RELIGION HEADLINES SUN 6-22-25

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(SRN NEWS)  Seventeen statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions are suing the Trump administration over requirements in grant applications that they don’t promote gender ideology or run diversity, equity and inclusion programs.  The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island claims that the grant requirements would open the plaintiffs to federal investigations and enforcement actions, as well as lawsuits from private parties.  President Trump has vowed to purge the federal government of DEI and the LGBT agenda.

(  )  Centuries-old monasteries have been damaged by a series of earthquakes in a secluded monastic community in northern Greece.  A magnitude 5.3 quake struck the Mount Athos peninsula this month, followed by a series of both undersea and land-based tremors.  The semi-autonomous monastic republic is one of the most important religious sites for Orthodox Christians.  It is home to 20 monasteries and observes a number of ancient traditions. The Culture Ministry reports “severe cracks” in the dome of the Monastery of Xenophon as well as damage to other sites.

(  )  The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that the state can have a grand jury examine allegations of clergymen sexually abusing children.  The ruling comes after a Catholic diocese tried for years to block such proceedings.  The Diocese of Camden argued that a court rule prevents the state attorney general from impaneling a grand jury to issue findings in the state’s investigation into decades of allegations against Catholic priests.  However, the diocese notified the court in May that it would no longer oppose the grand jury.

(  )  Abortion funding across the U.S. is drying up three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade.  An initial surge of donations has subsided, scores of clinics have closed and abortion advocates predict that federal policy changes will result in more shutting down.  On the other hand, a majority of abortions in the U.S. are now carried out using pills and abortion groups are working hard to provide them to women — especially in pro-life states.  Whether that practice is actually legal is a question that is currently before the courts.