RNS Weekly Digest: Here's a look at the various legal battles faith groups are fighting against the Trump administration

Here's a look at the various legal battles faith groups are fighting the Trump administration President Donald Trump remains locked in at least five major lawsuits filed by religious groups during the first two months of his new administration, showing tensions between the White House and the faith-based organizations challenging his agenda. The latest chapter in the ongoing legal battles unfolded on Monday (March 17), when a legal report announced the federal government had paid Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Worth more than $47 million for refugee resettlement work — funds frozen since Trump halted the federal refugee program in January.  The case highlights a sustained faith-based pushback to Trump’s actions that began almost immediately after he took office. His efforts to reshape the federal government and dramatically alter immigration policy have been met with religious resistance almost every step of the way — including in the courts.  Religion & Politics At the border, a migrant evangelization ministry on pause Nigerian faith leaders appeal to US to pressure their country on religious violence For one Iranian family and their church, Trump's refugee freeze leaves son in exile Photos of the Week: Holi, Purim, Patty's Day celebrations Indians dance in clouds of powdered colors as they celebrate Holi in Guwahati, India, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) In Opinion Worried about the US birth rate? Make our economy and society more family friendly Every Ramadan, more US schools are embracing the need of fasting Muslim students Popular Mormon podcasters resign from LDS church, a step ahead of excommunication And finally, Power of Babel: Real-time AI translation may be coming to a church near you John Mehl, a teaching pastor at Colorado’s Timberline Church, and Miguel Flores Robles, the drummer in the worship band at Timberline’s Windsor campus, get along well, even though they don’t understand each other’s language. Nor is Flores, who is only fluent in Spanish, able to communicate directly with the leader of the worship band he plays for, even as he enjoys Mehl’s sermons, which are in English.  The answer to this riddle is artificial-intelligence real-time translation, a technology that has yet to become widespread in houses of worship but is already providing a way for congregations to welcome members who don’t speak their language. Because he wanted Flores and other non-English speakers in the congregation to be able to better understand the service, Mehl went look for a translation solution about a year ago when he stumbled upon Wordly, an AI start-up founded in 2017 that catered mostly to people who run conferences at their first product launch in 2019. Support our responsible reporting on religion Forward this newsletter to a friend Make a tax-deductible donation to our nonprofit newsroom here Or mail us a check: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205 Email membership@religionnews.com with a news tip or a comment Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.