Los Angeles ? Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony has asked county supervisors to reconsider their decision to remove a tiny cross from the county seal. He said the image reflected the importance of Catholic missions in the county’s early history.

Supervisors decided last week to replace the cross with another image after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue.

The ACLU said a cross on the official government seal was an “impermissible endorsement of Christianity” and violated the First Amendment, which guarantees the separation of church and state.