- Feb 5, 2002
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“Arbitrary government interference.”
That’s what the Knights of Columbus warned will befall religious believers in the U.S. if a copper mining company is allowed to take possession of, and destroy, a centuries-old Native American worship site in Arizona.
That site, Oak Flat, has been the subject of years of dispute and litigation, with a coalition group of activists known as Apache Stronghold leading an effort to prevent the government from surrendering the ancient religious location to private interests.
For decades the federal government protected the parcel from development in the Tonto National Forest. But the Obama administration in 2014 began the process of transferring the land to the multinational Resolution Copper, whose mining operations will dig a massive pit at the site and end its status as a center of worship.
Continued below.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
That’s what the Knights of Columbus warned will befall religious believers in the U.S. if a copper mining company is allowed to take possession of, and destroy, a centuries-old Native American worship site in Arizona.
That site, Oak Flat, has been the subject of years of dispute and litigation, with a coalition group of activists known as Apache Stronghold leading an effort to prevent the government from surrendering the ancient religious location to private interests.
For decades the federal government protected the parcel from development in the Tonto National Forest. But the Obama administration in 2014 began the process of transferring the land to the multinational Resolution Copper, whose mining operations will dig a massive pit at the site and end its status as a center of worship.
Continued below.
What a dispute over a Native American worship site means for religious liberty
Native American activists trying to protect Oak Flat have drawn support from religious advocates and stakeholders including the U.S. bishops and the Knights of Columbus.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
