Catholic News 2
An Iraqi pleaded for his life to President Donald Trump. A longtime New Yorker, born in Syria, wondered how he would get home from a trip abroad. Church groups, geared up to welcome refugee families, looked in dismay at homes prepared for families that may never arrive....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge issued an emergency order Saturday night temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated....
Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan 28, 2017 / 04:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For Michael P. Farris, the new head of Alliance Defending Freedom, educating the general American public on the rich history of religious liberty in the U.S. is vital.As a nation, he told CNA, “I think we have a very limited understanding of religious freedom.”Religious liberty is the foundation for free speech, free press, and free assembly, he continued. Protections for many of the key freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution were secured through the battle for religious freedom.So when people start forgetting the vital role of religious freedom, they lose a firm grasp of these other freedoms as well.“This is why we see free speech going in the wrong direction in a whole variety of areas,” he said, pointing to college campuses as an example.Education is a topic close to the heart of Farris. Recognized as a leader within the modern homeschooling movement, he became the fou...
Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan 28, 2017 / 04:15 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- For Michael P. Farris, the new head of Alliance Defending Freedom, educating the general American public on the rich history of religious liberty in the U.S. is vital.
As a nation, he told CNA, “I think we have a very limited understanding of religious freedom.”
Religious liberty is the foundation for free speech, free press, and free assembly, he continued. Protections for many of the key freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution were secured through the battle for religious freedom.
So when people start forgetting the vital role of religious freedom, they lose a firm grasp of these other freedoms as well.
“This is why we see free speech going in the wrong direction in a whole variety of areas,” he said, pointing to college campuses as an example.
Education is a topic close to the heart of Farris. Recognized as a leader within the modern homeschooling movement, he became the founding president of the Home School Legal Defense Association in 1983.
In 2000, he founded Patrick Henry College in northern Virginia, based on a commitment to Christian biblical truth and classical liberal arts. He taught constitutional law and public international law at the school, and he coached students on the Moot Court team to a World Championship. He remains chancellor emeritus of the college.
Now, Farris is assuming the role of president, CEO, and general counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, becoming just the second person in that position in the organization’s 23-year history. He is replacing Alan Sears, who after creating and running the legal group for over two decades, will now transition to a founder’s role.
Farris said he wanted to join Alliance Defending Freedom “because I was deeply disturbed about the state of religious freedom in this country.”
“The effort is underway to limit religious freedom to the freedom of worship,” he said, emphasizing that this flawed view limits religious freedom, driving it out of the public square and preventing it from shaping people’s everyday lives and decisions.
Both domestically and internationally, Farris has seen growing threats to religious liberty. From radical Islam to an effort in much of Europe and the U.S. to “silence opposition to the views of the secular elite,” the challenges abound.
But despite these obstacles, Farris says that he’s ultimately hopeful for the long-term future, because he knows that he is on the side of truth.
For now, it’s a matter of fighting the good fight. And that’s done on several different fronts.
“We here at ADF are chiefly a litigating organization,” Farris explained. The legal organization works to defend religious liberty in court cases across the country, with success in nearly 80 percent of its cases.
Farris is no stranger to litigation. With a specialty in constitutional appellate litigation, he has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, eight federal circuit courts of appeals, and the highest courts of 13 individual states.
He also has ample experience testifying before both the House of Representatives and the Senate over the last 30 years, and he co-chaired the coalition that successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Alliance Defending Freedom also does some work in education, reaching out to young leaders who show promise in law. In addition, it partners with other organizations that work to educate the public on religious freedom, and Farris stressed that “we want to continue that robust alliance.”
Reflecting on the new administration in Washington, D.C., Farris was cautiously optimistic.
“I do see some opportunity for hope there,” he said, pointing specifically to Vice President Mike Pence, who is known as a devout Christian.
“Mike is a solid believer and understands these issues,” he said, adding, “I think we’ll have a listening ear in the Justice Department.”
While he acknowledged that “we’re not walking into a perfect world,” he added that “it’s a world that has some hope and some opportunity,” in contrast with the last eight years, which saw only the shallowest of lip service paid to the concept of religious liberty.
He said that Paul Ryan’s role as Speaker of the House gives him hope for Congress as well.
Addressing perceptions of religious freedom in the United States, Farris rejected the claim that religious liberty is dangerous because it permits license for any type of action under the guise of religion.
“That theory of religious freedom has been rejected since the beginning of the Republic,” he said, pointing to child sacrifice as an example of an “intrinsically evil act” that was never permitted on religious freedom grounds.
