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A crucifix is seen on a wall as a student writes on a blackboard in a school classroom in Rome - Source: Reuters
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italian schools
should remove crucifixes from classrooms, sparking uproar in Italy,
where such icons are embedded in the national psyche.
"This is an abhorrent ruling," said Rocco Buttiglione, a former
culture minister who helped write papal encyclicals.
"It must be rejected with firmness. Italy has its culture, its
traditions and its history. Those who come among us must understand
and accept this culture and this history," he said.
The court ruling, which Italy said it would appeal, said crucifixes
on school walls, a common sight that is part of every Italian's
life, could disturb children who were not Christians.
Italy has been in the throes of national debate on how to deal with
a growing population of immigrants, mostly Muslims, and the court
sentence is likely to become another battle cry for the
centre-right government's policy to restrict newcomers.
The Vatican spokesman said he would not comment until he knew more
about the ruling but Italy's powerful bishops' conference said the
ruling "evokes sadness and bewilderment".
Members of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government bristled,
weighing in with words such as "shameful", "offensive", "absurd,"
"unacceptable," and "pagan".
Mortal blow
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the court has dealt a "mortal
blow to a Europe of values and rights," adding that it was a bad
precedent for other countries.
Condemnation crossed party lines. Paola Binetti, a Catholic in the
opposition Democratic Party, the successor of what was once the
West's largest communist party, said: "In Italy, the crucifix is a
specific sign of our tradition."
The case was brought by an Italian national, Soile Lautsi, who
complained that her children had to attend a public school in
northern Italy which had crucifixes in every room.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini said crucifixes on the walls
of tens of thousands of classrooms "does not mean adherence to
Catholicism" but are a symbol of Italy's heritage.
"The history of Italy is marked by symbols and if we erase symbols
we erase part of ourselves," Gelmini said.
Lautsi, the woman who filed the suit, said crucifixes on walls ran
counter to her right to give her children a secular education and
the Strasbourg-based court ruled in her favour.
"The presence of the crucifix ... could be encouraging for
religious pupils, but also disturbing for pupils who practised
other religions or were atheists, particularly if they belonged to
religious minorities," the court said in a written ruling.
"The State (must) refrain from imposing beliefs in premises where
individuals were dependent on it," it added, saying the aim of
public education was "to foster critical thinking".
"Jesus doesn't bother me"
At least one Muslim girl disagreed with the court.
"If the crucifix is there and I am a Muslim I will continue to
respect my religion. Jesus in the classroom doesn't bother me,"
Zenat, a 14-year-old girl of Egyptian origin, told said.
Mario Baccini, a senator in Berlusconi's People of Freedom party,
said the court had "gone adrift in paganism".
Two Italian laws dating from the 1920s, when the Fascists were in
power, state that schools must display crucifixes.
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Fascist dictator Benito
Mussolini, said such rulings were leading to "a Europe without an
identity".
Only a handful of politicians defended the court, including some
members of the Democratic Party, as well as members of the
communist party and atheist groups.
