Secular Court’s Hollow “Religious Freedom” Ruling Exposes Conciliar Apostasy
Catholic News Agency reports (January 7, 2026) that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld Union Gospel Mission of Yakima’s right to hire only employees adhering to their beliefs about marriage and sexuality. The court invoked the “ministerial exception” and “church autonomy” to block Washington’s anti-discrimination law, claiming this prevents government interference in religious missions. This ruling continues the legal trajectory from Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC (2012) to Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru (2020), extending protections to non-ministerial roles. Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jeremiah Galus hailed it as affirming religious groups’ right to hire “fellow believers who share that calling.”