Professor Dwight Duncan was interviewed by the National Catholic Register on the constitutionality of religious art in public spaces.
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In Massachusetts, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is asking a judge to stop Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch from erecting statues of two Catholic saints on the city’s new public safety building, citing a violation of First Amendment rights. The complaint was issued by 17 neighborhood residents of Quincy who had concerns over religious icons being used to adorn a government building. The residents claim that the statues would indicate the city’s preferred religious beliefs, making residents who practice other religions feel unwelcomed and disrespected. The statues, which allegedly will cost an estimated $850,000 to make, are of St. Michael the Archangel (the patron saint of police officers) and St. Florian (the patron saint of firefighters).
UMass Law Professor Dwight Duncan spoke to the National Catholic Register on the constitutionality of erecting religious statues on public buildings. Duncan explained that in the complaint, the lawyers representing the case omitted the U.S. Constitution, opting to only cite the Massachusetts Constitution, which Duncan says is the direction the plaintiffs are betting on to prevail. “By focusing solely on the state Constitution, I think they’re avoiding the fact that the current U.S. Supreme Court has a religious-freedom majority, and they don’t want to deal with the uncertainty of that,” Duncan told the Register. “They think they have an open-and-shut case under the Massachusetts Constitution.”
While the City Council remains deadlocked on whether the statues are appropriate, Mayor Koch shrugged off the allegations and described his pride in the diversity of his city. There are supporters of the statues who see them as more cultural than religious and a showcase of support for police officers and firefighters. The court hearing for the case will be heard later this week.