The Ten Commandments outside the Texas Capitol. / Credit: BLundin via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
CNA Staff, Aug 21, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA).
A federal judge has partially blocked the state of Texas from enforcing its law ordering the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools.
In a colorful ruling replete with off-the-cuff observances on topics ranging from Greta Garbo to the speed of Earth’s orbit, District Judge Fred Biery said the Texas law — signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year — could pressure children into “religious observance” in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The state government did not establish a “compelling interest” in imposing such a burden on students, Biery said, and further it failed to make the law “narrowly tailored” enough to pass constitutional muster.
“There are ways in which students could be taught any relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the state selecting an official version of Scripture, approving it in state law, and then displaying it in every classroom on a permanent basis,” he wrote.
The judge suggested that the state Legislature could alternately require schools to display moral lessons not directly connected to religious practice, such as quotes from Unitarian minister Robert Fulghum’s book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
The ruling applies to nearly a dozen school districts, including the independent school districts of Houston and Fort Bend. The suit had been brought by a coalition of parents on behalf of their children.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement to media that his office will “absolutely be appealing this flawed decision.”
“The Ten Commandments are a cornerstone of our moral and legal heritage, and their presence in classrooms serves as a reminder of the values that guide responsible citizenship,” he said.
This is not the first setback over the past year for advocates of displaying the Ten Commandments in schools.
Elsewhere, in June 2024 the state of Oklahoma directed school districts to incorporate the Bible into middle school and high school curricula, with the state superintendent citing its historical and cultural significance in helping “contextualize” the present-day United States.
One poll in June showed that a majority of U.S. adults support allowing Christian prayer in schools, though other polling showed a larger number believing the practice shouldn’t be mandatory, with more than half opposing teachers being allowed to lead classes in prayer.
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Cleveland, Ohio, Apr 6, 2018 / 05:24 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After an in vitro fertilization clinic in Ohio lost more than 4,000 eggs and embryos, one of the couples is suing the clinic, asking a court to recognize an embryo as a person.
Wendy Penniman was one of many people to file a lawsuit against University Hospitals Fertility Center after a malfunctioning cryogenic tank increased temperatures the weekend of March 3.
“We are asking the court to declare that an embryo is a person and that life begins at conception,” said the Penniman’s lawyer, Bruce Taubman, according to News 5 Cleveland.
Having first filed a lawsuit March 12, Taubman filed an additional complaint March 30, asking for a declaratory judgment on the legal status of an embryo. If embryos are recognized as persons, wrongful death suits could be brought against the fertility center.
Taubman has referred to a 1985 Ohio Supreme Court case, Werling v. Sandy, in which the court held that a viable fetus is a person.
“In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court held that an embryo is not a person, but that was solely for the purposes of obtaining an abortion,” said Taubman, according to News 5 Cleveland.
“I see this case ending up in front of the Ohio Supreme Court, and I would like to think that they are going to follow my line of reasoning and declare an embryo a person.”
But Harvard Law Professor Glenn Cohen told News 5 Cleveland, “Ohio has already had a case where they basically said you can’t use this statute unless you’re talking about a viable fetus, and this is so much earlier than that.”
The Pennimans chose to use IVF after suffering 11 miscarriages. Through the clinic, the couple had two children and was hoping to have a third with another one of the frozen embryos.
Having a degree in biochemical engineering herself, Penniman felt betrayed to hear how the lab handled liquid nitrogen and the malfunction.
Reportedly, an employee had turned off the alarm system so none of the staff offsite had been notified, and an issue occurred with the tank’s autofill valve, which replenishes the freezers with liquid nitrogen to keep the embryos cool.
“You think to yourself, ‘How can this be going on behind the scenes?’” said Penniman, noting that the clinic should treat embryos and eggs with the same care as other patients.
“They trusted them with the most important thing they have: the future of their families. With the flip of a switch, they’ve lost the future,” Taubman added.
