1813 brought the first test of the right of free religious practice and expression in the United States. The famous case, People v. Philips, which eventually solidified the priest-penitent evidentiary privilege that protects the privacy of information given during confession, was argued in New York City on behalf of the growing Catholic population by the exiled Irish Protestant … [Read more...] about 200 Years of People v. Philips and Religious Freedom
Issues
St. Brigid’s Catholic Church in the East Village Reopens
After more than a decade of closed doors and legal battles, St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in New York’s Alphabet City is restored and open again for worship. Built between 1848 and 1849, St. Brigid’s, on Avenue B and Eighth Street, is among the earliest surviving works of famed architect Patrick Keely, a Tipperary native, who carved the reredos, organ case, and the … [Read more...] about St. Brigid’s Catholic Church in the East Village Reopens
The Fight to Save Chicago's St. James Parish
Parishioners and friends of historic St. James Parish, founded in 1855 on Chicago’s South Side by Irish immigrants who’d escaped the Great Starvation, spent Easter in a prayer vigil in front of their padlocked church, imploring the Archdiocese (and the Pope, via his Twitter @Pontifex) to stop the wrecking ball, due in only a few days, from destroying their unique church and … [Read more...] about The Fight to Save Chicago's St. James Parish
The Fight to Save Chicago’s St. James Parish
Parishioners and friends of historic St. James Parish, founded in 1855 on Chicago’s South Side by Irish immigrants who’d escaped the Great Starvation, spent Easter in a prayer vigil in front of their padlocked church, imploring the Archdiocese (and the Pope, via his Twitter @Pontifex) to stop the wrecking ball, due in only a few days, from destroying their unique church and … [Read more...] about The Fight to Save Chicago’s St. James Parish
Stopping the Famine Trigger – Phytophthora infestans
A pathogen called Phytophthora infestans has long been recognized as the cause of the Irish Potato Famine, which led to over one million deaths. But until recently, scientists were unsure of exactly how it subverted the natural immune system of the crop and wreaked such rampant failure. A new study published in Nature Genetics uncovers the process by which Phytophthora cripples … [Read more...] about Stopping the Famine Trigger – Phytophthora infestans