Court: Judges cannot get involved in church dispute

The Supreme Court held unanimously that a "ministerial exception" does exist under the freedom of religion guarantee of the First Amendment that protects churches from being sued by religious employees under anti-discrimination laws. While groundbreaking in its limitation to employment discrimination, the ruling itself is narrow and expressly does not specify the distinction between a secular employee, who can take advantage of the government's protection from discrimination, and a religious employee, who can't.

USCCB holding immigration forum in Utah

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will hold a three-day conference on immigration reform in Salt Lake City beginning today to consider how state-initiated laws impact local communities and to move "toward consensus" on a "more humane" approach to immigration reform. The trick, of course, has always been how to separate the strangers among us who are just looking for a better life from those intent on doing harm.