STRASBOURG - The European Court of Human
Rights ruled Tuesday that Italy violates educational and religious
freedoms by displaying crucifixes in classrooms, prompting anger in the
fiercely Catholic country.
Pronouncing on a case brought by an
Italian mother, the court found that the right of parents to educate
their children according to their own beliefs was being breached.
Displaying crucifixes also violated childrens' right to freedom of religion, the court said.
The
Italian bishops' conference denounced the court as "partial and
ideological," saying the crucifix "is not just a religious symbol but
also a sign of cultural belonging."
Vatican spokesman Father
Federico Lombardi told Italian television that the ruling had been met
"with astonishment and regret" by the Catholic Church.
"The
crucifix has always been a sign of God's love, unity and hospitality to
all humanity. It is unpleasant that it is considered a sign of
division, exclusion or a restriction of freedom," he said.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini said the cross was part of Italian tradition.
"No
one, and certainly not an ideological European court, will succeed in
erasing our identity," Gelmini was quoted as saying by the ANSA news
agency.
"The presence of the crucifix in classrooms is not a sign
of belief in Catholicism, rather it is a symbol of our tradition," she
said.
But the European rights court said Tuesday the display of crucifixes "could reasonably be associated with Catholicism."
The Italian foreign minister said the government would appeal against the ruling.
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the Italian dictator, said the ruling aimed to "wipe out our Christian routes".
"We are in the process of creating a Europe with neither identity nor traditions," she fumed.
The
case was brought to the European court in Strasbourg by Italian mother
Soile Lautsi, after a long battle in Italy pitted her against the
Catholic establishment.
Judges in Italy threw out her case after
years of legal wrangling, ruling on more than one occasion the crucifix
had become as much a symbol of Italian national identity as of
Catholicism.
But the European court ruled in Lautsi's favour on Tuesday and awarded her 5,000 euros (7,400 dollars).
"The
compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used
by the public authorities... restricted the right of parents to educate
their children in conformity with their convictions," the court said.
It added that displaying crucifixes also restricted the "right of children to believe or not to believe."
Crucifixes in classrooms could also be "disturbing for pupils" from other religions and ethnic minorities, the court found.
Lautsi
launched the action eight years ago when her children, Dataico and Sami
Albertin, aged 11 and 13, went to a state school in the spa town of
Abano Terme near Venice, where crucifixes were on display in classrooms.
She
used the example of a 2000 court ruling which found crucifixes in
polling stations against the principle of secularism of the state.
Education chiefs refused to remove the crosses, and her complaint was rejected by Italian courts over several years.
Her
case was heard in Italy by a regional court and the country's
constitutional court, before finally being thrown out on appeal by the
council of state.
The European rights court found that displaying
crucifixes in classrooms breached article two of protocol number one,
and article nine, of the European Convention on Human Rights.