Washington D.C., May 11, 2017 / 06:36 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After hundreds more migrants perished last weekend in the deadly Mediterranean passage to Europe, one Catholic expert insisted that the root causes of migration need to be addressed.
Religious sisters of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, sing as the process with the body of their late foundress, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, on May 29, 2023, at their abbey near Gower, Missouri. The sisters exhumed the nun’s body on May 18 and discovered that it was apparently intact, four years after her death and burial in a simple wooden coffin. / Joe Bukuras/CNA
Gower, Missouri, May 29, 2023 / 20:02 pm (CNA).
The body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, an African American nun whose surprisingly intact remains have created a sensation at a remote Missouri abbey, was placed inside a glass display case Monday after a solemn procession led by members of the community she founded.
About 5 p.m., dozens of religious sisters of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, carried their foundress on a platform around the property of the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus, reciting the rosary and singing hymns. Some of the thousands of pilgrims who visited the abbey over the three-day Memorial Day weekend followed behind.
Beautiful procession of the remains of Sr. Wilhelmina Lancaster, a Benedictine nun who died in 2019 and now appears to be in an unexpected state of preservation. Her new resting place is inside the church at the sisters’ monastery in Gower, MO. pic.twitter.com/Ax9uYPKXYv
The procession, held in bright, late-afternoon sunshine, culminated inside the abbey’s church, where the nun’s body was placed into a specially made glass case. Flowers surrounded her body and decorated the top of the case, where there is an image of St. Joseph holding the Child Jesus. The church was filled with pilgrims, including many priests and religious sisters from other orders.
Sister Wilhelmina, who founded the Benedictine order in 1995 when she was 70 years old, died in 2019. Expecting to find only bones, her fellow sisters exhumed her remains on May 18 intending to reinter them in a newly completed St. Joseph’s Shrine, only to discover that her body appeared astonishingly well-preserved.
The sisters say they intended to keep their discovery quiet, but the news got out anyway, prompting worldwide media coverage and a flood of pilgrims arriving at the abbey in Gower, a city of 1,500 residents about an hour’s drive from Kansas City, Missouri. A volunteer told CNA that more than 1,000 vehicles came onto the property on Monday but no official count was available.
There has been no official declaration that Sister Wilhelmina’s remains are “incorrupt,” a possible sign of sanctity, nor is there a formal cause underway for her canonization, a rigorous process that can take many years. The local ordinary, Bishop Vann Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, has said that a “thorough investigation” is needed to answer “important questions” raised by the state of her body, but there has been no word on if or when such an analysis will take place.
Sister Wilhelmina’s body was reinterred in a glass display case inside the church of the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus in Gower, Missouri, on May 29, 2023. Joe Bukuras/CNA
Before Monday’s procession, pilgrims again waited in line throughout the day for an opportunity to see and touch Sister Wilhelmina’s body before its placement in the glass case, where it will remain accessible for public viewing.
Among those who came on Monday were Tonya and William Kattner, of Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
“You’ve got to experience the magic and the miracle of it,” Tonya Kattner said.
“It’s a modern-day miracle and it was just something we had to come to,” William Kattner said. “Especially with everything going on in the world today, something like this brings hope.”
Kate and Peteh Jalloh of Kansas City, Missouri, said it was a “blessing” to view the apparently well-preserved body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at her abbey in Gower, Missouri, on May 29, 2023. Joe Bukuras/CNA
Kate and Peteh Jalloh, of Kansas City, Missouri, also didn’t want to pass up the chance to see Sister Wilhelmina.
“I strongly believe in the Catholic faith. I believe in miracles and I have never seen anything like this before. I’ve got a lot going on in my life and this is the best time to get that message from a nun,” Kate Jalloh said.
“It could take another hundred years for us to see something like this,” she added.
Janie Bruck came with her cousins, Kristy Cook and Halle Cook, all from Omaha, Nebraska.
“I came to witness the miracle. I believe we’re in a Jesus revolution and he’s sending us lots of signs,” Bruck said. Kristy Cook, a former Omaha police officer, said she was surprised that Sister Wilhelmina’s body had no odor of decay.
