LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Catholic group, concluding unanimously that local Michigan government violated religious freedom laws by blocking the group from constructing a prayer trail on its own property.

“Now this 40-acre rural property can be used again for religious worship and religious expression,” Robert Muise, senior counsel and co-founder of the American Freedom Law Center, told Catholic News Agency. “We’re obviously very pleased by that.”

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Catholic Healthcare International, a Missouri-based group, received the 40 acres of Genoa Township land as a gift from the Diocese of Lansing in 2020. They planned to use the property for a Stations of the Cross Trail —a 14-stop devotion commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus — an altar, and an outdoor mural.

The Township said this construction was the equivalent of a church building, which required a special use permit. CHI protested but eventually submitted costly plans for an actual building that was part of its long-term development plans. This too was rejected, and the township persuaded a state judge to order removal of religious items from the property.

In its appeal, CHI cited the nearby “Leopold the Lion Reading Trail,” which featured a series of signs telling Leopold’s story for children and claimed discrimination in the zoning laws the township chose to apply in each case.

None of the group’s religious Stations were visible from outside the property, and they were “structurally akin to large birdhouses,” according to the court’s decision.

U.S. Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge, writing the panel decision, concluded that the township’s zoning decision imposed a “substantial burden” on CHI’s religious freedom and likely violated protections for religious land use.

The appellate panel ordered a lower court to ensure that all items removed from the property are restored in time for CHI’s upcoming event on Sept. 23.