Latest Church Headlines

All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Rochester Diocese Offers $147M to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims

May 24 2022 // The Diocese of Rochester, New York, and its insurers have submitted a proposal to bankruptcy court to settle 471 sexual abuse claims against them for $147 million. The settlement includes $107,750,000 from insurers and...

3 Louisiana Black Churches Rebuilding After 2019 Arson

Apr 20 2022 // Three years after an arsonist torched three small Black Baptist churches in rural Louisiana, rebuilding is well under way.Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas is months from reopening, with visible progress at St....

New Jersey Diocese Reaches $87.5M Settlement with Sex Abuse Claimants

Apr 20 2022 // The Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, and the committee representing about 300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse have reached an $87.5 million settlement that will establish a trust to compensate the survivors.The...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires UK’s Churchills International Consulting

Apr 12 2022 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Nottingham, England-based Churchills International Consulting. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1974, Churchills International Consulting...

Louisiana Church Sues Insurer For Alleged Inadequate Storm Damage Coverage

Apr 6 2022 // A Louisiana church has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that its insurer failed to adequately cover millions of dollars in property damage resulting from two devastating weather events last year, including Hurricane...

Many Faith Leaders, Denominations Wary of Religious Exemptions for Vaccine

Feb 17 2022 // By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious...

Fewer Crashes After Utah Sets Nation’s Strictest DUI Law, Study Shows

Feb 16 2022 // Traffic deaths decreased in Utah after the state enacted the strictest drunken driving laws in the nation five years ago, new research published by a U.S. government agency shows.The findings, which pertain to fatalities...

Judge Sets March Hearing on Boy Scouts Bankruptcy After Claimant Group Signs On

Feb 14 2022 // The judge presiding over the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy has delayed the start of a trial to determine whether the BSA’s reorganization plan should be confirmed after an agreement with the official committee...

Catholic Church Sex Abuse Panel in Portugal Receives 200 Allegations in First Month

Feb 11 2022 // A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Thursday that during its first month of work it received allegations from 214 people.The allegations are from people born between...

Maine Diocese Deems Abuse Allegations Against 2 Priests Credible

Feb 3 2022 // Complaints alleging that two priests sexually abused children in the 1950s and 1970s have been deemed credible by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.One of the complaints focused on Renald Hallee, who served in Bangor...

Church Victims Push Nebraska Lawmakers to Expand Lawsuit Window

Jan 24 2022 // Victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests urged Nebraska lawmakers on Friday to pass a law that would let people who were abused decades ago file lawsuits against the church or other organizations that were...

Fire at Louisiana Church Causes $150K in Damages

Jan 19 2022 // An early morning fire on Jan. 14 at a church in Louisiana’s capital left $150,000 worth of damages but no injuries, authorities said.The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded about 5:30 a.m. to a fire in North Baton...

Officials Blame Discarded Fireworks for Louisiana Church Blaze

Jan 12 2022 // Carelessly discarded New Year’s fireworks may have started a blaze that destroyed much of a church, the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office says.Investigators haven’t determined a definite cause of the...

Hilb Group Buys Interest in Tennessee-based Churchill Agency

Jan 5 2022 // The Hilb Group announced it has acquired membership interest in the Churchill Agency, based in Brentwood, Tennessee. The Hilb Group is a property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage headquartered in...

DOJ, Texas Church Shooting Victims At Odds Over How Much Air Force Owes

Dec 2 2021 // The U.S. Justice Department and survivors of a 2017 Texas church massacre are at odds over how much the Air Force should pay in compensation for failing to flag a conviction that might have prevented the gunman from...

Missouri County Approves $146.7K Settlement to Church’s COVID Lawsuit

Oct 20 2021 // Officials in Missouri’s Jackson County approved a settlement with a church that had sued over COVID-19 restrictions that it claimed discriminated against religion.The Jackson County Legislature voted to approve a...

People Moves: Promotions at A.I.M. Mutual, Merchants; Fred C. Church Hires Thompson

Oct 14 2021 // A.I.M. Mutual’s board of directors elected Daniel Landers as vice president and chief operating officer, effective October 1. In this capacity, he continues to report to President and CEO Michael Standing.As COO,...

Trial to Assess Damages in 2017 Texas Church Massacre Now Underway

Oct 7 2021 // A trial to assess damages owed to families of the victims of the Sutherland Springs church massacre began with vivid witness accounts of the shooting.John Porter Holcombe testified for several hours on Sept. 4 about the...

Lawsuit says Nashville Diocese Failed to Protect Minor from Sexual Abuse

Oct 1 2021 // A lawsuit accuses the Catholic Diocese of Nashville of failing to protect a minor child from sexual abuse by an employee at a Murfreesboro church.The suit filed in Circuit Court in Nashville claims the diocese received...

Fire Destroys Historic Church in South Chicago Suburb

Sep 22 2021 // A weekend fire destroyed a historic church in Chicago’s far southern suburbs that had appeared in the 2002 film “Road to Perdition.”Officials said nearly a dozen fire departments responded to the Sept. 19...