European Court Holds Crucifix Can Stay on Walls of Italian Public Schools

In effect, the European Court of Human Rights held that the crucifixes can stay on the walls of the classrooms. However, even though the opinion of the Grand Chamber keeps the crucifxes on the walls, it does not recognize the value of the Christian roots of Europe. Christianity provided the understanding of religious freedom as a fundamental human right.

P>STRASBOURG, France (Catholic Online) - Every New Year the Pope addresses the Diplomatic Corps. There was a strong expectation that with the increasing religious persecution and violence in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, China and spreading throughout the world, that the Holy Father would continue his impassioned call for religious freedom to be recognized as a fundamental human right by every Nation. That is precisely what he did.

We have extensively covered the growing hostility toward Catholics and other Christians around the globe. It is one of our highest editorial priorities. We must pray for and stand with those who suffer for the Lord; whether it is the evil of the violence we have witnessed in Baghdad, Mumbia, or Alexandria which resulted in the martyrdom of blood or the growing "Christianophobia" in the West, including the United States of America. 

The Pope not only addressed all of these concerns in his message but he singled out a growing threat to religious freedom in Europe and the West; the effort to remove all signs and symbols of the Christian roots of Europe. He said: "Another sign of the marginalization of religion, and of Christianity in particular, is the banning of religious feasts and symbols from civic life under the guise of respect for the members of other religions or those who are not believers. By acting in this way, not only is the right of believers to the public expression of their faith restricted, but an attack is made on the cultural roots which nourish the profound identity and social cohesion of many nations."

"Last year, a number of European countries supported the appeal lodged by the Italian government in the well-known case involving the display of the crucifix in public places. I am grateful to the authorities of those nations, as well as to all those who became involved in the issue, episcopates, civil and religious organizations and associations, particularly the Patriarchate of Moscow and the other representatives of the Orthodox hierarchy, as well as to all those - believers and non-believers alike - who wished to show their sympathy for this symbol, which bespeaks universal values."

On Friday,March 18, 2011 the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issued its decision concerning this effort to remove the crucifix from the walls of schoolrooms in Italy.  The formal Press release of the European Human Rights Court can be read here. The almost fifty page opinion, including concurring opinions and the dissent can be read here. The good news is that by a 15-2 ruling the Court found that there was "no violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (right to education) to the European Convention on Human Rights." The protocol mentioned requires that state schools "shall respect the right of parents to ensure education and teaching in conformity with their own religions and philosophical convictions."

That was the basis of the complaint filed by the parents of the children who filed the original lawsuit. They alleged that their childrens "rights" were somehow violated by having to look at the crucifix on the walls of the classrooms in Italy. In effect, the The European Court of Human Rights held that the crucifixes can stay on the walls of the classrooms. This is a final ruling which cannot be appealed. It overturned an earler ruling in 2009 from a lower chamber of the same Court system which found that the presence of the crucifixes somehow violated "freedom of thought, conscience, and religion." This final decision of March 18, 2011 at least slows the aggressive advance of anti-religious secularism in Europe.

In a summary of the opinion the Court Registrar Erik Fribergh wrote that the majority of the Court found "nothing to suggest that the authorities were intolerant of pupils who believed in other religions, were non-believers or who held non-religious philosophical convictions....The applicants had not asserted that the presence of the crucifix in classrooms had encouraged the development of teaching practices with a proselytising tendency.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." In other words, they found that the crucifix was somehow not what it truly is, a claim concerning God's loving plan for the whole human race, and therefore it was somehow "OK". 

The dissenting opinion of Judge Malinverni and Judge Kalaydjievai was a strong rejection of the presence of any religious symbols in Italian and European public schools. They wrote "Religious symbols are indisputably part of the school environment. As such, they might therefore infringe the duty of State neutrality and have an impact on religious freedom and the right to education. This is particularly true where the religious symbol is imposed on pupils, even against their will....The presence of crucifixes in schools is capable of infringing religious freedom and schoolchildren's right to education to a greater degree than religious apparel that, for example, a teacher might wear, such as the Islamic headscarf."

Similarly, the concurring opinions went to great lengths to articulate some kind of "test" for the State to determine when such religious symbols should be "allowed". The seed of such a State supremacy over Church is evident in the reasoning of the majority judicial opinion. It is an ominous sign that the European Union is following the path that has caused such a problem in the United States in the confused establishment clause jurisprudence which followed the so called "Lemon Test" - and all of its progeny and permutations. Though the opinion of the Grand Chamber keeps the crucifxes on the walls, it does not recognize the value of the Christian roots of Europe. Ironically, it is Christianity itself which provided the principles, such as religious freedom as a fundamental human right, which the Grand Chamber opinion purports to address.   

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the European Community issued a joint response rightly affirming the religious significance of the Cross, "The crucifix symbolizes the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Christians from all denominations therefore see in the cross the symbol of God's comprehensive love for all mankind. To believers from other religions and even to non-believers, the cross can be valued as a symbol for non-violence and resistance to retaliation. Its public display reminds all human beings of the respect for human dignity, a principle from which all fundamental rights are derived."

Peter Cardinal Erdo, the President of the Bishops conference for Europe called the ruling "a sign of common sense, wisdom and freedom" and proclaimed Friday that "a page of history has been written. New hope has been given not just to Christians, but to all European citizens, believers and secularists, who were deeply offended by the ruling of November 3, 2009. To consider the presence of the crucifix in a public space to be against human rights, would be to deny the very idea of Europe. Without the crucifix, the Europe we know today would not exist."

We should breathe a sigh of relief after this opinion. Then, we should recommit ourselves to the re-evangelization of all of Europe. 

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