Some Thoughts About Regulating Religious Charity

Religious organizations appeal to members of the community all the time for financial and other support. The rationale that, by contributing financial and other resources, the community has a residual interest in how the charity itself is organized and operates will, if pushed to its maximum reach, undoubtedly fuel disputes for generations. Although I suspect that however these disputes get framed, the solutions are invariably political and practical, there is a real issue about the kinds and types of regulation to which religious charity can and should be subjected. This essay describes the background, the law, and the practical challenges that result from these contemporary clashes over the regulation of religious charity by the state

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services: A Path to Constitutional Equilibrium

This Article is intended as part of a symposium and a debate on substantive due process and the decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services. This writer, although here a commentator on the law, does have an opinion on the ultimate question: Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided

A Favorable Legal Environment for Voucher Programs

A pressing legal issue at the close of the millennium is the use of public tax dollars to assist parents, especially lower income parents, with the rising tuition at private schools. The idea of vouchers, as they have been commonly named, has been argued in legal circles for decades. However, the 1990s have seen a particular urgency on this issue as several states have passed legislation implementing pilot programs. This article summarizes the current state of the debate, reviews significant legal cases, and highlights the differences among individual states in their interpretation and application of the law. While maintaining that a properly designed voucher program could pass constitutional review by the U.S. Supreme Court, the author argues that broader public policy and justice issues are at stake

Shaping the Church: Overcoming the Twin Challenges of Secularization and Scandal

This article is based on The Brendan Brown Lecture at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, delivered January 15, 2003

Stating Claims Against Religious Institutions

Although the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of religious institutions, it confers no general immunity from liability for their contracts and torts. This Article\u27s study of the case law indicates that claims may be stated against religious institutions if those institutions had the corporate power or ecclesiastical responsibility for the specific matter in dispute, or had themselves taken action in the matter. A general assertion of the potential to take action or potential to control is insufficient to result in a claim against the institution. Liability would reside, if at all, in the entity that has both the juridic power (under the religious polity) and the civil duty to answer for the actions of persons or other entities in the religious structure. Departure from these principles could result in an \u27unconstitutional exercise by a court. This Article then applies these principles in a critique of tort liability asserted against religious institutions

Shaping the Church: Overcoming the Twin Challenges of Secularization and Scandal

This article is based on The Brendan Brown Lecture at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, delivered January 15, 2003