The U.S. Supreme Court issued yet another (potential) victory this month for a cross memorial—this time in Pensacola, Florida. In a decision Friday, the high court vacated previous lower court rulings arguing the historic World War II-era cross in Bayview Park violates the separation of church and state, according to the Pensacola News Journal . FAITHWIRE Veterans Speak Out Against Atheist Group’s Attempt to Remove Cross Memorial Ahead of SCOTUS Ruling The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals now has to rehear arguments on the case as a result of the Supreme Court’s 7-2 ruling last week on the Bladensburg Cross in Maryland. In that case, the majority ruled the 40-foot-tall cross erected in 1919 as a World War I memorial — even though it’s situated on public land — does not violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority opinion in the Bladensburg case, argued, “A government that roams the land, tearing down monuments with religious symbolism and scrubbing away any reference to the divine will strike many as aggressively hostile to religion.” The court argued that, although the cross is an inherently Christian symbol, monuments like the Bladensburg Cross and […]
