U.S. Supreme Court to review Kentucky church's plan for Virgin Mary shrine

The Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Kentucky state-court ruling that blocked their plan to construct a Virgin Mary shrine on a residential lot next to their church in Park Hills, a Cincinnati suburb. The nonprofit maintains that a federal statute can prevent governments from imposing substantial burdens on religious expression through land-use regulations. The Kentucky Supreme Court had found that the local zoning board could not issue a variance for the shrine, a decision the petitioners say runs counter to established Supreme Court case law.

Opponents, including a neighboring family worried about increased traffic, successfully challenged the zoning board’s earlier decision and argue the shrine could have been built on church property instead. The petitioners assert that lower courts are divided on the issue, prompting the nation’s highest court to take up the matter. Arguments are expected in the coming months, potentially shaping future religious-land-use jurisprudence.