Court says homeless OK on church steps

Christian Century, July 17, 2002

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in midtown Manhattan, affirming its right to permit homeless people to sleep undisturbed on its steps. The decision could have national ramifications on the issue of religious freedom because the court cited the church's "sincerely held religious belief" that its homeless policy is protected by constitutional guarantees.

The June 12 decision by a three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Court of Appeals said the church has the right to minister to the homeless as it wishes. The ruling upheld a lower court ruling barring the city from forcing homeless people to vacate the steps of the church. A trial is still pending in the case. The church, arguably the most prominent Presbyterian church in New York City and located in one of the city's most fashionable tourist areas, sued the city in December after police forced some 20 homeless individuals to leave the church steps during a rainstorm.