Latest news with #anti-Catholic
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump-backed clergy nets win over Washington state child abuse law — for now
Members of the Roman Catholic clergy in Washington, backed by the Trump administration, won a victory in court last Friday as they seek to dismantle a controversial aspect of a state law meant to curb child sex abuse. U.S. District Judge David Estudillo granted the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction on Friday, placing a hold on Senate Bill 5375, a law that requires faith leaders to report instances of child abuse relayed to them, including Catholic priests who hear such admissions during confessions. The law was set to go into effect on July 27. The Trump administration last month joined the legal fight to overturn the law, which it describes as "anti-Catholic," suing Washington state and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson. The governor, who is Catholic, has defended the law and said he's "disappointed" in the Church for seeking to block it. A hearing in the Trump administration's request for a separate preliminary injunction is set for this week, the Washington State Standard reported. Proponents of the law say it doesn't single out Catholics, given that the mandatory reporting requirement includes ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, elders or a 'spiritual leader of any church, religious denomination, religious body, spiritual community or sect,' as well as school employees and health care workers. But Estudillo, a Biden appointee, said the law's requirement regarding confessionals infringes upon priests' First Amendment rights. He noted that roughly 25 other states have carved out exceptions for the confessional in their mandatory reporting laws and called Washington's exemptions for other professions 'likely fatal to SB 5375.' To me, there's scant evidence that the law — which was created in response to abuse allegations among Jehovah's Witnesses — is anti-Catholic, and ample evidence that the law is simply anti-sex abuse. And the Trump administration's attempt to undercut it fit a disturbing pattern of undermining efforts to combat sex abuse. This article was originally published on
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
New Hampshire is expanding school choice. Will Massachusetts follow?
Advertisement This surge in school choice is part of a broader national trend. Enrollment in such programs has more than doubled since 2020 — from roughly 540,000 to more than Massachusetts, home to some of the nation's strongest private, parochial, charter, and vocational-technical schools, is increasingly being left behind, politically unwilling and legally constrained from offering families access to private options. The catalyst for this wave of private options was the US Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The court Advertisement Her story resonated nationwide, particularly during the pandemic. The move to online learning by public schools, union resistance to returning students to the classroom, and a seeming disregard for students' mental health and learning loss drove many families toward private and homeschool options. Even in Massachusetts, Massachusetts may remain among the top-performing states nationally, but that status masks a troubling decline. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress (the nation's report card), average eighth-grade The pandemic and student distraction due to cellphones are partially to blame, but the decline is Clearly there is a hunger for options other than traditional public school. Advertisement New Hampshire's latest choice expansion is relevant to Massachusetts because, in addition to the two states' cultural and demographic similarities, they post nearly identical academic performance. On the 2024 NAEP, New Hampshire eighth-graders scored averages of 280 in As student performance declines, Massachusetts lawmakers remain committed to a top-down, monopolistic education system. They refuse to consider private school choice, hiding behind 19th-century anti-Catholic amendments in the state constitution that prohibit public funds from flowing to religious schools, even indirectly. At the same time, lawmakers have stood by as the pillars of the Commonwealth's landmark 1993 education reforms — strong academic standards, accountability through testing, and choice through charter schools — have steadily eroded. New Hampshire is taking a more pragmatic approach: It is steadily expanding school choice with thoughtful fiscal safeguards and a clear focus on helping the students most in need. As a result, many more New Hampshire parents will now be able to narrow class- and race-based achievement gaps — whether through public or private schools, the small learning groups called The recently passed 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' President Trump's massive tax and spending plan, enacts the first national school choice program, offering scholarships funded through tax credits to all but the wealthiest families. Starting in 2027, taxpayers nationwide will be able to redirect up to $1,700 in federal taxes to approved scholarship organizations. Advertisement The program could benefit many of the 120,000 families in Massachusetts paying a private school tuition, or using homeschool and microschool options, which grew enormously during the pandemic. Expanding its appeal further, the program benefits families paying for after-school supplemental learning, including tutoring. The catch? States must opt in. For now, Massachusetts officials say they are For the dozens of states with school choice programs, including New Hampshire, the pathway forward is clear: Private school choice has broad public support and expands equality of educational opportunity. What will Massachusetts do?
