The New York Times reports on the recent increase of custody cases that are centering around religion. While at one time custody arrangements were often fairly simple, with the mother of the child usually gaining custodial duties, nowadays more and more parents are battling it out in court and issues over religion are being used as a wedge to prove unfitness. A trend that is making many judges uneasy.

“Judges do not want to take on custody disputes rooted in religion, said lawyers like Gaetano Ferro, who until recently served as president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Mr. Ferro said, “How will a judge say in any rational fashion that Islam is better than Buddhism, Catholicism better than Judaism, or Methodism better than Pentecostalism?” As a result, more and more states have tried to keep custody disputes out of court by mandating mediation. But the effect has been piecemeal, and religious disputes have proven to be among the most difficult to resolve, lawyers said.”

A consequence of this trend is that custodial parents who belong to a religion that may seem strange or “cultish” to an outsider are getting their rights challenged more often, and in some cases losing custody to the parent who belongs to a more “normal” faith.

“We were easy targets because we were made to look like cultists,” Mrs. Snider, 36, said. “I think whether anyone admits it or not, almost all of the ruling had to do with religion. Nothing I had done was called into question except that.”

This trend has had reverberations within the larger modern Pagan movement. Several recent custody hearings have had the parents adherence to a Pagan faith factor into the case. One of the most notable being the infamous SubGenius custody battle, in which a mother lost custody of her son, and didn’t get it back until the biological father was imprisoned for drunken driving, she had racked up over 100,000 dollars in court costs, and was forced by a judge to remove all materials relating to the Church of the SubGenius from her home. Even after all that, she still only has “temporary” custody.

“Magdalen still does not have permanent custody of her son. Judge Punch took the case back and, for whatever reason, he has only given her a temporary custody order. This means that when Jeff gets out of jail, he could (in theory) take up the legal reins and continue harassing her once again.”

So how do we solve these problems over faith, divorce, and custody? Some states are hoping that increased mediation will help solve some of these problems.

“Some states like California and Connecticut have taken innovative steps to get parents to resolve custody issues outside court. In Connecticut, for example, those seeking a court order have to meet with a family-relations specialist in an effort to negotiate. If that fails, they attend a daylong session to settle their differences before a panel that includes a lawyer and a mental health professional.”

Meanwhile, some lawyers are pressing to give the children in such cases greater autonomy at ever younger ages.

“If Julie Ann Bergmann (the mother) and her supporters win this case it could create a legal precedent in which a minor as young as 13 could choose their own religious life despite the wishes of the parents. The ramifications for modern Paganism are immediately clear. A child who converts to a modern Pagan faith could refuse to attend Christian Church or be forced into a school that inhibited his or her religious choices. It would also help protect Pagan parents from custody challenges brought by Christian relatives (so long as the child expressed a preference for modern Paganism).”

Neither solution has made much headway in the legal system, and it seems likely that these sorts of cases will happen more often as religious minorities, and non-mainstream variations of the dominant monotheisms, continue to grow. Eventually, one of two roads will have to be taken. Completely leave out matters of faith from custody battles, or directly involve faith communities and experts on religion in the custody process. Neither path will please everyone, but our current system seems far too whimsical and uninformed to make wise decisions involving children and religions outside the mainstream.

Earlier this month I thought I had posted the last chapter in the ongoing custody case involving a SubGenius mother and her son. Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua, who had her affiliation with the satirical Church of the SubGenius used against her in court, had lost her appeal for custody and was awaiting a hearing on visitation rights so she could see her son. Then, a week ago, some truly bizarre events took place that would shake up this new status quo and has (temporarily) given custody of her son back to her.

“For legal reasons, I obviously can’t go into too many details, because there are other parties involved in this. Basically, some time last week, Jeff was in a car accident involving a brick wall, a lot of alcohol, and another passenger – NOT MAGDALEN’S SON, praise “Bob.” Because of past incidents involving him and at least one other DUI, he is now facing at least two felonies, a misdemeanor, and three traffic charges – which, combined, could land him in jail for up to eleven years. All of this means that, due to the sudden extreme circumstances, Magdalen has temporary custody of her son at this time. There will be a new custody hearing in the middle of August. Jeff’s criminal hearing will be in September, but that is an entirely different matter.”

