FIRST ON — The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a Kentucky church’s fight to build a prayer grotto on its property, taking up a dispute over what constitutes a «substantial burden» on religious exercise under federal land-use law.

Ryan Gardner, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, told Digital the implications stretch far beyond the proposed Catholic shrine in Park Hills, Kentucky.

«This is a massive case for religious liberty because it has the potential to impact every single zoning law in this country,» Gardner told Digital.

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At the center of the case is a proposed 16-by-39-foot grotto that court records say would include a shrine to the Virgin Mary, a plaza, walking path and retaining wall. Gardner compared its roughly 600-square-foot footprint to the size of a swimming pool.

The church applied in March 2021 for a conditional-use permit and variance to build the grotto behind its building in honor of the Virgin Mary’s apparition to Saint Bernadette in Lourdes, France. The church building itself has stood on the property for nearly a century, predating Park Hills’ zoning ordinance adopted in 1974.

The property history is a bit more complicated than the case’s shorthand description may suggest. The proposed grotto involved an adjacent parcel that was initially subject to a perpetual lease that would be transferred to the religious organization as a condition of the project’s approval. But unlike many religious land-use disputes, Gardner said, the church’s initial fight in this case was not with the local government.

The Park Hills Board of Adjustment approved the church’s permit in April 2021. Two neighboring property owners, however, Joel and Elizabeth Frederic, objected and challenged the board’s decision in Kentucky state court.

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A trial court ruled in the church’s favor, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed, concluding the board exceeded its authority in approving the project and finding no violation of federal religious land-use law. The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the RLUIPA ruling in December 2025, prompting the church to seek Supreme Court review.

The case centers on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known as RLUIPA, a federal law enacted to protect religious institutions from certain burdens on the use of their property.

«RLUIPA is at the intersection of two very critical rights in this country: the rights of religious liberty and property rights,» Gardner told Digital.

The church asked the justices to review two questions under RLUIPA, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear only one about whether prohibiting a religious institution from building a religious structure on its own property constitutes a «substantial burden» on religious exercise under the law.

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Gardner said lower courts have developed different approaches to the law since Congress enacted it in 2000, leaving religious organizations with different levels of protection depending on where a dispute arises. He argues the Supreme Court now has an opportunity to establish a clearer standard nationwide.

The missionaries similarly argued in their Supreme Court petition that federal and state courts are divided over how to determine whether a land-use restriction creates a «substantial burden» under RLUIPA. The Frederics disputed that characterization in their opposition brief, arguing appellate courts generally consider similar factors and that differing outcomes can reflect differing facts. The Frederics also argued that the Missionaries failed to show that alternative locations for the grotto were unavailable.

An attorney for the Frederics did not immediately respond to Digital’s request for comment.

The case also puts two constitutionally significant areas of law alongside one another — religious exercise and the authority of local governments to regulate property use.

While Gardner acknowledged that zoning serves a legitimate role in how local governments organize, he argued those same regulations remain subject to federal-level protections for religious exercise. That question, he said, reaches well beyond one prayer grotto in Kentucky.

The SCOTUS ruling could affect disputes involving churches, synagogues, ministries and other religious organizations seeking to use their properties for worship or religious activities, according to Gardner. He warned that an overly narrow interpretation of the federal law could have «dire consequences» for religious land use around the country.

For the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, however, the case that could shape religious land-use law across the country began with something much smaller, a roughly 600-square-foot place of prayer.

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La policía detuvo este miércoles al fiscal general de Bolivia, Roger Mariaca, que investiga al consultor argentino Fernando Cerimedo por intento de femicidio y enriquecimiento ilícito, dos días después de que Estados Unidos le canceló su visa por supuestos vínculos con el narcotráfico.

“Está confirmada la detención del fiscal” Mariaca, dijo una fuente del Ministerio de Gobierno (Interior). Junto a él fue arrestado Alberto Zeballos, fiscal de Santa Cruz, también sancionado por Washington, según la prensa local.

Ambos fueron incluidos esta semana en una lista del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos entre más de una veintena de funcionarios y empresarios de Bolivia, Colombia y Ecuador a los que acusa de corrupción, vínculos con el narcotráfico o de conspirar contra sus respectivos gobiernos.

Mariaca rechazó las acusaciones y vinculó la decisión de Washinton con las “implicaciones” que tuvieron dentro y fuera de Bolivia algunas investigaciones que lleva la Fiscalía, incluidos los casos penales contra Cerimedo, exasesor de Javier Milei y el presidente boliviano, Rodrigo Paz.

En su cuenta de X, el expresidente Evo Morales denunció un plan para liberar al consultor argentino.

“Trump usa la suspensión de visas como instrumento para presionar políticamente. Quiere cuidarse y proteger a (el presidente Rodrigo) Paz liberando a Cerimedo, que está acusado por atentar contra la vida de su pareja y su hijo, sicariato, corrupción, narcotráfico, enriquecimiento ilícito, entre otros delitos”, escribió.

