California might have to hire a Wiccan prison chaplain

A federal appeals court overturned a judge's dismissal of a Wiccan prisoner's appeal for the same religious rights as five other religious practices on Tuesday. California prisons must have full-time chaplains and spiritual leaders to serve Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant and Native American inmates, and frankly, the Wiccans in gen pop are sick of being excluded; they want a chaplain of their very own. Patrick McCollum, a leading Wiccan minister who volunteers as a chaplain in California prisons, estimates that there are about 2,000 Wiccans in the penal system there, and contends that they're entitled to the same rights as other prisoners. The case is currently tied up in court, but let's hope the powerful Wiccan lobby doesn't get involved, or this could get really ugly. [Source]

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