Latest news with #faithleaders
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Faith leaders come together to defend immigrant communities amid federal raids
More than a dozen religious leaders from an array of faiths marched to the steps of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night, flowers in hand, calling for an end to the federal immigration raids they say have torn families apart and resulted in racial profiling. At the start of the procession in Plaza Olvera, the Rev. Tanya Lopez, senior pastor at Downey Memorial Christian Church, recounted how last week she watched as plainclothes federal agents swarmed a constituent in the parking lot of her church. Despite her attempts to intervene, she said, the man was detained, and she doesn't know where he is now. 'All of our faith traditions teach us to love our neighbor, to leave the world with less suffering than when we find it, and this is creating trauma that will be unable to be undone for generations,' Lopez said. Federal enforcement actions have played out across Southern California this week as the Trump administration carries out its vows to do mass deportations of immigrants in the country without documentation. Initially, President Trump focused his rhetoric on those who had committed violent crimes. But shortly after he took office, his administration made clear that it considers anyone in the country without authorization to be a criminal. The raids — which have spanned bus stops, Home Depot parking lots, swap meets, farms and factories — have prompted many immigrants to go into hiding, and in some cases, to self-deport. The religious leaders marching Wednesday called for a halt to the raids, saying immigrants are integral to the Los Angeles community and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of documentation status. Read more: PHOTOS: Faith leaders in Southland gather for family unity prayer walk They carried their message through downtown, marching from Plaza Olvera to the Federal Building, dressed in colorful garb reflecting Jewish, Sikh, Muslim and Catholic traditions, and uniting in song and prayer, in Spanish and English. They called out to God, Creator, the Holy One, and prayed for healing and justice. They prayed for the hundreds of people who have been detained or deported and the families they've left behind. In the crowd, Talia Guppy held purple flowers to her chest as she sang along. Guppy said she learned that members of her Episcopalian church, St. Stephen's Hollywood, had been detained during the raid of the Ambiance Apparel factory in downtown L.A. Her church has since moved its services online to accommodate people afraid to venture from their homes. 'We're out here for them," she said. 'We're going to keep the hope and keep the faith until we get justice for them.' At the end of the procession, the marchers approached the steps of the Federal Building. Officers from the Department of Homeland Security poured out of the building and guarded the entrance as clergy leaders lined the steps. Inside, behind semireflective doors, rows of U.S. Marines stood at the ready. The leaders called for peace and laid flowers on the steps in tribute to those who have been detained. 'We come with flowers, and we will keep coming with flowers as long as our loved ones are held in cages,' said Valarie Kaur, a Sikh leader. She turned her attention to the officers at the doors, who stood stoic, and questioned how they wanted to be remembered by history. Then she placed flowers by their feet. In the crowd, protesters held signs with images of the Virgin Mary and Mexican flags. The clergy asked them to be ready to defend their neighbors in the coming days. Father Brendan Busse, a Jesuit priest at the Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, said he has felt the impact of the raids within his church. Devoted members are no longer in the pews. Others call asking whether it is safe to come to church. The fear is palpable. 'We need to be a safe space for people, not just in our church, but in the whole neighborhood,' he said. 'I can't guarantee to anybody that we are a totally safe space, but to at least give them a sense that in the difficult moment we're at, that we stand together.' This article is part of The Times' equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California's economic divide. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Los Angeles-area pastor denounces immigration operations after arrest on church property
After a series of immigration operations took place across Los Angeles County once again on Wednesday, some pastors gathered to publicly denounce the actions of agents who detained a man on church property. It happened in Downey outside of Memorial Christian Church, one of several locations where operations took place in the city, according to Tania Lopez. She's the senior pastor at the church, who says that as a person of faith, it's her duty to put herself out there and try to find out exactly why the man was detained. In cell phone video footage captured by Lopez, the agents can be heard asking people repeatedly not to interfere and that they were just doing their jobs. "They don't care that faith leaders are out there," she said during a press conference after the incident. "They are coming, and they are relentless and cruelty is the point. ... So we will meet that cruelty with love." Lopez claims one of the agents pointed a gun at her when she approached the SUV they were in, when she attempted to ask for the name of the man they had detained. "So when they chose to draw their weapon on me, I kept saying, 'I'm not here violently, I am asking you to tell me why you're doing this,'" she said. Since Friday, federal agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security have conducted immigration operations across Southern California, resulting in more than 300 arrests, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Lopez was joined by other community members at the news conference, many of whom say that their interactions with federal agents have been haunting. "Wehn we said we don't want this on our property, this gentleman just shouted, 'The whole country is our property,'" said Downey Memorial Christian Church Reverend Pastor Al Lopez. "When someone tells that to you with a weapon in their hands, that was a very clear message." Federal agents can legally enter public areas of private properties, including waiting rooms, lobbies and parking lots. If they do not have a signed judicial warrant, they can wait for suspected undocumented immigrants to come outside. CBS News Los Angeles contacted ICE but has not received a response.
