A legal battle over proposed statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian outside a public safety building in Quincy is drawing national attention as the city pushes back against an effort by the American Civil Liberties Union to block the display.
According to LifeSiteNews, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments this week over whether Quincy can install the two statues outside its public safety headquarters. The statues, which honor patron saints traditionally associated with police officers and firefighters, have become the center of a broader debate over religion in public life.
Representing the city, attorney Joseph Davis argued that the statues are meant to symbolize “courage” and service rather than establish a religion. According to LifeSiteNews, Davis pointed to religious imagery already present at public institutions, including statues of Moses displayed at court buildings.
“A number of fire departments” use the “Florian cross,” Davis reportedly told the court after judges questioned whether similar displays existed elsewhere. He also noted that police and fire departments in cities such as Los Angeles and New York have comparable statues or symbols connected to the saints.
During the hearing, several justices questioned whether the statues could be viewed as government endorsement of Catholicism. According to LifeSiteNews, Associate Justice Gabrielle Wolohojian repeatedly raised concerns that citizens might view the display as “government speech” favoring religion.
Davis responded that the statues have “mixed significance” and argued that religious imagery can also hold historical and cultural meaning beyond faith alone.
“Just because a statue has a ‘religious significance’ does not mean it cannot have ‘broader significance,’” Davis argued, according to the report.
The case stems from a lower court ruling in October that temporarily blocked the city from placing the statues outside the building. The ACLU is now seeking a permanent ban.
ACLU attorney Jessie Rossman argued before the court that the statues could create “divisiveness” and send a message that one religion is being elevated above others. According to LifeSiteNews, Rossman claimed that religious beliefs should remain in private spaces rather than on “government buildings.”
However, some justices questioned Rossman’s position, especially given the existence of longstanding religious imagery at public sites throughout the country. Rossman reportedly acknowledged that older religious monuments, particularly those standing for decades or even centuries, may be treated differently under the law.
The debate also touched on the legacy of the controversial 1971 Supreme Court decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman, which established the so-called “Lemon test” for evaluating church-state disputes. According to LifeSiteNews, some justices referenced the case during questioning, even though more recent Supreme Court rulings have moved away from relying heavily on that framework.
Supporters of the statues include religious liberty advocates, free speech scholars, and first responder unions, all of whom have filed briefs supporting Quincy’s right to honor the saints.
For many Catholics, St. Michael the Archangel has long been regarded as a protector against evil and a patron of police officers and soldiers, while St. Florian is venerated as the patron saint of firefighters because of his historic association with rescuing people from fires.
The court has not yet issued a decision in the case.
