Facing legal action, the National Parks Service (NPS) reversed course late last week and allowed Knights of Columbus to hold their traditional Memorial Day Mass in Virginia’s Poplar Grove National Cemetery.
The decision from the NPS came almost immediately after the Knights of Columbus filed their lawsuit in federal court.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares — who submitted an amicus brief in support of the Knights’ complaint — issued a statement Thursday responding to the NPS’ decision.
“I’m pleased that the Petersburg Knights of Columbus was granted access to observe Memorial Day and gather to pray and mourn the loss of fallen military personnel,” Attorney General Miyares.
“The First Amendment very clearly allows religious and non-religious groups to hold these types of gatherings on government grounds,” said Miyares. “It’s shameful and un-American that they were denied in the first place.”
The NPS had originally denied the Knights of Columbus their request to hold their annual Memorial Day Mass because it would constitute an impermissible “demonstration” under the current interpretation of agency regulations that have been in place for nearly four decades.
The Knights of Columbus argued in their lawsuit that the refusal to grant their permit represented a violation of both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993, “prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion” unless it either “furthers a compelling governmental interest” and “is the least restrictive means of furthering [that interest].”
According to the Knights of Columbus, the refusal of the NPS to grant their permit would have represented a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993, “prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion” unless it either “furthers a compelling governmental interest” and “is the least restrictive means of furthering [that interest].”
[RELATED: Knights of Columbus Sue National Parks Service After Being Denied Permit for Memorial Day Mass]
“For more than half a century, the Knights expressed their patriotism for the United States and appreciation and reverence for our Nation’s veterans by hosting an annual Memorial Day mass at Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia,” the Knights of Columbus wrote in their complaint.
“That suddenly changed last year, in 2023, when the NPS abruptly revoked permission for the Knights to continue their longstanding tradition of holding the annual Memorial Day mass inside the National Cemetery,” the group said.
“Despite decades of allowing the commemoration, the NPS relied on a new 2022 policy memorandum from the Director of the National Park Service to conclude that the Knights’ solemn event would henceforth be categorized as a prohibited ‘demonstration’ under NPS regulations because it is a ‘religious service,’” they continued.
Consequently, the Knights of Columbus were only granted a permit to hold their mass “outside the cemetery on a patch of grass near the parking lot, which they have designated as a ‘First Amendment Area.’”
The organization goes on to explain that in the sixty-plus years that the Knights of Columbus have held this mass, the NPS had never before objected to the service being held despite the fact that the relevant regulations have been in place since 1986.
Representing the Knights of Columbus in this case are the international law firm McGuireWoods and First Liberty Institute, a legal organization dedicated to defending religious liberties.
“The Knights are thrilled that they will be able to exercise their religious beliefs and keep this honorable tradition alive. We appreciate the tremendous support of Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares in this case,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Roger Byron said in a statement Friday.
“We are grateful to the NPS for allowing the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day,” said John Moran of McGuireWoods, an international law firm that was also set to provide representation to the Knights of Columbus.
After the NPS agreed to grant the Knights of Columbus their permit for the Memorial Day Mass, the lawsuit against the agency was dismissed.
Images originally posted on Facebook by Knights of Columbus Council 694 in Petersburg, VA
