The Knights of Columbus are fighting the Biden administration so a Catholic Mass can be said over the honored dead on Memorial Day at Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia.
Although the tradition of a Memorial Day Mass at the cemetery dates back to the 1960s, the National Park Service under President Joe Biden is now saying religion is against the rules, prompting a lawsuit filed by First Liberty Institute and McGuireWoods LLP to allow the service on Monday, according to a news release from First Liberty.
“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,” John Moran, Partner at McGuireWoods, said in a statement.
“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,” said Roger Byron, senior counsel at First Liberty.
The motion for a temporary restraining order says, “Defendants’ treatment of the Knights is unreasonable, unnecessary, and unconstitutional.”
“By prohibiting the Knights from exercising their religious convictions and expressing their patriotism by praying for and honoring the fallen through a Catholic mass held inside the cemetery, NPS is misapplying its own regulations, unlawfully infringing on the Knights’ First Amendment rights and violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” the motion said.
We filed suit against the National Park Service. We’ll be in court on Thursday. Please join us in praying for a quick and favorable resolution.https://t.co/42e4VvExsd
— First Liberty Institute (@1stLiberty) May 22, 2024
The motion notes that federal policy lumps religious services with demonstrations and bans on the grounds they could be disruptive, violating the atmosphere of a cemetery.
Will the Knights of Columbus prevail in their legal battle?
“Memorial Day mass is no more disruptive of ‘the atmosphere of solemnity, quiet contemplation and tranquility’ than other permitted activity,” the appeal for a restraining order says. “Indeed, in the humble opinion of the Knights, their annual Memorial Day mass helps to contribute to the very atmosphere that NPS says it wishes to promote.”
The motion notes what it calls “the tragic perversity” of the National Park Service because according to its own records, no one else ever took the time to hold a service over the dead who lie at Poplar Grove.
“But no, the Knights are Catholic, and they want to hold a mass. Katy, bar the door,” the motion said.
The National Park Service offered to allow a Mass outside the gates of the cemetery in what is referred to as a First Amendment area, the motion said.
“And when the Knights pointed out that NPS had permitted another Council to hold their annual Memorial Day mass inside the Andersonville National Cemetery in Georgia, NPS responded swiftly and harshly by revoking that permission,” the motion said.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief supporting the Knights of Columbus on Thursday.
“The Biden Administration’s actions against this Catholic group violate the First Amendment,” he said.
I just filed an amicus brief supporting the Petersburg Knights of Columbus’ right to continue its Memorial Day Mass prayer gathering tradition at Poplar Grove National Cemetery.
The Biden Administration’s actions against this Catholic group violate the First Amendment. pic.twitter.com/nPEAFpzmho
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) May 23, 2024
However, Alexa Viets, superintendent of the Petersburg National Battlefield, said the rules are the rules.
“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,” she said, according to The Washington Times.
Fox News reported the language banning religious services from the cemetery has been in place since at least 1986 but was never enforced until recently.
