EUROPEAN COURT RULING: THE DISPLAY OF CRUCIFIXES IN ITALIAN

CLASSROOMS VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS

John Papaspanos

papaspanosj@gmail.com

Rev. Fr. Panagiotis Lekkas of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Theologian
suggests that educational pluralism can be achieved when students learn to accept and
respect every person’s religion and culture. To this end, “it is not necessary to remove
or suppress the expression of the majority’s religion.”

Last November, when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)

ruled that the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms is a violation
of human rights, the decision cast light on the relationship between
religion and politics in an increasingly secular Europe.

Ms. Soile Lautsi, an Italian national, brought the case to the

Strasburg-based court after many years of legal battles in Italy. Ms.
Lautsi, who wanted to provide her children a secular education,
complained that her children had to attend a State school in northern
Italy that had crucifixes present in every classroom.

The European court decided that the display of a symbol of a given

religion restricted the right of parents to educate their children in
accordance with their beliefs, and the right of children to believe or not
to believe. Consequently, the Italian government was ordered to pay
Ms. Lautsi €5,000 in damages.

In a post-Lisbon Europe, this ruling has major implications for the

issue of national sovereignty and the importance of national
constitutions. Roger Kiska, European legal counsel for the Alliance
Defense Fund, believes the ECHR is flawed in the Lautsi ruling because
it is not a constitutional court, and thus, it is “overstepping its
jurisdictional boundaries”. Furthermore, the Italian Constitutional
Court has declared that such rulings “lack legitimacy” because they
conflict with provisions of the Italian Constitution. For example, the
national law requiring State schools in Italy to hang crucifixes in
classrooms dates back to the 1920s.

In response, the Italian government has appealed the Lautsi ruling

with the support of municipalities across Italy. Some mayors have
taken strong counteractive measures, such as Mayor Umberto Macci of
Priverno, who ordered local police to mandate the presence of
crucifixes in State schools and to enforce a €500 penalty for non-
compliance.

The more controversial issue of “cultural sovereignty” has been

central to the reaction against the ruling. The Italian government and
the Vatican have been highly active in advancing this particular
argument. Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini said: “the crucifix is
a symbol of our tradition, and not necessarily a mark of Catholicism…
no one, not even an ideologically motivated European court, will
succeed in rubbing out our own identity.” Advocates of this approach
marginalize the role of religion and focus on the cross and its
representation of “the secular values of the Italian Constitution and
those of civil life.”

The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, has characterized the

crucifix as “a symbol of unity and welcoming for all of humanity, not
one of exclusion” in order to absolve the allegation that students will
be disturbed or discouraged by its presence in the classroom.

If the Italian government loses the appeal, the ruling is likely to

affect all twenty seven member states and may apply to all public
displays of Christian symbols. The prospect of such an enforced
exclusion has prompted activism from additional parties; namely, the
Polish government and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Lech Walesa, the former president and leader of the Solidarity

movement that freed Poland from Soviet rule, criticized the ruling by
saying, “We must respect minorities but also protect the rights of the
majority.” In addition, the Christian population in Eastern Europe is
particularly weary of such censorship because it evokes the ban on
religion during the period of atheistic communist rule.

Last, the Greek Orthodox Church has emphasized the importance of

Christianity in forming the European identity. Archbishop Ieronymos of
Athens urged all Europeans to oppose the ruling. The Orthodox Church
has intervened in the case in support of a Greek national’s son
studying in Italy. The BBC reports that an emergency Holy Synod will
be held to plan an effective opposition to the ruling.

According to the Court, the display of the crucifix in public schools is

a potential threat to democracy. In the Court’s words, secularization is
the “guarantor of democratic values” and the means by which Europe
can minimize the risk of “external pressure from extremist
movements.” However, the suppression of religious expression in
public may lead to adverse effects in European society as evidenced in
the French ban on headscarves and the Swiss referendum barring the
construction of minarets. Instead, Europe stands to benefit the most
with a more tempered approach that can promote educational plurality
while maintaining its cultural identity.