RELIGION HEADLINES
Written by on January 2, 2025
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(SRN NEWS) – Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a defense of judicial independence, which he says is under threat from intimidation, disinformation and the prospect of public officials defying court orders. Roberts is particularly concerned about Democratic plans to term-limit the court in retaliation for the repeal of Roe versus Wade. The chief justice points out that King George the Third stripped colonial judges of lifetime appointments, an order that was not well received. Democrats have also floated the idea of packing the court in order to outflank conservatives.
2025 may see the establishment of laws designed to protect children in several Republican-led states. In Tennessee, one new statute requires pornography websites to verify that customers are at least 18 years old. But the Free Speech Coalition, a pornography trade association, has filed a challenge. A Florida law bans children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for ages 14 and 15. But enforcement is being delayed because of a lawsuit filed by two associations for online companies.
Religious Freedom advocates are expressing outrage over the conviction of a Catholic priest in Belarus. He was accused of high treason for criticizing the government and handed an 11-year sentence. This is the first case of politically driven charges against a clergyman since Belarus became independent in the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. The conviction comes as government authorities intensify their sweeping crackdown on dissent ahead of January’s presidential election. The priest joins more than 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus.
The number of abortion clinics that have been closing in pro-life states is being balanced by new ones opening in pro-abortion states. There were 800 publicly identifiable abortion providers in the U.S. in May 2022, the month before the Supreme Court reversed Roe versus Wade. Today there are 792. Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico are among the states with new clinics. Several pro-life states have no abortion clinics of any kind. And some hospitals that had always provided abortions are now advertising the fact, in an effort to increase business.
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