Kresta in the Afternoon – September 22, 2017 – Hour 2

+  Gay Rights vs. Religious Liberty: The Latest from the Courts

  • Description: When the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in June 2015, a primary concern for Catholics was how the ruling would affect conscience rights and religious liberty. There are a number of cases currently in the courts whose rulings will be very telling about the future of religious liberty. The primary case is, of course, the Colorado baker who refuses to prepare a cake for a same-sex wedding; his case will be heard by the Supreme Court this term. Also, the ACLU has sued the state of Michigan for a law protecting the conscience rights of faith-based adoption agencies. We'll look at these stories with Rob Muise.
  • Segment Guests:
    • Rob Muise
      Robert is a co-founder of the American Freedom Law Center and the co-Author of Offensive and Defensive Lawfare: Fighting Civilizational Jihad in America's Courts. He perviously served 13 years in the US Marine Corps. Visit americanfreedomlawcenter.org.
  • + Articles Mentioned:

+  Sexual Violence as a Tactic of Terror (2 segments)

  • Description: Some of ISIS' most stomach-churning crimes have been in the area of sexual violence. Women who have escaped tell stories of being "married" many times in one night and raped more times than they can count. Jane Adolphe joins us with a look at how sexual violence is used as tactic of terror and the legal avenues for combating it.
  • Segment Guests:
    • Jane Adolphe
      Jane Adolphe is co-editor and contributing author to The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East. She is Associate Professor of Law at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples.
  • + Resources Mentioned Available in Our Store:

    • The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East: Prevention, Prohibition, & Prosecution

      -- An eye-opening account of the plight of Christians in the Middle East -- The most in-depth work available on the persecution of Middle Eastern Christians In summer 2014, ISIS waged a bloody blitz through Iraq's Nineveh province, crucifying, beheading, raping, torturing, forcibly converting to Islam, and driving out every member of the region's 2000-year-old Christian community. Christian girls, as young as three, were sold at ISIS sex slave markets in Mosul. Ancient churches were burned and ISIS attacked dozens of Christian towns in Syria. The beheading in 2015 of 21 Egyptian Copts was videotaped by ISIS and became a searing, iconic symbol of this wave of persecution that threatens to eradicate Christianity in the Middle East. Many in the West, even Christians, remain unaware of the scale of this persecution, and even fewer know what can be done about it. Inspired by Pope Francis's denunciation of these acts as "genocide," a group of Catholic legal scholars, writers, and theologians began work on The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East. Its case studies focus on persecuted Christians, but its analysis equally applies to the other victims. In the United States, military and diplomatic responses are contemplated and sometimes undertaken. But what about the legal system? Are there things we can or should be trying? That question animates this book as it explores various facets of religious persecution, examining ISIS's ideology and their relationship to Islam as practiced by most Muslims, as well as exploring the nature of religious freedom. Practical, relevant, and rich in ideas, this book addresses the most crucial religious freedom issue of our day. It is a primer for Christians, students of international human rights, and all concerned about religious persecution. The book also examines:

      •     Sexual violence as a tactic of terror and an element of genocide under international law.
      •     The responsibility, not only of the militant terrorists who commit and direct the crimes, but also the network of businesses, bankers and money brokers, social media experts, clerics, academics, madrassas, prison chaplains, charities, and donors supporting them.
      •      Applicable international law, especially criminal law, as it pertains to the special case of ISIS and other non-state terrorists.
      •      U.S. law against torture.
      •      The shortcomings of the International Criminal Court and potential role of ad hoc regional as well as national courts.
      •      The tensions between peace and justice.
      •      The Vatican's role in peace efforts in Syria, and the Christian response to persecution.
      (learn more)

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