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Divine intervention: A powerful podcast on Boston's Catholic anti-Vietnam War protests
Sheltering Couming was very much on brand for the liberal priests' anti-Vietnam and anti-Catholic hierarchy endeavors. But their superiors were far from encouraging. After a three-day standoff between Hoover's mostly Irish Catholic agents and the Paulist priests, US Marshals entered the center peacefully and The lefty priests and their supporters plunged themselves into all manner of anti-Vietnam ops, e.g., destroying draft files and organizing protests. Narrator Hughes has great characters to work with, including the two priests who shook up the Paulist Center in the early '70s: his father, Patrick, and Floyd McManus. James Carroll, the future author ('Constantine's Sword') and Globe columnist, is their fellow seminarian and comrade in arms. Advertisement Additional cast members include Boston University's Wyzanski is the jurist who let Ray Charles skate on a 1964 drug bust, when the blues singer was caught at Logan Airport with ' Advertisement 'Divine Intervention' is an ensemble masterpiece not unlike J. Anthony Lukas's superb book about the Boston busing crisis, ' There's more. Patrick Hughes and his wife, Marianne, staged the first Why am I kvelling on here? Because Brendan Hughes's story is also personal for me. His father, Patrick, died young, at age 41, and his mother, Marianne, subsequently married the late Globe editorial page editor Kirk Scharfenberg, who brought me to this newspaper. Color me prejudiced. I like these people, a lot. What I liked most about 'Divine Intervention' is that Hughes takes the church, and the activist Catholics' commitment to moral behavior and social justice, seriously. Reading newspapers and watching television these days, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Christian church is primarily a conspiracy for abusing children and fabulating hypocrisy. The truth is a bit more complicated. Advertisement Hughes, who is not religious ('I've always felt like it's not for me,' he told me) understands that the church can also inspire selfless and ethical behavior among its followers: Reasonable people can disagree about whether the Boston lefties breaking into federal offices, destroying files, and removing draft cards was the correct way to protest an unpopular war. But no one can challenge the sincerity of the activists' commitment and their principled appeal to moral authority. 'All these zany Catholics brought a ferocity of love to everything they did that cannot be denied,' Hughes concludes in the final episode. God bless them. Is the series perfect? No. Like everything in the digital world, it's too long; 10 episodes that could be fewer. The history is at times a bit fanciful. Did Pope John XXIII's intervention ' But I don't seek perfection. 'We all stumble in many ways' — James 3:2. I admire great work, and that's what this is. Do yourself a favor and give a listen. Alex Beam's column appears regularly in the Globe. Follow him
Scotsman
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Another Dornan step too far
Evening News readers might remember a particularly stupid and baseless allegation against Lothian Buses that it had cancelled services on St Patrick's Day in 2021 because of some hidden anti-Catholic bias that mysteriously Catholics had never noticed. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Of course, anyone with half a brain knew the services were halted because night after night bus services in some parts of Edinburgh were being subjected to wanton vandalism and thuggery, but not Glasgow MSP James Dornan who came up with the crazed sectarian theory just the same. Displaying the same level of incisive analysis, Mr Dornan has reacted to the proscription of the Palestine Action group as a terror organisation by lodging a motion calling for the UK Government to 'proscribe only those organisations that it considers really do or did cause a threat to life, such as the Israeli Defence Force.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We all know what Mr Dornan thinks about Israel, but there are still an estimated 20,000 Hamas 'fighters' ─ rapists and murderers ─ holed up in Gaza, an army dedicated to the extinction of the Jewish state, and the IDF is entitled to defend its people. Causing a threat to life is what armed forces do, following orders from politicians, so following Mr Dornan's logic, so too should the British Army be outlawed. He'd probably agree, but what's harder to understand is why an otherwise moderate Leith MSP Ben McPherson has backed Mr Dornan's extremism. Yes, the killing must end, but first and foremost that must apply to the Hamas death cult.
Express Tribune
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart dies at 90
Jimmy Swaggart, the controversial televangelist whose career was defined by both massive popularity and scandal, has died at the age of 90. His death was confirmed by his SonLife Broadcasting Network on July 1. Swaggart had been hospitalized at Baton Rouge General Medical Center following a cardiac event two weeks ago. Born in Ferriday, Louisiana, on March 15, 1935, Swaggart rose to prominence as one of the most influential televangelists of the 20th century. His fiery preaching style, often accompanied by piano music, attracted millions of viewers. His influence peaked during the 1980s when his sermons – sometimes marked by anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic rhetoric – reached a global audience, with donations surpassing $100 million annually. However, Swaggart's career took a dramatic turn in 1988, following a scandal in which he was photographed with a prostitute in a New Orleans motel. The incident led to his public confession on live television, where he tearfully admitted to his sins and sought forgiveness from his viewers and God. While some followers viewed the confession as genuine repentance, many saw it as a desperate attempt to salvage his career. The scandal marked the beginning of his fall from grace. Swaggart was defrocked by his church and continued as an independent Pentecostal minister. Despite a second scandal in 1991, when he was caught with a prostitute, he returned to lead his Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge. While he never regained the widespread influence he once had, he continued to preach on television, radio, and online until his death. Swaggart's legacy remains complicated, marked by both his contributions to televangelism and his troubled personal life.
