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Archdiocese of Washington to appeal judge’s decision on transit ad

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — The Archdiocese of Washington will appeal to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after a federal judge denied a
request for an emergency injunction over the Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority’s advertising guidelines.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson Dec. 8 denied the
archdiocese’s request that WMATA be required to post an ad promoting its annual
“Find the Perfect Gift” initiative for the Advent season.

Transit authority officials had denied the ad based on 2015
policies that ban ads “that promote or oppose any religion, religious
practice or belief.”

“We are disappointed that the federal court denied our
emergency request for an injunction to run our ‘Find the Perfect Gift’ Advent
campaign,” Ed McFadden, the archdiocese’s secretary for communications,
said in a statement Dec. 9.

“While this preliminary ruling that there should be no room
made for us on WMATA buses is disappointing, we will continue in the coming
days to pursue and defend our right to share the important message of Christmas
in the public square,” the statement said.

Berman found that while buses are controlled by a government
agency, the authority’s rules likely are legal and reasonable because WMATA’s
restrictions are not based on whether the agency opposes the advertiser’s
particular views.

The archdiocese contended WMATA’s policy that “prohibits all
noncommercial advertising, including any speech that purportedly promotes a
religion, religious practice or belief,” is a violation of the free speech
and free exercise of religion clauses of the First Amendment and a violation of
the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.

perfect gift rejected ad

WMATA rejected a religious Christmas ad (above) from the Archdiocese of Washington. COURTESY

WMATA’s prohibition, the archdiocese contends, “violates the
free speech rights of the archdiocese because the prohibition creates an
unreasonable and disproportionate burden on the exercise of the archdiocese’s
speech without any legitimate justification.”

The archdiocese has in previous years advertised on WMATA’s
public buses. Up until 2015, the archdiocese purchased WMATA space for ads
that, according to the lawsuit, “were explicitly religious in
character.”

“These advertisements included a campaign highlighting the
importance of the sacrament of reconciliation during the liturgical season of
Lent. This campaign, ‘The Light Is on for You,’ was remarkably successful for
the archdiocese — and lucrative for WMATA — with advertisements on the backs of
85 buses throughout the metropolitan area.”

The rejected ads highlight the archdiocese’s annual “Find
the Perfect Gift” campaign, which refers viewers to the
FindThePerfectGift.org website that includes Mass schedules, reflections on the
meaning of Advent and Christmas, religious holiday traditions and opportunities
for charitable service. The image is a silhouette of shepherds and sheep
standing on a hill.

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