A prominent Catholic group will hold its annual Memorial Day Mass on Monday, after the Biden administration's National Park Service reversed course and granted a permit following a legal threat.
Last week, the National Park Service (NPS) denied a permit for the Knights of Columbus to hold its annual religious service at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, a tradition the group has held for the past 60 years. Attorneys for the Knights claimed the Biden administration was violating the First Amendment and filed a temporary restraining order against the NPS that was supported by the state's Republican Attorney General, Jason Miyares.
Just one day later, the NPS approved the permit. The reversal was celebrated by the Knights' attorneys.
"We are grateful to the NPS for allowing the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day," John Moran, Partner at McGuireWoods, said in a press release.
Miyares filed an amicus brief in their case and praised the reversal in a statement.
"Within hours of my filing, the Biden Administration reversed course and will now allow the Knights of Columbus to gather at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery this Memorial Day. It’s shameful that they were denied in the first place," he wrote on X.
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First Liberty, which also supported the Knights in the filing, thanked Miyares and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin for their assistance in the legal victory.
"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," Senior Counsel Roger Byron announced in a press release.
This is the second year in a row the Catholic fraternal service organization was denied a permit at the cemetery where they had been holding the Memorial Day Mass for decades.
However, religious services and vigils have been classified as "demonstrations" since at least 1986, according to the NPS website, and are prohibited in national cemeteries.
"Conducting a special event or demonstration, whether spontaneous or organized, is prohibited except for official commemorative events conducted for Memorial Day, Veterans Day and other dates designated by the superintendent as having special historic and commemorative significance to a particular national cemetery. Committal services are excluded from this restriction," the rules say.
Attorneys for the Knights said they had been allowed to conduct a Mass or prayer service at the cemetery every Memorial Day for years up until a recent policy change.
The lawsuit filed in federal court last week was dropped after the NPS approved the permit.
