How the fight over a grotto in Park Hills could have nationwide effects

A years-long fight over the proposed expansion of a church in Park Hills is set to determine precedent for religious exercise and land use for the rest of the nation.

That is, if it’s ever taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The First Liberty Institute is a right-leaning Christian nonprofit organization based out of Texas. It has petitioned the country’s highest court to hear the case, which relates to the building of a grotto at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Amsterdam Road in Park Hills.

A grotto is a small shrine meant to resemble a natural cave that typically houses a religious statue.

The grotto’s construction has been repeatedly struck down, first by the Kentucky Court of Appeals and then by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Kentucky’s Attorney General Russell Coleman and 19 other Republican attorneys general have lent their support for the grotto, arguing the denials violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, sometimes referred to as RLUIPA. The federal law is aimed at protecting religious institutions from discriminatory zoning practices. First Liberty argues the project is part of the church’s religious exercise and is, thus, protected by the act.

“The city, recognizing the application of the federal law and my client’s religious liberty rights, granted the request,” Ryan Gardner, senior counsel at First Liberty, told LINK nky’s content sharing partner WCPO. “And then it was an objecting neighbor who is now wielding the zoning ordinances as a sort of heckler’s veto … barring my client from engaging in this religious exercise of building this shrine to the Virgin Mary.”

Disagreements about the grotto date back years, steeped in questions of religious practice, the nature of city governance and the effect of large institutional projects on public infrastructure. Now, with the possibility of the Supreme Court ruling on the case, both the fate of the grotto itself and how the law fields these broader issues could be at stake.

The Missionaries of St. John the Baptist

Court documents list the plaintiffs in the case as the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, Inc., a nonprofit legal arm of a now-defunct Catholic association called the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist. That group was an offshoot of another association called the Priests of Mercy or the Fathers of Mercy (the association has employed both monikers), founded in 1808 in France.

The Priests of Mercy’s founder, Jean Baptiste Rauzan, fled revolutionary violence in France in the late eighteenth century, an experience that galvanized his faith and informed much of his religious practice and thought, to which the Missionaries would later adhere. The church’s eponymous Lady of Lourdes, refers to the supposed appearance of Saint Mary to a teenage girl in a cave in Lourdes, France, in 1858. This likely inspired the design of the grotto.

The nonprofit officially owns the land on which Our Lady of Lourdes Church sits, according to Kenton County property records. Legally, the incorporated entity is not connected to the Covington Diocese or the Catholic Church (this will become important later).

The church building itself on Amsterdam Road has been there since the 1950s and has housed several denominations over its history. The Missionaries’ nonprofit organization bought the building in 2015 with the good graces of former Diocese of Covington Bishop Joseph Foys.

Our Lady of Lourdes parish is an example of what has come to be known as a “personal parish” among Catholics, meaning its congregants come to the church due to the worship and religious practices it observes, rather than its geographical location, like a conventional parish.

The parish observes a set of traditional worship practices, namely the “Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite,” which entails services in Latin and other highly formalized Catholic ritual observances, as governed by the 1962 Roman Missal. Parishioners dress conservatively and women and girls must cover their heads.

A promotional video from 2018 posted on the congregation’s YouTube page offers insight into the appeal of the church’s practices; some congregants state they had moved to Park Hills specifically to join the church.

Although the Missionaries found a sympathetic ear in former Bishop Foys, they have had a more fraught relationship with the current Bishop, John Iffert.

In January 2024, well into the fight over the grotto, Iffert – seemingly with some hesitance – stripped the parish’s priests Rev. Shannon Collins (who appears in the video above) and Rev. Sean Kopczynski of their ministerial duties after they refused to recant their views on modern liturgical practices.

“I take this action after becoming aware
that Fr. Collins had preached in the parish that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as celebrated in the current Roman Catholic liturgy, is ‘irrelevant,’ preserves ‘literally nothing of the old,’ and that the reform of the liturgy was motivated by hatred towards traditional Catholics and the ancient liturgies of Rome,” Iffert wrote in a letter to the parish congregants.

“Both Father Collins and Father Kopczynski maintain these errors and refuse the opportunity to renounce them,” the letter continues. “This disqualifies them from being granted permission to publicly celebrate the Sacraments using the 1962 Missale Romanum and from leading a personal parish like Our Lady of Lourdes.”

Essentially, this meant that Collins and Kopczynski could no longer lead mass or engage in pastoral work, even though they were still officially priests recognized by the diocese. The two subsequently accepted the limitations the bishop placed upon them.

Iffert officially suppressed the Missionaries of St. John Baptist in July of that year.

“The group no longer has a connection with the Diocese of Covington or the Roman Catholic Church,” the bishop writes in his suppression letter, which was published in the January 2025 edition of the Diocese newspaper The Messenger.

The July suppression order was published alongside the letter, which stated the bishop delayed announcing the suppression publicly in case the Missionaries appealed. They did not do so within the allowable time frame, the letter states.

In other words, as far as the official Catholic hierarchy is concerned, the association of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist is out, even if the individual priests are still in.

