The 3 - March 28, 2021

This week's edition of The 3 includes news of an attack at a cathedral in Indonesia on Palm Sunday. Also, a university has received a court ruling against it in the case of a religious club that wished to choose its own leaders. And, a South Dakota bill that purported to prevent boys from competing in girls' sports has been stymied by the governor there. 

Suicide bombers attack Indonesian church

A symbol of religious faith was attacked on a highly symbolic and meaningful day, Palm Sunday, in the nation of Indonesia; the South China Morning Post reports that around 20 were wounded as two suicide bombers "rode a motorbike into the compound of the church, setting off what authorities said was an improvised explosive device known as a pressure-cooker bomb."

This occurred at the "main Catholic cathedral in Makassar," which is a city of around 1.5 million people. Worshippers had just completed the morning Mass there. 

The article says that:

Late Sunday, National Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said both attackers – a man and a woman – were members of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an extremist group also blamed for a deadly church bombing in Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya in 2018.

The Morning Post also reports:

Sunday’s attack follows the arrest in recent months of dozens of militants suspected of planning terror attacks.

Indonesia has seen a string of attacks by Islamic extremists over the past two decades, including the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Court rules against university in case of Christian club

Not only did a federal appeals court rule against the University of Iowa for unfair treatment of a Christian club, but it also said that leaders who did it are personally liable.  That's according to CBN.com, which reports that:

Business Leaders in Christ, or BLinC, a student group at the school, said the university targeted them for requiring student leaders to affirm the Christian faith.

The university claimed this was a violation of its nondiscrimination policy, even though it allowed other religious groups to select faith-compliant leaders and openly encouraged other groups—like fraternities and sororities—to select leaders based on certain characteristics covered by the nondiscrimination policy.

This case began with a complaint by a student in 2017, and the 8th Circuit issued its ruling last week.  CBN.com said: "...while other campus clubs were allowed to set their own criteria for leaders, the school removed BLinC from campus for doing the same thing, telling them their leadership selection was discriminatory."

The article continues:

A lower court last year ruled that the school's discrimination against BLinC was illegal and that the university had to let BLinC back on campus once and for all. The Eighth Circuit's decision affirms that ruling while holding the individual university officials personally responsible for their discriminatory application of the school's nondiscrimination policy.

SD Governor under fire for actions on transgender sports bill

A variety of states are considering preventing boys who identify as girls from competing in girls' sports.  It appeared that South Dakota was on the way to having its own law to that effect - the Legislature passed the bill, and Governor Kristi Noem seemed to be intent on signing it.  That is, until she sent the bill back in order to make "style and form" changes.  A Family Research Council article quoted Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom: "The fact is...Governor Noem has taken the legal teeth out of this bill." She stripped all of the protections for collegiate athletes -- and her excuse, that "her hands are tied by the NCAA's policy," is completely false. "There's no NCAA policy that requires schools to allow males to compete on women's teams as Governor Noem suggests. [She] also vetoed the part of the bill that gives girls any legal recourse against unfair policies that arise. What's left is mere lip service for women and girls forced to compete against biological males."

FRC states, "...the fact that anyone would refuse to sign a bill because it might be challenged in court is absurd. States are sued all the time over legislation. That doesn't mean leaders stop making public policy. It means they do the right thing and trust the rest to the process."  The article surmises that the governor has "sold out voters to Big Business."