Russo, Charles J. Archives

“The Bishops, President Biden, and American Catholic Politicians: An Uneasy Relationship” by Charles J. Russo

May 20, 2021Canopy ForumSeriesMay 2021, Politics, Russo, Charles J.

Historical Context A timely, significant topic of discussion worth remembering, stretching back to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy’s battle against anti-Catholic prejudice, is the relationship between politicians and their faith leaders. This relationship, particularly involving politicians who are Roman Catholic, is the focus of this article. In his September 12, 1960, campaign speech in Texas…

““[E]ven in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten:” Banning Communal Worship Poses Continuing Threats to Religious Freedom” by Charles J. Russo

Apr 2, 2021Canopy ForumEssaysApril 2021, Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

“Even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten.” — Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, 141 S. Ct. 63, 68 (2020) One can only imagine what James Madison, lead advocate of the First Amendment Religion Clauses, or other American Founders, would say if they could witness the status of religion freedom in the…

“Religious Freedom in Education: A Fundamental, yet Elusive Right” by Charles J. Russo

Dec 3, 2020Canopy ForumSeriesDecember 2020, Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

Since time immemorial, whether as evidenced by the cave paintings from prehistoric France, the polytheistic religions of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, or the animistic belief systems and totems erected in much of the rest of the pre-Judeo-Christian, non-Western world, humans all over the globe have recognized the need to call on a higher being…

“Reflections on Fratelli tutti: Something Old, Something New, Much Ado about Not too Much” by Charles J. Russo

Nov 25, 2020Canopy ForumSeriesNovember 2020, Russo, Charles J.

On October 3, 2020, Pope Francis took the unusual step of traveling to the birthplace, home, and tomb of his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, to sign his third encyclical, or papal pastoral letter, Fratelli tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship, after celebrating Mass in the crypt of the lower basilica. The first time that…

“Does Religion Have a Place in the Diverse Marketplace of Ideas?” by Charles J. Russo

Sep 14, 2020Canopy ForumEssaysReligious Freedom, Russo, Charles J., September 2020

In his dissent in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, wherein the Supreme Court invalidated student-led prayer prior to the start of high school football games, a dismayed Chief Justice William Rehnquist expressed the sentiment of many Americans, that “[t]he Court … bristles with hostility to all things religious in public life.”In light of…

“COVID-19, Childhood Vaccinations, and Religious Freedom: A Looming Issue” by Charles J. Russo & Paul T. Babie

Aug 4, 2020Canopy ForumSeriesAugust 2020, Babie, Paul T., Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

Amid efforts to reduce, if not eliminate, the spread of COVID-19, researchers are working on a vaccine to prevent future infections At the same time, given the fears of some parents that states are overriding their rights to opt out of having their children vaccinated, a looming COVID vaccination issue between the competing interests of…

“Right Test, Wrong Outcome: Avoiding Misuse of the Ministerial Exception in Faith-Based Schools” by Charles J. Russo & Allan G. Osborne

Jul 22, 2020Canopy ForumEssaysJuly 2020, Osborne, Allan G., Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

During the closing days of its 2019-20 term, the Supreme Court’s trilogy of rulings in the companion cases of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel, Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, and Espinoza v. Montana Department of Taxation, resoundingly reaffirmed the Justices’…

“Born of Bigotry, Died in Religious Liberty: The Supreme Court Ends the Blaine Amendments in Empowering Parental Choice” by Charles J. Russo & William E. Thro

Jul 14, 2020Canopy ForumEssaysJuly 2020, Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J., Thro, William E.

“The Blaine Amendment was ‘born of bigotry.”’ Reasonable people can certainly disagree over whether Chief Justice John Roberts’ forceful words in the opinion of the five-to-four judgement in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Taxation, which produced seven different opinions, was the stake through the heart of the anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments that brought their jurisprudential reign…

“COVID-19: Why the Balance Between Freedom of Religion and Public Health Matters” by Paul T. Babie & Charles J. Russo

May 18, 2020Canopy ForumSeriesBabie, Paul T., May 2020, Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

As COVID-19 tightens its lethal grip on the globe, a palpable tension emerges between the authority of governmental officials in every state in the U.S. who have issued guidelines limiting social interactions to preserve the public health while recognizing religious exemptions, and individual rights to freedom of religion. Lawsuits in the United States have challenged…