Even stranger is the fact that the judge on the new custody hearing is none other than Judge Punch, the same judge who recused himself after coming under fire for his fixation with the Church of the SubGenius and for calling Bevilacqua a “mentally ill” pervert. But it seems like Punch is looking at things a bit differently this time around.

“He literally took the case out of Judge Adams’ docket and inserted himself in. He is now handling the case once again, however because of everything that has happened, he is apparently viewing the case in an entirely different light.”

At this point Bevilacqua is hoping to pursue both this new custody case and appeal the ruling that keeps her from having SubGenius materials in her home (except for a locked “office”). But to do that she’ll need more funds, so if you are interested in supporting her in either case you can donate to her cause, here (or here to donate directly through Paypal). Considering all this recent craziness perhaps a certain pipe-smoking divine figure has been invoked after all. Needless to say more updates will follow as I get them.

A heartbreaking custody case that has been in litigation for years has ended in tragedy. Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua’s son was absconded while on a visitation to the child’s father, and subsequently she was barred from all contact with her son after photos of her at an adults-only Subgenius event were submitted by her son’s father as proof that she was an unfit parent. The original judge in the case called Bevilacqua “perverted” and “mentally ill” before stepping down under a growing scrutiny of his actions, and the father drew out proceedings for as long as possible in hopes of wearing Bevilacqua down. Now an appeals judge has ruled against Rachel Bevilacqua, giving custody to the father.

Rachel Bevilacqua with her son.

“After originally being scheduled for June 22, the decision of the appeals court in the case of Rachel Bevilacqua (Reverend Magdalen) has been announced. In a brief two-page announcement, the court has awarded custody of her son to the father. Stating that the father “deserved” custody of Magdalen’s son, the court declared that the father’s home would be his primary residence, and the matter is being referred back to family court to arrange for visitation rights for Rachel. The decision cancels a number of paragraphs of the decision of Judge Eric Adams, in January 2007. However, it does not remove Judge Adams’ order for Rachel to remove all SubGenius materials from her home. Even though her son is no longer in her custody, she still cannot keep any SubGenius materials in her own home, except for a specially designated ‘office’.”

It is unclear what will happen at this point, Bevilacqua is mired in over 70,000 dollars in legal bills (click here if your interested in helping her out with those bills), and she may not be able to afford appealing to a higher court. No official statement by Bevilacqua has been made at this time.

Whatever the final outcome, this case has been emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases. Often what a judge doesn’t understand (or approve of) will be used against a parent in court, leading to situations like Bevilacqua’s. The only real recourse in cases like these is to slowly educate the public, form coalitions, and fight like hell to be given equal treatment under law. Until then, we are left with mockeries of justice like this custody case, where a mother in punished for her associations.

The fallout from the Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua custody case continues. Modemac, who has been covering this case from day one, lets us know that the issue of money in the case has become critical.

“Rachel Bevilacqua (a.k.a. Reverend Mary Magdalen) lost custody of her son after a conservative custody judge was outraged at the fact that she is a member of the Church of the SubGenius. As a result of appearing in a adult-rated parody of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” custody of her son was taken from her and awarded to the boy’s father (the couple was never married). Rachel and her husband have fought a long, expensive battle to win custody of their son, while her ex-boyfriend’s legal costs have been entirely been handled by a pro-bono lawyer (who is a friend of his). Legal costs have exceeded $70,000 as of March 2007.”

As typical in cases of this nature, the one parent tries to draw out legal proceedings until financial situations force the other parent to drop out. Suffice it to say, justice won’t be done by such a situation. That fact that Bevilacqua’s affiliation with the Church of the Subgenius was (and still is) used against her is emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases.

Here is what Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua has to say about the current legal situation involving custody and visitation for her son.