“There’s never been the idea that you could commit a common law crime in the name of religion.”
But within the rational limits of religious freedom, he said, there is plenty of room for people to live out their faith in ways that other people may respectfully disagree with – and that’s a cause that all Americans should rally around.
“I think the test of religious freedom,” he said, “is whether you’re willing to stand up for the religious freedom of those that you disagree with theologically.”
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump acted Saturday to fulfill a key portion of his pledge to "drain the swamp" in Washington, banning administration officials from ever lobbying the U.S. on behalf of a foreign government and imposing a separate five-year ban on other lobbying....
NEW YORK (AP) -- The woman at the center of the trial of Emmett Till's alleged killers has acknowledged that she falsely testified he made physical and verbal threats, according to a new book....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump says his halt to immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations and ban on refugees is being done in the name of national security. But it's not clear that these measures will help prevent attacks on American soil, and they could wind up emboldening extremists who already view the U.S. as at war with Islam....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump had an hourlong discussion Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin - the first since Trump assumed office last week - raising questions over the fate of U.S. sanctions against Moscow and whether the two will look to enhance military cooperation against the Islamic State group....
An Iraqi pleaded for his life to President Donald Trump. A former Iraqi translator for the U.S. military landed in his new home with words of praise for America still on his lips. And community and church groups, geared up to welcome Syrian families, looked in dismay at homes prepared for refugees that may never be filled....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Confusion, worry and outrage grew Saturday as President Donald Trump's crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries took effect. Airlines blocked people traveling to the United States, legal challenges were underway and doubts abounded about whether the order would make America safer....
(Vatican Radio) Hungary's government says it wants Hungary to become "a hub and supporter" of groups who fight against persecution of Christians. The announcement came at an international conference in Budapest where leading advocacy groups gathered in Parliament to discuss the worldwide persecution of Christians. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: Hungary's Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry for Human Resources says Hungary should become a center for those supporting Christians persecuted for their faith. Bence Rétvári told delegates attending the international gathering that "more Christians are being persecuted today throughout the world than during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero". Rights activists estimate that about 100 million Christians are persecuted around the world and say many believers have been killed, detained, discriminated or abused. That's why Hungary, as the first country in the wor...
(Vatican Radio) Hungary's government says it wants Hungary to become "a hub and supporter" of groups who fight against persecution of Christians. The announcement came at an international conference in Budapest where leading advocacy groups gathered in Parliament to discuss the worldwide persecution of Christians.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
Hungary's Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry for Human Resources says Hungary should become a center for those supporting Christians persecuted for their faith. Bence Rétvári told delegates attending the international gathering that "more Christians are being persecuted today throughout the world than during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero".
Rights activists estimate that about 100 million Christians are persecuted around the world and say many believers have been killed, detained, discriminated or abused.
That's why Hungary, as the first country in the world, has set up a government office supporting Christians suffering for
their faith in Christ especially in the Middle East and other troubled regions. "When I travelled through Iraq I also met with numerous church leaders. Everybody asks that we don't help the Iraqis and the persecuted get into Europe. Instead we should help locals start up their lives again," said Rétvári, whose ministry supervises the office.
Some advocacy groups criticized that approach saying Hungary should also accept Christian refugees, including former Muslims, who may be detained or even killed when they return home.
ACCEPTING CHRISTIANS
Vatican Radio has learned that behind-the-scenes talks are ongoing about Hungary accepting Christian refugees. That isn't easy as Hungary was one of the first European Union countries to build razor wire fences to halt the influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty.
Yet the leader of Syria's Catholic Church, Ignatius Ephrem Joseph III Younan, told Vatican Radio that he would welcome support to local churches in Syria as they already played a crucial role in helping people in for instance the devastated city of Aleppo. "When in Aleppo there was no more way to get water, they did dig in the court of the churches to find a well to get water. So you have to deal with the means you have.
The church leader, who held talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has urged Hungary to go further than setting up a special office by pushing for an end to Western sanctions and support for rebels fighting against Syria's president Bashar Assad. "Now for the Hugarian government ofcouse regarding the situation in the European Union, they have to stop sending arms to the rebels because that would foment more violence," he said in an interview.
"And secondly they should also ask the United Nations to decree the lifting of sanctions because it is not morally justified because it huts and harms the innocent people, " he added.
Hungary's government has now urged international advocacy groups to come up with an action plan top support persecuted Christians. Christians also face persecution in Hungary for decades till 1989 when communism collapsed. The mainly Catholic nation of 10 million people is now a member of the European Union and NATO alliance.
