The Massachusetts top court has ruled that a steeple may be built atop the Boston LDS Temple, overturning an earlier court ruling in a five-year legal battle between the church and local residents.
The Supreme Judicial Court's 17-page opinion issued Wednesday said it "is not for judges to determine whether the inclusion of a particular architectural feature is 'necessary' for a particular religion."
A state appeals court had earlier agreed with the plaintiffs that the steeple is not a "necessary element of the Mormon religion," but Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, who wrote the opinion, disagreed.
"A rose window at Notre Dame Cathedral, a balcony at St. Peter's Basilica, are judges to decide whether these architectural elements are 'necessary' to the faith served by those buildings?" Marshall wrote.
As is typical of LDS temples worldwide, plans call for a golden statue of the angel Moroni to be placed atop the temple spire. The justices found there is "uncontested evidence that Moroni is an important symbol for the church equivalent to the cross in other Christian faiths. Members believe the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, founder of the church."
Zoning restrictions regulating height and parking can be applied to religious buildings if those features are not deemed "necessary" to the building's religious nature.
Located in the tony Boston suburb of Belmont, the temple has been the source of controversy from its outset as opponents contended it would be too large and too high and didn't fit with the residential nature of the area. After modifying plans to try to resolve concerns, construction commenced and the 70,000-square-foot temple was dedicated last October, sans steeple.
In a prepared statement, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints applauded the court's decision. Spokesman Dale Bills said the ruling "has ratified and affirmed the earlier judgments of those who are best able to make such decisions on behalf of the community.
"We gratefully acknowledge and thank the Belmont building inspector, the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals, the Board of Selectmen, and many residents of the city of Belmont, including many, many friends not of our faith, who have supported us."
Attorney Arthur Kreiger, the plaintiffs' attorney, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Bill Monahan, chairman of Belmont's three-man governing Board of Selectmen, said Wednesday he "felt strongly all along that the church had the right to build the steeple. They went about it in a proper way, and I'm happy they finally prevailed. I believe most people in town are, too.
He called it a "small, vocal minority" who opposed the construction The church voluntarily reduced the size of the steeple, but that didn't assuage opponents, and they filed suit.
Grant Bennett, a former LDS bishop in Belmont who became the church's point man on the issue, said clergy from other faiths have written letters to the editor expressing their support for the church. Bennett was invited to a meeting Sunday where "a local Unitarian Universalist minister preached a sermon urging his congregation to become outspoken advocates of the church's right to build the steeple."
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