First Liberty Honors Knights of Columbus with Prestigious Philip B. Onderdonk, Jr. Religious Liberty Award

Award recognizing champion of religious liberty presented at

The American Legion National Convention

New Orleans, LA–First Liberty Institute today awarded the Knights of Columbus Petersburg Council 694 with its prestigious Philip B. Onderdonk, Jr. Religious Liberty Award.  The award presentation was made at The American Legion’s 105^th National Convention in New Orleans. 

Roger Byron, Senior Counsel to First Liberty Institute and who presented the award, said: 

The Knights of Columbus commitment to its mission and the ideal of religious liberty was made clear once again this year when it stood firmly to keep their annual Memorial Day mass at a national public cemetery in Virginia. In the face of an unconstitutional policy adopted by the National Park Service, the Knights refused to back down and stood up to defend the First Amendment.  We honor the Knights’ commitment to our first freedom. 

Bob Young, an officer of Council 694, accepted the award on behalf of the Knights. 

Founded almost 150 years ago in the United States, the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal service order with over 2 million members worldwide. One long-standing way the Knights have lived out their faith and patriotism is by holding Memorial Day masses to honor and pray for the nation’s fallen soldiers.  Until last year, the Knights of Columbus Petersburg Council 694 had always held a Memorial Day mass within the Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, and the mass (or a prayer service when a priest was not available) had been celebrated there every year without incident since at least the 1960s.  But last year, for the first time, the NPS denied the Knights a permit to hold the service in the cemetery, citing a new policy that designates “religious services” as prohibited “demonstrations.”  

A lawsuit against NPS filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by First Liberty Institute and the international law firm McGuireWoods LLP was dismissed after an agreement to allow the service was reached. 

The Phillip B. Onderdonk, Jr. Religious Liberty Award, named after The American Legion’s long-time National Judge Advocate, is an annual award that honors a hero who, like its namesake, has proven to be a champion of religious liberty.  Past recipients include President of the United States Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Shields of Strength, and former football coach Joe Kennedy. 

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About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.