The Catholic bishops of California have defended Saint Junipero Serra after statues of the saint were torn down both in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He was “ahead of his time” in defending the rights of indigenous peoples,” they say. Those who called for statues of him to be removed or torn down “failed the Read more
In a last-minute twist, a California bill that would have required priests to break the sacramental seal of confession was shelved by its sponsor amid a remarkable grassroots campaign mounted by the state’s Catholics, members of other faith groups, and religious liberty advocates from across the country. S.B. Bill 360 was withdrawn the day before Read more
A fraudster who posed as a priest and celebrated sacraments for two decades in California has been arrested. Erwin Mena, 59, is alleged to have sold fake tickets for a bogus pilgrimage to see Pope Francis when he visited the United States. Mena allegedly pocketed more than US$15,000 for the con. Despite acting as a Read more
Former Jesuit seminarian Governor Jerry Brown of California has signed into law a bill legalising physician-assisted suicide in the state. The new law is modelled on Oregon’s statute, passed in 1997, which saw 105 people die by assisted suicide in that state last year. Governor Brown said he had carefully read material opposing the new Read more
Native Americans are voicing their opposition to the canonisation of Blessed Junipero Serra, which the Pope plans to do on September 23. A Spanish Franciscan, Blessed Serra introduced Christianity to much of California as he marched north with Spanish conquistadors in the 18th century. Many Native Americans, though, say Blessed Serra and other missionaries helped Read more
On Friday night I felt like I was playing a part in a movie. I’d come to Santa Barbara six months ago from Wellington on a student exchange. I was really excited to become immersed in the Californian lifestyle. I wanted to go surfing, to drink Californian wine, and have fun at the “Number Two Read more
An American bishop has pulled back from implementing a morals pledge for teachers in Catholic schools, requiring them to affirm Church teachings on matters such as abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage. Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa in California had intended to require all teachers and administrators — Catholic and non-Catholic — to “agree that Read more
A California bill allowing children to have three legal parents will not help children, but instead will unnecessarily complicate their lives. The supposed need for California’s SB 1476 flowed directly from the drive to normalize same sex parenting and recognize same sex unions. Can a child have three parents? If California State Senator Mark Leno Read more
A California Superior Court has ruled against the City of San Francisco in its attempt to levy millions in real property transfer taxes against the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco.
It is not all that surprising that the city lost. The case looked rather weak.
The Court did not even get to the constitutional questions since they were able to rule for the Archdiocese based on the statutes.
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It cost over $300 million to execute each of 13 prisoners in California over the past 30 years, a study by a Loyola Law School professor and a senior judge has found. The study by U.S. 9th Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Professor Paula M. Mitchell found that state and federal government have spent Read more