wfn.org | Religious Freedom Restoration Act

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (211
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Note 209 modified by SUSAN PEEK on July 11, 1997 at 16:40 Eastern (6274
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CONTACT: Thomas S. McAnally	397(10-21-71B){209}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	July 11, 1997

United Methodist pastor turned mayor
at eye of storm on religious freedom issue

	A UMNS Feature
	by Diane Huie Balay*

	Courtesy of The United Methodist Reporter

	Mayor Patrick Heath sat in his small office in the temporary city hall, the
air conditioning barely  keeping up with the heat and humidity of Boerne,
Texas (population 5,500).
	Once again, he was answering questions from the national media.  This time,
it was the Reporter seated across from his desk.
	The slender, youthful retired United Methodist minister is in the center of
one of the most watched religion/legal battles of the 1990's.
	Mayor Heath and his city initiated the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court
overturned the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and ignited the wrath of many
of the nation's religious leaders.
	Such disparate religious bodies as Reform and Orthodox Jews, the United
Church of Christ, Southern Baptists, the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA, the U.S. Catholic Conference, The Church of Scientology,
the liberal Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the
conservative  Center for Law and Religious Freedom of the Christian Legal
Society denounced the court's decision.
	"Without RFRA, the religious liberty of every American is in peril," said J.
Brent Walker, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public
Affairs.  "Basically, what the court has done is to sacrifice religious
freedom on the altar of states' rights."
	Others protest that fringe religious groups will be at the mercy of city
ordinances.
	When asked about such reactions, the mayor responded coolly, "There's a lot
of hyperbole and exaggeration on the part of a lot of us when we're defending
a position. But sometimes it gets in the way of the truth."
	The truth, according to Heath, is that the court's decision does not change
the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees religious
liberty. Nor does it prevent "those whose religious expressions might be
different than our own from exercising their consciences alongside their
neighbors.
	"It's always a matter of balance between our responsibilities to social order
and our freedom to express our religious beliefs," said the former Fulbright
scholar who studied New Testament theology in Germany.
	It all began when St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Boerne wanted to
expand.  The picturesque stone building is on the main thoroughfare leading
into the town's center.
	Boerne (pronounced "Bernie"), an easy 30-minute drive from San Antonio, is in
the Texas Hill County, an area which is gaining widespread popularity with
homeowners and tourists.  Like many churches in Boerne, St. Peter's had
outgrown its sanctuary.  The church sought a permit to demolish its 1923
building and build a new one.
	St. Peter's mission revival style building, reminiscent of the Alamo some 30
miles to the south, lies partially within the city's historic district.  This
meant, according to city ordinances, that the exterior cannot be changed
without approval by the city's Historic Landmark Commission and the city
council.
	When the church's requests to demolish the church and later to substantially
remodel the church's exterior were denied, the church sued the city in federal
district court, charging that the church's religious freedom as guaranteed
under Texas and U.S. Constitutions had been violated and that the city's
action was in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
	The city fought back.  
	"We thought," the mayor said, "the act itself was unconstitutional."
	Heath explained that the city was not opposed to the Catholic congregation's
erecting a new building on it's property or modifying the old building in an
unobtrusive way.  Nor was the city trying to tell the church what it could do
liturgically.  It was the destruction or substantial alteration of the old
building that was rejected, he said.
	The debate has split the city and split St. Peter's congregation, according
to Curt Littman, a writer for the Boerne Star newspaper who has closely
followed the case.
	"Some members of St. Peter's wanted to tear down the church and some didn't,"
he said.  "In fact, some St. Peter's members are contributing money" to the
city's case.
	Nevertheless, many in the town's religious community disagree with the city's
action, he said.  "We see it as a gross infringement of religious rights," the
reporter, a former attorney, said, apparently speaking for himself as a member
of the religious community.
	The Rev. Anthony Cummins, priest at St. Peter, was on vacation and not
available. However, he is quoted in the press as saying that he will continue
to pursue the church's lawsuit on other constitutional arguments of the case.
     The Catholic congregation is worshipping in a senior citizen's center
owned by an order of Benedictine nuns.  The congregation uses the church for
smaller worship events.
	Some Boerne citizens criticize the city for considering a building built in
1923 "historic".
	Heath counters the criticism:  "If you own a structure inside the historic
district, it doesn't matter if the building is two days old or 200 years old,
you have to apply for a permit".
	He defends the historic district zoning ordinances as helping the city
maintain the sense of its own history.
     "This German cultural and Hill Country architectural heritage is very
important to us," he said.  "What's important in any community is not the kind
of history we'd find in a textbook but the cumulative record of the day to day
life of people and institutions over a long period of years.
	"...All of our churches are growing, and we all rejoice in that because of
the churches are the strength and fabric of our community.  But we still have
laws, and they regulate the day to day life of the community."
	Although press reports say that a compromise between St. Peter's and the city
may be possible, a local observer describes the priest and the mayor as "two
good men who are absolutely adamant in their positions."

	#  #  #
	*Balay is associate editor of the Dallas-based United Methodist Reporter.

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