Two interesting church-autonomy cases

Prof. Friedman at the Religion Clause blog reports that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has dismissed, on internal-church-governance grounds, a challenge to the decision of the Archdiocese of Boston to close and sell off St. James Church in Wellesley.  And, the Supreme Court of Canada's Northwest Territories has ruled -- citing "societal change[s]" toward more "inclusive" understandings of school governance -- that (quoting Prof. Friedman) the "Yellowknife Catholic school board that operates state-supported religious schools may not prevent non-Catholics from running in school board trustee elections."