Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Diocese of Buffalo Suspends Three Priests Amid Sex Abuse Claims
Jun 8 2021 // Three priests have been placed on leave in response to claims in a lawsuit filed last month that they sexually abused a boy in the 1990s, the Diocese of Buffalo announced Saturday. Bishop Michael Fisher said the priests...
Baltimore County to Pay $1.1M to Settle Church’s Religious Bias Claims
May 3 2021 // Baltimore County has agreed to pay $1.1 million to resolve a religious discrimination lawsuit over a county board’s denial of a church’s expansion plan. The Baltimore Sun reports that the county and Hunt Valley...
Central Illinois Church Suffers Extensive Smoke Damage from Fire
Apr 29 2021 // A fire early on April 28 caused extensive smoke damage to a central Illinois church, authorities said. Crews were called to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lexington after a passerby discovered smoke coming from the...
Maine Man Charged with Hate Crime in Black Church Arson
Apr 21 2021 // A Maine man accused of setting fire to a Massachusetts church with a predominantly Black congregation been charged with hate crime offenses, federal prosecutors said. Dushko Vulchev is charged in federal court with four...
Missouri Bill Allowing Guns on Buses, in Churches Advances
Apr 14 2021 // Missouri lawmakers on April 12 advanced a sweeping firearms bill that would allow concealed guns on public transportation and in churches. The Republican-led House gave the measure initial approval in a voice vote. It...
Church Official Warns of Financial Flood from Clergy Sex Abuse Claims
Apr 12 2021 // A top official with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe says a financial flood from clergy sex abuse claims is coming and a settlement would serve as the dam to prevent devastation to parishes across northern New Mexico. A letter...
People Moves: Cole from XS Brokers to Rockwood; Westchester’s Roberts, Fred C. Church’s Sanderson Promoted
Mar 30 2021 // Rockwood Programs Names Cole as Chief Marketing Officer Rockwood Programs Inc., a full-service managing general agency, has appointed Carol Cole to chief marketing officer. In this role, Cole is responsible for marketing...
Fire Destroys Historic Black Church in Northeast Florida
Mar 29 2021 // Officials are trying to determine what caused a fire early Friday that destroyed a historic Black church in northeast Florida. Clay County Fire Rescue tweeted that no one was injured in the fire that started around 11 p.m....
Internet Law Protects Video Platform From Church’s Bias Claim, Court Rules
Mar 15 2021 // Vimeo Inc. is immune to a lawsuit by a church whose account it deleted for promoting gay conversion, the federal appeals court in New York ruled, amid a battle over online speech. Church United and its president and...
Diocese in Minnesota Diocese Settles Abuse Claims for $21.5M
Feb 12 2021 // The Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota says it has reached a $21.5 million settlement with 145 individuals who were sexually abused by its clergy members. It’s the last Catholic diocese in the state to settle...
Church Mutual in Wisconsin Promotes Carter, Tribble
Jan 14 2021 // Church Mutual Insurance Co., based in Merrill, Wis., has promoted Bruce Carter to assistant vice president – Diversity & Inclusion and John Tribble to vice president – Customer Relationship and Business...
Flooding Brings New Woes to New York City Church Hard-Hit by COVID-19
Jan 7 2021 // A Lutheran church in New York City already reeling from the COVID-19 deaths of more than 60 members of the congregation has suffered a new trauma: Severe flood damage from the rupture of a major municipal water main. The...
9 Appeals Court Judges Recuse Themselves in Louisiana Church Sex Abuse Suit
Dec 17 2020 // All nine judges in Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeal have recused themselves from a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport and a late priest. Following the full court recusal, the...
Fire Guts Historic Church Home to New York’s Liberty Bell
Dec 10 2020 // A historic church in lower Manhattan that houses New York’s Liberty Bell and whose congregation dates to the city’s earliest days was gutted by a massive fire that sent flames shooting through the roof. The...
W. Virginia High Court Nixes AG Consumer Protection Claim in Catholic Church Suit
Nov 19 2020 // West Virginia’s attorney general cannot use a consumer protection law to sue a Roman Catholic diocese over sexual abuse allegations, the state’s high court said Monday. The West Virginia Supreme Court issued...
Louisiana Arsonist Gets 25 Years for Torching 3 Black Churches
Nov 4 2020 // A Louisiana man who admitted to burning down three predominantly African American churches to promote himself as a “black metal” musician has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay the churches...
Insurers Face Liability Uncertainties as Ships Begin to Sail Through Arctic Waters
Oct 27 2020 // When Captain Will Whatley guides a ship through Arctic waters, he is starkly aware of what can go wrong. Double the manpower is needed to navigate. Lookout shifts are kept to just one hour, so sailors don’t lose...
Gantz Named Senior VP – Finance at Church Mutual in Wisconsin
Oct 27 2020 // Dwayne “Dewey” Gantz has joined Merrill, Wis.-based Church Mutual Insurance Co. as senior vice president – Finance, He reports to Kevin Root, executive vice president – Operations, and will collaborate with...
Pennsylvania Justices Review Priest Abuse Lawsuit’s Ruling on Time Limits
Oct 23 2020 // Pennsylvania’s highest court on Tuesday grappled with whether a woman’s lawsuit on claims of sexual abuse by a priest decades ago should be allowed to proceed – a lower-court ruling that has launched many...
Richmond Diocese to Pay $6.3M to Sexual Abuse Victims
Oct 19 2020 // The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced Thursday that it is paying $6.3 million to 51 people who experienced sexual abuse as minors by clergy. The diocese released details in a report on its website. In February, Bishop...
