Dad can take daughter to church, court rules

A father may take his Jewish daughter to church, a court in Chicago ruled.

Cook County Judge Renee Goldfarb, who had denied Joseph Reyes permission to take his daughter Ela to Easter services, said in a divorce judgment handed down Tuesday afternoon that Reyes could take his daughter to church during his visitation times, which are to include Christmas and Easter, according to reports.

Goldfarb said her decision to allow Reyes to take his daughter to church was based on “the best interest of the child,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported. 

Reyes grabbed headlines last winter when he took Ela to church and had her baptized despite a temporary restraining order filed by his estranged wife that barred him from exposing their daughter to anything but the Jewish faith.

Reyes converted to Judaism when he married his wife, Rebecca, and according to her promised to raise Ela in the Jewish faith. But after the couple filed for divorce, he returned to his Christian faith and baptized his daughter without his wife’s knowledge.