VATICAN CITY, Friday, March 18, 2011 (ZENIT.org ) .- The ruling issued Friday by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for the display of the crucifix in schools in Italy has received acclaim Holy See on the grounds that it is a decision that "made history" in recognition of religious freedom.
Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Information Office of the Holy See, has issued a statement to express "satisfaction" from the Vatican to have read this "very incriminating statement."
"The Grand Chamber has actually contradicted in all respects sight of a lower court decision, adopted unanimously by a House of the Court, which received not only the appeal of the Italian State but also the support of many European states, as never before, and the accession of many NGOs , reflects a broad sense of the population. "
A landmark case
Countries that have officially supported Italy are Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino as well as Albania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
The case had been referred to the Court of Strasbourg Lautsi Soile, an Italian citizen of Finnish origin, who in 2002 had asked the state school Vittorino da Feltre "in Abano Terme (Padova), in which two children studying , to remove crucifixes from classrooms. The school administration refused to consider that the crucifix is \u200b\u200bpart of Italian cultural heritage, and later the Italian courts were correct in this argument.
However, a court of first instance of the Strasbourg Court decided unanimously to impose the removal of crucifixes in Italian schools and ordered the Italian government to pay women a restitution 5,000 euros for moral damages.
That first sentence in the history of the court on religious symbols in classrooms found that the presence of crucifixes in school is "a violation of the rights of parents to educate their children according to their convictions" and "the freedom of students."
Before the appeal by the Italian State, the Grand Chamber of the European Court has radically contradicted that first sentence, establishing by 15 votes in favor and 2 against, that the presence of crucifixes in classrooms is not "a violation of the rights of parents to educate their children according to their convictions "and" freedom of religion of pupils "and that" there remain issues that can prove that the cross eventually affects students. "
rights are not against religious freedom
Father Lombardi explained in his statement that the European Tribune Human Rights "recognizes a highly authorized legal level and international culture of human rights must not be opposed to the religious foundations of European civilization to which Christianity has made a vital contribution."
" It also recognizes the principle of subsidiarity, a country must ensure a margin of appreciation in the value of symbols religious in their own cultural history and national identity and place of exposure (as has been confirmed in these days also by judgments of the supreme courts of some European countries) ", referring to Italy and Austria.
" If Conversely, in the name of religious freedom, paradoxically tend to limit or even deny this freedom to exclude all manifestations of public life - says the spokesman -. Thus, it would violate freedom, obscuring the specific identities and legitimate. The Court ruling, therefore, that exposure to cultural and religious identity of the countries of Christian tradition. "
"The new ruling by the Grand Chamber is also welcome because it contributes effectively to restore confidence in the European Court of Human Rights by a large part of Europe, convinced and aware of the role of Christian values \u200b\u200bin their own history but also in building European unity and its culture of law and freedom, "the statement concluded Vatican.
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