Religious freedom

Connecticut lawmakers plan to push ahead with religious exemption bill
- Jan 21, 2021
Leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Public Health Committee on Monday pledged to move forward this session with legislation that would end a religious exemption from vaccinations for schoolchildren, despite being called on by thousands of residents to postpone plans.

By Susan Haigh
Taiwanese president praises pope’s stance on human rights
- Jan 16, 2021
At a time when the Vatican continues to draw fire for its controversial deal over the appointment of bishops with China, the president of arguably the most longstanding thorn in Beijing’s side has written Pope Francis instead to praise collaboration between Taiwan and Rome.

By Elise Ann Allen
As Callista Gingrich departs, she’s the new “COAT” in US/Vatican ties
- Jan 16, 2021
Yesterday U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Callista Gingrich made her farewell visit to Pope Francis, marking the end of her term – and also cementing her case as the COAT, meaning the American envoy to the Vatican who faced the most vexing all-time challenge.

By John L. Allen Jr.

China denies coercive birth control measures in Xinjiang
- Jan 11, 2021
A Chinese official on Monday denied Beijing has imposed coercive birth control measures among Muslim minority women, following an outcry over a tweet by the Chinese Embassy in Washington claiming that government polices had freed women of the Uighur ethnic group from being “baby-making machines.”

By Associated Press
High court for now rejects religious school’s challenge to pandemic limits
- Dec 19, 2020
The Supreme Court Dec. 17 rejected an appeal from a Kentucky Christian school to be exempt from state orders to stop in-person classes amid rising coronavirus cases.

By Carol Zimmermann
D.C. mayor adjusts COVID-19 limits on churches after archdiocese files lawsuit
- Dec 19, 2020
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Washington, has modified the current pandemic limits on gatherings at houses of worship in the District to 25 percent of capacity and no more than 250 people.

By Mark Zimmermann