News Release
For Immediate Release: 5.19.26
Contact: Natalie Konstans, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Ukrainian Catholic Church Appeals Ruling Allowing Unlawful Double Standard in Zoning Decisions
The First Amendment guarantees churches the right to worship free of government interference.
Collier Township, PA—First Liberty Institute, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, and the Independence Law Center appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit a decision by Judge Wiegand of the Western District of Pennsylvania that upheld Collier Township’s refusal to grant permits for Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church’s expansion plans to construct a new shrine. The Township’s actions prevent the church’s religious activity while allowing a significantly larger trade school that hosts union meetings and political rallies to operate at a nearby property.
“Religious freedom means precious little if religious organizations cannot use their property for religious purposes,” said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “We hope the Third Circuit will abide by the First Amendment and protect the right of this church to worship free of government interference.”
“The district court’s decision validates a local government’s stranglehold on a church in disregard of the church’s Free Exercise rights which are protected by the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act,” said Joshua D. Davey of Troutman Pepper Locke LLP.
Chief Counsel at Independence Law Center Randall L. Wenger, Esq. said, “It is an abuse of power for Collier Township to put limits on churches that do not apply to any other organization. The district court’s decision must be overturned.”
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church is part of a small branch of the Catholic Church headquartered in Ukraine which worships according to traditions that arose millennia ago in Eastern Europe. Ukrainian Catholic refugees fled from communism in the 20th Century, finding respite in Collier Township. They sought to worship in peace according to their own customs and traditions, and eventually, the refugees acquired a 41-acre parcel of land which they transformed into a cemetery.
When the Church was ready to construct a chapel and related facilities for prayer and worship consistent with their liturgical tradition, their plans were thwarted when the Township rejected the church’s proposal for its own property. The Township also added unlawful restrictions such as limiting the church for how long and when church bells could ring, for whom memorial services could be held, and on the size and height of proposed buildings.
Despite the restrictions imposed on the church, less than a mile up the road, the local carpenters’ union maintains a 19-acre campus that includes classrooms, conference rooms, offices, a cafeteria, an event space, and a meeting room with seating for 400 people. Further, the Township’s zoning code allows for comparable secular uses like amusement parks, ice rinks, fitness centers, and country clubs to operate as a matter of right in the same zoning district while not allowing the same for churches.
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact Natalie Konstans at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
