HOBBY LOBBY-GREEN FAMILY
Green family, Hobby Lobby, connected for 40 years
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that the Hobby Lobby crafts store chain does not have to provide all forms of birth control is a victory for one of the nation’s most prominent Pentecostal Christian families.
Hobby Lobby’s owners, the Green family of Oklahoma, plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to create a Bible museum on land near the National Mall in Washington. It’s scheduled to open in 2017 and will display the family’s massive collection of biblical artifacts, including ancient texts.
Hobby Lobby President Steve Green is also spearheading the Green Scholars Initiative, which intends to place a Bible-based academic curriculum in the nation’s public schools.
His brother, Mart Green, spent about $70 million of the family fortune to rescue Oral Roberts University, the Pentecostal school in Oklahoma that was engulfed in a spending scandal and burdened with tens of millions of dollars in debt.
Sound:
303-a-12-(Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, in June 2013 speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition)-“to consider them”-In a June 2013 speech, Hobby Lobby President Steve Green explained why his family is building a Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. (1 Jul 2014)
< 302-a-10-(Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, in June 2013 speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition)-“our Bible museum”-In a June 2013 speech, Hobby Lobby President Steve Green said his family would build a Museum of the Bible near the National Mall in Washington. (1 Jul 2014) < 301-a-07-(Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, in June 2013 speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition)-“for our future”-In a June 2013 speech, Hobby Lobby President Steve Green said the family business is based on trust in God. (1 Jul 2014) < SUPREME COURT-BIRTH CONTROL-OTHER CHALLENGERS Justices act in other health law mandate cases WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has confirmed that its ruling extending religious rights to closely held corporations applies broadly to the contraceptive coverage requirement in the new health care law, not just the handful of methods the justices considered in Monday’s ruling. The justices have left in place lower court rulings in favor of businesses that object to covering all 20 methods of government-approved contraception. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties won their cases Monday in which they refused to pay for two emergency contraceptive pills and two intrauterine devices. Tuesday’s orders apply to companies owned by Catholics who oppose all birth control. Their cases are among roughly 50 lawsuits from businesses that object to the contraceptive coverage requirement in their health plans for employees. The justices also ordered the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decisions against two companies that lost their cases in lower courts. SUPREME COURT-CHURCH SIGNS Court to hear church’s appeal of sign restrictions WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide whether an Arizona town violates the First Amendment by restricting where and when a church can place signs advertising Sunday morning services. The justices said Tuesday they will hear an appeal from the Good News Community Church. The church argues that the town of Gilbert, Arizona, applies stricter rules to church signs than to other types of non-commercial signs. Town officials say church signs must be only six square feet and can be displayed in public areas only 14 hours before each event. But political or ideological signs can be larger and may be displayed for months. A federal court ruled the town code was allowed to have different rules for various categories of non-commercial speech, as long as they were not based on the content of the speech. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. Justices will hear arguments in the fall. Sound: 306-a-13-(Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, in prepared statement)-“not permit that”-Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, disputes the town’s concern about church signs blocking visibility. (1 Jul 2014) < 304-a-11-(David Cortman, vice president of litigation, Alliance Defending Freedom, in prepared statement)-“or political signs”-David Cortman, vice president of litigation for the Alliance Defending Freedom, says the town’s church sign restrictions are discriminatory. (1 Jul 2014) < 305-a-09-(David Cortman, vice president of litigation, Alliance Defending Freedom, in prepared statement)-“circuit’s decision here”-David Cortman, vice president of litigation for the Alliance Defending Freedom, says he’s glad the Supreme Court will hear the church’s appeal. (1 Jul 2014) < FAITH-BASED LAWSUIT Long-running Baptist Homes lawsuit ends LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge’s order has ended a long-running lawsuit in Kentucky over public funding of faith-based organizations. In a settlement agreement reached last year, Kentucky officials agreed to monitor state-funded child care agencies to ensure they’re not proselytizing or pushing religion on the children in their care. U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson signed an order on Monday approving the settlement and dismissing the suit, which was filed in 2000. The suit was filed by four people, including a lesbian who claimed religious discrimination in her firing from her job with Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children. The Baptist-affiliated agency has since changed its name to Sunrise Children’s Services. The worker’s claim against Sunrise was dismissed in 2009, but a challenge over public funding of religious groups was allowed to proceed. CONSERVATIVE CONFERENCE-UTAH Conservative group plans conference in Utah SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An international conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage and abortion is planning its next worldwide conference in Utah in 2015. World Congress of Families spokesman Don Feder says the group chose Utah because of the many good partners it has in the state. It will be the group’s first world conference in the United States. Its previous world conferences were in Madrid, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Mexico City, Geneva and Prague. The World Congress of Families has about 40 partner organizations, including Focus on the Family and Concerned Women for America. The U.S.