Supreme Court intervenes in dispute over church’s plan to build shrine on residential land

The petitioners, Missionaries of Saint John the Baptist, argue that they have a right to build the shrine behind their church as part of their ‘religious mission’ - (Getty)

The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to consider whether a religious institution possesses the right to construct a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary on residential property neighboring its Kentucky church.

The church's owner, a nonprofit organization established by Roman Catholic priests, contends that the Kentucky Supreme Court misread a federal statute when ruling against its plan to build the shrine on a residential parcel acquired specifically for the proposed development project.