It is truly amazing to me, as a Catholic, that we are turning to the Supreme Court to determine if the cross is a religious symbol (“Supreme Court to decide if cross can be a secular symbol,” Feb. 27). For Christians, how can it be anything else then a firm reminder that Jesus Christ died for our sins? It is a very powerful symbol in our lives. On the other hand, can it also be viewed as a memorial to other things of importance like the dead of a war? Just something to write names on? Why not another form?
To the Romans, the cross was a method of execution and a terrible way to die. It had no other meaning, but 2,000 years later it does have more of a religious symbolism due to the execution of Christ on a cross. Technically, there is a difference between a cross and a crucifix. The crucifix shows the body of Christ nailed to a cross where the bare cross is just a symbol of Christ’s death. But in my opinion, I don’t believe they can be mentally separated.
I am a big supporter of the Peace Cross in Bladensburg and understand why it was erected to memorialize those who died in the war. But I do see it as a Christian memorial of the dead and I find it heartbreaking that we are demeaning the Christian symbol of the cross by asking a court to rule on it. It belongs in our hearts and minds as Christians and not in the courts as just a symbol of basically nothing more than something to write on.
Stas. Chrzanowski, Baltimore