Sunday, February 28, 2010
A case that has been characterized as a "family feud over religion" is currently playing out in Chicago. The transcript of an ABC interview and the video of that interview set the scene for the upcoming March 3 trial. And this article provides an update.
From our perspective, this case is more about defiance of a Court Order and violation of an implied agreement than it is about freedom of religion. Mr. Reyes admits that his wife insisted that he convert to Judaism. And not only did he convert--after they were married, no less-- but he had not renounced his Jewish faith as of the birth of his daughter. Therefore, like it or not, Mr. Reyes' daughter is a Jew and his belated attempts "to exercise his First Amendment Rights" by baptizing her without his wife's permission rings just as hollow and cynical as his attempts to frame Catholicism as a branch of Judaism.
Again, if Mr. Reyes were sincere, he would not have summoned the press to record and witness his act of defiance while simultaneously proclaiming his innocence of the act of contempt. And, if he were truly a Catholic as he now claims, he would have both renounced Judaism and converted to Catholicism before he baptized his daughter, not sometime in the future.
Labels: Custody, Religion and Custody
Had the father not converted to Judaism before his marriage, we think this would be a horse of a different color.
We don't know enough about the Texas case to comment. But we understand that that case involved massive instances of child rape and coerced sexual intercourse.
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