Originally published at National Catholic Register
The U.S. bishops, the Knights of Columbus, and Catholic scholars are among the numerous advocates backing a Native American bid to save a centuries-old sacred site from commercial development.
The federal government has for decades protected the site of Oak Flat in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. The nearly seven-square-mile parcel has been viewed as a sacred site by Apaches and other Native American groups for hundreds of years and has been used extensively for religious rituals.
Despite having protected the land from development for years, the federal government several years ago moved to transfer Oak Flat to the mining company Resolution Copper. The group’s proposed mining operations would largely obliterate the site.
A coalition of Native American groups known as Apache Stronghold has filed a challenge to the decision, arguing that it violates both the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and an 1852 treaty protecting Apache territory. The religious liberty law group Becket is representing the group in the case.
Two lower courts have opted to allow the transfer to continue. This week the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) joined an amicus brief with the Christian Legal Society and the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, arguing that those decisions stem from “a grave misunderstanding of RFRA that fails
