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| A Message from Becket's Executive Director |
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| May 11, 2020 |
Friends,
Last week we defended the Little Sisters of the Poor and prayed with them outside of the Court. In case you missed it, here's a great piece about the rally, a letter Mother Loraine wrote that was picked up by FOX News, and a piece on argument that morning (it's a good read).
Round 2 for Becket is TODAY. We are back at the Supreme Court (#SCOTUS) with our second argument this term defending Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru.
At 11:00AM ET this morning, Becket's VP and Senior Counsel, Eric Rassbach, will be calling into the Supreme Court to argue another important religious liberty case, this time defending the right of religious schools to choose who passes on the faith to the next generation without government intrusion.
But before I tell you about the case, let me remind you why this is such an important moment.
The Supreme Court scheduled six historic days of telephonic arguments from May 4 to May 13th to finish its work hearing cases (we still have decision time to come at the end of next month). Of the ten cases it agreed to hear on those days, TWO were Becket Fund cases, and feature critical issues for religious liberty.
I don't need to tell you why the Little Sisters of the Poor were at the High Court last Wednesday, but today's case is a little less well known. It is about an important legal protection for churches called the ministerial exception.
There's a fun video about it you can watch here, but it basically underscores that religious groups have the First Amendment right to choose who teaches the faith to the next generation, free from any government interference. Full autonomy in choosing the individuals who teach their beliefs and embody their faith is critical, and was already unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012.
Eight years later, we are back at the Supreme Court. And just in case you think this only affects Catholic or Christian groups, Newsweek featured an article that discusses why this is an important issue for Jewish and Muslim communities, too. Minority religions are just as much at risk, if not more, from government's desire to co-opt their religions.
So grab your coffee, turn on C-SPAN (radio, TV, or stream it online), and join me in watching your expert team at Becket defend our First Amendment freedoms! |
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Gratefully,
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Montse Alvarado
Executive Director |
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P.S. Follow me on Twitter at @Mmontsealvarado.
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