Digital Commons Network^™

Incorporating Principles And Wisdom From Hospital Chaplaincy And Pastoral Ministry To Create A Ministry Model To Address Social Isolation And Loneliness In Black Churches, Albert A. Kemp

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

To address the growing and widespread epidemic of social isolation and loneliness, with special focus on Black churches, this dissertation developed a program with the following areas of application: 1) how healthcare trained chaplains can coordinate with churches to positively impact individuals identified as lonely and socially isolated with better social and physical health, 2) how principles of chaplaincy and pastoral care can mitigate and intervene competently when such people are identified, and 3) how the project’s model can be organized, taught, and incorporated into existing arenas of church ministry.

The purpose of the project was to create a ministry …

Penitential Systems In The Latin West And Byzantine East, Elijah C. Dodson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the development and organization of penitential discipline in early medieval Christianity through a comparison of the penitential tradition associated with Theodore of Canterbury in the Latin West and the canons attributed to John the Faster in the Byzantine East. The study focuses on how these texts regulated sexual sin and what their structures reveal about the institutional role of the Church in different historical contexts. The analysis is based on a comparative reading of penitential texts, supported by patristic writings and modern scholarship. By examining how specific categories of sexual misconduct are classified and disciplined, this study …

Complicit Nullification: The Illegitimate (Abrogation) Of School Religious Liberty Precedent, Amanda Harmon Cooley

Cardozo Law Review

Louisiana has enacted legislation that mandates the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. This statutory mandate directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s extant precedent in Stone v. Graham. Legislators in Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky have also indicated plans to introduce similar unconstitutional legislation, defying the Supreme Court’s interpretations of the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses. Similarly, Texas and Florida now permit public school chaplains or Bible-based public school curricula, which violates the Court’s longstanding prohibitions on such actions, as established in its 1948 ruling in Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education …

Witness And Record On Complicity And Clergy Abuse, Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Amos N. Guiora, Katherine Archer, Hermina Nedelescu, Melanie Sakoda

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

This first anthology assembles a multi-jurisdictional set of interviews to examine clergy abuse and institutional responses. The primary emphasis is Orthodoxy contexts and comparative discussion across religious settings. The core material consists of advocacy perspectives, firstperson accounts, and professional analyses. We need thoughtful clergy to speak out. The core problems: sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, power-asymmetrical relationships, and failure in impartial authoritative mechanisms of consequence, acting or even existing, in the first place.

Beyond Hiring And Firing: The Ministerial Exception And Hostile Work Environment Claims, Emma M. Rittenhouse

Student Works

No abstract provided.

The Canonical-Legal Status Of Autocephaly And Autonomy In The Context Of Pan-Orthodox Dialogue, Ivan Yovchev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Historical procedures for granting autonomy and autocephaly are not strictly standardized in canonical law and often rely on local traditions, agreements, and specific historical-political circumstances. This leads to a diversity of practices – from unilateral tomoses (decrees) of autocephaly issued by the mother church to decisions supported by a broader pan-Orthodox consensus. At the pan-Orthodox level, the question of how new autocephalous and autonomous churches are proclaimed has been under discussion since the Pan-Orthodox preparatory commissions of the 20th–21st centuries. Preparatory documents envisage the need for a pan-Orthodox agreement, with autocephaly to be granted through a tomos signed by the …

The Human Rights Argumentation Of The Uoc-Mp As A Strategy Of Institutional Self-Preservation Under Conditions Of Armed Aggression, Mariia Rudiuk, Valeriy Bulatov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the strategy of institutional self-preservation employed by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) under conditions of Russian armed aggression. The relevance of the topic is determined by the adoption of Law of Ukraine No. 3894-IX “On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Sphere of Activities of Religious Organizations,” aimed at limiting the influence of religious structures affiliated with the aggressor state. Particular attention is devoted to the ways in which the UOC-MP utilizes democratic legal mechanisms and European human rights rhetoric in order to delay or neutralize Ukraine’s national security measures. The …

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2026, Tennessee. Department Of Correction

Annual Reports

This document is the annual report for the Tennessee Department of Correction during the fiscal year.