“Basically, although I did win the case, it’s now going to appeal. Orleans County has, of course, offered to pay all the expenses for my ex’s appeals case, while I still have to pay for my appellate lawyers, which it turns out are different from regular lawyers and require a new $10,000 retainer to hire. I’ll still be represented by the same firm, Lipsitz, Green, Scime, Cambria, but a different individual will be handling the case. We go before the Fourth Circuit Appellate Division on June 2, and then they will make their decision within 30 days of that. I am cross-appealing to ask that the parts of the decision forbidding me to make or keep SubGenius art inside my home, travel with my husband for his job, and homeschool my son, be struck down. Until then, my son has to stay with my ex, though I am supposed to get ‘extended visitation.’ So far, I have not yet been able to actually access that extended visitation, as my ex says it will take a court order in writing to make him comply, and all we have is a verbal order. I hope that will be straightened out soon.”

If you have the means, why not donate to her legal fund:

For a full and detailed recounting of this situation, head over to Modemac’s page devoted to this case. Read the Rev. Ivan Stang’s call for support, or read Boing Boing’s call for donations.

Some bad news to report. It seems that Rachel “Reverend Magdalen” Bevilacqua will not be receiving custody of her son at this time. Here is a message she sent Modemac last night.

“I just got the call from my lawyer that the appeals court judge has granted a Stay of the order granting me custody. I never actually got to enjoy that custody during the 30-some hours it was in effect, because the school let Jeff take [my son] and hide him overnight. The Stay is conditional on the case being heard at the earliest opportunity, which is in May 2007. Until that time, Jeff’s order of Temporary Sole Custody issued by Judge Punch on December 23, 2005 in an ex-parte hearing of which I was not informed, remains in effect. The appeals court judge did order expanded visitation for me, so that it will be the standard every-other-weekend visitation rather than the restricted 8-hours per week I’ve been living with.”

Yet another twist in this hugely unjust case. If you have the means I suggest donating to her legal fund. Further updates as warranted.

Modemac at The High Weirdness Project reports that after a year involving court battles, isolation from her child, the original judge recusing himself, and stalling tactics by the child’s father, Rachel “Reverend Magdalen” Bevilacqua has regained custody of her son.

“Just wanted to give you a heads up that the custody decision will be in my hand Monday! [01/08/07] My lawyer has it right now, and he called to tell me that I won and I get to pick my son up Monday! I can’t believe it!! Thank you all sooooo much for all your help and everything and I’ll write more when I can!”

Rachel Bevilacqua with son Kohl

Thus ends a custody case that seemed to expose just how biased and flimsy our justice system can be at times. To briefly recap: Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua was barred from all contact with her son after photos of her at an adults-only Subgenius event were submitted by her son’s father as proof that she was an unfit parent. The original judge called Bevilacqua “perverted” and “mentally ill” before stepping down under a growing scrutiny of his actions. She then spent several more months fighting in court to regain custody of her son racking up huge legal fees in the process.

The case made my top ten stories of 2006, and remains a chilling example of how belonging to the “wrong” religion (even a satirical postmodern religion) can ruin your life and tear your family apart. I’m sure Bevilacqua is still looking for donations to her legal fund, information about donating to help pay her legal bills can be found, here. Congratulations to Rev. Magdalen, I wish you and your family the best.

ADDENDUM: Modemac writes with breaking news, it seems the father has (illegally) grabbed his son from school and is hoping that a last-minute appeal goes his way.

“[My son] and Jeff were missing until this morning, when Jeff returned [my son] to school. It was the most frightening night of my life. The reason Jeff did all this is that there is a Stay hearing today… Basically, Jeff has asked an Appeals Court judge to stay the order of Judge Adams, and they are going to decide on that this afternoon. For some reason, Jeff thought that this Stay hearing gave him the right to do what he did, or so he claims. He is wrong, of course, but he still got away with it. The police looked for them all evening and didn’t find them. The Stay hearing starts at 3 PM and I’m fighting to have [my son] with me at that time, because I’m afraid that if the stay is denied, Jeff may take off with [my son] again just like last night.”

Further updates as I get them.

Previous coverage:
12.30.2006 Religious News 2006 (Part 2)
3.28.2006 Judge Recused in Subgenius Custody Case
3.16.2006 SubGenius Mother Silenced by Activist Judge
2.25.2006 Update on SubGenius Custody Case
2.21.2006 It Is Happening Again