{"id":6831,"date":"2023-06-06T14:37:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T18:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=6831"},"modified":"2023-06-06T14:37:44","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T18:37:44","slug":"texas-va-hospital-removes-cross-after-pressure-from-atheist-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/06\/texas-va-hospital-removes-cross-after-pressure-from-atheist-group.html","title":{"rendered":"Texas VA Hospital Removes Cross After Pressure From Atheist Group"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Military Religious Freedom Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A VA hospital in Austin, Texas, is facing criticism from GOP members after it removed a cross-shaped display honoring veterans from its lobby. Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) removed the cross after receiving a letter from the <\/span>Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0demanding its removal. MRFF founder, Michael Weinstein, shared that he had been contacted by non-Christian and Christian patients at the clinic, asking for his help in getting the cross removed. He shared that according to VA policy, \u201cReligious symbols may be included in a passive display, including a holiday display, in public areas of VA facilities…\u201d \u201cThis cross would not even be allowed as a permanent display in a VA facility chapel, let alone a lobby seating area. VA medical facility chapels are required to be \u2018religiously neutral\u2019 at all times when there is not an actual service taking place for a particular faith group, as is clearly stated in VHA Directive 1111,\u201d wrote Weinstein on his website. In his letter to the hospital, Weinstein called the cross a symbol of \u201cChristian triumphalism.\u201d \u201cThis nonsecular display of Christian triumphalism and supremacy also visits a nontrivial amount of hurtful exclusion, marginalization, prejudice, hatred and bigotry upon our MRFF clients who came to us for help but concomitantly feared reprisal and retribution from you and your senior leadership if they brought the demand to remove the Christian crucifix in their own names to you.\u201d The display was removed less than two hours after receiving the MRFF\u2019s letter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Soon after the cross was removed, 17 House GOP members, including Chip Roy of Texas, sent a <\/span>letter<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis R. McDonough demanding that CTVHCS return the cross. The group wrote that the removal of the cross \u201cexhibits remarkable disregard for the First Amendment and hostility toward basic military history and the traditions of the United States. We call on you to immediately reverse this decision\u201d and that \u201cAttempts to sterilize the public square \u2013 in this case, a clinic that provides medical care to the veterans that sacrificed for our Republic \u2013 of all symbols of Christianity flies in the face of the very founding of our nation.\u201d The letter also cited the display of two crosses at the Arlington National Cemetery. \u201cIf a cross can adorn the uniforms of the most heroic among us and can stand on the hallowed grounds of Arlington, it certainly should be welcomed and honored at the VA clinic in Austin,\u201d they wrote. They concluded their letter by connecting the cross with the country\u2019s traditions. \u201cOut of reverence for our country\u2019s military history and longstanding traditions \u2014 out of respect for the veterans who have borne the battle for this Republic, its principles, and the freedom it guards \u2014 we request that you immediately return the cross to its original display.\u201d As of this writing, there has been no response to the GOP letter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A VA hospital in Austin, Texas, is facing criticism from GOP members after it removed a cross-shaped display honoring veterans from its lobby. Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) removed the cross after receiving a letter from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)\u00a0demanding its removal. MRFF founder, Michael Weinstein, shared that he had been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":6837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTexas VA Hospital Removes Cross After Pressure From Atheist Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Texas VA hospital removed a cross inside their lobby after pressure from atheist groups.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2023\/06\/texas-va-hospital-removes-cross-after-pressure-from-atheist-group.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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