Is it appropriate to display the American flag in church?

The question arises after I posted the image below on Facebook. It comes from my own parish: a display that was set up for Memorial Day, next to the ambo. Normally, the flag sits in a back corner of the sanctuary, with the papal (Vatican) flag in the other back corner.

A couple of readers expressed surprise and suggested it was inappropriate.

In fact, there are not official norms guiding the use of a national flag in a Catholic church. But the USCCB notes: 

Neither the Code of Canon law, nor the liturgical books of the Roman rite comment on this practice. As a result, the question of whether and how to display the American flag in a Catholic Church is left up to the judgment of the diocesan bishop, who in turn often delegates this to the discretion of the pastor.

The origin of the display of the American flag in many parishes in the United States appears have its origins in the offering of prayers for those who served during the Second World War (1941-1945). At that time, many bishops and pastors provided a book of remembrance near the American flag, requesting prayers for loved ones – especially those serving their country in the armed forces – as a way of keeping before the attention of the faithful the needs of military families. This practice has since been confirmed in many places during the Korean, Viet Nam and Iraqi conflicts.

The Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy has in the past encouraged pastors not to place the flag within the sanctuary itself, in order to reserve that space for the altar, the ambo, the presidential chair and the tabernacle. Instead, the suggestion has been made that the American flag be placed outside the sanctuary, or in the vestibule of the Church together with a book of prayer requests. It remains, however, for the diocesan bishop to determine regulations in this matter.

I’m not aware of any specific regulations for my diocese.

But I can only imagine what would happen if the flag was removed. A couple years ago on Memorial Day weekend, we invited the congregation to sing “America the Beautiful” after communion. Several people afterward voiced their objections.  “Why did you only sing one verse?,” one woman snapped. “Are you making some sort of statement, minimizing the importance of this country?”