Another diocesan priest was called in to take over pastoral duties at the parish, which remains part of the Diocese of Covington, in spite of the Missionaries’ dissolution. A representative from the diocese confirmed the parish continues to employ its traditional worship practices.

The conflict within Park Hills over the grotto was going on in the background throughout all of this. It’s not clear from the bishop’s letters if the conflict over the grotto played a role in the bishop’s decision to suppress the Missionaries.

The suppression order had no effect on the Missionaries’ nonprofit entity, which continues to maintain a website, publish newsletters and solicit donations. As it relates to the lawsuit, this means neither the Catholic Church nor even the current Our Lady of Lourdes parish is party to the suit. Instead, the case is between the nonprofit, its political advocate allies and the Park Hills neighbors who first challenged a ruling of the city’s Board of Adjustment in 2021.

The grotto

Upon buying the church building, the Missionaries began appealing to the faithful around the country for donations to fund the building’s renovation and, in time, the construction of a grotto with a shrine to Saint Mary. A 2018 newsletter from the Missionaries indicated they wanted to raise at least $400,000 for the first round of fundraising for the grotto.

The number of parishioners, drawn to both the building itself and the church’s traditional practices, grew over time as more renovations to the building were made. By the time the Park Hills Board of Adjustments hearing occurred in April 2021, the priests had already presented an earlier version of their plans to the city council. The versions presented in 2021 actually represented a reduction in scope of what had come before the city council.

Even so, the presented plans called for an augmentation to the church’s structure and footprint, proposing the construction of the grotto itself, a plaza and walking path, as well as a retaining wall in the hillside on an adjacent property, which the Missionaries were leasing at the time. The proposed plaza and grotto occupied about 625 square feet of space, and the construction would have inevitably entailed digging out a portion of the hill. The board eventually mandated the Missionaries purchase the adjacent land as part of their approval.

Letters of support from around Park Hills were submitted to the board along with the design proposals. Kopczynski spoke at the hearing and argued the structure would be a benefit for both the parish and the city broadly. Supporters who attended the virtual meeting, which occurred during the COVID lockdowns, complimented the work that had gone into improving the church’s edifice, as well as the surrounding area. Voices of support came from both within and outside the parish.

“I think people know that this is not going to be some half-hearted attempt,” Kopczynski said. “We really do want to beautify Park hills. We love our city, and we know we’re in the center, and we want the center to be beautiful.”

The path to the grotto’s approval became bumpy from there.

To start, most of the area around the church was zoned for residential use. The church was a non-conforming use of the land that had been grandfathered into the most recent update to the city’s zoning regulations. As such, in order to expand their footprint, the Missionaries had to submit their plans to county planning professionals for review and then secure a vote from the city’s board of adjustment. Specifically, they had asked for two variances, one to allow for the building of the grotto as an accessory structure and another for setback waivers.

This is not going to be some half-hearted attempt. We really do want to beautify Park Hills. Rev. Sean Kopczynski

County planning professionals recommended against approval because conditional land uses for churches was only allowed if they were next to an arterial street, which is roughly defined as a main thoroughfare capable of handling large amounts of traffic. Amsterdam, which only has two lanes, is categorized as a connector street.

Parking was among the concerns of people who spoke out against the grotto; the area already had issues with parking spill over during mass times, and the fear was that the parking situation might worsen if people were regularly showing up to visit the grotto.

Other residents had concerns about the grotto’s potential impact on the stability of the hill, although Kopczynski said the church completed a geotechnical study. The issues were summarized by Eric Russo, the executive director of the Hillside Trust, a nonprofit that studies landslides and hillside stability, both recurring problems in the Northern Kentucky region, and advises governments and developers on how to mitigate them.

Russo did not come out explicitly in favor or against the grotto. However, he pointed out “that this is a landslide-prone area,” and that any building on the hillside would have to account for the risks of land slippages both during and after construction.

Political and cultural concerns were also brought up at the 2021 meeting.

“I’m concerned about Park Hills’ identity kind of being consumed by this church,” said resident Maryann Maffia. “I feel like it’s becoming what we’re known for now, is this church. Trolley Park is taken over every Sunday by parishioners, and I think this is slowly going to become what Park Hills is thought of.”

What’s more, at least one member of the board of adjustments, Thomas Michael, was a parishioner. A member of the Park Hills City Council, Pam Spoor, is also a parishioner, a point that came up during the meeting. Her name even appears on the Missionaries of St. John, Inc.’s nonprofit paperwork from the IRS. Board of adjustment members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council, but it’s officially an independent body.

I feel like it’s becoming what we’re known for now, is this church. Maryann maffia

Several residents called on Michael to recuse himself from the votes to avoid a conflict of interest.

“I’m a little confused of why your conflict wasn’t identified when we originally asked,” said Joel Frederic, the neighbor who would eventually sue the Missionaries’ organization. “That seems like a pretty clear conflict of interest to me.”

Both Michael and City Attorney Daniel Braun, who also serves as the city attorney for Newport, argued there was no conflict of interest.

