Mahony Asks That Cross Stay in Seal

Two days after Los Angeles County supervisors decided to remove the tiny gold cross on the county seal rather than defend it against a threatened ACLU lawsuit, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony asked that the cross be retained.

In a letter to the supervisors Thursday, the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles reiterated arguments that the cross recalls the importance of Catholic missions in the county’s heritage.

“To remove the cross would be to deny the historical record,” Mahony said. “It would not make any more sense than deleting the Mayflower because of its Puritan passengers, the figure Jedediah Smith because of his Mormon belief or the Star of David because of its relationship to Judaism.”

The cross, a cow, a tuna, a Spanish galleon, the Hollywood Bowl and the goddess Pomona cradling an armful of fruit have adorned the county seal since 1957.

The American Civil Liberties Union argues that the inclusion of a cross on the official government seal reflects “an impermissible endorsement of Christianity.” Because of that, the ACLU says, it violates 1st Amendment guarantees of separation of church and state.