Once built, Catholic Charities says the 2-megawatt array will be the biggest project approved in DC.

The project's benefits look promising.

Consisting of 5,000-plus panels, the array will provide enough renewable power to offset the energy needs of 12 Catholic Charities' buildings throughout DC.

The array will generate 2.7 million kilowatt-hours per year - that's enough to power about 260 houses.

The array is expected to offset an estimated 3,400 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, about the same as is produced each year from energy use in 370 or so houses.

One of the Catholic Climate Change Covenant's programmes, Catholic Energies, provided the expertise and financial resources at no cost.

This is in line with its policy to provide its services free of charge to Catholic organisations wanting to "embrace and install solar power and other energy efficiency equipment to help reduce costs, protect our Common Home, and future generations".

The array project is reportedly the most ambitious Catholic Energies has developed so far.

Catholic Energies will also manage the solar project's construction.

One of the construction companies engaged for the project, IGS Solar, will own the panels and will be selling renewable energy certificates, so consumers can certify their electricity came from renewable sources.

Although the project costs for investors has not been disclosed, Catholic Charities DC says it estimates hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual energy cost savings.

"We are proud to have this opportunity to take up Pope Francis's call to action to protect our environment," Msgr John Enzler says.

Enzler, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities DC, says "Climate change is an urgent issue and we are pleased that this project ...[helps reduce] the consumption of fossil fuels ...[by] generating solar power."

The Sustainable DC 2.0 plan aims to make the capital city, Washington DC, its most sustainable city by 2032.

This will be achieved, in part, by increasing renewable energy use by 50 percent and cutting city-wide energy use by the same amount.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: The Business Journals

The lawsuit was lodged last year by the Washington Archdiocese after the transit company rejected the Christmas advertisement (ad) the Archdiocese wanted to put on a bus.

The ad showed silhouetted images of the three wise men and a message to "find the perfect gift" in the Catholic church.

The WMATA said the ad violated the First Amendment and pointed to its policy and guidelines about issue-oriented ads, where political, religious and advocacy ads are all banned.

Guideline 12 specifically bars ads that "promote or oppose any religion, religious practice, or belief."

Challenging this perspective, the Archdiocese said guideline 12 violated the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

It asked that WMATA accept the ad and requested the court reject key portions of the company's ban on issue-oriented ads.

The judge's decision was in favour of the transport company: "WMATAs advertising space is a non-public forum," and therefore the First Amendment argument does not apply.

At the same time, the judge said so long as WMATA rejects ads from or against all religions (and groups espousing secularism), the company's decision is not a violation of the First Amendment.

The WMATA policies were implemented after an Islamophobic activist submitted an ad that showed an image of the prophet Muhammad.

Source

• WTOP
• DCIST
• 4Washington
• Image: CruxNow

Washington archdiocese said protestors using megaphones were shouting at ordinary Catholics going in and out of churches.

Fundamentalist literature was being distributed.

The protestors attacked the Catholic Church's dogmas, teachings, practices and leaders, including Pope Francis.

In the two instances where protestors "stormed the inside of [a] church just before Mass" they were promptly removed by ushers and off-duty law enforcement officers.

Washington archdiocese told priests to call the police if the protestors repeated their acts.

Parishes were also asked to pray for the protestors.

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The accusation is in a lawsuit in which the archdiocese contests the administration's intention to force it to allow sterilisations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs for church employees under its staff insurance plan.

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