U.S. Supreme Court

In the spotlight: Roe v. Wade decision, World Meeting of Families, restoring earthquake-damaged artwork

Two leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops hailed the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide and said it is time for “healing wounds and repairing social divisions” with those who take opposing views on abortion.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court “is good news for the protection and sacred dignity of human life. … Every person is created in the image and likeness of God, and God loves every single human life.”

The court voted 6-3 to strike down the New York law requiring anyone who wants to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense to demonstrate a specific need for doing so.

In a 6-3 ruling June 21, the Supreme Court said a Maine tuition aid program that excluded religious schools violated the Constitution’s free exercise clause.

The draft document, now considered authentic, was well-written and a good legal argument, but the Supreme Court has suffered in this apparent effort to undermine its legitimacy, according to one law professor.

Although many pro-life groups immediately reacted positively to the news that the majority of Supreme Court justices seem set to overturn the court’s Roe v. Wade decision, some tempered their reaction with a continued call for more advocacy while others kept a wait-and-see approach until the court issues its opinion in the weeks ahead.

The majority of Supreme Court justices seemed to side with a former high school football coach April 25 who said his postgame prayers on the field — that cost him his job — amounted to private speech and not the public school’s endorsement of religion.