The suit alleges that the display is hostile toward Catholics, mocks Catholic religious beliefs and is in violation of the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. The Law Center is asking the court to order university officials to remove the sculpture.
"For years atheists, with the help of the ACLU, have used the federal courts to remove the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes from the public square, claiming that these passive symbols, which have significant historical and cultural importance for our nation, somehow create an establishment of religion,” said Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney handling the case.
“Here, in contrast, we have government officials prominently displaying an overtly hostile and offensive symbol of anti-Catholicism,” he continued. “How will our federal courts respond to this situation? Does our Constitution protect Catholics as much as it protects atheists? We will soon find out."
Several Catholic leaders have objected to the sculpture, including William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, and Archbishop James Keleher of Kansas City.
The archbishop wrote an open letter to Washburn University president Jerry Farley Oct. 3, expressing his disappointment and concern for the “many Catholic students who see their faith ridiculed and they themselves embarrassed.” He strongly urged the university to remove the sculpture.
The Kansas State Knights of Columbus, the Archdiocesan Conference of Catholic Women, and the university’s Catholic Campus Center joined the archbishop in urging university officials to remove the sculpture but the university voted Oct. 18 to keep the display.
