Ruth Inst. Applauds SCOTUS Decision Upholding Religious Liberty During COVID-Crisis

Posted on: Tuesday, December 01, 2020

December 1, 2020

For Immediate Release

For More Information: info@ruthinstitute.org

Ruth Inst. Applauds SCOTUS Decision Upholding Religious Liberty During COVID-Crisis

“The United States Supreme Court struck a blow for religious liberty in enjoining enforcement of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on attendance at religious services in the name of disease control,”* said Ruth Institute Founder and President Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. Morse also noted, “Given the disparity in treatment of secular and religious entities, you have to wonder if more than brainless bureaucracy was at work here.”

In what are designated “red zones” (where the number of COVID cases is highest), attendance at religious services in the state was limited to 10 people (25 in orange zones) regardless of the size of the hall – for instance, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The suit was brought by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and an Orthodox Jewish social service organization.

Morse observed: “There were no similar caps on the number of customers at some retail establishments and businesses providing personal services, like big-lot and pet stores and acupuncture parlors – which would suggest that the State of New York considers shopping more important than praying.”

“The 5-4 decision was along liberal/conservative lines,” Morse added. “Some reports claimed Chief Justice John Roberts ‘joined the Court’s liberals.’ In fact, Roberts – an enormous disappointment to constitutionalists -- is by now a certified member of the activist bloc. All three Trump appointees voted for religious liberty, along with Thomas and Alito. If the president waited until after the election to fill the Ruth Bader Ginsburg vacancy, the decision would have been a 4-4 tie and the regulations would have remained in effect.”

Morse wonders: “Could there be a connection between the harsh treatment of churches and synagogues and progressives’ disdain for Biblical morality? Whether it’s Catholic churches, Orthodox Jewish congregations, or other traditional denominations, the religions hit the hardest all espouse sexual morality.

“Like most leaders of his party, Cuomo is a dogmatic advocate of abortion on demand and same-sex marriage. He once told an interviewer that right-to-lifers and marriage proponents ‘have no place in New York.’ The denominations he singled out for punishment respect life and support man/woman marriage. Can this be a coincidence?”

In conclusion, Morse affirmed, “While reasonable restraints are to be expected during a pandemic, treating religious institutions and commercial enterprises differently is anything but reasonable, and smacks of a special animus toward faith.”

* 20A87 Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (11/25/2020) (supremecourt.gov)

The Ruth Institute is a global non-profit organization, leading an international interfaith coalition to defend the family and build a civilization of love.

Jennifer Roback Morse is the author of The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Morse, contact info@ruthinstitute.org.

Ruth Institute President Welcomes First Public Meetings of State Dept. Commission on Unalienable Rights

Posted on: Monday, October 21, 2019

For more information, contact: media@ruthinstitute.org.

Ruth Institute Founder and President Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D., welcomed the news that the Commission on Unalienable Rights will begin its work with two public meetings, October 23 and November 1, at the State Department in Washington, D.C.

“The Commission has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get the State Department behind authentic human rights, which begin with the family,” Morse said. “Respect for the rights of others is learned in the family. In turn, governments must respect the rights of families, including the right to educate their children in their own faith tradition, without being undermined by the government.”

The Ruth Institute is co-sponsoring a Make The Family Great Again Petition with LifeSite Petitions.

The petition affirms that:

• Marriage and the family are universal institutions for the stability of society and the continuation of the human race.
• Loyalty and fidelity are universally recognized as virtues.
• Children need their mother and father.
• Stable loving families provide the basis for strong societies, including thriving economies, national security and international peace.
• The United Nations and other international organizations often work at cross-purposes to these important truths.
• Making America great again requires that we make the family great again, both at home and abroad.

Therefore, the Petition urges the Commission on Unalienable Rights to work for recognition of the following fundamental rights:

• The right of every child to a relationship with his or her natural mother and father except for an unavoidable tragedy.
• The right of every person to know the identity of his or her biological parents.
• The right to life from conception to natural death.
• The right of families to educate their own children in their faith tradition and values, without being undermined by the state.

Morse noted: “Our more than 40 original petition signers are a Who’s Who of the international pro-family movement, including Gov. Mike Huckabee, Alveda King, and Fr. Shenan Boquet, the President of Human Life International, as well as international leaders from Africa, Europe, and Latin America.”

To date, nearly 7,700 have signed the petition worldwide.

“We welcome the beginnings of a process to get the State Department behind the rights of the family. If kids don’t have a right to their parents, nobody has a right to anything,” Morse concluded.

The Ruth Institute is a global non-profit organization equipping Christians to defend the family and build a civilization of love. On April 26-27, the Institute held a Summit for Survivors of Sexual Revolution.

Dr. Morse is the author of The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives. More at thesexualstate.com.

For more information on the Ruth Institute: ruthinstitute.org.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Morse, email media@ruthinstitute.org.