Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Officials Investigating Recent Vandalism, Fires at Maryland Churches
Jul 12 2022 // Investigations are underway into several weekend incidents of apparent arson and vandalism at churches in Maryland, authorities said. Montgomery County authorities said the incidents took place at three churches of...
Rochester Diocese, Insurers Plan for January Hearing on $147M Sexual Abuse Settlement
Jun 30 2022 // Insurers and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester have agreed on a schedule for discovery and a bankruptcy court trial regarding a proposed $147 million settlement to cover sex abuse claims against the church. The...
Fire at North Dakota Historic Church Deemed Suspicious
Jun 22 2022 // A fire last week at one of southeastern North Dakota’s oldest churches is being investigated as “suspicious,” authorities said. The blaze at Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church near Harwood was reported about...
Maine Catholic Diocese Sued Under Abuse Law Change It Opposed
Jun 20 2022 // The first lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland since Maine took away a limitation on claims of child sexual abuse were filed last week. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a law last year that allowed...
Rochester Diocese Offers $147M to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims
May 24 2022 // The Diocese of Rochester, New York, and its insurers have submitted a proposal to bankruptcy court to settle 471 sexual abuse claims against them for $147 million. The settlement includes $107,750,000 from insurers and...
3 Louisiana Black Churches Rebuilding After 2019 Arson
Apr 20 2022 // Three years after an arsonist torched three small Black Baptist churches in rural Louisiana, rebuilding is well under way. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas is months from reopening, with visible progress at St....
New Jersey Diocese Reaches $87.5M Settlement with Sex Abuse Claimants
Apr 20 2022 // The Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, and the committee representing about 300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse have reached an $87.5 million settlement that will establish a trust to compensate the survivors. The...
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires UK’s Churchills International Consulting
Apr 12 2022 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Nottingham, England-based Churchills International Consulting. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1974, Churchills International Consulting...
Louisiana Church Sues Insurer For Alleged Inadequate Storm Damage Coverage
Apr 6 2022 // A Louisiana church has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that its insurer failed to adequately cover millions of dollars in property damage resulting from two devastating weather events last year, including Hurricane...
Many Faith Leaders, Denominations Wary of Religious Exemptions for Vaccine
Feb 17 2022 // By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious...
Fewer Crashes After Utah Sets Nation’s Strictest DUI Law, Study Shows
Feb 16 2022 // Traffic deaths decreased in Utah after the state enacted the strictest drunken driving laws in the nation five years ago, new research published by a U.S. government agency shows. The findings, which pertain to fatalities...
Judge Sets March Hearing on Boy Scouts Bankruptcy After Claimant Group Signs On
Feb 14 2022 // The judge presiding over the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy has delayed the start of a trial to determine whether the BSA’s reorganization plan should be confirmed after an agreement with the official committee...
Catholic Church Sex Abuse Panel in Portugal Receives 200 Allegations in First Month
Feb 11 2022 // A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Thursday that during its first month of work it received allegations from 214 people. The allegations are from people born...
Maine Diocese Deems Abuse Allegations Against 2 Priests Credible
Feb 3 2022 // Complaints alleging that two priests sexually abused children in the 1950s and 1970s have been deemed credible by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. One of the complaints focused on Renald Hallee, who served in Bangor...
Church Victims Push Nebraska Lawmakers to Expand Lawsuit Window
Jan 24 2022 // Victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests urged Nebraska lawmakers on Friday to pass a law that would let people who were abused decades ago file lawsuits against the church or other organizations that were...
Fire at Louisiana Church Causes $150K in Damages
Jan 19 2022 // An early morning fire on Jan. 14 at a church in Louisiana’s capital left $150,000 worth of damages but no injuries, authorities said. The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded about 5:30 a.m. to a fire in North Baton...
Officials Blame Discarded Fireworks for Louisiana Church Blaze
Jan 12 2022 // Carelessly discarded New Year’s fireworks may have started a blaze that destroyed much of a church, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office says. Investigators haven’t determined a definite cause of the...
Hilb Group Buys Interest in Tennessee-based Churchill Agency
Jan 5 2022 // The Hilb Group announced it has acquired membership interest in the Churchill Agency, based in Brentwood, Tennessee. The Hilb Group is a property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage headquartered in...
DOJ, Texas Church Shooting Victims At Odds Over How Much Air Force Owes
Dec 2 2021 // The U.S. Justice Department and survivors of a 2017 Texas church massacre are at odds over how much the Air Force should pay in compensation for failing to flag a conviction that might have prevented the gunman from...
Missouri County Approves $146.7K Settlement to Church’s COVID Lawsuit
Oct 20 2021 // Officials in Missouri’s Jackson County approved a settlement with a church that had sued over COVID-19 restrictions that it claimed discriminated against religion. The Jackson County Legislature voted to approve a...
