Ten Commandments Monument Removed in Church-State Debate

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 28, 2003

Ten Commandments Monument Removed in Church-State Debate

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Workers relocated a 2-ton granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of Alabama's state judicial building Wednesday in a widely-watched battle in the United States over the church and state.

Suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore, who installed the monument two years ago, vowed to continue fighting against its removal. "Itis a sad day in our country when the moral foundation of our laws and the acknowledgment of God has to be hidden from public view toappease a federal judge," he said in a statement.

While workers rolled the monument, on a wooden frame, out of the rotunda and into the back part of the building, more than 100 supporters of Moore sang hymns, prayed and lay face-down in what they called a show of repentance.

US District Judge Myron Thompson ruled last year that the monument was a violation of the Constitution's prohibition of government establishment of religion and ordered it removed by midnight Aug. 20.

Faced with a 5,000-dollar daily fine on the state, Moore's colleagues on the state Supreme Court unanimously countermanded the chief justice and ordered the monument removed.

The state Judicial Inquiry Commission suspended Moore last weekafter he refused to obey that order and charged him with six ethics violations for disobeying Thompson's order. He has 30 days to respond to that complaint.

Moore argues that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of the US legal system and the federal judge's ruling violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free exercise of religion.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Fire Damages USA's Largest Cathedral

Priest, Woman Killed at NY Church

Martin Luther King's Dream Hard to Be Fulfilled ( 23 Messages)

China's Economy Faces Stiff Challenges: Minister ( 3 Messages)

China's 150 million mu Forests Plagued by Exotic Pests ( 3 Messages)

Is a Good Husband Worth More Than a Good Job? ( 2 Messages)

Poll Shows More Americans Wouldn't Vote for Bush ( 15 Messages)