Suit was filed this week in a California state trial court challenging on Establishment Clause, as well as other, grounds the change of name of San Diego's Junipero Serra High School to Canyon Hills High School. The complaint (full text) in Cox v.Renfree, (CA Super. Ct., filed 7/14/2021) alleges in part:
the entire effort to rebrand Junipero Serra High School has demonstrated systemic, deep-seated, anti-Catholic motivations....
The Franciscan priest, Junipero Serra, has been regarded as California's founding father. He established a Mission on the shores of San Diego Bay in 1769. The complaint in the lawsuit contends:
In the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter protests and other demonstrations swept across the county, sparking an acute interest in Critical Race Theory and public erasure of symbols of colonialism—including Serra himself. Statues of Serra were defaced and attacked, and one of his churches was burned in an attack that represented animosity toward the Catholic faith and its role in California history.
The complaint goes on to argue:
By selecting the rattlesnake as the school’s new mascot, which tribal members have stated is a sacred creature to their people, and removing the name of a Catholic saint from the school, Defendants are clearly endorsing and celebrating the religion of one group at the expense of another.
Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
