CV NEWS FEED // National Park Service has granted the permit for the Knights of Columbus to host a Memorial Day Mass inside a national cemetery, according to a May 23 news release from legal organization First Liberty.
“The Knights are thrilled that they will be able to exercise their religious beliefs and keep this honorable tradition alive,” First Liberty Senior Counsel Roger Byron stated in the news release. “We appreciate the tremendous support of Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares in this case.”
The Knights have hosted a Memorial Day Mass inside Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, every year since the 1960s.
National Park Service halted this tradition in 2023, when it denied the Knights the permit to host the Mass within the cemetery, citing a policy change that prohibited “demonstrations,” which included non-committal religious services, inside the cemetery.
On May 21, 2024, First Liberty Institute and the international law firm McGuireWoods LLP filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the National Park Service, to protect the Knights’ First Amendment rights.
On May 23, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyrares filed an amicus brief in support of the Knights. Later on the same day, First Liberty announced that the Knights and the National Park Service had reached an agreement allowing for the Knights’ Mass to take place within the cemetery. After the agreement was reached, the lawsuit was dismissed.
“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,” Miyrares stated after the permit was granted.
“The First Amendment very clearly allows religious and non-religious groups to hold these types of gatherings on government grounds,” he continued. “It’s shameful and un-American that they were denied in the first place.”
On May 13, First Liberty sent a letter to Chief Park Ranger Aaron Scott, explaining how the denial of the permit is a violation of the Knights’ First Amendment rights.
As CatholicVote previously reported, “The letter noted that the Mass does not meet the definition of a ‘demonstration’ and even if it did, the policy’s application would ultimately be discriminatory and a violation of the First Amendment, especially because the National Park Service was denying a group a permit based on the group’s intention to celebrate a religious event.”
Scott responded on May 16 in support of the National Park Service’s denial of the requested permit. In his response, he also granted a different permit to the Knights, which would allow them to host the Memorial Day Mass outside of the cemetery. The Knights filed a complaint in the case on May 19, and the lawsuit was filed shortly after.
After the lawsuit was dismissed and the agreement was reached for the Knights to host the Mass within the cemetery, McGuireWoods partner John Moran stated, “We are grateful to the NPS for allowing the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day.”
