reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
Pope Leo thanks French Bishops for ‘unforgettable’ visit
In a letter to the Bishops of France, Pope Leo XIV expresses appreciation for his Apostolic Journey and urges the Church to support young people and victims of abuse.
By Olivier Bonnel
As France’s Bishops began their autumn plenary assembly in Lourdes on Tuesday, November 3, Pope Leo XIV thanked them for helping make his recent Apostolic Journey “an unforgettable experience.”
In a letter dated November 1, the Pope invited the Bishops to reflect on the pastoral fruits of his visit.
The assembly opened with an address by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille and President of the French Bishops’ Conference, followed by the reading of the Pope’s letter.
“A little more than a month after my Apostolic Journey to France, I wish to express once again my gratitude for the remarkable organization of my visit,” Pope Leo wrote. “Bishops and faithful, as well as civil and religious authorities and believers and nonbelievers alike, all put their skills to use to make those days an unforgettable experience.”
Education and the common good
The Bishops are meeting in the same auditorium in Lourdes where they welcomed the Bishop of Rome on September 27. In his letter, Pope Leo addressed the themes on their agenda, beginning with education.
“Respect for everyone’s freedom of conscience holds the promise of great fruitfulness for society and for the Church herself,” the Pope explained, recalling a passage from his address. “Nevertheless, Catholic education cannot abandon its Christ-centered educational mission, which seeks the integral development of the human person in every dimension: spiritual, cultural, intellectual, moral, and social.”
Reflecting on the challenges he witnessed firsthand during his visit to France, Pope Leo recalled the need to form men and women in the values of the Gospel, “mindful of respect for the common good,” whom society needs “to confront the crises tearing it apart.”
“It is important to listen to younger generations, including their sense of unease, and to encourage them, through sound formation, to make a sincere commitment, including in politics,” he wrote.
His appeal comes as many young people, including high school and university students, have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest, in particular, their lack of prospects for the future.
Following in the footsteps of the saints
Echoing his words at the vigil with young people at the Stade de France on September 25, the Pope urged the French Bishops to follow in the footsteps of the saints, “those witnesses who have marked the history of France,” and to “allow yourselves to be shaped by their teachings.”
“Knowledge of the saints of yesterday and today is a source of strength for the spiritual life,” he stressed.
“Do not hesitate to familiarize your faithful, especially catechumens and neophytes, with these friends in heaven,” the Pope urged.
Through the diversity of their backgrounds and their witness, these figures “make holiness accessible to everyone.”
Supporting victims of abuse
The final part of the letter focused on supporting victims of sexual abuse in the Church, whom Pope Leo took time to meet on the afternoon of September 26 during his Apostolic Visit to France.
The tragedy of abuse remains one of the issues being addressed at the Bishops’ plenary assembly.
“Because holiness entails charity in truth, I encourage you, guided by these two virtues, to continue your work of accompanying victims of sexual violence and coercive control. It is essential that the community of the faithful become ever more a place where men and women of all ages can find comfort and healing,” the Pope wrote.
He entrusted the Bishops’ work to the care of Our Lady of Lourdes: “May she accompany your pastoral mission among your diocesan communities, so that holiness may continue to blossom and flourish in France.”
Pope's WYD message: Bring Christ questions and wounds dividing world
In his message for the 2026 World Youth Day, celebrated in dioceses across the world on the Solemnity of Christ the King, Pope Leo XIV encourages young people to allow Christ into their lives and the divisions that afflict their communities.
By Isabella H. de Carvalho
Open your hearts to Christ and allow His courage, peace and love to win over the darkness and suffering that exists in our world, Pope Leo XIV told young people in a message released on November 3 for the 2026 World Youth Day, celebrated on November 22.
“Bring to Christ your questions and your wounds, but also the wounds that tear apart your societies and set your countries against one another,” the Pope wrote.
“Bring to Him this creation that groans and suffers, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, which Pope Francis taught us to hear. Share with Jesus your joys and hopes.”
“Do not settle for a life that falls short of the one to which Christ calls you,” he emphasized.
World Youth Day is celebrated annually at the diocesan level on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, which in 2026 falls on November 22. Every few years, it is celebrated internationally with a large gathering in a chosen city across the world, with the next edition scheduled from August 3 to 8, 2027, in Seoul, South Korea.
