Attorneys for Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church on Thursday accused Los Angeles County officials of harassment, alleging that they retaliated over the church’s lawsuit challenging the novel coronavirus shutdown rules with public-health inspections and fines.
The Department of Public Health has conducted inspections of the church twice since the filing of its Sept. 29 lawsuit, handing down $1,000 in fines on Oct. 15 and compelling the church to eject two masked worshipers from the 500-capacity sanctuary on Oct. 20.
“The harassment comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Father Trevor Burfitt, prior at Our Lady of Angels, charging California Governor Gavin Newsom and 19 other state, county, and municipal officials for violating his religious rights,” said the Thomas More Society, which represents the church, in a press release.
The church was fined $500 for allowing worshipers to congregate indoors “as evidence by the individuals exiting structure during investigation,” according to the Oct. 15 citation, and another $500 for denying two county inspectors access to the facility.
“It’s ironic,” said TMS special counsel Paul Jonna. “There are dozens of churches in Arcadia – and hundreds in Los Angeles County – yet the parish of Father Burfitt, who is suing Los Angeles County, happens to be a church that these county workers choose to spy on and harass.”
The lawsuit filed in California Superior Court challenges the governor’s “State of Emergency,” now in its eighth month, saying the “seemingly endless” restrictions have “severely obstructed the rights of Fr. Burfitt and others throughout California, despite the guarantees promised in the state constitution.”
The restrictions include a ban on indoor worship, a stricter standard than that imposed on businesses and other public accommodations, and a six-foot social-distancing rule that “precludes the proper conduct of Catholic worship,” the lawsuit says.
In a statement, the county declined to comment on the pending litigation but stressed its commitment to fighting COVID-19.
“From the onset of the pandemic, Los Angeles County has been intensely committed to protecting the health and safety of its residents and the County is grateful that the majority of residents, businesses and communities are taking the important precautions that protect each other from a deadly virus that has claimed nearly 7,000 lives in Los Angeles County,” said the email.
Los Angeles County remains in Tier 1 of the state’s four-tier COVID-19 tracking system, indicating “widespread risk,” with more than 294,000 cases.
Mr. Jonna said that the “perceived threat of COVID-19 has produced a despotic obsession among some governors with controlling houses of worship.”
“Father Burfitt and other religious believers deserve to be treated the same as Lakers fans, thousands of whom gathered in Los Angeles following its NBA title clincher on October 11,” he said.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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