The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that crucifixes should not be displayed in Italian public schools, a decision that has incurred the wrath of the Vatican and politicians alike.
Following a complaint by Soile Lautsi, a mother of two from Northern Italy, that the crucifixes displayed in the classrooms of public schools violated her right to educate her children in accordance with secular principles the European court ruled that crucifixes were indeed "a violation of liberty of religion of pupils".
However, according to the
Otago Daily Times, the ruling, which also saw €5000 ($7350) in damages awarded to Ms Lautsi, a Finnish national, and has caused such consternation amongst many of Italy's politicians and in the Vatican, did not order the Italian authorities to remove the crucifixes from the country's classrooms.
Furthermore the ruling may be appealed to the 17 judges who sit on the European Court of Human Rights' Grand Chamber.
Meanwhile the
Daily Mail states that Italy has three months to appeal a ruling it says brings in to focus a debate in the Southern European country regarding an increase in its immigrant population, many of those immigrants being Muslims.
Disagreeing with the argument put forward by the Italian government that the crucifix is about more than just religion but is a national symbol of culture, history and identity, tolerance and even secularism the European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg in Northeastern France, declared:
The presence of the crucifix ... could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion
The Court spoke of how the crucifix might be "disturbing for pupils who practised other religions or were atheists" and its display breaches "confessional neutrality in the context of public education".
It was in 1924 that Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini brought in the law which ordered that crucifixes must be displayed in school classrooms and Alessandra Mussolini, the 46-year-old granddaughter of the man who used the title
II Duce, is one politician angry at the ruling of the European Court. She said:
This is an attempt to erase our Christian roots. They are trying to create a Europe without identity and tradition
Perhaps unsurprisingly the Vatican is especially unhappy at a ruling which affects a country in which approaching 90 percent of the population identifies itself as Roman Catholic. Officially a spokesman for the Vatican, the Rev Federico Lombardi, has said that the judgment will be examined more closely before any comment is made. But the
Daily Mail claims that a source within the Vatican has spoken of the ruling going "completely against the grain" and being the source of much fury.
Italy's constitution specifically separates the Church and the State, yet crucifixes are frequently seen in public buildings in the country.
Mariastella Gelmini, the Italian Education Minister contends that the crucifix is not intended to impose Catholicism on anybody and is simply a "symbol of our tradition". She maintains that the ruling, which looks set to force other European countries to review their policies regarding the display of religious symbols in their public schools, will not necessarily help build a united Europe.
Ms Lautsi had taken her case to the European Court after her local court in Italy dismissed it.