In this regard, Pope Leo’s message looked to next year’s event and reflected on its theme: “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Signed on October 22, the feast day of St. John Paul II, Pope Leo's message quoted his predecessor by inviting young people not to be afraid and open wide the doors for Christ.
He encouraged them to not only make practical preparations to go to Seoul, but also to prepare their hearts and allow the theme of this event to accompany them in this coming year.
“Do not wait until you are perfect before opening yourselves to Him. He comes to meet you just as you are. Open your lives to Christ. Open your communities to Christ. Open the paths that lead to the hearts of the people you will meet,” the Pope insisted.
Christ walks with us across life's troubled waters
The Pope acknowledged that taking courage is not always easy, as “uncertainty or fear” can prevail in us and many young people “carry questions and concerns that weigh heavily” on their hearts.
He reflected that many we may be anxious about the future, feel pressured to be perfect or succeed, compare ourselves to “unattainable, manufactured ideals” or “curated images on social media,” or experience “loneliness, disappointment or the fear of not being good enough.”
In this context, the Pope called on young people not to despair and reminded them that even the disciples were scared – in the Gospel of John from which the theme is taken – when they were in a small boat in the middle of a stormy lake.
“Even before you begin to seek Christ, He is already seeking you, walking across the troubled waters of life,” he explained, adding that Christian courage doesn’t come from oneself but from Christ’s presence in our lives.
“Christ himself certainly did not live a life free from storms, nor does He promise us one. Yet no darkness or suffering is stronger than His love. He will never abandon you. He invites you into friendship with Him and asks you to entrust to Him your own journey and that of your communities,” the Pope assured.
Bring Christ’s gentle courage to wounded world
In this regard, the Pope recalled that Jesus comes to the disciples’ aid in the Gospel by walking on water and then encouraging them to take courage as He has overcome the world, meaning the “world of darkness,” or that “mysterious reality, present even in the human heart, that resists and opposes God.”
“This courage does not come from your own determination or strength of character. It comes from trusting in the One who goes before you; it is born of faith in Jesus Christ,” the Pope stressed, adding that His Resurrection brings life, truth, freedom, justice, and peace to humanity.
“Christ does not call you to flee from this world, but to see it through His eyes and touch it with His love, which heals all things. Allow yourselves to be moved and touched by the reality around you! Jesus did not love the world from a distance,” the Pope noted.
As we live in a world that is wounded, “marked by injustice, tensions and fears,” Pope Leo urged all Christians to follow Christ in His gentle courage, meaning showing love in the face of harshness, peace when confrontation seems more advantageous, and promoting hope when faced with cynicism.
Victory of giving oneself out of love
The Pope then reflected on what “victory” over the world means for Christians. It is not “being stronger than others, asserting ourselves or constantly having to prove our worth,” but rather loving freely “without counting the cost,” like Christ has done.
“By following the path opened by Jesus Christ, you too have no need to impose yourselves, to constantly prove your worth, to appear perfect or to conceal your weaknesses, doubts and limitations,” Pope Leo underlined.
“Have the courage to be your true selves before God and others. Your dignity does not come from the image you manage to create for yourselves. You are precious because you have been created in the image of God, known by Him and loved by Him.”
He insisted that once we discover this love, then we can give himself to others. The “freedom Christ offers” is “to move beyond an exclusive concern for yourselves and to open your hearts to the generous creativity of love.”
Courage of seeing our limitations
The Pope then focused on the “courage of humility,” allowing Christ to enter our lives and change them.
“A certain way of thinking tells us that we must do everything on our own, constantly working to improve ourselves and to develop a stronger personality and character. Yet this can ultimately lead us to believe that we are our own saviors,” the Pope emphasized.
Instead, he explained that the Gospel calls us to have the courage to accept help, acknowledge our limitations, pause and listen, and thus allow ourselves to be saved by Christ.
“Opening your hearts to Christ will not cause you to lose yourselves. On the contrary, you will discover more deeply who you are in God’s eyes and come to know yourselves as He sees you,” the Pope assured the young people.
