
American Atheists was notified of the blessing by a local resident who describes herself as a "humanist atheist." A representative of American Atheists Nick Fish claims that government money or taxpayer dollars are being used to promote Christian services.
It will be interesting to see how the court handles this lawsuit. Technically, an animal shelter is not a "government agency" per se as in the case of a public school. Moreover, non-human animals are not considered citizens or persons so a blessing on them would not be unconstitutional because they do not have the rights granted by the Constitution. I believe this case will be thrown out. It is just an attempt by American Atheists to garner attention in the media.
Note, the Franciscan Order of the Divine Mercy is not affiliated with the Catholic Church or the Order of Friars Minor which is the real Franciscan order founded by St. Francis. Some articles describe Kenneth Reihl and his blessing as "Catholic," this is not accurate. Hopefully, these articles will update their reports with accurate information.
Source:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/atheists-sue-new-jersey-shelter-over-catholic-blessing-animals-1648272
http://pix11.com/2017/11/21/atheist-group-sues-new-jersey-shelter-over-catholic-blessing-of-animals/
http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/2017/11/21/animal-shelter-operated-bergen-county-sued-atheists-over-pet-blessings/884146001/
http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/21/atheists-sue-animal-shelter-over-annual-catholic-blessing-of-animals/http://hackensack.dailyvoice.com/news/atheists-file-suit-against-bergen-shelter-over-blessing-of-the-animals/727425/
https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/atheists-sue-to-halt-annual-blessing-of-the-animals-at-shelter/
Militant atheists and secular liberals love to crow about "tolerance" though in reality, they are some of the most intolerant people. They can't handle even the slightest hint of religion. Keep up the good work Sacerdotus! It is good that you are representing the theist/Christian voice in the Theist vs Atheist Discussion Google + community.People of faith are very underrepresented over there.
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