ARRISON, N.Y. - Since 1898, the Franciscans of Graymoor have been providing food, shelter, and a spiritual atmosphere to homeless men and recovering alcoholics - and more recently to the hikers who pass through on the Appalachian Trail.
But now the friars are giving holy hell to the National Park Service for trying to take 18 acres of their land.
''The park service thinks they can come in here, take our land, and tell us it will have no effect on our ministry,'' complained the Rev. Arthur Johnson, minister general of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
''I think it's pretty dangerous. I don't think it's the role of government for a civil servant to make a judgment about ministry.''
The park service wants to use the land, most of it forested and abounding in deer, rabbits and wild turkeys, as a buffer to protect the trail against any intrusion.
In all, the friary of 130 priests, brothers, and sisters owns 400 acres in the vicinity of the trail, about 90 minutes north of New York.
The trail runs along the Hudson River for more than a mile over the friars' ''Holy Mountain,'' along a 58-acre easement that the park service purchased in 1984 for $116,500. The easement, a right of way, leaves the land in the order's hands but forbids development.
However, the easement is just 50 feet wide in some spots, and the park service says that's too close to the outside world. Officials also say the friars violated the easement by building a small pump house a few feet over the line and running sewer pipes under the trail in 1985.
''We want to guarantee that this property will be preserved in perpetuity,'' said parks spokeswoman Edie Shean-Hammond. ''Our job is to protect that corridor. The way it is now, town houses could be built within 50 feet of the trail.''
Unable to reach agreement after 15 years of talks with the Franciscans, the park service in May referred the case to the Justice Department, which can exercise eminent domain - the taking of property without a landowner's permission.
The friars appealed to Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Sue Kelly, both of whom wrote to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to demand that eminent domain proceedings be dropped. Last week, the park service agreed to hold off temporarily in hopes of reaching agreement.
Shean-Hammond said the agency hopes to have completed all land acquisitions along the Appalachian Trail, running about 2,500 miles from Georgia to Maine, by the end of the year.
''The friars see this land as sacred and certainly the park service wants to maintain its natural beauty,'' Schumer said. ''We both have concerns, but it seems to me there must be a way around this.''
Johnson, who called the 1985 easement violation a ''miscalculation,'' says the friary might need the land in the future.
''We take care of homeless men, but someday we might want to address the great problem of homeless women and children,'' he said. ''Plus, we have to have access to these lands just to take care of them.''
He said the friars feel a duty toward the Appalachian Trail. ''We find the land can help people in their spirituality. People who are here for retreats like to go out on the trail as part of the experience.''
Johnson says the order has no plans to sell any of its land to developers, but he doesn't want to lose any options - and he worries the government might come back again for more.
''They're like a weekend guest who claims squatter's rights on Monday morning,'' he said, ambling along the trail where maple seedlings compete for the dappled light. ''Who's to say that 10, 20, 30, or 50 years from now, they won't decide, `We need to take more of your land to protect ourselves.'''
For hikers, it's tough to take sides.
''As far as we're concerned, there are no bad guys here,'' said Brian King, spokesman for the Appalachian Mountain Conference in Harpers Ferry, W.Va. ''The friars there have a long tradition of being good to hikers and putting them up, but we support the park service protection program. It's something we've fought for for 30 years.''
The Franciscans have built a shelter, complete with shower, for hikers, and on a trail guestbook, after joining the order for dinner, one visitor wrote, ''I am one stuffed Aussie.''
Dinner is offered every night, and one day last week, big platters of pasta and meat sauce were served to those who came in from a drizzly day.
''It sure seems there's enough land for the trail now,'' said Vincent Ginardi, a hiker from Pittsburgh. ''I don't see what else is needed. How can you argue with the guys who are feeding us, sheltering us?''
ARRISON, N.Y. - Since 1898, the Franciscans of Graymoor have been providing food, shelter, and a spiritual atmosphere to homeless men and recovering alcoholics - and more recently to the hikers who pass through on the Appalachian Trail.
