Bollard

dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc:

At stake in this case is whether the First Amendment continues to protect the Free Exercise and Establishment Clause rights of religious institutions in their church administration, operation, and selection of clergy in the form of the ministerial exception to Title VII. The panel opinion narrows the ministerial exception nearly to the point of extinction by allowing Bollard, a Jesuit novice studying for ordination into the Catholic priesthood, to maintain his Title VII claim of alleged sexual harassment against the Society of Jesus. In so doing, the panel opinion undermines over a century of Supreme Court jurisprudence, runs contrary to every other United States Court of Appeals that has had occasion to visit the issue, and further evidences the confusion among lower courts over the nature of the fundamental religious freedoms protected by the First Amendment. See KDM v. Reedsport Sch. Dist., 210 F.3d 1098 (9th Cir.2000) (O’Scannlain, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc) (citing Columbia Union College v. Clark, 527 U.S. 1013 , 119 S.Ct. 2357, 2358 , 144 L.Ed.2d 252 (1999) (Thomas, J. dissenting from the denial of…

ORDER DENYING REHEARING

The panel, as constituted above, has voted unanimously to deny the petitions for rehearing. Judge W. Fletcher voted to deny the petitions for rehearing en banc, and Judges Thompson and Mollway so recommended.

A judge of the court called for a vote on the petitions for rehearing en banc. A vote was taken, and a majority of the active judges of the court failed to vote for en banc rehearing. Fed. RApp. P. 35(f).

The petitions for rehearing and the petitions for rehearing en banc are DENIED.