The body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB, lies in the basement of the church of the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus outside Gower, Missouri, on May 28, 2023. Joe Bukuras/CNA
The sisters have publicly thanked the many local law enforcement officers, medical personnel, and volunteers who helped manage the influx of pilgrims over the holiday weekend.
Among the volunteers was Lucas Boddicker, of Kearney, Missouri, who joined members of his Knights of Columbus council based at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in nearby Plattsburgh, Missouri, to guide visiting vehicles to a makeshift parking lot in an open field. Other knights from local parishes helped set up tents and handed out free hamburgers, fruit, and bottles of water.
“That’s one thing the Knights do pretty well,” Boddicker said. “They get the word out when we need manpower.”
Priests heard confessions in a large grass field for hours, some using trees for shade, as young children played on the abbey grounds.
Three religious sisters from the Poor of Jesus Christ order, based in Kansas City, Kansas, said they were inspired by seeing Sister Wilhelmina’s body.
One of the religious, Sister Azucena, said she “wanted to cry,” while praying at the nun’s side. “I just had this feeling of peace and love. We share a vocation. Her fidelity to the Lord and her love, I could feel that there,” she said.
Jason and Jessica Ewell were excited to coincidentally be in town visiting Trish Bachicha (far right) when they heard about the discovery of Sister Wilhelmina’s surprisingly intact remains. Joe Bukuras/CNA
A married couple, Jason and Jessica Ewell, both of whom are blind, were visiting Kansas City, Missouri, from Pennsylvania when they heard Monday morning about Sister Wilhelmina’s body.
“It’s just kind of a neat thing to be a part of the beginning of this story,” Jessica Ewell said.
“I was asking for her intercession for children for our marriage,” she said. “A lot of people think ‘Oh, it’s the blindness,’ but no, it’s not that at all,’” she said.
“Yesterday I was kind of in a place where I said, ‘God, I need something right now,’” she said. “We always hear about these miracles. But they’re long ago and far away and always happen to other people.”
Trish Bachicha, Jessica’s mother, said she believes that God is sending a message.
“He saying ‘I’m alive and well and I haven’t forgotten you,’” she said.
Would the judge have objected to the Code of Hammurabi (composed 1755–1750 BC) being displayed?
From the Code’s Wikipedia entry (links omitted):
Modern scholars responded to the Code with admiration at its perceived fairness and respect for the rule of law, and at the complexity of Old Babylonian society. There was also much discussion of its influence on the Mosaic Law. Scholars quickly identified lex talionis—the “eye for an eye” principle—underlying the two collections. Debate among Assyriologists has since centred around several aspects of the Code: its purpose, its underlying principles, its language, and its relation to earlier and later law collections.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding these issues, Hammurabi is regarded outside Assyriology as an important figure in the history of law and the document as a true legal code. The U.S. Capitol has a relief portrait of Hammurabi alongside those of other historic lawgivers. There are replicas of the stele in numerous institutions, including the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures.
I love your comment. But the thing is, the 10 Commandments are just letters in a list of suggestions and nobody can really fully understand them in the west side of the planet in the age we live at. So, what’s the point of displaying it for? We are not fanatics cheering for a religion or dogmatic people or nationalists. Maybe we should paraphrase it so people can understand it and fully appreciate it
Allow me to show an example:
1. Thou shall have no other Gods before me.
USA/2025 VERSION:
1. Americans should not chose any alternative to love, truth, light and unity in their dealings.
2. You shall not make for yourself any graven image.
USA/2025 VERSION:
We shall never replace the conexion to our foundations that makes us good citizens for any material gain or material remainder. Who we are is priceless and cannot be replaced by objects and symbols.
3. You shall not use the Name of the Lord in vain.
3. We should have respect for truth and not mislead or deceive using anything even God as leverage for validation or credibility. This is wrong.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy.
4. We must remember that this world cannot rush us to it’s terms. The USA has survived many wars, natural disasters and cultural challenges by making pauses constantly to remember who we are and where do we belong and where we are going to.
