Catholic service group sues NPS for 'religious discrimination' after denying Memorial Day Mass

The Knights of Columbus sued the National Park Service on Tuesday, claiming "religious discrimination" after the federal agency denied its request to hold a Mass on Memorial Day, forcing the organization to cancel its ceremony for the second year in a row despite decades of precedent.

The Catholic organization held a Memorial Day Mass at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, every year for more than 60 years. But its application for a permit to hold the ceremony was denied last year, and again this year, because NPS categorizes religious ceremonies as "demonstrations," which are not allowed at National Cemeteries.

McGuireWoods partner John Moran, who is representing the Knights, urged the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to approve a temporary restraining order against the cemetery, which would allow them to host the ceremony.

"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)," Moran said in a press release obtained by Fox News. "We urge the court to grant our restraining order and allow the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day."

Officials for the park service defended its rejection of the permit, and indicated that past allowances for the ceremony should not have been approved because the rules forbidding ceremonies at the parks have been in place since 1986. 

"National Cemeteries are established as national shrines in tribute to those who have died in service to our country," Alexa Viets, superintendent of the Petersburg National Battlefield, told the Washington Times. "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."

The National Park Service has declined to comment publicly on the lawsuit, because it does not comment on pending litigation. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.