SAN DIEGO, California. — The Mount Soledad cross—as it currently sits atop the La Jolla, California war memorial—is unconstitutional, a three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 4.“After examining the entirety of the Mount Soledad Memorial in context—having considered its history, its religious and non-religious uses, its sectarian and secular features, the history of war memorials and the dominance of the cross—we conclude that the memorial, presently configured and as a whole, primarily conveys a message of government endorsement of religion that violates the Establishment Clause,” Justice Margaret McKeown wrote in the 50-page decision, which was also signed by justices Harry Pregerson and Richard A. Paez.
Christian Examiner.
