Washington D.C., Dec 11, 2017 / 11:23 am
A federal court has denied relief to the Archdiocese of Washington, in its request for an injunction that would have allowed it to run bus ads encouraging riders to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
"We are disappointed that the federal court denied our emergency request for an injunction to run our 'Find the Perfect Gift' Advent ad campaign," said Ed McFadden, Secretary for Communications for the Archdiocese of Washington.
"While this preliminary ruling that there should be no room made for us on [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority] 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 district court's decision denied emergency relief to the archdiocese after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) declined to run the ad campaign, citing a 2015 policy which prohibits the promotion or opposition of religion in advertisements.