Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
No Duty to Defend in Ohio Molestation Claim Unless ‘Scope of the Allegations’ Test Met
Sep 6 2017 // Jodee Edwards had a home and auto insurance policy issued by insurer Encompass that excluded coverage for loss “arising out of sexual molestation, corporal punishment, or physical or mental abuse.” Edwards was...
Trial Over Bias Claim Against Kansas Secretary of State Kobach’s Office Begins
Aug 21 2017 // A former employee in Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office alleges in a lawsuit headed to trial on Aug. 21 that she was fired because she didn’t go to church enough. Kobach — who until the middle of...
$3.1M Sex Abuse Suit Filed by Former Altar Boy Against Oregon Church
Jul 24 2017 // A former altar boy at a Portland, Ore. church has filed a $3.1 million lawsuit against the church contending he was repeatedly sexually abused by a choir director in the early 1960s. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that...
Wisconsin’s Church Mutual: Outlook Upgraded; Sensor Technology Recognized
Jul 10 2017 // Merrill, Wis.-based Church Mutual Insurance Co. and its subsidiaries CM Vantage Specialty Insurance Co. and CM Regent Insurance Co. have earned a “positive” outlook for long-term issuer credit rating by A.M....
Supreme Court Affirms Religious Exemption from ERISA Pension Law
Jun 6 2017 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that church-affiliated hospital systems do not have to comply with a federal law governing employee pensions, overturning lower court decisions that could have cost the hospitals...
Driving Drunk: Bishop Who Killed Cyclist in Maryland is Denied Parole
May 15 2017 // A former Episcopal bishop who struck and killed a cyclist in Baltimore, Md., while driving drunk will remain in prison after the Maryland Parole Commission rejected her plea for early release. Heather Cook, once the...
Biohazard Cleanups Not Pretty-and Neither Are the Costs to Insurers
Apr 27 2017 // If Peter Duncanson is on the scene, it’s probably not pretty. It could be a CSI-like crime scene with spattered blood and skin fragments on the sofa and wall. Or a trauma scene where an injured employee or animal...
Texas Driver Who Collided with Church Bus Had Taken Pills, Records Show
Apr 13 2017 // A 20-year-old man whose pickup collided with a church minibus last month in rural Texas, killing 13 people, told state troopers he had taken prescription medication before driving and had marijuana in his truck, according...
Six Months Later, Hurricane Flood Victims Still Recovering in Virginia
Apr 11 2017 // In the months since Hurricane Matthew, Dawn Sawyer has watched her 9-year-old, Sam, bite his nails down to “nubs.” She’s never seen him do that before. As Sam remembers it, he slept right through the...
5 Pending Supreme Court Cases New Justice Gorsuch Could Influence
Apr 10 2017 // Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court who was confirmed by the Senate to the lifetime job on Friday in a 54-45 vote, will have an immediate impact on cases already pending before...
Driver of Truck in Texas Bus Crash Admits Texting Behind the Wheel
Apr 3 2017 // A witness says the driver of a pickup truck that collided with a church minibus in rural Texas, killing 13 people, acknowledged he had been texting while driving — highlighting the dangers of sending messages on...
Montana Diocese Filing for Bankruptcy to Settle Sex Abuse Claims
Apr 3 2017 // A second Montana Roman Catholic diocese will file for bankruptcy protection as part of settlements involving more than 400 people in sex abuse lawsuits, church officials said Friday. The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings...
Federal Investigators Probing Crash That Killed 13 in Texas
Mar 31 2017 // Federal officials are investigating a head-on collision between a pickup truck and small church bus in southwest Texas that crumpled the front of the bus and killed 13 senior adults returning from a church retreat. The...
3 Reasons Vacant Buildings Make Underwriters Twitch
Mar 29 2017 // I spent some time this weekend with some friends who live in another city. We were talking about their church and the neighborhood that its located in. I noticed that the building next door was up for sale so we started...
Victims, Roman Catholic Church Spar Over New York Sex Abuse Bill
Mar 8 2017 // New York legislation to relax one of the nation’s most restrictive statutes of limitations on child molestation victims continues to stall under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church and other opponents. The bill...
12 Children Hospitalized in Kentucky Church Bus Crash
Feb 27 2017 // Authorities say 12 children were taken to the hospital after a church bus crashed in southern Kentucky. Laurel County Sheriff John Root says in a statement that the crash happened about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on a road near...
Pending Supreme Court Cases Trump’s Nominee Gorsuch Could Affect
Feb 1 2017 // President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court could have an immediate impact on cases already pending before the justices. Trump last night nominated Neil Gorsuch, a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S....
Florida Church Struggles to Fix Steeple Toppled by Hurricane Matthew
Dec 27 2016 // The pastor of a Florida church whose steeple was toppled by Hurricane Matthew says it’s painful to see the storm’s damage linger. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that the 25-foot steeple remains where it...
Supreme Court to Hear Hospitals’ Religious Exemption from ERISA
Dec 5 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear appeals by Christian-affiliated hospital systems of lower court rulings that gave the green light to employee lawsuits accusing them of wrongly claiming a religious exemption...
South Carolina Church Ordered to Halt For-Hire Bus Service After Fatal Crash
Nov 18 2016 // A South Carolina church that owned the bus involved in a collision that killed four people in September was ordered on Monday to stop for-hire operations, federal authorities said. Sandy River Baptist Church failed to make...
