Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a Los Angeles resident seeking to remove a historic cross and Nativity display from El Pueblo de Los Angeles. The court said the plaintiff had not shown irreparable harm or that removing the displays would serve the public interest. The appeals court also rejected local merchants’ request to join the case, finding it moot after dismissing the plaintiff’s request. The case returns to a lower court, and the monuments will remain in place while proceedings continue.
2 days ago
A federal appeals court has left a historic cross and Nativity display in place at Los Angeles’ El Pueblo plaza for now, rejecting a resident’s request to have them removed. The case is returning to a lower court, so the dispute has not yet reached a final resolution. 1 2
The cross and Nativity are at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the city’s historic center, which marks Los Angeles’ founding in 1781. Resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city, arguing that the displays violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause and make him feel excluded from the public space. 1 2
After a district court ruled against Gerritsen, he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The appeals court also ruled against his effort to remove the monuments, finding he had not established the requirements for that relief, including irreparable harm or that removal would serve the public interest. 1 2
Nearby Olvera Street merchants had sought to join the case in support of keeping the displays. The appeals court said their participation was moot after dismissing Gerritsen’s request. 1 2
Becket lawyer Andrea Butler called the ruling “common sense” and said Los Angeles’ public square reflects a diversity of faiths and beliefs. The case is being sent back to the district court, and the monuments are to remain while proceedings continue toward a final decision. 1 2
Religious symbols, public space, and pluralism in Catholic social thought
Catholic social thought does not equate pluralism with removing religion from public life. It supports a public square in which people may express religious convictions—including through symbols—while insisting that this freedom be exercised without coercion, manipulation, or disrespect for human dignity. The key question is therefore not simply whether a religious symbol appears in public, but who displays it, in what setting, and with what effect on others’ freedom.
Religious freedom includes the right to manifest belief publicly, not merely to hold it privately. Pope Francis warns that a pluralism which confines religion to private conscience or places of worship risks becoming a form of discrimination and authoritarianism. Respect for non-believers should not be used to silence believers, just as religious expression must not be used to suppress others.
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue applies this principle specifically to religious symbols: believers have a right to public witness, including display of symbols, provided it is not politically manipulated, does not violate human dignity, and does not amount to unjust provocation. It also calls people of different religions to defend that right together.
This gives religious symbols a civic significance as well as a devotional one. A cross, for example, may express the faith of an individual or community and make that identity visible. Its presence is not automatically an attempt to impose Christianity on others.
Catholic social thought rejects two opposite errors. One is coercive religion: using public authority or social power to compel belief or disadvantage people of other convictions. The other is coercive secularism: treating religious expression as inherently improper in public and requiring believers to hide their convictions. Francis’s account of healthy pluralism rejects the latter, while the Dialogue in Truth and Charity places clear limits on public display when it becomes manipulative or disrespectful.
Pluralism also does not mean that every moral claim is merely a private or “confessional” preference. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says Catholics may not invoke pluralism to support policies that undermine fundamental ethical requirements; it identifies these requirements with natural moral law—moral principles grounded in human nature and accessible, in principle, beyond Christian revelation.
Thus, religious symbols can belong in public life, but their presence does not settle every question about public policy or the common good. Public discussion still requires reasons, debate, and attention to the rights and dignity of all.
The supplied sources establish a general right to public religious expression and identify important limits, but they do not prescribe a single rule for every symbol in every government building, school, or civic ceremony. Applying the principles requires attention to context: whether the symbol is displayed voluntarily or imposed; whether it is part of a community’s historical or cultural life; whether people of other beliefs remain free and equally respected; and whether the display serves witness or is being used to assert political dominance. These are practical considerations drawn from the sources’ emphasis on freedom, dignity, non-manipulation, and respect—not a detailed legal test supplied by them.
The Church’s public engagement should likewise respect the legitimate procedures of civic life. A scholarly treatment of Thomistic principles argues that the Church may participate in public debate through reasons accessible to civic deliberation and may advocate policies that reasonably support religious practice, while respecting free legislative processes and avoiding coercion.
Catholic thought sees religious presence not only as a right to be protected but also as a possible contribution to society. The Congregation for Catholic Education describes religions as capable of supporting peace and justice through values such as love and hope, and calls for those values to be professed publicly rather than confined to private life.
That contribution is credible when public witness is joined to respect. In pluralistic settings, Catholics are called to live their faith while carefully respecting the convictions and work of others; mutual respect should lead to constructive dialogue. The presence of religious symbols, then, is most consistent with Catholic social thought when it helps make religious conviction visible without making anyone a second-class citizen—and when believers are willing to defend the same freedom for people of other faiths.