The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Joseph Reyes, who had been barred from taking his daughter to Catholic mass after divorcing her Jewish mother, is now free to take 3-year-old Ela to church.
Joel Brodsky, the father's Illinois family lawyer, had argued that a court order barring his client from exposing his child to Catholicism was improper, as covered by CBS Chicago. Joseph Reyes faced possible jail time after violating a court order stating that he was not to expose Ela to any religion other than Judaism, at her mother's behest.
Mother Rebecca Reyes won full custody of Ela when the couple divorced and said that they had agreed to raise their daughter Jewish. Joseph Reyes said he was pressured into converting from Catholicism to Judaism when the couple got married.
After taking Ela to his Catholic church to be baptized last November, Rebecca Reyes secured a restraining order barring Joseph Reyes from taking Ela to Catholic church.
According to established child custody and child visitation law, as explained by FindLaw, courts typically resolve disputes involving religious upbringing by whether or not actual harm is done by a given practice. But it varies by state and it was not clearly defined in Illinois law whether or not custodial parent Rebecca Reyes could prohibit Joseph Reyes from also exposing their daughter to Catholicism.
Cook County Judge Renee Goldfarb, who had issued the earlier court order denying Joseph Reyes' wishes, said the following statement in her most recent judgment:
"This court does not find, at this time, that it would be in the best interest of Ela to restrict Joseph's visitation. He can take Ela to church services during his visitation time if he so chooses."
Related Resources:
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Father in Hot Water for Baptizing Daughter (FindLaw's Law & Daily Law Blog)
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Browse Chicago Family Law Attorneys (FindLaw)
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