Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Republican House Candidate Body-Slams Reporter

A Republican candidate running for Congress in a Montana special election has been charged with misdemeanor assault for body-slamming a reporter from the Guardian. He also broke the reporter’s glasses and shouted, “Get the hell out of here.” Greg Gianforte, a millionaire who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, seems to have lost his temper when political reporter Ben Jacobs asked him about the Republican health care plan. There is an audio recording of the incident, but no video. However, three Fox News journalists also witnessed the assault. “Faith, Keith, and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of ‘I’m sick and tired of this!’” said reporter Alicia Acuna, adding that Jacobs had not shown any form of aggression.

Montana GOP candidate Greg Gianforte allegedly “body slammed” a reporter, according to audio and witness accounts https://t.co/Y3hQofhQ8C pic.twitter.com/l0ZfXAfw3p

— CNN (@CNN) May 25, 2017

Gianforte’s campaign spokesman blamed Jacobs and said that he was the aggressive one, contrary to the Fox News account. In a statement, the campaign claimed that Jacobs grabbed Gianforte’s wrist and spun away, “pushing them both to the ground.” “It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ,” the statement read. But this account was contradicted by eyewitnesses and the audio recording, in which Gianforte is heard asking whether Jacobs is with the Guardian, and saying, “The last guy did the same damn thing.” Voting for the special election is today, and we’ll have to see if this incident has any impact on Gianforte’s chances.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: May 25, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

At a Sistine Chapel mass on Sunday, Pope Francis baptized 28 babies. Understandably, this took a while, and as some of the babies in the chapel started crying, the pope encouraged mothers to breastfeed and not be scared of judgment. Acknowledging the crying babies, he joked that the concert had begun and that Jesus did the same when he was born. “And if your children are crying because they are hungry, then go ahead and feed them, just as Mary breastfed Jesus,” he added.

The Pope encourages women to breastfeed during a Sistine Chapel service interrupted by babies crying. pic.twitter.com/tbuc2E7jtU

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) January 9, 2017

The pope did something similar at the same event two years ago, when as many as 33 babies were baptized. To many women, this was an encouraging and welcome act of empathy.

Simply put, breastfeeding should be part of daily life around the globe. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. Glad Pope Francis sees this too. https://t.co/xiTgmxG4j7

— Kate Maxwell (@Kaker82) January 8, 2017

And for some women in other countries, this wasn’t news or controversial at all.

@AFP Pope telling women to breastfeed even in church…what makes this news ? In my part of the world, we have always done it. No news here.

— E. W. Gichuhi (@GichuhiEmma) January 8, 2017

Pope Francis has gained a reputation as a modern and empathic pope with some controversial opinions. He tries to behave like a “normal guy,” by paying his own bills at hotels, joking around with his cardinals, and staying in a two-room apartment instead of the papal palace. But even though he is the head of the Catholic Church and his words should be recognized, there are many examples of women in America facing discrimination for attempting to breastfeed in a church.

Mary Kate Dempsey was nursing her baby in a church in Michigan when an usher asked her to leave because her behavior was “inappropriate.” Another woman had the same experience in Georgia. And parenting blogger Mary Fischer listed the church as one place where moms need to be discreet with their breastfeeding. She suggests covering the breast—and with that, the baby—with a piece of cloth, which many babies hate.

It is clear that both the church and our society have a long way to go until breastfeeding is seen as a completely natural part of everyday life. But the pope’s words hopefully go a long way.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Pope Francis to Women: It’s Okay to Breastfeed in Church appeared first on Law Street.

When Pope Francis talked to reporters during his flight from Sweden to Rome on Tuesday, he said he believes women will be banned forever from becoming priests in the Catholic Church. He had been in Sweden, one of the world’s most secular countries, to visit the very small Catholic community that is mostly made up of immigrants, and celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Progressive Sweden has the world’s first lesbian bishop, Eva Brunne of the Church of Sweden, and allows same sex marriage for everyone.

Pope Francis has worked toward making the Catholic Church less judgmental and more open-minded when it comes to LGBT rights and did set up a commission in August to look into the concept of female deacons. But he’s not open to the concept of female priests.

“I want to see women priests in the Catholic Church and I know that there are many Catholic women who are well-educated and would be excellent priests,” said Sweden’s first female Lutheran Archbishop, Antje Jackelén to AFP during the Pope’s visit.

When leaving the country, a female Swedish journalist asked him whether he thought the Catholic Church should allow women as priests in the future. His answer was: “St. Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this and it stands, this stands.” When the journalist asked again, “But forever, forever? Never, never?” he answered that he believes it is going “in that direction.”