Washington Post
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Faith leaders, Democratic senators protest Trump tax bill
Politics Faith leaders, Democratic senators protest Trump tax bill June 10, 2025 | 10:56 PM GMT Religious leaders, joined by several Democratic senators, held a rally at the U.S. Capitol on June 10 to demonstrate against President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill. Republicans can only afford lose three votes in the Senate to pass it.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Quincy residents sue mayor over controversial Catholic saint statues for new public safety building
Fifteen religious and non-religious Quincy residents are suing Mayor Thomas Koch over recently discovered plans to install controversial Catholic patron saint statues on the front of the city's new public safety building. The lawsuit, which was filed in Norfolk County Superior Court with the help of the ACLU of Massachusetts on May 27, claims that the statues violate a clause in Article 3 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights stating that 'all religious sects and denominations ... shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.' The lawsuit also alleges that Koch unilaterally decided to commission the statues, and that he and other city officials kept the plans out of the public eye for years. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were allocated for the statues' creation without the approval of the City Council, the suit argues. Despite 'widespread' opposition to the statues from Quincy residents and local faith leaders of various religious affiliations and beliefs, plans for the statues' installation appear to be moving forward, according to the lawsuit. 'The City has abandoned its constitutional duty to remain neutral on matters of faith,' ACLU Senior Counsel Heather Weaver said in a Tuesday press release. 'The new public safety building will be home to many critical government services, but the moment they walk in the door, Quincy residents who do not share the City's favored religious beliefs will get the message that they are not welcome.' Koch's office did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Plans for the new public safety building date back to 2017 when the Quincy City Council first approved money to pay for its design, according to the lawsuit. Between 2019 and 2022, the city council approved over $280 million for the project. At some point during the development and planning of the building, it was decided that two 10-foot-tall bronze statues of Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Florian — which are the Catholic patron saints of police and firefighters, respectively — should be commissioned with the intent of having them adorn the façade of the public safety building. 'Many aspects of the building were discussed at length during public meetings. However, at no point during any of the numerous City Council meetings during which funding for the public safety building was discussed or voted on was the public notified of the plan to install statues of Catholic saints on the front of the building,' the lawsuit reads. 'Nor was the potential for public art of any kind — patron saints or otherwise — contemplated by or included in public plans or drawings of the buildings from the time of the building's approval until February 2025." Instead, the public first learned about the statues through an article published in the local newspaper, The Patriot Ledger, on Feb. 8, according to the lawsuit. During a Feb. 24 City Council meeting, Chris Walker — Koch's chief of staff — stated that the decision to commission the statues 'was ultimately and only the mayor's decision.' When asked why the statues weren't shown to city councilors when they approved funding for the building during various meetings between 2017 and 2022, Koch said that large projects such as this sometimes 'evolve,' and that the idea 'wasn't on the table' when councilors cast their votes," according to the Feb. 8 Patriot Ledger article. Of Quincy City Council's nine members, two told The Patriot Ledger they had no knowledge of the statues before the newspaper contacted them about it, according to the Feb. 8 article. One councilor 'had heard something about it but didn't participate in the plans,' one said they were previously aware of the plans and five did not respond to requests for comment. During the Feb. 24 City Council meeting, Ward 1 Councilor Dave McCarthy — in whose district the new public safety building will be located — said he was told of the plan for the statues 'a long time ago.' Though over 200 residents attended the meeting to object to the statues, McCarthy also said he believed the statues would 'bless our first responders' and that he hoped they 'might say a little prayer before they go out on duty.' 'As the statues were neither discussed in public meetings nor subject to a public procurement process nor otherwise disclosed to the public prior to February 8, it is unclear how or by whom Councilor McCarthy and some other the members of the City Council were made aware of the plan in advance of the February 8 article,' the lawsuit reads. Ward 5 City Councilor Dan Minton — a 40-year veteran of the Quincy Police Department — wrote in a Feb. 9 Facebook post that he did not know about the statues before the Feb. 8 article and expressed concerns about the installation. 'Generally, people don't want to enter a police station — it is usually something bad that has happened, ranging from an act of violence to a simple parking ticket. The statue may not be a welcoming presence to someone already ill at ease," he wrote. As of April 2025, the city has made eight payments totalling over $760,000 in public funds to pay for the statues, according to the lawsuit. The total cost of the installation is expected to come to $850,000. While Catholics often call upon patron saints when praying on behalf of specific causes, other denominations and religions — including many protestant and nondenominational Christian faiths — reject the veneration of saints. Community members of many different faiths and beliefs oppose the statues, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the case include Quincy residents who identified themselves as Catholic, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, atheist and humanist, among other religious identities. Similarly, in an April 4 statement from Quincy Interfaith Network, 19 faith leaders of a range of religious affiliations said they had 'grave concerns' about the statues. 'No single religious tradition should be elevated in a publicly funded facility. Erecting these statues sends a message that there are insiders and outsiders in this community. We are confident this is not the message our City or our first responders want to send,' the statement reads. In addition to concerns about government entities showing religious preference, Councilor Minton, the 19 faith leaders and some of the lawsuit's plaintiffs took issue with the depiction of Saint Michael in the commissioned statue. As is commonplace with depictions of this saint, he is shown standing triumphantly over a demon. 'The violence portrayed on a heroic scale of St. Michael the Archangel is especially frightening and conjures images of police violence, which is contrary to Quincy Police Dept's mission of public safety,' the citizen petition against the statues reads. The lawsuit asks the court to find that the use of public funds to pay for the statues violates state law. It also requests that a judge issue injunctions barring Koch and the city from spending additional taxpayer dollars on them or displaying them on or near the new public safety building. The citizen petition was submitted to the mayor over 100 days ago, but he has yet to respond to it, according to The statues are expected to be available for installation around Labor Day, according to the lawsuit. The public safety building is set to open to the public in October 2025. District 7 candidates debate land use, White Stadium at Boston forum Springfield to remember June 1, 2011 tornado on anniversary Springfield opens new football field at Putnam Vocational Technical Academy Central Mass. firefighter arrested on child sexual abuse material charges Mass. man and woman face kidnapping charge after teen reports being locked in closet Read the original article on MassLive.
