Establishment Clause Challenge To BLM Mural Dismissed For Lack of Standing

 In Penkoski v. Bowser, (D DC, Aug. 21, 2020), the D.C. federal district court dismissed for lack of standing a suit filed by a pastor and two lobbyists challenging the two-block long painting of "Black Lives Matter" on the pavement of 16th Street near the White House. Identifying themselves as non-Black Christians, plaintiffs claim that the painting violates both the Equal Protection Clause and the Establishment Clause. According to the court:

They claim that the Mural violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Establishment Clause because it labels them—non-black Christians—“second class citizens.” ... The “Black Lives Matter cult,” they allege, “is a denominational sect of the religion of Secular Humanism.” ... This is evidenced both by the BLM protestors’ behavior ... and the “scriptures lifted from the Black Lives Matter’s marxist liturgical creed".... The Mural, Plaintiffs claim, signals the District’s preference both for black citizens and for those that adhere to the BLM denomination.

The court found a lack of standing as to plaintiffs'equal protection claim, saying in part:

The Court does not doubt the sincerity of Plaintiffs’ feelings of ostracization nor quibble with their claims about the divisiveness of the Mayor’s actions.... But these feelings alone cannot justify standing.

It similarly found a lack of standing on plaintiffs' Establishment Clause claim, saying in part:

[A]s with their equal protection claim, Plaintiffs assert a psychological, stigmatic injury for their Establishment Clause claim....

[T]he development of the Establishment Clause and standing doctrines over the past fifty years counsels against adopting offended observer standing here and now, when no contrary precedent binds this Court. The Court, thus, declines to find that Penkoski, Sevier, and Christopher have standing just because they have been “expose[d]” to a display that offends them.

Catholic Group Threatens Litigation Over BLM Attempts To Remove References To Famous California Priest

One of the historical figures now seen as problematic by the Black Lives Matter Movement is the 18th century Catholic priest Father Junipero Serra, who was canonized in 2015 by Pope Francis during his trip to the United States. As explained by an RNS article earlier this year:

While Serra is credited with spreading the Catholic faith across what is now California, critics say Serra was part of an imperial conquest that beat and enslaved Native Americans.

Serra, who was born in Spain, came to the Americas in 1749, and in 1769 he founded the first of what would become 21 missions along the California coast.

Native Americans brought into the mission to be evangelized were not allowed to leave the grounds. Many labored for no pay. There is evidence of beatings, imprisonment and other abuse at the hands of the missionaries.

In light of this, the city of San Buenaventura last month voted to remove a statue of Serra that stands in front of City Hall. Recently efforts have been made to remove Serra from the city's police badges and the Ventura County seal. The Thomas More Society contends that these moves are anti-Catholic, and this week it sent a demand letter (full text) to the city and county, saying in part:

should Ventura remove Fr. Serra from its Seal, its Police Badges, or any other similar prominent municipal location, we will bring a claim seeking to enjoin such conduct under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and seek our attorneys’ fees. Our firm was lead counsel in defending the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego—which proudly still stands today—and we have extensive experience in ensuring that our attorneys’ fees are paid when we prevail. Thank you for considering the below as you take subsequent action during these times of national and local anti-Catholic sentiment....

For California Catholics generally, Fr. Serra is “the Apostle of California,” “the first saint to be canonized on U.S. soil and by the first pope from the Americas.” ... For them, the attacks on Fr. Serra “call[] to mind very similar activities at earlier stages of American history. In the mid to late nineteenth century, anti-Catholicism was rampant in the United States, due in part to prejudices inherited from Protestantism but also due to the arrival of large groups of immigrants from Catholic countries,  who were considered inferior.”... For them, “how can [they] not see the ugly specter of anti-Catholicism raising its head” again?

For all Catholics, the only reasonable way to view the attacks on Fr. Serra are as attacks on a psychological mascot, or a “convenient scapegoat and whipping boy,” for those who hate Catholics and who hate that they evangelized native peoples.

Life Site News reports on these developments.