In Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, Inc. v. Frederic, (KY Sup. Ct., Dec. 18,2025), the Kentucky Supreme Court held that RLUIPA was not violated by denying a conditional use permit to a church that wished to build a grotto to honor the Virgin Mary’s appearance at a grotto in Lourdes, France. The Court concluded that denial of a permit and variances did not impose a substantial burden on the church's religious exercise. The court said in part:
Here, St. John ... has presented no evidence of any expenses it incurred due to any mandate from the Board. Indeed, it concedes that in 2021 it “voluntarily” submitted an application for a grotto that was smaller in size than it originally intended.... Additionally, there can be no serious contention that St. John was uncertain of the likelihood that its applications would be denied pursuant to the applicable zoning ordinance. St. John’s own application letter to the Board acknowledged that “the creation of any type of accessory space to the existing church is not directly permitted by the current local zoning ordinance” because the ordinance required it to be located adjacent to an arterial street to obtain a conditional use permit. (Emphasis added). For the same reason, it cannot be said that St. John has not imposed a burden upon itself.... St. John had every reason to know, and in fact explicitly acknowledged, that building the grotto was not permitted by the ordinance.
Justice Thompson filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:
While I agree with the majority opinion’s conclusion that ... RLUIPA was not violated, this issue was the only issue presented by the motion for discretionary review filed by Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, Inc. (the Church) and the only matter which should have been considered by this Court.
Since the singular issue to be determined by this Court was whether a RLUIPA violation had occurred, that is where all discussion should have been confined. I therefore must dissent with regard to the majority’s repetition of the Court of Appeals’ erroneous analysis of, and criticism of, the determinations made by the Park Hills Board of Adjustment ... to authorize a variance and issue a conditional use permit.
