Scottish Catholic Observer

“It is an important and historic ruling,” Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said in a statement, adding that the decision ‘has been welcomed with satisfaction by the Holy See.’

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Friday that displaying Crucifixes in schools in Italy, which had been compulsory, did not breach the rights of non-Catholic families. The ruling overturned a 2009 decision that had set a precedent for a ban on Crucifixes in classrooms.

Cardinal O’Brien echoed the Vatican’s stance. “I was very happy to read the recent sentence of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the exposition of Crucifixes in the classrooms of Italian State schools,” he said. “I know that in appealing against a previous decision, the Italian State received an unprecedented degree of support from numerous other European States, as well as from many non-governmental organisations.”

The cardinal also said the ruling showed the vital nature of Europe’s Christian tradition.

“As we are able to live out our particular Faith—so also this court declares that we can display particular signs of our Faith, such as the Crucifix—and indicates that such display is not a form of indoctrination, but rather an expression of the cultural and religious identity of countries with a Christian tradition, such as ours,” he said.

“Hopefully, more and more people will value declarations such as this—valuing also the religious foundations of European civilisation to which Christianity has made an essential contribution.”

Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini also welcomed the ruling on behalf of the government in Rome, saying ‘Europe’s popular sentiment won out.’

The Strasbourg-based court’s initial decision in November 2009, that displaying Crucifixes in schools across Italy breached the rights of non-Catholics, drew harsh criticism.

In Friday’s ruling, passed by 15 votes to two, the court said that ‘while the Crucifix was above all a religious symbol, there was no evidence before the court that the display of such a symbol on classroom walls might have an influence on pupils.’ The ruling recognised ‘that the culture of human rights must not be inconsistent with the religious fundamentals of a European civilisation in which Christianity has made an essential contribution,’ according to Fr Lombardi.

The original case against Crucifixes in Italian classrooms was brought by Italian mother Soile Lautsi.

In November 2009, the court had ruled that displaying the Cross was contrary to the right of parents and to ‘the right of children to freedom of religion and thought.’

But on appeal the judges voted overwhelmingly that ‘states enjoyed a margin of appreciation in their efforts to reconcile the exercise of the functions they assumed in relation to education and teaching, with respect for the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.’

“The court therefore had a duty in principle to respect the states decisions in those matters, including the place they accorded to religion,” the judges said.

—To read the court ruling in full visit http://tinyurl.com/6k45scy