Analysis Of Students' Legal Awareness For Bullying Prevention In Surakarta Schools, Triana Rejekiningsih, Maram Taher

Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan

This study investigates the legal awareness of students in Surakarta junior high schools concerning preventing bullying, intending to promote quality education in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research explores students' understanding, potential, and awareness of bullying prevention using qualitative and descriptive methods. Bullying encompasses various forms of violence, including physical, verbal, social, and cyber forms, often characterised by intimidation. The findings revealed that 90.99% of students reported experiencing bullying, predominantly verbal, with 53.25% subjected to discriminatory behaviour. Although 70% acknowledged the occurrence of physical and verbal violence, there was a noted deficiency in effective preventive measures, indicating a …

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2025, Tennessee. Department Of Correction

Annual Reports

This document is the annual report for the Tennessee Department of Correction during the fiscal year.

The Federal Future Of Medication Abortion, Michelle S. Simon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

A majority of Americans believe that there should be a right to abortion, at least in some cases. Yet a vocal and determined minority has its sights set on a complete ban on all abortions everywhere in the United States. In many states, these anti-abortion activists have achieved their goal through new laws and limitations enacted in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs. Anti-abortion advocates are also challenging the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory approval of mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication abortion (also known as medical abortion). The FDA had initially approved mifepristone …

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2024, Tennessee. Department Of Correction

Annual Reports

This document is the annual report for the Tennessee Department of Correction during the fiscal year.

Fiduciaries In Priest's Clothing: Clergy Sexual Abuse And Fiduciary Duty, Sebastian Richardson

Northwestern University Law Review

This Note argues that clergypersons who offer religious guidance are fiduciaries in some limited circumstances and therefore liable for sexual contact that occurs between them and congregants. This Note will argue that clergypersons are most properly deemed fiduciaries through a fact-based definitional approach. As such, this Note departs from previous arguments that clergypersons are fiduciaries because they provide services analogous to secular counselors. Prospective fiduciary relationships involving clergy should be analyzed using a distinct conceptual account of fiduciary relationships rather than an analogical analysis based on apparent similarities between a clergyperson and other fiduciaries. Such an approach is preferable to …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2023

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Illinois: A State-Of-The-Art Model For State Immigration Rulemaking, Camilla Mroczkowski

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Marriage Nullity Process In The Reform Of Pope Francis With Special Reference To The Processus Brevior (Book), Roberto Rosas, Yeshica Umaña

Faculty Articles

Marriage in the Church is considered the greatest symbol of mystical life and has been instituted by God, representing the sacrament of the spousal union of Christ with the Church. Multiple canons include the Church's requirements and regulations for marriage since its institution as a sacrament. The last marital reform was introduced in the 18th century by Pope Benedict XIV and remained as legal norm until Pope Francis announced the publication of a new reform for the annulment of marriages within the Church on August 15, 2015.

Despite reactions against maintaining strictness in favor of marriage, Pope Francis emphasized that …

“Known Adversary”: The Targeting Of The Immigrants’ Rights Movement In The Post-Trump Era, Azadeh Shahshahani, Chiraayu Gosrani

Emory Law Journal

No abstract provided.

New Crossroads And The Opportunity For A Crisis: The State Of Canadian Legal Education, Catherine Dauvergne

All Faculty Publications

This article considers the challenges facing Canadian law schools and compares the current state of affairs to that analyzed in the 1983 Arthurs Report. The opening sections describe how Canadian legal education is globally unique because of the tacit agreement between law schools and the legal profession that limits the number of law school seats in Canada and helps ensure the success of law schools and law students. On the fortieth anniversary of the Arthurs Report, the article concludes that legal education in Canada is overdue for a new mapping of its strengths, challenges, and future directions that takes the …

Pandemic Response Through Whole Person Care: The Intersection Of Physical And Mental Health And The Law, Jennifer Kinsley Smith, Esq., Elizabeth J. Lattner, Ma, Allison Kreiner, Md, Edward J. Kilbane, Md, Ma, Keyvan Ravakhah, Md, Mba

