Massachusetts city can't display Catholic statues, high court rules

In the legal case Fitzmaurice v. City of Quincy, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a preliminary injunction to prevent the installation of two ten-foot-tall bronze statues on a new public safety building. The statues depict Saint Michael and Saint Florian, figures who hold deep religious significance in Catholicism but are also honored by first responders as symbols of bravery and valor.

Applying the Colo framework, the court determined that using taxpayer funds for these sectarian monuments likely violates Article 3 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, which prohibits the government from subordinating one religious denomination to another. The court emphasized that because these statues are newly commissioned and stand alone rather than as part of a diverse secular display, they convey an unconstitutional message of government endorsement of a specific faith.

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