Knights of Columbus Council Sues Biden Admin Over Permit for Memorial Day Mass; Catholic Group Knights of Columbus Sues Biden Admin for Denying Permit for Memorial Day Mass: ‘Way out of line’, Mass at Cemetery Had Been 60 Year Tradition

Knights of Columbus council sues Biden administration over permit for Memorial Day Mass

The Knights of Columbus has asked a federal court to allow it to hold its annual Memorial Day Mass inside a national cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, a tradition that dates back over 60 years, after being denied a permit by the National Park Service.[emphasis mine]

The motion for a temporary restraining order was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond Division) by the Knights of Columbus Petersburg Council 694, which has held a service at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery since at least the 1960s.

“The policy and the decision blocking the Knights of Columbus from continuing their long-standing religious tradition is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” said John Moran, partner at McGuireWoods LLP in Washington, D.C.

“We urge the court to grant our restraining order and allow the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day,” he said.

The fraternal Catholic organization sued after officials at the Petersburg National Battlefield rejected for the second year in a row the council’s application to hold the cemetery Mass, but offered to let them use a location “immediately adjacent to the cemetery.”

“National Cemeteries are established as national shrines in tribute to those who have died in service to our country, and as such any special activities within the cemetery are reserved for a limited set of official commemorative activities that have a connection to military service or have a historic and commemorative significance for the particular national cemetery,” said Alexa Viets, superintendent of the Petersburg National Battlefield, which includes the cemetery.

She told The Washington Times that federal regulations “prohibit the Battlefield from authorizing individuals or organizations to host a special event within National Cemeteries to protect the atmosphere of solemnity, quiet contemplation and tranquility within this space.” —>READ MORE HERE

Catholic group Knights of Columbus sues Biden administration for denying permit for Memorial Day mass: ‘Way out of line’:

A Catholic service organization has sued the Biden administration for religious discrimination after it was stopped from holding its longstanding Memorial Day mass at a national cemetery.

Attorneys for the Knights of Columbus filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against the National Park Service (NPS) in Petersburg, Virginia, on Tuesday, after officials refused to grant a permit for the religious service at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery.

This is the second year in a row the religious group has been denied a permit at the cemetery where they had been holding the Memorial Day mass for the past 60 years.[emphasis mine]

“The policy and the decision blocking the Knights of Columbus from continuing their long-standing religious tradition is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA),” McGuireWoods partner John Moran, who is suing the NPS on behalf of the Knights, said in a press release. “We urge the court to grant our restraining order and allow the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day.”

An official with the national park that manages the cemetery defended the permit denial in a statement to The Washington Times.

“National Cemeteries are established as national shrines in tribute to those who have died in service to our country, and as such any special activities within the cemetery are reserved for a limited set of official commemorative activities that have a connection to military service or have a historic and commemorative significance for the particular national cemetery,” Alexa Viets, superintendent of the Petersburg National Battlefield, told the Times.

Religious services and vigils have been classified as “demonstrations” since at least 1986, according to the park website, and are prohibited in national cemeteries. —>READ MORE HERE

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