The Southern California city that issued citations against homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, for holding Bible studies in their home, has reversed course after attorneys for Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) took the case to court.

The Fromms 4,700-square-foot home is situated on more than an acre of land with one side of the street not having any houses and ample parking. The couple had been hosting two Bible studies per week, one with about a dozen people and the other with approximately 50; that was until a complaint by an unnamed neighbor caused the city to step in.

The Fromms have since paid $100 and $200 in fines to the city for the citations after they had determined that the couple was in violation of a municipal code that prohibited “religious, fraternal, or non-profit” groups to meet in residential neighborhoods without a permit.

They were also told that they would be fined an additional $500 if they continued to hold the gatherings.

But now, after a huge outcry from local Christians and worldwide negative publicity, the city has decided to drop its action against the couple and has refunded the fines they had paid. In response, the Fromms have agreed to drop their lawsuit against the city, which had been in process since August.

However, the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net) has discovered that city has not yet changed its laws that led to the controversy.

In a letter to the couple, Karen P. Brust, San Juan Capistrano City Manager, who had been working with the Fromms, stated, “City staff will commence the discussion with the Planning Commission about the issue of the need to clarify the Land Use Code with respect to places of public assembly and gatherings at single family residences.”

PJI had filed an appeal of the citations in the Orange County Superior Court.
“While that case has now been favorably resolved, PJI will continue to press city officials for a resolution of the underlying problems, which include unfettered discretion on the part of code enforcement officers,” said a spokesperson for PJI.

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, noted that the resolution was a timely reaffirmation of core religious values. “From the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, through the founding of San Juan Capistrano as a mission, the freedom to worship God has been a bedrock American principle. This victory is an important reminder of that principle.”

Michael Peffer, who heads PJI’s Southern California office and handled the case, added, “We will continue fighting to ensure that SJC and other cities put freedom first-especially when it comes to informal gatherings in private homes.”

The irony of this controversial case is that took place in the birthplace of the Mission San Juan Capistrano, which has been called the “Jewel of the Missions” and has been the center of Orange County, California, since its founding by Padre Junipero Serra on November 1, 1776.

The Mission’s namesake was Giovanni de Capestrano, who was born in 1386. He was a respected warrior and missionary, who died October 23, 1456. He was canonized in 1690, and was a favorite of Father Junipero Serra. Serra, in 1776, gained permission to name one of the missions after Capestrano.

Today it is one of California’s most important historical, cultural, and educational centers. The Mission is the seventh of 21 Spanish Missions established in California by Franciscan Padres. Spain controlled California until 1821, when Mexico won its independence. In 1845, the Mission was sold for $710 to Don Juan Forster. His family lived at the Mission for 20 years. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln returned the Mission to the Catholic Church.