In this week’s edition:

• Legal victory for Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop

• St. Isidore of Seville charter school petitions SCOTUS

• A Vatican interdepartmental battle

• Ordinance on the ballot in SF reveals just how blood-thirsty pro-choicers have become

• and more!

SCOTUS dismisses suit brought against Masterpiece Cakeshop for refusing to bake “gender transition” cake

Summary: Mr. Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, had been sued for refusing to bake a gender-transition celebration cake. SCOTUS dismissed the case, saying the plaintiff had not depleted all options for pursuing reparations.

Details:

• Mr. Phillips’ has been the subject of multiple suits brought against him and his bakery over compelled speech and freedom of expression issues since 2012.

• Scardina, the current plaintiff, ordered a cake the day SCOTUS agreed to hear Phillips’ appeal on his prior suit, causing some to accuse Scardina of setting up Phillips for further legal battles.

• The state of CO and Phillips’ lawyers reached a settlement in 2019; Scardina decided to continue with the suit.

• A state judge and CO’s Court of Appeals sides with Scardina, but SCOTUS said that Scardina should have appealed the settlement to the State.

Why we care: We’d actually side with the dissenters here who “said they were concerned that Phillips would construe the ruling as a vindication.” It certainly is not, and we’d be surprised if this is the last we’ve heard from Mr. Phillips’ ideological enemies. It’s unfortunate that this poor man has to bear the weight of this entire issue, but his victories have significant bearing on us Christians who strive to live out our faith in the world. While most of us don’t face these types of issues in our daily business, our freedom of association is an important one - and one we’d certainly miss were it stripped from us. We should continue to pray for Mr. Phillips and for the preservation of our freedoms of speech and religion in our great nation.

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Nation’s first religious charter school appeals state ruling finding it unconstitutional

Summary: St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School aims to be the nation’s first religious public charter school, but a June ruling by OK’s Supreme Court declared the school unconstitutional. The school is petitioning the Supreme Court.

Details:

• A petition to for OK’s Supreme Court to prevent the school from opening was brought by the state’s AG in October 2023.

• The Oklahoma Supreme Court voted 7-1 in June that the school violated the Establishment Clause.

• Oklahoma law regarding charter schools allegedly prevents public money being used to support sects.

• Lawyers for the school are arguing that the state is violating the school’s First Amendment right’s by opening up a program for public charter schools but denying participation on the basis of religion.

• They also argue that there is plenty of precedent for the government contracting with religious groups for various social services.

Why we care: We’re certainly not legal experts, so take any opinions here with a slab of salt, but we think the school has a pretty decent case here. It seems to us that the Establishment Clause gets cited far too often and is often misunderstood in its purpose. Legality aside, we think that both charter schools and Catholic schools are wonderful things - put the two together and we’re massive fans, especially when the target demographic is in traditionally under-served rural areas. We’d love to see the school win this legal battle and for the residents of Oklahoma to have access to a quality Catholic education.

Secretariat of State tries to reinstate convicted abuser priest, DDF isn’t having any of that

Summary: Secretariat of State sostituto +Edgar Peña Parra signed an order to reinstate an Argentine priest who was laicized after being convicted of sexual abusing children. DDF secretary +John Joseph Kennedy voided the order.

Details:

• The Argentine priest was removed from his priestly duties in 2023 after a two-year investigation into allegations that he sexually abused minors.

• While awaiting the confirmation of the penalty, the local bishop received an order from the Secretariat of State that the priest should instead be placed on restricted ministry.

• The was allegedly a result of an “extraordinary procedure” finding the priest guilty of being “very reckless”.

• The DDF issued its own order on Oct. 7 declaring the previous order invalid and confirming the penalty of laicization.

Why we care: This feels like one of those backroom, underhanded politics things that is yucky even in regular politics or business situations, so it feels extra yucky when it happens in the Church. According to the linked article, the sostituto of the Secretariat of State is de facto the Holy Father’s chief of staff, and between that and the fact that +Kennedy met with Pope Francis the day before the DDF order was issued, it seems quite unlikely that the pope was in the dark about what was going on. Perhaps an appeal was made directly to Pope Francis himself. Either way, this kind of business has no place in the Church. Convicted abusers deserve the severest penalties, and we’re glad +Kennedy is standing up in defense of his charge.

+Cordileone speaks out against SF ordinance which would strengthen abortion access

Summary: Proposition O would make the city a “safe place for people seeking reproductive care”, “Protect the rights of pregnant people to control their medical decisions”, and “Safeguard the confidentiality of reproductive health information”.

Details:

• The proposition would accomplish the following:

  • Create grants for reproductive care

  • Maintain a list of ‘full service’ facilities and ‘limited service’ pregnancy centers

  • Allow the city to post signs outside pro-life pregnancy centers informing of the lack of abortion services and where such services can be obtained

  • Prevent city officials from sharing reproductive care info with law enforcement from other states

  • Increase areas where abortion services may be provided through zoning laws

• +Cordileone has said this ordinance unfairly targets pro-life centers since similar require

Why we care: If you thought sanctuary cities were bad enough, now they’re doing it for the murder of the unborn. It makes one wonder what happened in a person’s life that she would aim for her city to be an abortion “beacon of hope”, as one SF councilwoman said. What has happened to us that now Bill Clinton looks like a moderate with his “safe, legal and rare” pitch? There aren’t enough words to describe how disgusted we are with this bill and the whole abortion situation in general. Supporting “sectarian activities”? Not ok when it comes to education, perfectly ok when it comes to abortion? Make it make sense. Join us in continuing to pray for an end to this blight and for a respect for life in society.

Other Stories

• In Memoriam: Ethel Kennedy, wife of RFK, passes away at 96.

• Abuse cases:

  • CA priest charged with possession of - ahem - illicit images of minors pleads no contest.

  • Investigation finds PA priest abused two minors, resulting in authorization for him to be laicized.

• At home:

  • Biden admin walks back support for sex change surgeries for minors, but still supports other “transition” procedures.

  • FL Catholic groups among those affected by Hurricane Milton.

• Around the world:

  • Abortions decriminalized in Jalisco, MX.

  • Colombians to march over governmental support for minor sex changes.

  • Jesuit general counsellor expresses “moral support” for LGBTQ Catholic event held at the society’s general house in Rome.

• Other:

  • The Catholic position on pre-natal medical emergencies.

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