CBC
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Toronto city council debating controversial 'bubble zone' protest bylaw today
Social Sharing Toronto councillors are set Thursday to debate a staff-recommended 20-metre "bubble zone" bylaw aimed at restricting protests around places of worship, daycares and schools. It's a measure that comes with controversy. Some faith leaders and councillors who support the bylaw say it doesn't go far enough to protect vulnerable groups, while others say such a bylaw will infringe on people's right to protest. Speaking at a news conference Wednesday spearheaded by Coun. James Pasternak, leaders from an assortment of faiths threw their support behind the bubble zone idea — but said the proposed bylaw still needs changes. Rev. Ron Matheson of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada told reporters that Torontonians should be able to go to places of worship without the threat of harassment, intimidation and fear. In the last year and a half, he said, he has seen hate hurled at vulnerable groups "with glee." "It's shocking. The city of Toronto I moved to in 1995 was a safe place where this would not have been necessary, but it is necessary now," Matheson said. "Our world is changing, our country is changing — but we can do something about it." The latest recommendations from city staff come after months of demonstrations in front of hospitals, places of worship and cultural centres following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, and the subsequent bombardment of Gaza from Israel. The proposed bylaw would not mean blanket ban across the city but would instead operate on a request-based system and allow vulnerable institutions to apply for a 20-metre buffer zone that would be in place for roughly six months. Similar bylaws enacted in Vaughan, Brampton For a buffer zone request to be approved, the owners of any institutions would have to demonstrate how they've been affected by a protest within the last 90 days. After the six-month period is up, the application could be renewed, the proposed bylaw says. If passed, Toronto would follow in the footsteps of other cities including Vaughan and Brampton, which implemented similar measures last year after waves of protests and clashes sparked calls to prohibit such events near buildings considered to be social infrastructure in the eyes of the city. WATCH | Reaction to proposed ban on protests near places of worship: Toronto considers ban on protests near places of worship 5 months ago Duration 7:42 Police and bylaw officers are expected to warn people in these zones before issuing fines, allowing them the chance to leave the area voluntarily. If the buffer zone bylaw is passed in Toronto, the maximum fine would be $5,000. Staff say a 20-metre buffer is a "reasonable perimeter" that will protect access to the facilities, while being "minimally impairing" on Charter rights. Others disagree. At Wednesday's news conference, Coun. Dianne Saxe called the bylaw proposed by staff an "insult to the Jewish community" that will "not provide any protection," while Coun. Brad Bradford said it was "totally inadequate." Groups warn of infringement on right to protest Bradford took issue with the application process putting the onus on groups to have to apply for protections, and called for a bubble zone distance more in line with those seen in Vaughan and Brampton, at 100 metres. Pasternak said he could see a range of 50 to 100 metres, accounting for the realities of a "tight urban environment." "I don't want people who have been subjected to this to have to come and fill out a form and say, 'We have been victimized, we need protection,'" Bradford said. "That should be available to them and it shouldn't be a big, bureaucratic process." In Vaughan and Brampton, the ban automatically applies to places of worship and no application is required. Conversely, a joint letter sent to the city last week from The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Centre for Free expression says the bylaw "represents a significant risk to peaceful expression and assembly, and is not necessary in light of existing police powers. "The police already have broad powers to protect access to property and to intervene in the event of a threat to human physical safety, including during protests," the letter reads. "Therefore, a new bylaw is simply unnecessary." Coun. Paula Fletcher, who represents Toronto–Danforth, was one of several councillors who attended a rally last month pushing back against the proposed bylaw, saying at the time "it's a very fine line that we have to walk" when it comes to people's Charter rights. Staff say the city is expected to spend roughly $1.6 million to hire 12 staff and purchase the vehicles and laptops required to administer the bylaw. It says another $200,000 will be needed for public education as part of the proposal. If approved by council, the bylaw would come into effect on July 2.