Sweden won’t be impressed – Pope says he believes ban on female priests is forever https://t.co/hlaqCEhbp8 via @ReutersUK

— Alistair Scrutton (@aliscrut) November 1, 2016

The Catholic Church had always had the tradition of male-only priests, but in 1994 Pope John Paul put down in writing that women are not welcome in the priesthood, which is the document Francis was referring to. The common argument against female priests is that Jesus only ordained men as his apostles. But opponents of this view say that was only because he was following the customs of that time.

I don’t have a nuanced view on this. Just deep disappointment. Pope Francis: Ban on Female Priests Likely to Endure https://t.co/UaSWLtsnWr

— Joel Garza (@JoelRGarza) November 1, 2016

Many people who see Pope Francis as the liberal Pope who has modernized the church are disappointed with his statement and hope that a future pope will feel differently.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Pope Says Women Will be Banned from Catholic Priesthood Forever appeared first on Law Street.

A group of Catholic nuns is denouncing the influence of big money in U.S. politics by conducting a 36-city tour across the country. The group, NETWORK, led by Sister Simone Campbell, kicked off its Nuns on a Bus campaign called “We the People, We the Voters” campaign. The group is advocating social justice through voter registration and expansion. The group has been the subject of criticism from other parts of the Catholic church, though, as part of an expanding internal conflict between Vatican authority and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).

The Nuns on the Bus began their campaigning in 2012 when they condemned income inequality in battle ground states. In 2013 they addressed immigration reform. It isn’t hard to see why some more conservative church authorities would reprimand Sister Campbell and her group. A report from the Religion News Service (RNS) describes an attack by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, on the LCWR: “(Müller) said the sisters were focusing too much on social justice issues, such as caring for the poor and advocating for immigrants, and were too active in promoting healthcare reform.” In 2012, the LCWR was censured in a “doctrinal assessment” for exactly these actions. The Vatican isn’t alone in its criticism, though. The website CatholicCulture.org came out with a scathing article by its founder, Dr. Jeff Mirus, in August. “For decades, the LCWR has been vitiated by feminism, the New Age, Wicca, Modernism and just plain secularism,” Mirus writes.

By staying largely silent, Pope Francis has yet to be fully mired in the controversy. But a column in The Guardian expresses great disappointment in the Pope: “The really disheartening thing about the pope’s unwillingness to end the nuns’ censure – indeed, about his unwillingness to openly support them – is that his stated values are no different than the ones the Leadership Conference of Women Religious is being punished for carrying out,” writer Sadhbh Walshe noted. Cardinal Müller’s reproach of the LCWR is seemingly unregulated by Francis, who has long championed a greater church focus on social justice issues.

How is social justice work compatible with Catholic teachings, and what exactly is meant by “social justice”? For Sister Campbell, NETWORK, and the LCWR, social justice includes advocating for accessible health care, immigration reform and reduced corporate influence in elections. For Cardinal Müller and the Vatican, social justice advocacy is restricted to redressing abortion access.

If nothing else, this case illustrates the complex dynamics of religious authority and the dangers of generalizing when talking about religion. Two opposing interpretations of Catholic teachings on social justice are currently at war, and we wait on Pope Francis to make a statement. While it would be immature to demand that he take one side or another, it would be equally disappointing if he did not use his clout to make a meaningful statement on the matter. This case does more than just illustrate some different Catholic interpretations; it begs the question, why shouldn’t Pope Francis come out in support of the LCWR and activist nuns like Sister Campbell?

Francis also has the opportunity reject the exclusion of feminism from sanctioned church activity. Moreover, he has the opportunity to illustrate how feminism can support sanctioned church activity. Compatibility is the question here. How is feminism compatible with current Vatican doctrine and authority? The extent to which they are compatible can be suggested and advocated for, if not expressly dictated by, Pope Francis. If feminism has truly “vitiated” organizations like NETWORK and the LCWR, then it is also responsible for anti-torture campaigns, environmental activism, and advocacy of nuclear weapons restructuring.

From such an outsider’s perspective, it will never be my place to insist on this or that church doctrine. But Pope Francis, should he make a statement, as he has the opportunity to shape the relationship between feminism and the church.

—

Jake Ephros (@JakeEphros) is a native of Montclair, New Jersey where he volunteered for political campaigns from a young age. He studies Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at American University and looks forward to a career built around political activism, through journalism, organizing, or the government.

Featured image courtesy of [TexasImpact via Flickr]

Jake Ephros

Jake Ephros is a native of Montclair, New Jersey where he volunteered for political campaigns from a young age. He studies Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at American University and looks forward to a career built around political activism, through journalism, organizing, or the government. Contact Jake at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post How Pope Francis Can Shape Relationship Between Feminism and the Church appeared first on Law Street.