In a 5 to 4 decision yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that a cross erected in the Mojave desert to honor World War I soldiers will stand, proving the Court has neither the will nor the ability to establish precedent on separation of church and state issues.  This is the first of such cases to come up since Roberts was made chief justice.

Wrote Kennedy: “Here, one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten.”

Wrote Stevens: “The cross is not a universal symbol of sacrifice. It is the symbol of one particular sacrifice, and that sacrifice carries deeply significant meaning for those who adhere to the Christian faith.”

For more on the case and the decision, read reports from Associated Baptist Press, Catholic Online, and David Savage.  More here and here.