-based group reaches across ethnic and religious lines to advocate for the “natural family” led by a husband and wife raising their children with love and discipline. The organization had to cancel this year’s international conference in Moscow due to turmoil related to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. FLAGPOLE ON MOUNTAINTOP-MISSIONARIES Mormon missionaries clear away illicit flagpole SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of Mormon missionaries won’t get citations for cementing a flagpole onto a Salt Lake valley mountaintop. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the missionaries chiseled away about 80 pounds of concrete and hauled it off Mt. Olympus on Saturday. Hikers reported the American flag on the 9,000-foot peak last week. It was flying above a T-shirt bearing the name of the mission and the signatures of several missionaries. The Forest Service says the summit is a designated wilderness area where it’s illegal to make any permanent installations. Hikers who visited the summit broke the pole and stripped it of the flag and the T-shirt before the missionaries returned to remove the cement base. AMISH-MEASLES Measles outbreak complicates 2 big Amish events SHILOH, Ohio (AP) — Two upcoming events in Ohio’s Amish Country are raising concerns about the spread of a measles outbreak. Health officials say Ohio’s current outbreak consists of more than 360 cases and is the biggest in the U.S. since 1994. A showcase for horse-drawn equipment runs Friday and Saturday in Holmes County in central Ohio and is expected to draw thousands of Amish and others from around the world. Many people are also expected in Wayne County on Saturday at an annual auction that raises money to help Amish families pay medical bills for children with birth defects. Dr. D.J. McFadden is the Holmes County Health Commissioner. He says visitors could be exposed at one of these events and travel home where a new outbreak could begin. The Amish eschew many conveniences of modern life. Their religion does not prevent them from seeking vaccinations, but because their children don’t attend traditional public schools, vaccinations are not required and therefore not routine. Sound: 241-a-10-(Dr. D.J. McFadden, health commissioner, Holmes County, in AP interview)-“potential for spread”-Holmes County, Ohio health commissioner Dr D.J. McFadden says with 54 cases of measles in the county and two major gatherings coming up, health officials are concerned. (1 Jul 2014) < 244-a-05-(Samuel Zimmerman, Mennonite dairy farmer, in AP interview)-“you don’t know”-Mennonite dairy farmer Samuel Zimmerman says he’s hopeful the measles won’t spread anymore in the area. (1 Jul 2014) < 242-a-14-(Dr. D.J. McFadden, health commissioner, Holmes County, in AP interview)-“States or overseas”-Holmes County, Ohio health commissioner Dr D.J. McFadden says the big worry is having measles spread with more than 20-thousand Amish and others from around the globe expected to attend this weekend’s Horse Progress Days event. (1 Jul 2014) < 245-a-08-(Samuel Zimmerman, Mennonite dairy farmer, in AP interview)-“quite as hard”-Mennonite dairy farmer Samuel Zimmerman says unlike some people in the community, he’s not opposed to vaccinations. (1 Jul 2014) < 243-a-07-(Dr. D.J. McFadden, health commissioner, Holmes County, in AP interview)-“of it here”-Holmes County, Ohio health commissioner Dr D.J. McFadden says the good news is the measles outbreak appears to be slowing in Ohio. (1 Jul 2014) < VATICAN-BANK Pope meets top cardinals amid bank shakeup rumors VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has convened his top cardinal advisers for another round of financial reform talks amid fresh turmoil at the embattled Vatican bank. It was this time last year that the top two managers at the Institute for Religious Works were forced out after a Vatican monsignor with millions in the bank was arrested in an alleged money-smuggling plot. They were replaced, but Italian news reports say more resignations are expected. A bank spokesman declined to comment Tuesday. The bank’s current president, Ernst Von Freyberg, was appointed in February 2013 in one of Pope Benedict XVI’s final acts in office. He has never been received in audience by Pope Francis, who was elected on a mandate of financial and bureaucratic reform. VATICAN-GODFATHER MORATORIUM Bishop in mob town seeks godfather moratorium VATICAN CITY (AP) — An Italian archbishop has proposed a 10-year moratorium on the naming of godfathers in a bid to stem the way mob bosses uses the “padrino” system to spread their influence and authority to the next generation. Archbishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini spoke with Pope Francis about the proposal last weekend. In a statement Monday, he said the pontiff asked the bishops of Calabria to discuss the idea and send him a written proposal. Godparents are named when a baby is baptized and promise to help raise the child in the Catholic faith. The archbishop has argued that, in Calabria at least, godparents are less theological role models than mob friends. Calabria is home to an organized crime syndicate that’s considered the most powerful mob in Italy. FRANCE-MUSLIM FACE VEIL European court upholds French ban on face veils PARIS (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights has upheld France’s law banning face-covering Muslim veils from the streets, in a case brought by a woman who claimed her freedom of religion was violated. Tuesday’s ruling was the first of its kind since France passed a law in 2010 that forbids anyone to hide his or her face in an array of places, including on the street. The law went into effect in 2011. The court’s Grand Chamber, the highest forum, rejected the arguments of the French woman in her mid-20s who contended the law violated her freedom of conscience and religion and was discriminatory. It ruled that the law’s bid to promote harmony in a diverse population is legitimate and doesn’t breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
