Politics
Italy: Govt to appeal European court ban on crucifix
Rome, 6 Nov. (AKI) - The Italian government said on Friday it would appeal the "unacceptable" decision by the European Court of Human Rights opposing the crucifix in school classrooms in officially secular Italy. The government announced the move in a statement after a cabinet meeting.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that placing the crucifix in classrooms infringed parents' right to educate their children "in conformity with their convictions".
Italy's conservative prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said the ruling was "disrespectful" and could not be enforced in Italian schools.
"The decision is absolutely disrespectful of a Catholic country like ours," told journalists in Rome after the cabinet meeting.
"Our country can only be described as Christian," he said. "Even an atheist has to agree with this."
Eight European countries have the cross on their national flags, he noted.
"Should this be changed because there are foreigners of other faiths who have taken citizenship?" he asked.
In any case, the European Court of Human Rights ruling had no legal weight and could not be enforced, Berlusconi stated.
"The sentence is not a coercive one and there is nothing to stop crucifixes being placed in school classrooms," he said.
The court ruling has sparked fierce debate in overwhelmingly Catholic Italy where the Vatican on Tuesday strongly rejected the ruling, saying it was "wrong and myopic" to exclude a symbol of charity from education.
The mayor of Vicenza in the northeastern Veneto region said on Thursday he would also oppose the removal of the crucifix from schools and public places in the city.
The anti-immigrant Northern League party has tabled a motion in the northeastern province surrounding the city of Venice to defy the court decision and keep the crucifix in public places, including local schools.
The case was launched by an Italian woman, Soile Lautsi, who opposed the display of a Catholic crucifix at her children's state school in Abano Terme, a small town outside the northern city of Padua.
Lautsi was also awarded 5,000 euros in damages by the court.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that placing the crucifix in classrooms infringed parents' right to educate their children "in conformity with their convictions".
Italy's conservative prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said the ruling was "disrespectful" and could not be enforced in Italian schools.
"The decision is absolutely disrespectful of a Catholic country like ours," told journalists in Rome after the cabinet meeting.
"Our country can only be described as Christian," he said. "Even an atheist has to agree with this."
Eight European countries have the cross on their national flags, he noted.
"Should this be changed because there are foreigners of other faiths who have taken citizenship?" he asked.
In any case, the European Court of Human Rights ruling had no legal weight and could not be enforced, Berlusconi stated.
"The sentence is not a coercive one and there is nothing to stop crucifixes being placed in school classrooms," he said.
The court ruling has sparked fierce debate in overwhelmingly Catholic Italy where the Vatican on Tuesday strongly rejected the ruling, saying it was "wrong and myopic" to exclude a symbol of charity from education.
The mayor of Vicenza in the northeastern Veneto region said on Thursday he would also oppose the removal of the crucifix from schools and public places in the city.
The anti-immigrant Northern League party has tabled a motion in the northeastern province surrounding the city of Venice to defy the court decision and keep the crucifix in public places, including local schools.
The case was launched by an Italian woman, Soile Lautsi, who opposed the display of a Catholic crucifix at her children's state school in Abano Terme, a small town outside the northern city of Padua.
Lautsi was also awarded 5,000 euros in damages by the court.
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