European Court: Crucifixes Acceptable in Classrooms

[JohnSmith2007 353]

European Court: Crucifixes Acceptable in Classrooms

Published March 18, 2011

| Associated Press

PARIS -- The European Court of Human Rights ruled Friday that crucifixes are acceptable in public school classrooms, and its decision will be binding in 47 countries.

The ruling overturned a decision the court had reached in November 2009 in which it said the crucifix could be disturbing to non-Christian or atheist pupils. Led by Italy, several European countries appealed that ruling.

The case originated in Italy, and Friday's final verdict was immediately welcomed in Rome. "The popular sentiment in Europe has won today," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

All 47 countries that are members of the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights watchdog, will be required to obey the ruling.

The European Court of Human Rights, which is based in Strasbourg, France, said Italian public schools did nothing wrong by hanging crucifixes in their classrooms, in a case that divided Europe's traditional Catholic countries and their more secular neighbors.

Friday's final decision by the court's Grand Chamber said it found no evidence "that the display of such a symbol on classroom walls might have an influence on pupils."

The case was brought by Soile Lautsi, a Finnish-born mother who said public schools in her Italian town refused to remove the Roman Catholic symbols from classrooms. She said the crucifix violates the secular principles the public schools are supposed to uphold.

The original case was heard by a seven-judge panel. The appeal hearing was heard by a "grand chamber" of 19 judges.

The case set up a confrontation between traditional Catholic and Orthodox countries and nations in the north that observe a strict separation between church and state.

Italy and more than a dozen other countries fought the original ruling, contending the crucifix is a symbol of the continent's historic and cultural roots.

The ruling came as Vatican officials announced the Holy See is reaching out to atheists with a series of encounters and debates aimed at fostering intellectual dialogue and introducing nonbelievers to God.

Ahead of the court decision, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, a top Vatican official, said the crucifix was "one of the greatest symbols in the West," like the crescent moon is in the Muslim world, and that denying it or canceling it out risked canceling out Western identity.

The crucifix, he said "is a sign of civilization, even if you don't recognize it theologically," said Ravasi, who heads the Vatican's culture office.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/18/european-court-crucifixes-acceptable-classrooms/#ixzz1GyHoqBet

[Ban Hammer 13,344]

i misread the title at first, i thought it said crucifixion acceptable in classrooms.

[Danno 1,228]

Thats a stunning report, who among us would have bet money on the outcome of that one?

[Zero Sum 305]

Not that big of a deal. What Cardinal Ravasi says can make some sense. It is a symbol of European history just as much as Evangelization is also a symbol for the mass slaughter of untold numbers in the Americas.

Maybe public schools in Europe can hold public community votes to gauge the popular sentiment before potentially 'imposing' their views.

Edited March 18, 2011 by Zero Sum

[Danno 1,228]

Not that big of a deal. What Cardinal Ravasi says can make some sense. It is a symbol of European history just as much as Evangelization is also a symbol for the mass slaughter of untold numbers in the Americas.

Maybe public schools in Europe can hold public community votes to gauge the popular sentiment before potentially 'imposing' their views.

[Zero Sum 305]

?