From the U.K.’s The Telegraph:
A judge has ordered a father to take his children to Roman Catholic mass as part of a divorce settlement, even though he is not Catholic.
The man, who can only be identified as “Steve” because of reporting restrictions on the case, faces possible contempt of court and a jail sentence if he fails to go to church when he has custody of the children.
The church attendance requirement was imposed by Judge James Orrell during a hearing at an undisclosed county court in the Midlands.
The judge has previously faced criticism for a hearing at Derby county court in which he ordered three children to be taken away from their parents after a hearing lasting just 15 minutes.
Court transcripts seen by The Telegraph show that Judge Orrell discussed his own Catholic faith during the course of the hearing into contact arrangements for Steve’s two sons.
The legal requirement to attend mass at Christmas applies only to Steve, who is not a Roman Catholic.
His ex-wife is Catholic but is not subject to the same conditions in the residence and contact order.
It reads: “If the children are with their father at Christmas he will undertake that they will attend the Christmas mass.”
Steve, a 51-year-old psychologist, said: “It’s all very bizarre. This aspect of the contact order was not requested by the other side in the case.
“The judge decided that I would commit to taking the children to mass and he put it in the court order.
“What I think is really concerning is that it does not allow me or my children any freedom of religious expression.”