Catholic organization regrets removal of judge in favor of “10 Commandments

Nov 13, 2003 / 22:00 pm

The Thomas More Law Center called yesterday’s decision that voted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore out of office “outrageous” and “an illustration of how far established authority has come in tearing down the religious foundations of our nation.”

The nine-member Court of the Judiciary voted to remove Moore from office after he refused to obey a federal ruling to remove the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building.

“It is shameful that the panel based its decision on the argument that man ‘is a creature of the law.’ That may very well be why the panel was so upset with Justice Moore’s acknowledgement of God,” said Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the national public-interest law firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“Justice Roy Moore is a profile in courage, and should be commended for his refusal to compromise his conscience,” he said.

The law center had filed briefs on behalf of Moore in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and recently in the U.S. Supreme Court, in support of his public display of the Ten Commandments.