U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Kentucky Catholic Shrine Case on Religious Land Use
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Kentucky case over a Catholic group's plan to build a small Marian grotto and prayer area on its own land in Park Hills, south of Cincinnati. The Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, whose Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel has stood on the site for nearly a century, won local approval for the shrine in 2021, but neighboring property owners challenged the permit over parking and traffic concerns, and the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled against the city board late last year.
At issue is the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which bars zoning rules that substantially burden religious exercise. Religious-liberty advocates backing the association argue that federal law protects faith groups using their own property for ministry. The justices have not yet scheduled oral arguments, and their ruling could shape how cities nationwide apply zoning rules to churches and religious organizations.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国最高法院大楼黄昏全景。摄影：Joe Ravi，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