“Turn, then, to the depths of your hearts. You will not lose your way, for it is there that God awaits you.”
The Pope stressed that when this occurs everything in one’s life is changed, even ordinary daily circumstances and one’s relationships with those around Him.
“Everything is transformed by love. Many regard love as a form of weakness, but Christ shows us that it is a source of freedom and strength.”
Break down the doors of your hearts and communities
Lastly, the Pope recalled that faith does not “dispel the darkness” but it also does not “leave us alone in it,” as Christ appeared to the disciples even when they had abandoned Him and were scared, locked into the Upper Room.
“Perhaps there are doors in your own hearts, and in the communities to which you belong, that remain closed because of disappointments, wounds, resentments or feelings of guilt,” the Pope wrote. “Christ comes to offer you His peace and to reconcile you with one another.”
“The gift of His peace fills us with a courage that the world cannot give, a courage through which, despite our wounds, fear no longer has the final word.”
Pope's November prayer intention: 'For the proper use of wealth'
Pope Leo XIV releases his prayer intention for the month of November and invites Catholics to pray "for the proper use of wealth," so that we may recognize that true wealth lies not in accumulating or possessing, but in giving with love.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholics across the globe to join him this November in praying for the proper use of wealth.
He released the monthly “Pray with the Pope” video on Tuesday, which is prepared by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
In his prayer, Pope Leo recalls that everything we have comes from the Lord, including "fertile land, the talents we’ve received, the effort of those who came before us."
"Nothing is ours alone — everything is a shared gift," he said.
Yet, so often, the Holy Father observed, "we let the wealth we seek or attain harden our hearts, lock us in selfishness, and make us forget the most vulnerable."
"Forgive us for storing up"
"Forgive us for storing up instead of sharing," Pope Leo said, and "for using goods as power rather than as service."
The Pope recalled that Jesus reminds us "that true wealth is not found in what we keep, but in what we give with love."
He added that a heart detached from possessions "transforms the world," for it "opens paths of justice, tears down walls of indifference, and sows hope among the poor."
Therefore, he said, we ask you, Lord, that your Spirit teach us to use what we have, be it money, time, talents, or opportunities, as "instruments of fraternity."
"May each economic, family, or community decision," the Pope continued, "spring from a free heart, able to recognize that every good is meant for all, and that only by sharing we build the future."
Finally, the Holy Father prayed, "Make us witnesses of a wealth transformed into service and mercy, so that our lives, united to the lives of others, may be a sign of your Kingdom of justice and peace. Amen."
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network
Founded in 1844 as the Apostleship of Prayer, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus.
In December 2020, Pope Francis established this Pontifical Work as a Vatican Foundation and approved its final statutes in July 2024.
It is present in over 92 countries, forming a spiritual community of more than 22 million people who seek to live each day with availability to God’s mission.
At the center of its mission are the monthly prayer intentions of the Pope, inviting its members to focus on the pressing challenges facing humanity and the Church’s mission.
On All Souls’ Day, Pope prays that mothers' tears may silence weapons
Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Verano Cemetery in Rome on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, and recalls that our bond with the dead is not broken but transformed in our faith in Christ.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Leo XIV made his way across town on Monday to Rome’s Campo Verano Cemetery, where he celebrated Mass for the Commemoration of All Souls’ Day.
Pope Leo placed flowers on one of the oldest tombs in the cemetery (VATICAN MEDIA)
In his homily, the Holy Father noted the connection with the Solemnity of All Saints, observed on November 1, which he described as giving “direction to our prayer.”
“We turn to our Father in heaven,” he said, “asking that the life of holiness and beatitude—already enjoyed by so many of His sons and daughters—may enfold the souls of all those who sleep the sleep of peace.”
He recalled the “promise of salvation” made in Scripture, which assures us that “no torment shall ever touch” the souls of the just.
God’s “fatherly and steadfast hands hold them for eternity,” he continued, “so that they may fully enjoy that vital, mutual belonging which the Lord promies to His people” in the Bible.
Pope Leo said our prayer asks that those who have died might share in the “eternal communion of life” promised by God.
Turning to the Gospel, the Holy Father noted that the Beatitudes serve as “a self-portrait of Jesus, which He Himself offers to His disciples.” The Beatitudes, he explained, “are the path to a full and fulfilled life—both now and in eternity.”
