RELIGION HEADLINES SUN 12-14-25

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(SRN NEWS)  The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal on a Texas free speech case.  The decision allows local officials to remove books deemed objectionable from public libraries.  The case began in 2022 when a group of state residents sued over the removal of more than a dozen books, including several that promote the LGBT lifestyle to children.  A lower federal appeals court ruled that the removal did not violate Constitutional protections against government censorship.  A growing number of states are acting to remove pornographic material and other adult content from the children’s sections of public libraries.

(  )  The Catholic Archdiocese of New York says it will set up a 300 million dollar fund to compensate victims of priest sex abuse who have sued the church.  Cardinal Timothy Dolan says the archdiocese will pay for the fund by reducing its budget and selling off assets, including completing the sale of its former headquarters in Manhattan.  Church officials hope the fund will cover settlements for most, if not all of the roughly 1,300 outstanding claims against the archdiocese.  Church leaders have also agreed to engage retired Judge Daniel Buckley as a mediator between the church and victims to reach a settlement.

(  )  Abortion will be on the ballot in a couple of states in 2026.  Nevada’s government will ask residents to approve an amendment that would enshrine abortion in the constitution for the second time, as required by state law.  The same measure passed in 2024 with about 64 percent of the vote.  Virginians will likely see a similar ballot initiative.  Last month voters there cemented a majority for Democrats in the state legislature, and the House of Delegates is expected to put forth an abortion amendment in the fall of 2026.  Pro-life advocates in Missouri want to undo an amendment protecting abortion that voters narrowly passed in 2024.

(  )  The national dispute over medication abortion is playing out in Washington, D.C.  A group of 51 Republican senators and 22 GOP attorneys general have asked the FDA to reinstate the 2021 in-person restriction and upend the transit of abortion pills.  In response, 47 Democratic senators and 20 attorneys general have issued letters supporting the safety of abortion drugs.  HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior has ordered his FDA chief to commence a review of the pills.  However, Bloomberg is reporting that the FDA has postponed that planned review until sometime after the 2026 midterm elections.