- Feb 5, 2002
- 184,414
- 67,402
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
State trial court judge says St. Michael and St. Florian statues ‘patently endorse Catholic beliefs.’ The mayor says the city will appeal.
A Massachusetts trial-court judge has issued an order blocking the installation of statues of two Catholic saints on a new public-safety building in the city of Quincy, setting up a likely appeal that may determine how the state treats separation-of-church-and-state disputes going forward.
The 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian, which were scheduled to be installed on the building’s façade this month, will instead await a higher court’s decision.
The statues cost an estimated $850,000, part of the new, $175-million public-safety building that will serve as police headquarters and administration offices for the Boston suburb’s fire department.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, a practicing Catholic, has said he chose St. Michael the Archangel because he is the patron of police officers and St. Florian because he is the patron of firefighters, not to send a message about religion.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
A Massachusetts trial-court judge has issued an order blocking the installation of statues of two Catholic saints on a new public-safety building in the city of Quincy, setting up a likely appeal that may determine how the state treats separation-of-church-and-state disputes going forward.
The 10-foot-high bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian, which were scheduled to be installed on the building’s façade this month, will instead await a higher court’s decision.
The statues cost an estimated $850,000, part of the new, $175-million public-safety building that will serve as police headquarters and administration offices for the Boston suburb’s fire department.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, a practicing Catholic, has said he chose St. Michael the Archangel because he is the patron of police officers and St. Florian because he is the patron of firefighters, not to send a message about religion.
Continued below.
Judge Bars Saints’ Statues From Massachusetts Public Safety Building — for Now
State trial court judge says St. Michael and St. Florian statues ‘patently endorse Catholic beliefs.’ The mayor says the city will appeal.
