Culture Wars Update: US Supremes Rule That It's Okay to Spread the Virus at Church

 

Chief Justice John Roberts,
in the minority now

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York had imposed very tight restrictions on some church services in "hot spot" areas. As New York got the pandemic under more control, Cuomo relaxed those restrictions. But the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn sued anyway (later joined by Jewish temples), and just before midnight last night the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the governor couldn't impose those restrictions any more. Chief Justice John Roberts was one of those in the minority and wrote a dissent.

Roberts noted that while the case was wending its way to the court, Cuomo had eased the restrictions. So why would the court intervene now? “It is a significant matter to override determinations made by public health officials concerning what is necessary for public safety in the midst of a deadly pandemic,” Roberts wrote.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the court was intervening where it should not: “The Constitution does not forbid States from responding to public health crises through regulations that treat religious institutions equally or more favorably than comparable secular institutions, particularly when those regulations save lives. Justices of this court play a deadly game in second guessing the expert judgment of health officials about the environments in which a contagious virus, now infecting a million Americans each week, spreads most easily.”

But go ahead, brethren. Pack those pews! The best way to spread Christian cheer is singing loud for all to hear. The aerosols you share are witness to your faith.