louisiana
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Feb 19, 2023: L'Observateur: Catholicism is under attack by the FBI
The good news is that attorney generals all across America, including Louisiana’s Jeff Landry, have stepped in to challenge the anti-Catholic bigotry of the FBI. Twenty state attorney generals have demanded the FBI ceased and desist: “the investigating and surveilling Americans who have done nothing more than exercise their natural and constitutional right to practice their religion.” This group goes on to charge that “anti-Catholic bigotry appears to be festering in the FBI, and the Bureau is treating Catholics as potential terrorists because of their beliefs.” |
- Baptist Message -
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Feb 17, 2023: Guardian: Republicans take aim at risque jokes and romance novels with anti-sex bills
Laurie Schlegel, a Republican state senator who drafted the Louisiana law, is a sex-addiction therapist educated at Baptist seminary, who opposed transgender students from being on sports teams that align with their gender. Schlegel’s anti-LGBTQ+ views fit with the broader goal of the laws, according to Carolyn Bronstein, a professor of media studies at DePaul University.
“These laws are really not about controlling minors’ access to violent pornography … In the conservative world view, pornography is information about LGBTQ identity, abortion, gay marriage,” said Bronstein.Eight states have justified their actions by saying that porn is “creating a public health crisis”. Louisiana’s bill claims that pornography “may lead to low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages … impact brain development … shape deviant sexual arousal, and lead to difficulty in forming or maintaining positive, intimate relationships, as well as promoting problematic or harmful sexual behaviors and addiction.”
Laurie Schlegel, a Republican state senator who drafted the Louisiana law, is a sex-addiction therapist educated at Baptist seminary, who opposed transgender students from being on sports teams that align with their gender. Schlegel’s anti-LGBTQ+ views fit with the broader goal of the laws, according to Carolyn Bronstein, a professor of media studies at DePaul University.
“These laws are really not about controlling minors’ access to violent pornography … In the conservative world view, pornography is information about LGBTQ identity, abortion, gay marriage,” said Bronstein.Eight states have justified their actions by saying that porn is “creating a public health crisis”. Louisiana’s bill claims that pornography “may lead to low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages … impact brain development … shape deviant sexual arousal, and lead to difficulty in forming or maintaining positive, intimate relationships, as well as promoting problematic or harmful sexual behaviors and addiction.”
Dec 1, 2022: Our Sunday Visitor: New Orleans archbishop prays for murdered priest, missing worker
The head of the Archdiocese of New Orleans spoke of horror and pain in a Nov. 30 statement, following what police believe is the killing of a retired priest and possibly a church worker in the archdiocese.
“The horror of the events that have unfolded here in Covington is beyond shocking,” wrote Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond in the statement posted on the website of the archdiocese after local police confirmed that one of two burned bodies found Nov. 28 is that of retired priest Father Otis Young, of St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington, a suburb of New Orleans.
The head of the Archdiocese of New Orleans spoke of horror and pain in a Nov. 30 statement, following what police believe is the killing of a retired priest and possibly a church worker in the archdiocese.
“The horror of the events that have unfolded here in Covington is beyond shocking,” wrote Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond in the statement posted on the website of the archdiocese after local police confirmed that one of two burned bodies found Nov. 28 is that of retired priest Father Otis Young, of St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington, a suburb of New Orleans.
June 8, 2022: Christianity Daily: Conservative Baptist Network's Pastor Brad Jurkovich Must Turn Over Financial Records Amid Controversy: Judge
A Louisiana pastor and his church are in the midst of a controversy involving finances and bylaws at First Baptist Church.
Church members at First Baptist Church in Bossier, Louisiana have filed a lawsuit against the church, alleging that Conservative Baptist Network Pastor Brad Jurkovich had diverted funds allotted for missions to a conservative Baptist group. Now, the church has been ordered to submit almost a decade's worth of financial records to its former members.
A Louisiana pastor and his church are in the midst of a controversy involving finances and bylaws at First Baptist Church.
Church members at First Baptist Church in Bossier, Louisiana have filed a lawsuit against the church, alleging that Conservative Baptist Network Pastor Brad Jurkovich had diverted funds allotted for missions to a conservative Baptist group. Now, the church has been ordered to submit almost a decade's worth of financial records to its former members.
