(Patriot.Buzz) – Despite calling himself a Catholic, Joe Biden’s administration is facing a lawsuit for labeling a Catholic Mass as a “demonstration” and banning it from taking place at a national cemetery on Memorial Day.
The controversy began when the community service organization Knights of Columbus sought permission to host its traditional Memorial Day event at Poplar Grove National Cemetery, a practice it has maintained since the 1960s.
The National Park Service (NPS) denied the request as it categorizes the planned event as a “demonstration.”
In response, the First Liberty Institute and the legal team from McGuireWoods have initiated legal action in Petersburg, Virginia. They are seeking a temporary restraining order to proceed with the Memorial Day Mass.
McGuireWoods partner John Moran expressed his stance, stating:
“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. We urge the court to grant our restraining order and allow the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day.”
Roger Byron from First Liberty echoed these sentiments, remarking, “The National Park Service is way out of line.”
“This is the kind of unlawful discrimination and censorship RFRA and the First Amendment were enacted to prevent,” he added. “Hopefully the court will grant the Knights the relief they need to keep this honorable tradition alive.”
The attorneys for the Knights detailed that traditionally, the organization has celebrated Memorial Day Masses at the cemetery to honor fallen soldiers—a tradition unbroken since the 1960s until last year.
In a sudden shift, the NPS refused their permit by citing a new policy that bans “religious services” as “demonstrations” and mandates such events occur outside the cemetery despite allowing other types of events within its grounds.
The legal challenge argues that the Knights are likely to succeed in their claim that the NPS’s enforcement of these policies infringes on their First Amendment rights and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Knights had attempted to settle the matter out of court, with their lawyers appealing to the NPS to respect constitutional freedoms.
However, the new administration’s abrupt categorization of the event as “religious” under restrictive terms led to the current legal standoff.
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