National Cathedral removing Confederate general windows

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Washington National Cathedral is removing two stained glass windows that depict two famous Confederate generals.

Cathedral authorities announced Wednesday that windows depicting generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson will removed and stored pending a decision about their future.

A cathedral statement says the images are "inconsistent" with its mission and "a barrier to our important work on racial justice and racial reconciliation."

The windows have been a topic of debate for two years. Removing them was first proposed after the June 2015 racially motivated shootings in Charleston, South Carolina. Cathedral officials say they have been debating ways to potentially keep the windows but "contextualize" their historical meaning. But the statement says the issue gained new "urgency" after the recent, violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.