Pope Leo highlighted especially the Beatitude that promises that those who mourn shall be comforted, saying we pray especially for those who have recently lost a loved one—“especially those from whom a loved one has been torn away by the senseless violence of war.”
He prayed that their tears “might touch the consciences of those who have the power to silence the weapons!”
Finally, Pope Leo recalled the “beatitude” added by St. Francis of Assisi to his Canticle of the Creatures: “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, / from whom no living person can escape. / Woe to those who die in mortal sin; / blessed are those whom she finds doing Your most holy will, / for the second death shall do them no harm.”
He assured the faithful that “faith in Christ tells us that our bond with the faithful departed is not broken but transformed.”
Feast Day: November 3 Patron: of Mixed Race, Barbers, Public Health Workers, Innkeepers Death: 1639 Beatified: in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI Canonized: in 1962 by Pope John XXIII
St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. Martin was the illegitimate son to a Spanish gentleman and a freed slave from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. At a young age, Martin's father abandoned him, his mother and his younger sister, leaving Martin to grow up in deep poverty. After spending just two years in primary school, Martin was placed with a barber/surgeon where he would learn to cut hair and the medical arts.
As Martin grew older, he experienced a great deal of ridicule for being of mixed-race. In Peru, by law, all descendants of African or Indians were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. Martin, who spent long hours in prayer, found his only way into the community he longed for was to ask the Dominicans of Holy Rosary Priory in Lima to accept him as a volunteer who performed the most menial tasks in the monastery. In return, he would be allowed to wear the habit and live within the religious community. When Martin was 15, he asked for admission into the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima and was received as a servant boy and eventually was moved up to the church officer in charge of distributing money to deserving poor.
During his time in the Convent, Martin took on his old trades of barbering and healing. He also worked in the kitchen, did laundry and cleaned. After eight more years with the Holy Rosary, Martin was granted the privilege to take his vows as a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic by the prior Juan de Lorenzana who decided to disregard the law restricting Martin based on race.
However, not all of the members in the Holy Rosary were as open-minded as Lorenzana; Martin was called horrible names and mocked for being illegitimate and descending from slaves.
Martin grew to become a Dominican lay brother in 1603 at the age of 24. Ten years later, after he had been presented with the religious habit of a lay brother, Martin was assigned to the infirmary where he would remain in charge until his death. He became known for encompassing the virtues need to carefully and patiently care for the sick, even in the most difficult situations.
Martin was praised for his unconditional care of all people, regardless of race or wealth. He took care of everyone from the Spanish nobles to the African slaves. Martin didn't care if the person was diseased or dirty, he would welcome them into his own home.
Martin's life reflected his great love for God and all of God's gifts. It is said he had many extraordinary abilities, including aerial flights, bilocation, instant cures, miraculous knowledge, spiritual knowledge and an excellent relationship with animals. Martin also founded an orphanage for abandoned children and slaves and is known for raising dowry for young girls in short amounts of time.
During an epidemic in Lima, many of the friars in the Convent of the Rosary became very ill. Locked away in a distant section of the convent, they were kept away from the professed. However, on more than one occasion, Martin passed through the locked doors to care for the sick. However, he became disciplined for not following the rules of the Convent, but after replying, "Forgive my error, and please instruct me, for I did not know that the precept of obedience took precedence over that of charity," he was given full liberty to follow his heart in mercy.
Martin was great friends with both St. Juan MacÃas, a fellow Dominican lay brother, and St. Rose of Lima, a lay Dominican.
In January of 1639, when Martin was 60 years old, he became very ill with chills, fevers and tremors causing him agonizing pain. He would experience almost a year full of illness until he passed away on November 3, 1639.
By the time he died, he was widely known and accepted. Talks of his miracles in medicine and caring for the sick were everywhere. After his death, the miracles received when he was invoked in such greatness that when he was exhumed 25 years later, his body exhaled a splendid fragrance and he was still intact.
St. Martin de Porres was beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on October 29, 1837, and canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6, 1962.
He has become the patron saint of people of mixed race, innkeepers, barbers, public health workers and more. His feast day is November 3.
