In today’s News:
A church fights a shutdown in the nation’s capital
A Christian church in Washington, D.C., is suing Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser for her ongoing ban on religious gatherings of more than 100 people. The lawsuit claims a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as well as the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Unlike other states with restrictive measures imposed during the coronavirus crisis, churches in the District of Columbia don’t have the option of moving religious services outdoors to allow for greater crowds. Instead, the same limits apply.
The Bible is now available in American Sign Language
After nearly four decades, the complete Bible is now available in American Sign Language for the first time ever. Deaf Missions, a ministry dedicated to communicating “the Gospel of Jesus with deaf people through their heart language, culture and identity,” began the project in the early 1980s. The final books needed — Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel — were completed this fall. Now, the entire Bible is available to the world’s 70 million people who are deaf for free online, through social media, and on a smartphone app. The translation was led by people who themselves are deaf and trained in the Biblical languages.
Attorney General warns about ‘militant secularists’
U.S. Attorney General William Barr said yesterday that “no concept is more misunderstood than the notion of separation of church and state,” and explained that “militant secularists” have long seized on that slogan “as they drive religion from the public square.” Barr offered his remarks upon receiving the “Christifideles Laici Award,” presented to him during the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Barr spoke from his Department of Justice office during the virtual gathering. After recounting the important role that religion played in the founding of America as a free nation, Barr lamented, “unfortunately in the last half-century, that foundation of our free society has been increasingly under siege.”
The president signs an executive order protecting newborns
Congress refused more than 80 times to authorize medical care for babies who survive abortions. With Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats rejecting the Born Alive Bill more than 80 times, allowing abortionists to essentially get away with infanticide, President Trump announced an executive order yesterday that would require medical care be given to infants who are born alive after failed abortion attempts. The full text of the executive order has yet to be released, but it is expected to be similar to the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act that would provide for criminal penalties for abortionists who fail to provide proper medical care for babies who survive abortions. The order would likely cover hospitals and other public clinics where abortions sometimes occur. H.R. 962, the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, introduced by Missouri Republican Representative Ann Wagner, ensures that a baby born alive after a failed or attempted abortion receives the same medical care as any other newborn. It would also penalize doctors who allow such infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn following a failed abortion. Former Vice President Joe Biden has never denounced the rejection of the anti-infanticide bill and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris voted to block it in the senate.
