Monday, July 03, 2006

San Diego's Mt. Soledad cross safe for now

Our man in California, Third Wave Dave, informs me that Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has issued a stay in the case involving the cross on top of City of San Diego owned land on top of Mt. Soledad.

A cross of some sort has been on top of that mountain for almost one-hundred years.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's order freezes a court ruling in which the city of San Diego had to remove the controversial cross by Aug. 1 or be fined $5,000 a day. Kennedy granted a stay in the case without comment.

Attorneys involved in the case differed over what Kennedy's action means.

James McElroy, the lawyer for an atheist who has been trying to get the cross removed since 1989, said Monday's action is a procedural step by Kennedy and is primarily a "hold-in-place" order.

Kennedy did not rule on the merits of the request by cross supporters seeking a delay in enforcing the order to remove the cross or pay a daily fine, McElroy said. A ruling on that could come within a week or 10 days, he said.

Like it or not, the Christian heritage in San Diego is deep. As with many California coastal communities, it was founded by Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish priest.

When I was in San Diego last year, I saw the cross from my rental car, and mistakenly thought it was a monument to Father Serra.

In short, I didn't view the cross as a call for conversion to Christianity.

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