En otro tramo de su mensaje, afirmó: “Sino, ¿por qué el gobierno de Estados Unidos refugia a alguien con sentencia por corrupción como Mauricio Urquidi, suegro de Rodrigo Paz, padre de su esposa, Maria Elena Urquidi? Lo que corresponde por dignidad de la patria, es que si alguien tiene denuncias o está implicado en narcotráfico o corrupción debe ser procesado en Bolivia, por soberanía jurídica».

Qué dijo la Fiscalía

Tras la detención de Mariaca, la Fiscalía General señaló en un comunicado que asumirá el cargo de forma interina Luis Montaño Morales, “el fiscal superior con mayor antigüedad” dentro de la institución. Mariaca fue designado fiscal por el Congreso en octubre de 2024 y es este poder del Estado el que debe votar por una nueva autoridad.

Las autoridades bolivianas no informaron los motivos de la detención ni sobre qué orden de captura actuaron. Mariaca y Zeballos fueron detenidos en el aeropuerto de Viru Viru, en la ciudad de Santa Cruz, reportaron medios locales.

Según dijo el gobierno estadounidense, Mariaca recibió “sobornos para facilitar el narcotráfico y ayudar a delincuentes violentos a evadir la justicia”.

Durante la gestión de Mariaca, la policía de Bolivia capturó en marzo al narcotraficante uruguayo Sebastián Marset, que posteriormente fue expulsado con apoyo de la DEA a Estados Unidos.

EFE)

Bolivia

Republicans fully acknowledge they are facing political headwinds going into the midterm elections in November, and those winds are swirling in a race that has become quietly competitive as Election Day nears.

Kansas has, for nearly a century, consistently elected Republicans to the Senate. 

But in a midterm election year when voters are unhappy with the Trump administration’s actions and its impact on the economy, the race between Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and megachurch Pastor Adam Hamilton has tightened more than some in the GOP would have liked.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Senate GOP’s campaign chief, acknowledged that the race is close but remained confident Marshall would hold on.

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«Listen, I think if you look at Kansas, it’s a very competitive state, more competitive than I’d like to see it. But the fact of the matter is that we’re gonna win in Kansas,» Scott said.

Republicans are trying to maintain and expand their 53-seat majority but face many toss-up contests across the map and voters that are frustrated with high fuel prices, tariffs and the war in Iran, which could threaten that grip on power.

Kansas isn’t in that toss-up category, but it was recently downgraded by «Likely Republican» to «Lean Republican» by the Cook Political Report and in Fox News’ election power rankings.

«No one should be surprised that Adam’s message of leading from the middle and working together is resonating across Kansas,» Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton told Digital.

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«Roger Marshall has spent the past 18 months hiding from his constituents, voting to slash health care and supporting and endless war that’s led to skyrocketing gas and grocery prices,» he continued. 

«Kansans are ready for something different, and that’s why we’ll vote to elect Adam in November.»

Still, Scott gave Marshall and others some advice that could be the recipe for success, even in close contests.

«I told Roger Marshall the same thing I told all the candidates nearly two years ago: «You do one of two things. You either run afraid or you run unopposed,’» Scott said. «And, frankly, it’s not unopposed.

«And, therefore, you can’t run to the tape. You have to run through the tape. I believe that Kansas is a competitive state,» he continued. «I will, however, say that, as I look at all the data, it tells me that Roger Marshall will be successful.»

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He has already gotten reinforcements in the form of Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month rallied for the lawmaker and pitched to voters that Marshall, a former obstetrician, was a man who devoted his life to delivering babies and making sure that moms and children from every walk of life were safe and had the healthcare that they need.»

«Let’s stand for Doc Marshall and send the crazy people packing, ladies and gentlemen,» Vance said.

He will get more backup soon, too. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Digital as he exited the Senate late Wednesday night he planned to travel to Kansas. When asked if Republicans would keep the majority, Thune said, «Of course we are.»

Marshall is eying a second term in the Senate against Hamilton, a political newcomer who was previously registered as a Republican now running a centrist-aligned campaign. Marshall was first elected to the upper chamber in 2020, cruising to an 11-point victory while Republicans across the country took hits as Trump’s first term came to an end.

Since then, he has aligned himself with Trump as many Republicans did during their time in total control of Washington.

But in recent weeks and months, Marshall has started to distance himself from the administration, like pushing for ICE to coordinate with local law enforcement as agents descended upon southern Kansas or vowing to fight for jobs at Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft maintenance center that employs nearly 1,500 Kansans as Trump’s trade wars ensues.

Hamilton has his own headaches, too. Marshall has consistently painted Hamilton as a «woke» pastor who has delivered sermons to Kansas’ largest United Methodist congregation on Black Lives Matter and climate change, among others.

«As voters continue to learn more about Democrat Adam Hamilton, they are realizing his views are just a carbon copy of every other woke liberal in Washington,» Brent Robertson, a longtime senior advisor to Marshall, told Digital. 

«Voters are turning on this guy quicker than cider.»

During one sermon six years ago, Hamilton called on his congregation to repent for eating and producing beef. Notably, Kansas is the third-largest cattle producer in the country.

«Some of the things that we grow, because we like to eat them, like cattle, end up producing more carbon dioxide than other crops that we could grow, other forms of food that we could have,» Hamilton said. 

«And, so, in all of these ways, we are creating or adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in our world.»

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