Rezoning Request for Catholic Shrine May Have Been Denied Because of Shrine's "Pro-Life Message"

A federal appeals court panel ruled on Monday that a Ukrainian Catholic parish near Pittsburgh is not entitled to a preliminary injunction against local officials who blocked plans for a religious shrine. The decision in Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church v. Township of Collier centered on whether the denial of rezoning requests violated the church’s constitutional rights. Judges Stephanos Bibas and Tamika Montgomery-Reeves formed the majority, while Judge Paul Matey dissented regarding the legal standard for injunctive relief. Holy Trinity owns two parcels of land. One in Carnegie hosts the active parish church. The other, a 41-acre plot in Collier Township, has been owned by the parish for over seventy years. Currently housing a cemetery and mausoleum, the rest of the site is largely wooded. Three years ago, the parish’s pastor proposed converting the site into a pilgrimage shrine dedicated to Mary and the sanctity of life. Architects and traffic consultants helped design a complex featuring a 13,000-square-foot chapel with gold domes, a bell tower, a museum, a gift shop, and a retreat center. Collier Township’s zoning code prevented immediate construction. The northern wooded section fell under a planned-economic-development district, while the southern portion lay in a rural-residential zone. Neither category explicitly permitted shrines. The five-member Board of Commissioners holds authority to amend codes or approve conditional uses. The parish applied to amend the code to allow cultural centers in the economic district and to rezone part of the rural land. They submitted sketches and a traffic study indicating minimal community impact. During a public hearing, board members and residents raised objections. Concerns focused on traffic volume and the parish’s fundraising projections. Several attendees expressed specific alarm over the facility’s pro-life orientation. One resident warned that Father Jason’s involvement in pro-life activities would bring dangerous protests and costs to the community. Another stated the shrine intended to celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Following these objections, the board denied the initial application. The parish subsequently filed a smaller request to build a modest chapel solely on the rural-residential land. The board approved this reduced plan but imposed strict conditions. These restrictions limited bell-ringing hours, capped the chapel’s height, and restricted who could be honored during memorial services. In their ruling, the majority concluded that the parish was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because potential harms could be remedied through monetary damages. This finding triggered a detailed legal debate between the majority and Judge Matey’s dissent regarding the requirements for such equitable relief. The court did not rule on the merits of the underlying constitutional claims. The parish retains the option to pursue further litigation or seek alternative remedies based on the final judgment. The local board maintains control over future development applications within its jurisdiction.