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Educators’ Perception Of Their Psychosocial Support Of Elementary Students In Gabon, Africa, Michel Ikamba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although educators internationally have often provided care to vulnerable students who struggle to meet the needs of nutrition, health, protection, and access to essential social services, no formal social systems exist in Gabon to aid educators who work with these students. In the absence of relevant local research and drawing on Dewey’s theory of progressive education as a conceptual model, this basic qualitative study asked about educators’ perceptions in limited resource elementary schools in Gabon of the social needs and strategies employed with students who demonstrated signs of disengagement and alienation. Qualitative data collection included semi-structured recorded interviews with 12 …

Gordon College And The Future Of The Ministerial Exception, Peter J. Smith, Robert W. Tuttle

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In Gordon College v. DeWeese-Boyd, a social work professor at a religious college sued after she was denied promotion. The college asserted the “ministerial exception,” a judicially crafted and constitutionally grounded exception to the ordinary rules of liability arising out of the employment relationship between religious institutions and their ministers. Although the plaintiff had no distinctively religious duties, the college expected her (and all other faculty) to integrate the faith into her teaching and scholarship. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) held that this obligation, standing alone, was insufficient to qualify the plaintiff as a minister within the meaning of …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2021

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Servitudes Done "Proper"Ly: Propriety, Not Contract Law, Elizabeth Elia

Faculty Scholarship

The law of servitudes has changed dramatically in the last hundred years. Legal scholars have been successful in documenting these changes in case law, but less successful in articulating a unified set of principles that guide the current law of servitudes. One explanation that received significant attention is the idea that efficient recording systems in the United States have liberated property owners from the constraints of traditional property laws disfavoring servitudes and have allowed these owners the broader freedoms of contract law. However, this explanation, and the sweeping common law reforms that flow from it, have not resonated with courts. …

Friends Of The Court: Christian Conservative Arguments On Human Dignity Before The U.S. Supreme Court And The European Court Of Human Rights, Pasquale Annicchino

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Dignity Has No Borders: Respecting The Rights Of “People On The Move” And The Rights And Religious Freedom Of Those Who Aid Them, Christine M. Venter

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Spring 2021

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Yes, I Want Help, I Just Do Not Want You! Understanding Policy Development Regarding Patient Demands For Alternative Care Providers, Karen Smith

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Disciplining Judges – Exercising Statecraft, Richard Devlin, Sheila Wildeman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Globally, countries are faced with a complex act of statecraft: how to design and deploy a defensible complaints and discipline regime for judges. In this collection, contributors provide critical analyses of judicial complaints and discipline systems in thirteen diverse jurisdictions, revealing that an effective and legitimate regime requires the nuanced calibration of numerous public values including independence, accountability, impartiality, fairness, reasoned justification, transparency, representation, and efficiency.

The jurisdictions examined are Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, England and Wales, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, and the United States. The core findings are four-fold. First, the norms and practices …

The Southern Hospitals Report, Elizabeth Reiner Platt, Katherine M. Franke, Candace Bond-Theriault, Amy Littlefield

Faculty Scholarship

When research for this report was first initiated, it was intended to answer a narrow question: is abortion care restricted at historically Protestant hospitals in the U.S. South? Strict limits on access to abortion at Catholic hospitals — and the ways in which this can obstruct and delay even emergency medical care — are already well documented in legal and medical literature and news media. In contrast, restrictions at Protestant hospitals have not been extensively studied and are not well understood. Our research sought to fill this gap in knowledge. We focused on the U.S. South because Catholic hospitals are …

Human Dignity Has No Borders: Respecting The Rights Of "People On The Move" And The Rights And Religious Freedom Of Those Who Aid Them, Christine M. Venter

Journal Articles

This Article argues that states must desist from and be held accountable for the ongoing practices of denying refugees due process and denying humanitarian groups the rights to freely associate and freely exercise their religion in assisting refugees.