The Biden administration caved on Friday after trying to force a Catholic hospital in Oklahoma to snuff out a chapel candle.
Religious liberty attorney Lori Windham announced the decision to Glenn Beck on his radio program.
“The government has seen the light and has abandoned its attempt to force an Oklahoma hospital to blow out a small candle or stop serving elderly, disabled, and low-income patients,” said Windham on Twitter.
“[HHS] has told Saint Francis that it can keep its living flame — a sacred candle housed in the hospital chapels,” she added.
The government had notified Saint Francis Health System that it would have to snuff out the candle over safety concerns. If it refused, its ability to accept Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) would be revoked.
Windham, who is the vice president and senior counsel of the Becket Fund, criticized the government for what appeared to be a capricious and unreasonable infringement on religious liberty.
“The government’s demand is absurd and unlawful — it is targeting Saint Francis’s sincere beliefs without any good reason,” said Windham in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “The government has a simple choice: either stop this attack on Saint Francis’s faith or expect a legal firestorm.”
Windham pointed out that the hospital provided care for about 400,000 patients every year and employs more than 11,000 workers at its Tulsa hospital.
“The flame is far from medical equipment and shielded by glass holders and a brass top. It has never caused a problem, the fire marshal has never complained, and the feds were fine with it until last month,” she added.
Experts opined that if the federal government continued its demands that it would have likely led to an ugly legal battle over religious rights.
Saint Francis Health System is the 12th largest hospital in the U.S.
Here’s the video of Windham with Glenn Beck:
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