A Norfolk Superior Court judge has temporarily blocked the planned installation of two large Catholic saint statues outside the new public safety headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. 

The city says that the 10-foot-tall statues of St. Michael and St. Florian, the patron saints of police and fire departments, are important symbols to first responders. 

In May, a group of Quincy residents of different religious faiths filed a lawsuit saying the plan violates the separation of church and state as codified in the Massachusetts Constitution. The group is represented by several organizations including the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. 

City's motion to dismiss denied

The injunction will block the installation of the statues while the case proceeds. The court also denied the city of Quincy's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. 

In the ruling, Justice William F. Sullivan said, "the Complaint raises colorable concerns that members of the community not adherent to Catholic or Christian teaching who pass beneath the two statues to report a crime may reasonably question whether they will be treated equally." 

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch has defended the statues as public art that honors police and firefighters. The statues cost more than $800,000, a price tag some in the city were concerned about. 

Sullivan said, "Although Defendants argue that the public has an interest in inspiring the City's first responders in carrying out their work to maximum effectiveness, the Court does not conceive the ability, commitment, and enthusiasm of members of the Quincy Police and Fire Departments to serve the communities will be appreciably undermined if the two statues are absent for the duration of this litigation." 

Rachel Davidson, staff attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said the ruling "affirms the bedrock principle that our government cannot favor one religion above others."