No. H-1267 (1978).

• Case Date: December 01, 1978
• Court: Texas

Texas Attorney General Opinions 1978. No. H-1267 (1978). December 1, 1978Opinion No. H-1267Hill Opinion No. H-1267 Office of the Attorney General State of TexasHonorable Mike WestergrenCounty AttorneyNueces County CourthouseCorpus Christi, Texas 78401SYLLABUS: 1978-1267 Re: Whether a religious statute can be erected on city property in Corpus Christi. Dear Mr. Westergren: You have asked our opinion on the following question: [Is it] constitutionally permissible for the City of Corpus Christi to allow use of a public area in the bay front for the erection of a stature of Christ at no expense to the city either for installation or maintenance in commemoration of the discovery of Corpus Christi Bay by dePineda in year 1519 without violating either the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or article I, sections 6 and 7 of the Texas Constitution regarding freedom of worship and appropriations for sectarian purposes? You inform us that a group of private citizens approached the city council and tendered the gift of an 18-foot bronze statute of Christ to commemorate the naming of Corpus Christi Bay. The original proposal was to present the sculpture to the city at no cost if the city would provide a site, a twelve- foot base and maintenance. Substantial controversy and public discussion concerning the separation of church and state ensued, and the proposal was amended. The prospective donors indicated that they would form a nonprofit corporation to provide funds for the statute's installation, base and maintenance and would lease or purchase the site from the city for the statue's location. Under this proposal the city would have no connection with the statute other than selling or leasing land which would be used for the statute. Apparently, the only appropriate sites for the statute are now owned by the city. Most questions of this sort require a determination of whether a secular purpose is served by installation and maintenance of the statute. See Allen v. Morton, 495 F.2d 65 (D.C. Cir. 1973) (government participation in Pageant of Peace in a public park in Washington at which a creche was a part is not necessarily unconstitutional); State ex rel. Singelmann v. Morrison, 57 So.2d 238 (La. Ct. App. 1952) (statute of a Roman Catholic saint on public property upheld); Meyer v. Oklahoma City, 496 P.2d 789 (Okla.), cert...