MacFarlane update

I got this update on Bai MacFarlane’s case today:

THE CASE
We were able to attend the oral arguments at the Court of Appeals, and more and more of the truth is coming out. Basically my sister is being portrayed as a religious extremist for her views on homeschooling and the indissoluble nature of a Catholic marriage, which of course makes her the ‘less suitable parent’, regardless of how many people came forward and testified that she would be the superior custodial parent. On the other hand, her attorney, Ave Maria School of Law Professor, Steve Safranek, argued well that the lower court has disrespected Bai’s religious freedom and that when Catholics marry in the Church, they are entering into a marriage of a more binding nature than a civil marriage, in which, if they run in to trouble, they are agreeing to turn to the Church for support and arbitration, rather than to the divorce court. The judges appeared to be at least receptive to the ideas.

The case is still under discussion by the appellate judges, and it may be a couple of months before we know anything.
There are a number of things that could happen:
1) Lower court’s rulings regarding the divorce and custody of the children could be upheld. If that happens, the case could be appealed to a higher court.
2) Case could be sent to lower court again, probably replacing the biased children’s attorney, and possibly allowing Bai’s new attorney to defend her.
3) Appellate court could make decisions and rulings of their own.

Part of what Bai’s attorney wants to explore is whether or not Bai’s husband, as a committed Catholic, is willing to agree to submit to Church canon law instead of civil law regarding separation, divorce, and annulment. If he does agree, the court could then send them to the jurisdiction of “