“We were locked in watching (the men) and they gave us a great good luck,” Notre Dame women’s coach Niele Ivey said. “What’s better than one win is two.
“The experience of being overseas, it felt like an NCAA game,” Ivey added. “The matchup, the stage, the lights, it felt very much like we were in March.”
The doubleheader between the two Catholic universities, dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off, was created to honor the first American pope, who was not in attendance for the games.
But Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV did receive all four teams in an audience at the Vatican on Saturday.
“I’ve been a part of some really cool things and this is right at the top of the list of experiences,” Notre Dame men’s coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “We played two road games in the (preseason) and it came in handy because the Villanova fans were loud.”
At the Vatican a day earlier, Leo told the teams from alma mater Villanova and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame that in matters of sport, the pontiff was neutral.
Then the pope, who was born Robert Prevost, said his former self might disagree.
“Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now,” he said to laughs during a whooping, cheering audience of 7,000 people from both schools — players, coaches, fans and their families — in the Vatican audience hall.
Inside the basketball arena, many Villanova fans wore Wildcats jerseys featuring the name of “Pope Leo” and a “XIV” for his number.
Leo graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Villanova, the Augustinian school near Philadelphia. He was born in Chicago — not all that far from Notre Dame, which is located in South Bend, Indiana.
Villanova fans also held aloft a banner featuring Pope Leo depicted wearing a Villanova jersey reaching out to the university’s president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, in a playful scene reminiscent of Michelangelo’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
“We just had a (tough) loss, but this has been a phenomenal experience, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Villanova men’s coach Kevin Willard said.
“To see (the pope’s) love for Villanova. To see what he’s done for the Catholic Church and really for people all over, it was, I don’t have the words to be perfectly honest with you, that’s how special it was. And we’re just blessed that it happened,” Willard added.
The games were played at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, which is located about a half-hour drive from the Vatican. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, who was considered a candidate for pope until Leo was elected last year, was at the arena. So was Sister Raffaella Petrini, president of the Vatican City state.
The games were played on All Saints’ Day — a major Catholic holiday.
“It’s such a blessing,” said Hidalgo, the high scorer of the day with 32 points — not to mention eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals. “Just to be here in Rome, we were able to go to the Vatican, see the Pope and do all these things.”
Before tipoff, there was a moment of prayer and the U.S. and Italian national anthems were sung.
A view of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that pits the Catholic Church against taxpayer funded school programs for all 4-year-olds in Colorado. At issue is whether religious schools may refuse to admit the children of gay and trans parents in violation of a state law that bars discrimination.
The first line of the Bill of Rights says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." As early as the founding of this country, Thomas Jefferson described the clause as creating a "wall of separation between church and state."
The Supreme Court formally embraced that idea in the 1940s, making it the law of the land — until roughly 10 years ago. That's when the court's new conservative majority made an increasingly dramatic doctrinal U-turn, focusing not on the separation of church and state, but on that second clause in the First Amendment: protecting the free exercise of religion.
"It's literally the opposite of what the law was not that long ago. It is just a complete shift," says Michigan State University law professor Frank Ravitch, who has written extensively about the Constitution's religion clauses.
To cite just one example, the Supreme Court, by an 8-to-1 vote, ruled in 1983 that that Bob Jones University should lose its tax-exempt status because it prohibited interracial dating and interracial marriage on religious grounds, and that constitutes racial discrimination that the government money may not support.
That said, it's unclear if the court will reach a similar conclusion now.
Why is that? Because race has a "unique" place in U.S. history, contends Professor Douglas Laycock, emeritus professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Virginia. "There's nothing like 250 years of slavery, civil war, 750,000 dead, three constitutional amendments. Nothing like that for any other group," he says.
As for the Colorado case, Laycock acknowledges that the Denver archdiocese is discriminating, but he adds, "The question is whether that discrimination is a protected exercise of religion." Rather than focusing on separation of church and state, the current court instead has focused on the rights of religious groups when pitted against state and federal laws that ban discrimination based on race, sex, religion or other categories.
It's the sex part that has thrown a monkey wrench into Colorado's broad program aimed at ensuring that virtually all 4-year-olds in the state get a pre-K education.
