Decision Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences
Justice Stephen Breyer, who handles emergency appeals from the Second Circuit, has ordered New York to respond to the diocesan complaint by November 18. Legal experts expect the case to reach the entire Supreme Court, and a ruling for the diocese could encourage churches throughout America to seek similar relief from restrictions they view as unfair.
The court battle comes as coronavirus cases, positivity rates, and hospitalizations are surging throughout the country. More than 10 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including 1 million in just the last 10 days.
Public health experts warn that any indoor gatherings—including but not limited to church services—pose significant risk of becoming “superspreader” events. Barrett’s nomination ceremony at the White House Rose Garden led to a coronavirus outbreak, a fact that one writer says “would be grimly ironic if her first major vote facilitates more such public health catastrophes.”
But the Brooklyn diocese argues that religious freedom is paramount, even during a pandemic. Its lawyers told the district court, “The pandemic alone cannot justify overbroad, untailored closure orders of indefinite duration directed at all houses of worship, that in another time would plainly be found to violate the Constitution.” Attorney Randy Mastro adds, “Public officials have a sacred duty to do right by those they serve, but this [executive order] is simply wrong and wrong-headed.”
Attorneys for the state, meanwhile, contend that the order “is not about fault-finding” and that the “relentless little virus…doesn’t care whose fault it is.” They add, “This is about protecting the entire public, the over 19 million people in the State of New York, many of whom are parishioners of the Diocese.”
