(SRN NEWS) Members of New Jersey’s Supreme Court sounded skeptical at times about the effort of a Catholic diocese to stop the state from empaneling a grand jury to investigate clergy sex abuse. In arguments this week, the state’s high court considered the attorney general’s appeal of lower court rulings that sided with the Diocese […]
Religious News
RELIGION HEADLINES THR 5-1-25
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(SRN NEWS) Members of New Jersey’s Supreme Court sounded skeptical at times about the effort of a Catholic diocese to stop the state from empaneling a grand jury to investigate clergy sex abuse. In arguments this week, the state’s high court considered the attorney general’s appeal of lower court rulings that sided with the Diocese of Camden. Those courts found that New Jersey cannot seat a grand jury to examine church officials’ behavior because they’re not public officials. The question is whether grand juries can issue findings in cases involving private individuals.
( ) Texas lawmakers are advancing a bill to change the language in the state’s abortion laws in an effort to clarify when doctors are allowed to perform an abortion during a medical emergency. The legislation, which has passed unanimously in the Texas Senate, is the first time Republican lawmakers have sought to amend the state’s abortion ban since Roe versus Wade was overturned in 2022. The measure was introduced by Republican state Senator Bryan Hughes, who says it is meant to “remove any doubt” about when abortions can be performed to save the life of the mother.
( ) North Dakota’s Republican governor has vetoed bills to further restrict sexual content in libraries and to create a private school voucher program — two issues that have seen widespread support by GOP governors in other states. The North Dakota legislature failed to override Kelly Armstrong’s veto. The library bill would have expanded the state’s 2023 prohibition on explicit sexual material in public libraries to school districts, and require those entities to have policies for relocating such material to an area not easily accessible to minors.
( ) A coalition of survivors of clergy sexual abuse is demanding that Catholic cardinals selecting the next pope pick a man who will adopt a universal zero-tolerance policy on abuse. The group End Clergy Abuse has issued an open letter to the cardinals who are meeting informally before the start of the May 7th conclave. Meanwhile, SNAP, the main U.S.-based survivor group, is identifying cardinals who themselves have problematic records on clergy sex abuse, highlighting a new level of scrutiny of all possible contenders for the papacy.