Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Church Agency Denied Exemption for Nixing Married Gay Employee’s Insurance
Apr 30 2025 // Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been found to have violated Maryland’s employment anti-discrimination law when it discriminated against an employee because of his sexual orientation. U.S. District Judge Julie...
Historic Memphis Church a Total Loss After Late-Night Fire
Apr 29 2025 // A Memphis church known as a rallying spot in the Civil Rights Movement suffered major damage in a fire that broke out early Monday morning. The 130-year-old Clayborn Temple, in downtown Memphis, is considered a total loss,...
Judge Nixes Gender Bias Claim by Woman Denied Job as Top Pastor of Black Church
Apr 8 2025 // A federal judge has dismissed a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a professor and minister who lost her bid to become the first woman to serve as senior pastor of New York City’s prominent Abyssinian Baptist...
Public Adjuster Pleads Guilty to Another Scam, This One on a Church in Georgia
Mar 31 2025 // A notorious public adjuster, already in prison for scamming Louisiana and Texas residents out of insurance proceeds, last week pleaded guilty to defrauding Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co. and a Georgia church out of...
AM Best Affirms Financial Strength Rating of Church Mutual
Mar 6 2025 // AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a” (Excellent) of Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I. The outlook assigned to these Credit...
Norwich Diocese Reaches $31 Million Fund Agreement With Abuse Survivors
Feb 18 2025 // The bankrupt Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut and advocates for survivors of clergy sex abuse have reached an agreement on a $31 million compensation fund. The plan, which is subject to the approval of the...
Trenton Diocese Sues Four Insurers Over Coverage for Child Victim Claims
Feb 13 2025 // The Catholic Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey has sued its liability insurers over their alleged “failure and refusal” to agree upon a cost-sharing formula to deal with hundreds of sexual abuse claims brought...
Ex-Yankee Mariano Rivera and Wife Deny Knowing of Church Abuse
Jan 28 2025 // New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera and his wife are accused in a lawsuit of failing to protect a young girl who was sexually abused by an older child during a summer camp trip sponsored by their church. In a lawsuit...
Crown Stolen from Virgin Mary Statue at Philadelphia Church
Jan 23 2025 // A man broke into a Philadelphia church and stole a 125-year-old bejeweled crown from atop a marble statue of the Virgin Mary, city police said earlu this week.. The burglary at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church...
Bankruptcy Judge Approves Rockville Centre Diocese $320M Sex Abuse Claims Fund
Nov 19 2024 // A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a Chapter 11 plan for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York that includes a $320 million fund to compensate victims of clergy sexual abuse and settles insurance...
Vermont Diocese Files for Bankruptcy With No Insurance Left for Past Abuse Claims
Oct 2 2024 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, Vermont has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it continues to face lawsuits over sexual abuse by its former clergy members in a state with no statute of limitations on...
Rockville Diocese Reaches Bankruptcy Agreement With $323M for Sex Abuse Claims
Sep 27 2024 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York reports that it has reached an agreement with survivors, insurers, parishes and other parties on a settlement of its bankruptcy case that includes a $323 million...
Norwich Catholic Diocese Files Chapter 11 Plan With $30M Fund for Survivors
Sep 10 2024 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich and its parishes, along with its insurer Catholic Mutual Relief Society of America, have filed a joint Chapter 11 plan of reorganization as the diocese seeks to emerge from...
AM Best Assigns Issue Credit Rating to Church Mutual’s Surplus Notes
Aug 26 2024 // AM Best said it has assigned and placed under review with negative implications a Long-Term Issue Credit Rating of bbb+ (Good) to the $40 million, 9.5% surplus notes due 2044 issued by Church Mutual Insurance Company,...
Houses of Worship and the State of Insurance
Aug 19 2024 // A recent Insurance Journal article decried the state of insurance for churches and it’s mostly about their property insurance issues and we all know that the property insurance space has struggled in recent years,...
How a Perfect Storm Sent Church Insurance Rates Skyrocketing
Jul 25 2024 // The Rev. John Parks was taking his first sabbatical in 40 years of ministry when he got a call from his church’s accountant with some bad news. Church Mutual, the church’s insurance company, had dropped...
Fire Severely Damages Historic First Dallas Baptist Church Sanctuary
Jul 22 2024 // A fire all but destroyed the historic church sanctuary at First Baptist Dallas, sending smoke billowing over the city but causing no deaths or injuries, Dallas firefighters said. The fire in the Texas Historic Landmark, a...
Washington AG Says Catholic Church Stonewalling Sex Abuse Investigation
May 13 2024 // The Catholic church is refusing to cooperate with a Washington state investigation into whether it unlawfully used charitable trust funds to cover up sexual abuse by priests, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said, asking a...
Clergy Sexual Abuse Probe Targets New Orleans Catholic Church Leaders
May 8 2024 // NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities have expanded an investigation of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans to include senior church officials suspected of shielding predatory priests for decades and...
Chubb Wins Latest Battle With New York Diocese in Bid to Avoid Sex Abuse Claims
Apr 24 2024 // A New York state appeals court has reinstated Chubb insurance companies’ bid for judgments declaring that they are not obligated to cover thousands of sex abuse lawsuits brought against the Archdiocese of New York...
