Marriage -- not separation -- of Church and State in Puerto Rico
Every year, as December approaches, Puerto Rico's politicians try to outdo each other in trying to show the public how enthusiastic they are about everything having to with Christmas. Back in 1999, for example, former Senate President Charlie Rodríguez (NPP) proudly announced to the local press that he had personally ordered a ceramic nativity scene from an Italian manufacturer for installation and display inside the Capitol rotunda. Last month, I had the dubious pleasure of reading about how the current President of the Senate, Antonio Fas Alzamora (PDP) arranged for the purchase and installation of an angel (yes, an angel) to hang in mid-air in the Capitol's rotunda.
I think it may be the symbolism that offends me the most. Those of you who are not from Puerto Rico probably do not know this, but lying at the very center of our Capitol's rotunda is a copy of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Both of these legislators had the gall to introduce blatantly religious installations in our Constitution's sanctuary, even though Section 2 of Article II of that document provides, among other things, that "[t]here shall be complete separation of church and state." (See here for the full text of the Puerto Rico Constitution, in Spanish).
[Aside: The local political angle is curious, too. Given that the founder of the NPP, Luis Ferré, was a conservative Catholic, perhaps one should not be entirely surprised by Charlie Rodríguez's actions. But Tony Fas does surprise me. He cannot possibly have forgotten the 1960 election, during which the founder of his party, the late great Luis Muñoz Marín, had to defend himself against a concerted attack by the local Catholic hierarchy, which threatened to excommunicate any Catholic who voted for Muñoz. And yes, you read correctly - this happened in 1960, not 1860. For additional details, see Finkelman, Paul (ed.), Religion and American Law: An Encyclopedia, at 400-402 (Garland Publishing 1999); Alonso, María M., Muñoz Marín vs. the bishops: An approach to church and state (Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas Ed., 1998)].
To belabor the obvious, we now have an angel floating over the text of the document that makes it unconstitutional for that angel to be there in the first place. But that is not all. The Capitol's grounds are teeming with tacky lawn ornaments of saints, angels, and nativity scenes. Across the street, families stand in line for hours to climb the "Loma de los Vientos" to visit the Three Kings. And all of this paid with taxpayers' money (more than $500,000 this year, according to one newspaper article).
Everyone knows that these installations are unconstitutional, but no one says anything, not even the ACLU (whose silence is deafening). It's embarrassing that Alabama, of all places, is more progressive on this matter (my apologies to Southerners, but, let's face it, the South is not known for being a hotbed of liberalism). So, what is wrong with our legislators? Since most of them are lawyers admitted to practice, one must assume that they passed their constitutional law courses. But if they cannot claim ignorance, then what we are faced with can only be blatant pandering and scrounging for votes. They are afraid of being labeled Scrooges, of being targeted as anti-religious by Catholic and Protestant leaders alike, ... of standing up for what is right.
The sad thing is that everyone is missing the point. There is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas. But it should not be the government that celebrates it. Ironically, the separation of Church and State was intended to protect religion, for the framers of both the United States and Puerto Rico constitutions were keenly aware that the greatest threat to religious freedom was posed by the government. This is most obvious when the government espouses one particular religion. But it is equally true when government tries to support religion, in general.
Government, by its very nature, is political, worldly, messy, and very often dirty. No matter how pure the intentions, any involvement in religion by government necessarily contaminates religion. Catholics who favor statehood should remember how betrayed they must have felt when the Archbishop recently issued a letter on the subject of Puerto Rico's nationhood. And evangelicals who favor independence or commonwealth should remember how embarrassing it was to see former Governor Rosselló being anointed by an evangelical minister.
These views are not new: Locke, Madison, and Jefferson, among others, wrote extensively on this subject. But, to judge from the annual orgy of constitutional violations that our Legislature engages in, it appears that they must be repeated, in the hope that some might realize the harm that is being done to our republic.
Every year, as December approaches, Puerto Rico's politicians try to outdo each other in trying to show the public how enthusiastic they are about everything having to with Christmas. Back in 1999, for example, former Senate President Charlie Rodríguez (NPP) proudly announced to the local press that he had personally ordered a ceramic nativity scene from an Italian manufacturer for installation and display inside the Capitol rotunda. Last month, I had the dubious pleasure of reading about how the current President of the Senate, Antonio Fas Alzamora (PDP) arranged for the purchase and installation of an angel (yes, an angel) to hang in mid-air in the Capitol's rotunda.
I think it may be the symbolism that offends me the most. Those of you who are not from Puerto Rico probably do not know this, but lying at the very center of our Capitol's rotunda is a copy of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Both of these legislators had the gall to introduce blatantly religious installations in our Constitution's sanctuary, even though Section 2 of Article II of that document provides, among other things, that "[t]here shall be complete separation of church and state." (See here for the full text of the Puerto Rico Constitution, in Spanish).
[Aside: The local political angle is curious, too. Given that the founder of the NPP, Luis Ferré, was a conservative Catholic, perhaps one should not be entirely surprised by Charlie Rodríguez's actions. But Tony Fas does surprise me. He cannot possibly have forgotten the 1960 election, during which the founder of his party, the late great Luis Muñoz Marín, had to defend himself against a concerted attack by the local Catholic hierarchy, which threatened to excommunicate any Catholic who voted for Muñoz. And yes, you read correctly - this happened in 1960, not 1860. For additional details, see Finkelman, Paul (ed.), Religion and American Law: An Encyclopedia, at 400-402 (Garland Publishing 1999); Alonso, María M., Muñoz Marín vs. the bishops: An approach to church and state (Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas Ed., 1998)].
To belabor the obvious, we now have an angel floating over the text of the document that makes it unconstitutional for that angel to be there in the first place. But that is not all. The Capitol's grounds are teeming with tacky lawn ornaments of saints, angels, and nativity scenes. Across the street, families stand in line for hours to climb the "Loma de los Vientos" to visit the Three Kings. And all of this paid with taxpayers' money (more than $500,000 this year, according to one newspaper article).
Everyone knows that these installations are unconstitutional, but no one says anything, not even the ACLU (whose silence is deafening). It's embarrassing that Alabama, of all places, is more progressive on this matter (my apologies to Southerners, but, let's face it, the South is not known for being a hotbed of liberalism). So, what is wrong with our legislators? Since most of them are lawyers admitted to practice, one must assume that they passed their constitutional law courses. But if they cannot claim ignorance, then what we are faced with can only be blatant pandering and scrounging for votes. They are afraid of being labeled Scrooges, of being targeted as anti-religious by Catholic and Protestant leaders alike, ... of standing up for what is right.
The sad thing is that everyone is missing the point. There is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas. But it should not be the government that celebrates it. Ironically, the separation of Church and State was intended to protect religion, for the framers of both the United States and Puerto Rico constitutions were keenly aware that the greatest threat to religious freedom was posed by the government. This is most obvious when the government espouses one particular religion. But it is equally true when government tries to support religion, in general.
Government, by its very nature, is political, worldly, messy, and very often dirty. No matter how pure the intentions, any involvement in religion by government necessarily contaminates religion. Catholics who favor statehood should remember how betrayed they must have felt when the Archbishop recently issued a letter on the subject of Puerto Rico's nationhood. And evangelicals who favor independence or commonwealth should remember how embarrassing it was to see former Governor Rosselló being anointed by an evangelical minister.
These views are not new: Locke, Madison, and Jefferson, among others, wrote extensively on this subject. But, to judge from the annual orgy of constitutional violations that our Legislature engages in, it appears that they must be repeated, in the hope that some might realize the harm that is being done to our republic.
posted by Tulio | 3:33 PM
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