Roman Catholic churches in central Massachusetts are now allowed to host signature gatherers trying to put a referendum on the ballot that would enable the state to stop public funding of abortion.
Bishop Robert J. McManus, bishop of Worcester, released a letter Monday similar to a statement that Cardinal Sean O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, made last week. The new policy reverses the ban on signature gathering on church property that the four Massachusetts diocesan bishops announced June 1.
A proposed ordinance in Nashua, New Hampshire would require anyone suing the city's aldermen to publicly disclose where the money for the lawsuit came from. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire says the measure is intrusive, would chill legitimate lawsuits, and probably violates the First Amendment.
