Fairfield Knights Of Columbus Sues Town Over Denial Of Christmas Vigil

FAIRFIELD, CT — The local Knights of Columbus is suing Fairfield in federal court after the town's Parks and Recreation Commission denied its request for two years to hold a Christmas Vigil at Sherman Green.

In 2020 and 2021, the commission denied the request, the lawsuit claims, in part, due to COVID-19 concerns, and also because the vigil would span a couple of days, from Dec. 23 to Christmas morning.

Instead, the commission recommended the organization continue to use the Town Hall Green for the vigil, as it had done for years. The Knights of Columbus wanted to move to Sherman Green because it is a higher-trafficked area and more visible than the Town Hall Green.

Despite the lawsuit, the organization has applied again this year to hold the vigil at Sherman Green, and the Parks and Recreation Commission is scheduled to discuss the request during a meeting on Wednesday.

Local attorney Joseph Sargent, a member of the Knights of Columbus who filed the lawsuit, told Patch that the organization is being discriminated against, because other religious groups have hosted events at Sherman Green.

"This suit is about free exercise of religion, free speech and a pattern of discriminatory animus towards the Catholic nature of the Knights of Columbus and its Christmas Vigil," Sargent said. "Anti-Catholicism is the last publicly acceptable bigotry. You see it on TV, in the news and at cocktail parties. We can turn the other check to those, but when they take away our constitutional rights, we have to take a stand."

James Baldwin, Fairfield's Town Attorney, called the lawsuit "unfortunate and without merit," partly because municipalities can set "reasonable" limits on the location and amount of time when events, such as vigils, can be held.

"It is very important to respect all religions, but we will defend the town's decision," Baldwin told Patch.