A Mohawk Valley Catholic shrine has turned down a tourism grant after questions were raised about church-state separation conflicts.The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors awarded the $750 grant in February to the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville (AW'-reez-vill).
Officials believe 5,000 people will come to the shrine when Kateri Tekakwitha is canonized as a saint on Oct. 21. She was a Mohawk Indian who lived nearby.
The Gloversville Leader-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/JZwuit ) that the Washington D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State claimed the grant violated the First Amendment.
A local official proposed a resolution saying the grant would only be used for sectarian purposes.
But shrine spokesman Beth Lynch said the new conditions made it impossible to take the money.