Atheists sue shelter for using a Catholic priest to bless animals

From New Jersey:

A group of atheists is suing a New Jersey animal shelter because it used a Catholic priest to “bless” cats and dogs, a new lawsuit claims.

Last month, the Bergen County Animal Shelter enlisted a rosary-sporting Roman Catholic priest in a ceremony for the furry sinners, according to a federal lawsuit, filed by the American Atheists in Newark on Nov. 13.

The priest — who wore a large cross around his neck and a hooded cassock — performed the ritual in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, according to the lawsuit.

But the Teterboro-based shelter receives government cash and shouldn’t mix church and state, according to the American Atheists — which claim it’s a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Read on.

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