Michigan adoption agency wins in court
LANSING, Mich. (BP)—Faith-based adoption and foster care agencies seeking to practice their religious beliefs gained an important victory Thursday, Sept. 26 in Michigan. Federal Judge Robert Jonker issued a preliminary injunction blocking Michigan from canceling the state-approved contract of St. Vincent Catholic Charities to provide foster care and adoption services. St. Vincent will be able to continue partnering with the state...
TRUSTEES: ERLC honors Denhollander, Lankford
NASHVILLE (BP)—Trustees of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission approved a leading advocate for sexual abuse survivors and a United States senator as recipients of the entity’s 2019 awards during their annual meeting Sept. 11. The ERLC board unanimously ratified Rachael Denhollander for the Distinguished Service Award and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma for the Religious Liberty Award. In other actions,...
PPFA forfeits family planning funds for abortion
WASHINGTON (BP)—One of Planned Parenthood’s government revenue streams has officially dried up for now. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) confirmed Monday (Aug. 19) it would not abide by the Trump administration’s new rule that prohibits federal family planning funds for organizations that perform, promote or refer for abortions. The decision—which had been expected for weeks and was announced at the...
SBC Annual Meeting resolutions contend for vulnerable, Gospel
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) — Messengers to the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention advocated for the vulnerable against abortion, sexual abuse and religious persecution in approving 13 resolutions Wednesday (June 12). The resolutions also addressed a variety of other noteworthy issues in the convention and the world, including local church autonomy, same-sex attraction, justice, women in the military draft and gene editing. On abortion,...
Panelists assess SBC on sexual abuse
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) — Speakers at a panel on sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches shared Monday night (June 10) their assessment of where the convention and its cooperating congregations stand regarding an increasingly obvious problem in the country’s largest Protestant denomination. More than 1,250 people registered for “Sexual Abuse and the Southern Baptist Convention,” a conversation co-hosted by the...