“After confirming with the city attorney, legally, there’s not a conflict of interest,” Michael said. “I also do not have any legal ties to the church or anything associated with the church. I’m merely a parishioner, and my status as a parishioner does not inhibit me to make an objective decision on this.”

Braun elaborated on this later in the meeting.

“Absence any clear showing of bias by any of the members, there’s no reason why they can’t participate in this venture,” Braun said. “Simply being a member of the parish does not disqualify them automatically from serving on this board.”

Only one member of the board, Robert Sweet, eventually voted against approving the variances. Less than a month later, Joel Frederic and his wife, Elizabeth Frederic, sued the Missionaries and the board, alleging the approval was illegal under the city’s zoning ordinance, and the board had exceeded its authority in granting the variances.

In June 2022, Judge Patricia Summe of the Kenton County Circuit Court ruled the board acted legally. The Frederics appealed, and the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled in their favor in November 2023, saying the grotto would have been an expansion of a pre-existing nonconforming use, which was prohibited under the city’s zoning ordinance.

The appeals court also addressed the law surrounding land use by religious organizations and the quandary of whether zoning ordinance was a impediment to the church’s religious practice.

“The application of the ordinance to prohibit construction of the grotto may make practice of religion somewhat more difficult for the church’s congregation or the adherents of the Catholic faith broadly, but the Zoning Ordinance is not inherently inconsistent with their religious beliefs,” the opinion reads. “Accordingly, we find the Park Hills Zoning Ordinance imposes no substantial burden on the religious exercise…”

The question of the “substantial burden” to religious exercise would take center stage at oral arguments before the Kentucky Supreme Court in August 2025.

At the Kentucky Supreme Court

“This is about an actual thing that happened in Catholicism, where there was a grotto, and the Virgin Mary appeared,” said attorney Sarah Benedict before the Kentucky Supreme Court on Aug. 6. “This is a religious exercise. This is not an ornamental thing; this is not some little piddly thing.”

Benedict spoke on behalf of the church before the court. Opposite her, speaking on behalf of the Frederics, was Steve Doan, also an attorney, the current representative of Kentucky House District 69 and former Erlanger City Council member.

You can watch the full oral arguments before the Kentucky Supreme Court here.

“The church knew from the outset that this was an illegal use under the existing zoning code, and so that’s why they had to go to the board to ask for that variance,” Doan said.

Benedict’s arguments, which relied heavily on the RLUIPA act, hinged on convincing the justices that blocking the grotto’s construction substantially burdened the church’s ability to practice its faith.

“That’s what the Court of Appeals held,” Benedict said. “Actually, they held that it was an expansion of a nonconforming use, and so that’s why they completely prohibited the grotto, and so that’s our defense. If you completely prohibit a religious exercise, then that’s a substantial burden of religious exercise.”

To that point, the justices had several questions.

“Is there some reason why the grotto wouldn’t work on the existing nonconforming tract,” asked Chief Justice Debra Hembree.

“The church has exercised its religious rights on that property without limitation during that long period of time,” said Justice Chris Nickell, “and so now I think you’re arguing that the grotto is essential for the exercise of faith. What happened during those other years?”

Benedict answered that the Missionaries had, in fact, been trying to build the grotto since they acquired the property. What’s more, she argued under RLUIPA it didn’t matter if the practice in question was essential to the belief system but rather if the law created a burden to practicing it.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s compelled; it doesn’t matter if it’s central to your faith—any exercise of religion,” Benedict emphasized. “[The law] is a broad protection of religious liberty.”

Justice Michelle Keller, whose district includes Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, broached the issue of traffic, how zoning ordinances and the classification of roads, as well as how the role of city boards of adjustment is “tied to predicting and maintaining and controlling traffic flow.”

“I understand the religious freedom argument, but I also see that the people of Park Hills, through their city council, their board of adjustment, etc. have a duty, an obligation to maintain safe and effective traffic control within the confines of their city,” Keller said, “and this is a church that is really sitting in the middle of a residential neighborhood.”

The Kentucky Supreme Court delivered their opinion in December, upholding the Court of Appeals’ ruling. Only one Justice, Kelly Thompson, dissented. Although he agreed that RLUIPA had not been violated, he worried about the spill-over effects the ruling may have on municipal boards.

“The majority opinion should in no way be read or interpreted as to restrict the authority of local boards of adjustment to exercise their discretionary authority in a manner that is both consistent with their authorizing ordinances and enabling statutes, and the overall will of the local citizenry they serve,” Thompson writes.

What’s next?

If the nation’s highest court grants review, legal experts say its ruling could set a nationwide precedent for how local zoning laws intersect with religious land-use rights.

“The implications couldn’t be broader,” said Ryan Gardner, the senior counsel at the First Liberty instituted, quote in the first section. “If the Supreme Court takes up this case and issues a definitive interpretation of what this law means, it applies to every single zoning ordinance in this country.”

There’s no guaranteed timeline by which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case, if they choose to hear it at all. You can First Liberty’s petition below.

Jay Shakur and Vickie Ashwill of WCPO contributed reporting to this story.

(*)The bishop’s letter is dated 2023, but this is a clerical error.