Madison, USA - A Catholic student group has sued the University of Wisconsin-Madison, saying the school is illegally refusing to allow student fees to pay for certain religious activities.
The Roman Catholic Foundation, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, is asking a federal judge to force the university to pay for things like printing Lenten booklets and hosting spiritual retreats.
The university has argued that student fees cannot be used for activities involving prayer, worship and proselytizing. But the Catholic group says not allowing the funding amounts to religious discrimination.
The lawsuit is the latest round in a lengthy dispute between the university and the group. The feud has been closely watched by school administrators and religious student groups across the country.
In May, the two sides settled an earlier federal lawsuit. The settlement called for the university to award the group $253,000 in student fees during this school year. In exchange, the student group agreed to establish itself as a separate entity from St. Paul's Catholic Church and not seek funding for religious events like Masses, weddings and funerals.
The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Madison claims the university is violating the settlement by refusing to fund certain budget items and giving their budget greater scrutiny than other groups.
University spokesman John Lucas called the lawsuit baseless, saying the university has treated the group the same as any other religious student organization.