Etc…
If we were to explain the Ten Commandments, nobody could argue that it causes division due to religious bias.
After all, the whole purpose of religion is to teach us, lead us, build us up and help us to finish every day stronger until God calls us home. So, fighting over this kinda defeats the purpose of the Ten Commandments.
Mister Flynn. I adore Mesopotamia, I really enjoyed your comment, but do you really think we benefit from giving bunch of trouble-makers, like me, who needs to show up to court here and there because we can’t just play by the rules?
Absolutely not. It’s better to show the benefit of these magnificent decalogue. The Bible taught in context makes sense and taught for our context makes life much better for us if we so choose to use it.
Are you a Protestant? Protestants, Catholics, and Jews all agree on the text, but not on where one commandment ends and the next begins. You are using the Protestant form (as, undoubtedly, the State of Texas would).
We believe that God’s Moral Law as summarized in the 10 Commandments are based on Moral Absolutes which are already written on very person’s heart and mind. Just read Romans 2:15
Would the judge have objected to the Code of Hammurabi (composed 1755–1750 BC) being displayed?
From the Code’s Wikipedia entry (links omitted):
Modern scholars responded to the Code with admiration at its perceived fairness and respect for the rule of law, and at the complexity of Old Babylonian society. There was also much discussion of its influence on the Mosaic Law. Scholars quickly identified lex talionis—the “eye for an eye” principle—underlying the two collections. Debate among Assyriologists has since centred around several aspects of the Code: its purpose, its underlying principles, its language, and its relation to earlier and later law collections.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding these issues, Hammurabi is regarded outside Assyriology as an important figure in the history of law and the document as a true legal code. The U.S. Capitol has a relief portrait of Hammurabi alongside those of other historic lawgivers. There are replicas of the stele in numerous institutions, including the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City, the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures.
I love your comment. But the thing is, the 10 Commandments are just letters in a list of suggestions and nobody can really fully understand them in the west side of the planet in the age we live at. So, what’s the point of displaying it for? We are not fanatics cheering for a religion or dogmatic people or nationalists. Maybe we should paraphrase it so people can understand it and fully appreciate it
Allow me to show an example:
1. Thou shall have no other Gods before me.
USA/2025 VERSION:
1. Americans should not chose any alternative to love, truth, light and unity in their dealings.
2. You shall not make for yourself any graven image.
USA/2025 VERSION:
We shall never replace the conexion to our foundations that makes us good citizens for any material gain or material remainder. Who we are is priceless and cannot be replaced by objects and symbols.
3. You shall not use the Name of the Lord in vain.
3. We should have respect for truth and not mislead or deceive using anything even God as leverage for validation or credibility. This is wrong.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy.
4. We must remember that this world cannot rush us to it’s terms. The USA has survived many wars, natural disasters and cultural challenges by making pauses constantly to remember who we are and where do we belong and where we are going to.
Etc…
If we were to explain the Ten Commandments, nobody could argue that it causes division due to religious bias.
After all, the whole purpose of religion is to teach us, lead us, build us up and help us to finish every day stronger until God calls us home. So, fighting over this kinda defeats the purpose of the Ten Commandments.
Mister Flynn. I adore Mesopotamia, I really enjoyed your comment, but do you really think we benefit from giving bunch of trouble-makers, like me, who needs to show up to court here and there because we can’t just play by the rules?
Absolutely not. It’s better to show the benefit of these magnificent decalogue. The Bible taught in context makes sense and taught for our context makes life much better for us if we so choose to use it.
Are you a Protestant? Protestants, Catholics, and Jews all agree on the text, but not on where one commandment ends and the next begins. You are using the Protestant form (as, undoubtedly, the State of Texas would).
The Constitution, of which this judge obviously knows little, guarantees the Freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.
We believe that God’s Moral Law as summarized in the 10 Commandments are based on Moral Absolutes which are already written on very person’s heart and mind. Just read Romans 2:15