Jan 28, 2022: Baptist Message: Bahamian church campus nearly restored
A Louisiana Baptist-led effort to help St. Matthew Baptist Church rebuild three years after Hurricane Dorian leveled their facility is nearing completion......"Louisiana Baptists have done a great thing for this community because they could have never accomplished this on their own,” Louisiana Baptist Mission and Ministry Director John Hebert said. “This community is remote, and it would have taken a decade or more for these people — with no homes to live in themselves — to reestablish the ministry at St. Matthews. What we’ve done is given these people in Pelican Point a jump on their ministry by a decade so they can continue to offer their community a hope for the future.”
A Louisiana Baptist-led effort to help St. Matthew Baptist Church rebuild three years after Hurricane Dorian leveled their facility is nearing completion......"Louisiana Baptists have done a great thing for this community because they could have never accomplished this on their own,” Louisiana Baptist Mission and Ministry Director John Hebert said. “This community is remote, and it would have taken a decade or more for these people — with no homes to live in themselves — to reestablish the ministry at St. Matthews. What we’ve done is given these people in Pelican Point a jump on their ministry by a decade so they can continue to offer their community a hope for the future.”
May 16, 2022: Christianity Today: First Pastor to Defy COVID-19 Lockdowns Wins in Court
Tony Spell, the first pastor to publicly defy COVID-19 lockdown orders, has won his legal battle against the state of Louisiana two years later.
The state Supreme Court decided 5 to 2 on Friday that the governor did not have a good reason to block Spell’s Oneness Pentecostal church from meeting for worship while other venues received exemptions from public health restrictions.
A 2020 executive order in the Bayou State prohibited gatherings of more than 50, and a subsequent order limited groups to 10, following the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early in the pandemic. Both orders carved out exceptions, however, for airports, grocery stores, factories, office buildings, and other meetings deemed “essential.”
It is a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion to offer legal exemptions to secular groups and not religious ones, the Louisiana court found.
Tony Spell, the first pastor to publicly defy COVID-19 lockdown orders, has won his legal battle against the state of Louisiana two years later.
The state Supreme Court decided 5 to 2 on Friday that the governor did not have a good reason to block Spell’s Oneness Pentecostal church from meeting for worship while other venues received exemptions from public health restrictions.
A 2020 executive order in the Bayou State prohibited gatherings of more than 50, and a subsequent order limited groups to 10, following the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early in the pandemic. Both orders carved out exceptions, however, for airports, grocery stores, factories, office buildings, and other meetings deemed “essential.”
It is a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion to offer legal exemptions to secular groups and not religious ones, the Louisiana court found.
Sept 16, 2022: Religion News: In ad blitz, watchdog group projects political heft of nonreligious Americans
The campaign includes billboards featuring portraits of residents of the swing states of Michigan, Louisiana, Missouri and others, and the legend 'I’m an atheist and I vote' along highways in their respective regions. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit watchdog on separation of church and state issues, has launched a campaign aimed at calling attention to the growing political voice of nonreligious Americans.
This effort, which will launch officially on Saturday (Sept. 17) to honor the 235th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, is a continuation of the organization’s “independence from religion” campaign that began on the Fourth of July.
The campaign includes billboards featuring portraits of residents of the swing states of Michigan, Louisiana, Missouri and others, and the legend 'I’m an atheist and I vote' along highways in their respective regions. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit watchdog on separation of church and state issues, has launched a campaign aimed at calling attention to the growing political voice of nonreligious Americans.
This effort, which will launch officially on Saturday (Sept. 17) to honor the 235th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, is a continuation of the organization’s “independence from religion” campaign that began on the Fourth of July.
October 19, 2022: Christian Post: Louisiana minister admits to defrauding churchgoers, school of nearly $900K
The Rev. Charles Southall III, the 64-year-old pastor of the First Emanuel Baptist Church in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, pled guilty to one count of money laundering on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana.10.19.22
The Rev. Charles Southall III, the 64-year-old pastor of the First Emanuel Baptist Church in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, pled guilty to one count of money laundering on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey of the Eastern District of Louisiana.10.19.22