling them a London building at 60 Sloane Ave. in 2018. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/uk-court-says-mincione-vatican-lawsuit __________________________________________________________TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association. |