"The law really was about implementing a program that said we want every kid, no matter where you live, to be able to have access to universal preschool," says Steve Fenberg, who served as president of the Colorado state Senate when the pre-k program was enacted, complete with a $6,300 benefit for each child enrolled in the program every year, money that comes from a tobacco tax.
To accomplish that, the state did something most other states have not. It created a broad plan, including religious schools, as long as the schools abide by a state law that bars discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Colorado state Rep. Emily Sirota, a prime sponsor of the universal pre-K bill, emphasizes that the state wanted parents to have "a robust choice" about where their 4-year-olds would go to school.
Indeed, she notes that the Catholic Church initially endorsed the program, and Catholic Charities continues to participate, along with other religious groups, including at least 35 Christian schools, one Muslim and three Jewish schools.
"The caveat is that you can't discriminate, and you need to allow all students to participate," says former state Sen. Fenberg.
That caveat is where things went awry. The Denver Archdiocese and two parishes challenged the law in court, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and its CEO, Mark Rienzi. He maintains that the Colorado law flatly discriminates against Catholic schools.
"They're only excluding religious schools that are organized around beliefs that Colorado doesn't like. And that's the constitutional problem," says Rienzi. "Not everybody has to be Catholic to show up, but they do have to agree to support Catholic teachings and not publicly contradict Catholic teachings. That's the way these schools are set up."
Therefore, the church wants an exemption from the state's anti-discrimination law, which makes it illegal to refuse entrance to school for 4-year-olds whose parents or potentially other family members are gay or trans.
Of course, not all Catholic programs march to the same drummer.
"I don't agree with the sky is falling," says Tim Uhl, who has held multiple leadership positions for Catholic school systems in seven states. He is currently the interim director of mission and ministry at Notre Dame High School in San Jose, Calif., and is among a group of Catholic school directors who has filed a brief siding with Colorado.
"We do admit students that are not Catholic and families that are not Catholic," Uhl notes, adding that non-Catholic families "understand that even if they don't agree with certain doctrine, that doesn't mean they're going to be disruptive … You know, diversity of opinion and diversity of thought is part of an educational experience."
But the archdiocese of Denver has a different viewpoint. In an article published in the Denver Post, Archbishop James R. Golka wrote that as a result of the Colorado pre-K program, enrollment in Catholic schools is down 20% across the archdiocese and two preschools have closed, including one which serves "minority and low-income families."
But the larger "tragedy," said the archbishop, is that "Colorado's attack on Catholic education threatens the broader culture. In our age of hyper- secularization, moral relativism, and technical reductionism, we urgently need schools that teach students who they truly are: immortal souls, beloved by God." Instead, he added, "The predictable result is a culture unmoored from truth, adrift in confusion."
Scott Elmer, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese, says "it's very rare" for LGBTQ parents to try to enroll their children. "This is not something we deal with regularly," he adds.
That said, however, the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority, including President Trump's three appointees, have sent strong signals that they are headed toward revolutionizing religious rights in ways not widely embraced before.
Last year, the court was evenly divided as to whether taxpayer-funded charter schools could include religious schools and teachings. But because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself over a potential conflict of interest, the justices dropped the case.
Now, the Colorado case is before the Supreme Court, and this time Barrett has not felt a necessity to recuse. So there will be a full court ready to decide the case.
"The question is, how far will the Supreme Court go in requiring the government to pay for religious schools?" asks Berkeley Law School dean Erwin Chemerinsky.
Then too, he observes, "there's the issue of will the government have to fund religious charter schools? … We don't know how far the court's willing to go." After all, charter schools were designed to bepublic schools that operate independently under a performance-based contract with state or local government agencies that provide taxpayer money for funding.
There are some 8,000 charter schools nationally, and roughly 276 in Colorado, and they have not, until now, been run by religious groups.
Just a few weeks ago, however, a federal district judge in Oklahoma allowed a taxpayer-funded Jewish charter school "grounded in enduring Jewish values" to open, using $2.6 million in state funding that is projected to grow to $8.3 million in state funds by 2030. The fate of the school remains in limbo.
Whether that continues and expands depends, of course, on the Supreme Court's decision in the Colorado case.
