Italy school crucifixes 'barred'

[ccharles000]

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against the use of crucifixes in classrooms in Italy.

It said the practice violated the right of parents to educate their children as they saw fit, and ran counter to the child's right to freedom of religion.

The case was brought by an Italian mother, Soile Lautsi, who wants to give her children a secular education.

The Vatican said it was shocked by the ruling, calling it "wrong and myopic" to exclude the crucifix from education.

The ruling has sparked anger in the largely Catholic country, with one politician calling the move "shameful".

The Strasbourg court found that: "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."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8340411.stm

[ccharles000]

1. kick

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Wow - this could be big in all of Europe, if it's upheld

Here's the press release on it: http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/viewhbkm.asp?sessionId=36339028&skin=hudoc-en&action=html&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649&key=77725&highlight=

The ECHR is using the European Convention on Human Rights to overrule the Italian courts on this (it provides a "right to education" and "freedom of thought, conscience and religion"). So, potentially, it could be used to overrule any member country's national law. Given that English law still stipulates an assembly of 'broadly Christian character' every day in a state school, which you have to go through hoops to get out of, that could easily get challenged for the same reason, I'd think.

[Nikki Stone1]

3. In other words, European nations are no longer sovereign

And the North American Union will go the same way.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Why, that's un-American

Or er...un-Italian, as the case may be.