Posted on 11/04/2009 7:00:09 AM PST by GonzoII
Italy's bishops are saying the European Court of Human Rights is guilty of a partial and ideological outlook with its Tuesday decision that crucifixes in public school are a violation of freedom.
The Vatican and the Italian government expressed dismay with Tuesday's decision and Italian bishops expressed their own perplexity.
The court ruled in favor of an Italian citizen of Finnish origin who complained in 2002 that the state school where her two children studied violated their freedom by displaying crucifixes.
The school's administration refused to remove them, contending that the crucifix is part of Italian cultural patrimony; Italian courts subsequently backed this claim.
Now, the Strasbourg-based European court has asked the Italian government to compensate the woman with €5,000 ($7,300).
Judge Nicola Lettieri, who defends Italy in Strasbourg, assured that the Italian government will appeal the decision.
Obligation
The Italian bishops' conference said the decision "causes distress and many perplexities."
"It ignores or neglects the multiple meaning of the crucifix, which not only is a religious symbol, but also a cultural sign," a communiqué from the conference stated. "It does not take into account the fact that, in reality, in the Italian experience, the display of the crucifix in public places is in harmony with the recognition of the principles of Catholicism as part of the historical patrimony of the Italian people, confirmed by the Concordat of 1984."
The bishops cautioned that the ruling "runs the risk of artificially severing the national identity from its spiritual and cultural origins."
The episcopal conference statement maintained that the decision goes beyond a separation of Church and state, and becomes "hostility toward any form of political and cultural relevance of religion."
For his part, jurist Giuseppe Dalla Torre, rector of the LUMSA University of Rome, told the bishops' SIR news agency
(Excerpt) Read more at zenit.org ...
No "appeal" - just "Stuff it".
Interesting. The Crucifix is now an afront to freedom? That was the whole purpose of that event.
People here don’t often realize that the USA has been leading the charge in the cultural war. For 2 decades, the NKVD agents of the Democrat party have enacted changes reflecting their hatred of our culture, that is only matched by the English.
The most radical feminists, and haters of christianity, are grown right here in the USA. Visiting Ukraine once, i absent-mindedly expressed surprise that an orthodox church was maintained at government expense, used as a museum, AND actively used by the church for worship. They looked at me like it was a bizzare idea that it wouldnt be. After all, the church was 900 years old, so “why not”.
A similar experience in Germany where people still pay a church tax. It goes to maintain the churches there that are national treasures.
It’s sad that Italy must now go through this anti-christian abuse.
Who can imagine Italy ripped from it’s Catholic roots? You don’t have to be Catholic to see that. And make no mistake, the EU saw what the Pope did to the iron curtain. Im not Catholic, but any fair-minded look shows that John Paul II had the lead role in bringing down the wall. The Polish pope ultimately destroyed communism without a shot.
The EU is not a champion of freedom, and it wants the church as weak as possible.
Interesting to see how this works out. Will Italy go along with this if they appeal it up to the top and the unelected Brussells bureaucrats still try to enforce this judgment?
Good question. And you said a mouthfull. Italy must appeal it by going begging to the *same* central-planners dictatorship that made the ruling in the first place.
Bump!
And if the Italian gov. loses their appeal? This could be interesting.
It's all so confusing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Human_Rights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Justice
1) they are DIFFERENT Courts because the European Court of Human Rights is a Council of Europe institution and has NOTHING to do with EU
2) Yes Italy can pose the question as a MEMBER of EU to the
EU’s “European Court of Justice.”; more....A decision favorable to Italy by EU’s “European Court of Justice.” could have a “short-circuit” effect....
Interesting. Thanks!
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