美最高法院受理肯塔基天主教圣地案 宗教用地自由成焦点
美国联邦最高法院近日同意审理一宗来自肯塔基州的宗教用地案件。位于辛辛那提以南帕克山的圣若翰洗者传教士协会，在其已有近百年历史的卢尔德圣母小堂后方，计划修建一处小型圣母岩洞与祈祷空间，市府相关委员会此前曾批准许可，但邻居以停车与交通为由提出挑战，州最高法院去年底裁定市府越权。
此案核心是联邦《宗教土地使用法》如何适用：地方分区规划在何种程度上会构成对宗教活动的实质负担。支持教团一方的宗教自由法律机构表示，教会团体在自有土地上从事宗教活动应受联邦法律保护。最高法院尚未排定开庭日期，判决结果可能影响全美各地教会与宗教团体申请用地许可的标准。
U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Kentucky Catholic Shrine Case on Religious Land Use
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Kentucky case over a Catholic group's plan to build a small Marian grotto and prayer area on its own land in Park Hills, south of Cincinnati. The Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, whose Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel has stood on the site for nearly a century, won local approval for the shrine in 2021, but neighboring property owners challenged the permit over parking and traffic concerns, and the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled against the city board late last year.
At issue is the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which bars zoning rules that substantially burden religious exercise. Religious-liberty advocates backing the association argue that federal law protects faith groups using their own property for ministry. The justices have not yet scheduled oral arguments, and their ruling could shape how cities nationwide apply zoning rules to churches and religious organizations.
图片来源：图：美国最高法院大楼黄昏全景。摄影：Joe Ravi，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
