ACLU raises objections over cross-shaped Katrina memorial

August 7, 2006

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Alarmed by newspaper reports that a hurricane memorial will feature a cross bearing a likeness of the face of Jesus, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana is reminding local officials of the Constitution's separation of church and state.

Never one to back down, St. Bernard Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez has a simple reply: "They can kiss my ass."

In a July 28 letter to Rodriguez and other officials, Louisiana ACLU Executive Director Joe Cook said the government promotion of a patently religious symbol on a public waterway is a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment, which prohibits government from advancing a religion.

Rodriguez did not say whether he has responded to Cook's letter, but in an interview, he said he sees nothing improper about the memorial, which will be mounted near the shoreline of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet at Shell Beach, La.

The cross and accompanying monument -- listing the names of the 129 parish residents who died in Hurricane Katrina -- are earmarked for what the parish says is private land and are being financed with donations, Rodriguez said. Nonetheless, Cook asked the parish to erect a religiously neutral symbol and also voiced concern that the Parish Council was sanctioning a religious monument.

Returning Rodriguez's volley, Cook added, "It would be better if he would kiss the Constitution and honor it and honor the First Amendment."

The St. Bernard Parish Council voted several months ago to erect a monument, but at the time did not offer specific plans. The parish recently announced plans to dedicate the memorial on Aug. 29, the one-year anniversary of the devastating hurricane.

The cross is being designed and fabricated by Vincent LaBruzzo, a welder and fabricator. The stainless-steel cross will be 13 feet tall and 7 feet wide and will be lighted, according to a note on the parish's Web site.

While the ACLU thinks a memorial to the storm and its victims is "clearly appropriate," Cook said, St. Bernard's is "still all very questionable. I think there is official government involvement with the endorsement and advancement of this clearly religious symbol."

-- Karen Turni Bazile