Subject: [AthofSV] FFRF's New Lawsuit Gets Press

From: "Gary Berger" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:06:22 +0000

FFRF in the News
March 30, 2005

The Freedom From Religion Foundation's latest lawsuit is getting coverage. 
See: "Group, in lawsuit, says U and M program promotes religious faith," 
Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 30, 2005. The story has also gone out over 
Associated Press wire in the region.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1592/5319723.html

Group, in lawsuit, says U of M program promotes religious faith
Margaret Zack, Star Tribune
March 30, 2005

The Freedom from Religion Foundation in Wisconsin has filed suit against the 
Minnesota Faith/Health Consortium at the University of Minnesota.

The suit, filed Friday in federal court in Minneapolis, alleges that the 
consortium promotes personal faith or faith communities in health care and 
uses state taxpayer funds.

The Faith/Health Consortium comprises Fairview Health Services; Luther 
Seminary and the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center.

The suit asks for an order barring the defendants from continuing to operate 
the consortium and from providing graduate programming. It also asks for an 
order prohibiting the defendants from using state funds to promote religion 
through its Faith/Health Clinical Leadership Program.

Seven Minnesotans were listed as joining the foundation in filing the suit 
against university President Robert Bruininks; Dr. Frank Cerra, senior 
university vice president for health services, and Dr. Mary Jo Kreitzer, 
director of the Center for Spirituality and Healing.

Mark Rotenberg, the university's general counsel, said he could not comment 
because the suit has not been served.

The suit alleges that the consortium's goal is to emphasize the purported 
link between faith and health. The consortium's actions convey a message 
that religion is favored, the group said.

"The defendants' actions have violated the fundamental principle prohibiting 
government endorsement of religion by using state taxpayer funds for the 
operation of a faith-based organization whose religious objective is 
indivisible from any secular objective," the suit said.

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