(  )  The spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians has defended his 2019 decision to recognize an independent church in Ukraine.  He has also denounced the Russian Orthodox Church as giving a “ringing endorsement to the invasion of Ukraine.”  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made the remarks before a recent gathering of the Council on Foreign Relations during a stop on his 12-day visit to the United States.  Bartholomew has long been critical of the Russian Orthodox Church and its support for the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Moscow church claims that Ukraine is part of its church territory.

(  )  A federal appeals court says a Vermont Christian school can participate in the state’s sports league.  The decision overturns a previous one that upheld a ban on the school after it forfeited a high school girls basketball game against a team with a male athlete.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has granted Mid Vermont Christian School a preliminary injunction to rejoin the league as the legal battle continues in court.  In its decision the court wrote that “We conclude that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the expulsion of Mid Vermont was not neutral because it displayed hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs.”

(  )  Texas A&M University’s president is stepping down amid a controversy roiling the campus.  Mark Welsh said it had become clear to him in recent days that it was time for him to step down.  The controversy concerns a video showing a Texas A&M professor kicking a student out of class when that student expressed concern about a lesson on how to introduce LGBT books into elementary school classes.  The student pointed out that this could be a violation of federal law and the professor expelled the student.  The professor was eventually fired after a Republican lawmaker made the video public.