An attempt to install two large statues of Catholic saints outside the entrance of the new public safety headquarters in Quincy, Mass., has been temporarily blocked by Norfolk Superior Court.
That means the statues of St. Michael and St. Florian will not be installed while the case proceeds. The court also denied the City of Quincy’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought in May by a multifaith group of Quincy residents, who argue the plan violates the separation of church and state, as codified in the Massachusetts Constitution. The plaintiffs are represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the ACLU, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and Cloherty and Steinberg LLP.
“My Christian faith is at the core of my life — and the city’s plan to install religious statues at the entrance to a government building goes against that faith,” said Conevery Bolton Valencius, one of the plaintiffs in this case. “As residents of Quincy, we should not have to walk under such looming religious imagery to seek help from public safety officers or city services. I go to church because it is my choice to freely practice my religion, but having to walk beneath these statues to enter a government building removes that choice. The city should not be seen to favor religious believers — much less adherents to a particular faith — above others.”
Rachel Laser
Rachel Laser, president of Americans United, also praised the injunction
“This is a win for religious freedom and church-state separation,” she said. “Police and fire services are for all Quincy residents, regardless of their religious beliefs. By trying to install large religious statues in front of the government building dedicated to public safety, Mayor Koch and the city are violating the constitutional promise of church-state separation and sending a message to all who rely on city services that one faith is favored over all others.”
In its ruling, the court emphasized that a “core function of the new public safety building is to facilitate and promote public access to law enforcement,” and that “victims and witnesses entering such a building often must overcome emotional and psychological hurdles, and intimidation to report crimes and seek police assistance.” Therefore, “the complaint raises colorable concerns that members of the community not adherent to Catholicism or Christian teaching who pass beneath the two statues to report a crime may reasonably question whether they will be treated equally.”
The lawsuit argues that placement on government property of the proposed religious statues violates Article 3 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights by imposing religious imagery and symbols upon all who work in, visit or pass by the public safety building; by conveying the message that Quincy is a Catholic community and that non-Catholics do not belong and are less valued; and by excessively entangling the city with matters of religion.
St. Michael is an archangel in Abrahamic religions, revered as a spiritual warrior who leads the battle against evil and is known as the protector of the church and God’s people. He is also called the angel of healing, the guardian of the sick and the patron of soldiers, police and doctors.
St. Florian was a Christian holy man and is the patron saint of chimney sweeps, soapmakers and firefighters.