Updates on Major Religious Liberty Cases: Groff at SCOTUS and Catholic Charities Bureau in Wisconsin

Tgsjmiller   -   April 27, 2023

April 27, 2023

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Updates on Major Religious Liberty Cases: Groff at SCOTUS and Catholic Charities Bureau in Wisconsin

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for a monumental religious liberty case on April 18th. Groff v. DeJoy is an important opportunity for the High Court to affirm the right of employees to honor their religious beliefs and the duty of employers to grant reasonable religious accommodations.

Christian mail carrier Gerald Groff requested a religious accommodation from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that would excuse him from working on Sundays after they started doing Amazon package deliveries, so that he could observe the Sabbath and live by his Christian faith. The fact that regular mail isn’t delivered by the USPS on Sundays was a major factor in Groff’s choosing to work there over a decade ago. USPS refused to grant him the accommodation and Groff chose to resign rather than be fired. Groff brought a lawsuit alleging his religious freedom had been violated because USPS had failed to reasonably accommodate his religion. Groff lost at the lower court level.

Groff is appealing to the Supreme Court in hopes it will overturn its erroneous 1977 precedent in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, which allowed employers to deny certain religious accommodations.

Thankfully, it appears that the conservative justices are poised to rule in favor of Groff and the religious liberty of every employee. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in this case by late June. 

At the state level, another religious liberty case will soon be heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. After the state refused to grant a Catholic charity legal recognition as a religious organization, the charity filed a lawsuit. Without legal recognition as an organization “operated primarily for religious purposes,” the charity is unable to use a Church-run unemployment system and instead must provide funds to the state-run unemployment system.

Although the Diocese of Superior operates the charity, the state refused to grant it its legal rights because it does not consider providing services to the poor, disabled, and elderly to be a primarily religious function. Catholic Charities Bureau is arguing that caring for those in need is central to the practice of the Catholic faith. WFA has filed an amicus brief urging the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take this case, and just last week they agreed to do so.

Please pray that our justices make decisions informed by the Constitution and our nation’s founding principles in both of these cases. If religious liberty is to be truly honored in Wisconsin and the nation at large, the justices must rule accordingly in these cases.

Read more…

Trans Policy is Destroying Women’s Privacy Rights

Four freshmen girls in Sun Prairie Area School District in Wisconsin were using their high school’s locker room when an adult male who “identifies” as a woman entered the locker room and exposed himself to the girls. The 18-year-old male announced that he was transgender before undressing and showering next to them.

Sun Prairie Area School District was notified of the incident, but allegedly has failed to address it.

“School districts need to think through what loosening boundaries for single-sex spaces could mean for girls,” said Libby Sobic, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty Director of Education Policy. “Parents are understandably concerned about whether school districts—like the Sun Prairie Area School District—are doing everything required to protect girls in bathrooms and locker rooms. WILL is calling on the district to act promptly to restore a sense of safety and privacy in its schools.”

Over a month after the incident, the district emailed one parent the “restroom and locker room accessibility guidance,” which states that students can use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their “gender identity,” rather than their biology, if they respect the privacy of others.

This incident is what inevitably happens when policy is rooted in ideology rather than reality, common sense, and the right to personal, bodily privacy. No student should have to fear sexual harassment while using a bathroom or locker room. 

WI Senator Questions FDA on Abortion Drugs After SCOTUS Reinstates Access

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson rightfully questioned the FDA’s recent decisions on the abortion pill at a Milwaukee Press Club-WisPolitics luncheon Monday. The FDA has prioritized politics over women’s health by approving dangerous abortion drugs and removing some of the regulatory safeguards in place to protect women.

Johnson noted that negative COVID-19 vaccine side effects have caused him to lose trust in federal health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) altogether. He also argued that federal agencies and medical research have been bought out and corrupted by “big pharma,” asserting that the FDA, CDC and National Institutes of Health “have not been honest with Americans.”

Johnson is right. The abortion pill is incredibly dangerous for mothers and their children. It has caused at least 28 maternal deaths and over 4,200 adverse side effects, including hemorrhaging and infections, as well as life-long emotional trauma. Under the FDA and Biden administration’s new rules, there is little oversight over the prescription of the abortion pill. 

Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a preliminary injunction by a lower court revoking the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill. For now, the abortion pill remains on the market, but this case is far from over.

Read more about the Religious Freedom Matters! community event series by clicking HERE. Events around Wisconsin are coming soon!

Register here


LEAD WI
July 16-21, 2023
Maranatha Baptist University – Watertown, WI
Register here

IN THE MEDIA
WEEKLY RADIO COMMENTARY. “WISCONSIN FAMILY CONNECTION”
Airing this week on over 20 stations statewide. This week: Conversion Therapy Bans: Judge says “No & Pay Up”

  • Click HERE to listen to this week’s Wisconsin Family Connection or read the complete radio commentary.
  • Subscribe to our podcasts HERE!

“WISCONSIN FAMILY MINUTE”
A daily program for Christian radio stations!

  • Listen on our website HERE
  • Click HERE to subscribe to your Wisconsin Family Minute podcasts and never miss an episode!
  • Find your local station to listen live HERE. If the Christian radio station you listen to isn’t carrying “Wisconsin Family Minute,” please encourage them to do so. Contact us at 866-849-2536 or info@wifamilycouncil.org. 

STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH – Q90FM
WFC President Julaine Appling was a recent guest on q90fm’s “Stand Up for the Truth” podcast, hosted by our friend David Fiorazo. You can listen to the podcast HERE. David, Mary (new co-host), and Julaine had a robust discussion on the issues of the day from a Christian perspective. Julaine’s next appearance on Stand Up for the Truth is Thursday, May 18, 2023.

HOME FRONT/InFOCUS – VCY AMERICA
WFC President Julaine Appling hosts VCY America’s “Home Front” program every Wednesday afternoon (Sept.-May) at 3:15 p.m. On each program Julaine talks about important events happening in Wisconsin. Listen to yesterday’s show HERE.
Click HERE to listen to archived Home Front programs.

Julaine is also a monthly guest on VCY’s TV 30 live call-in program, “InFocus,” hosted by VCY America’s General Manager Jim Schneider. The program is on each Monday evening at 7 p.m., September through May. Julaine joined Jim on Monday, April 3. Watch online HERE. Julaine will be on InFocus again on Monday, May 15, 2023.