Court overturns crucifix ban in Italian schools
The Vatican welcomed the judgement from the Strasbourg-based Court which followed a case brought by a Finnish mother living in Italy and her two sons.
Soile Lautsi, a non-believer who lived near Padua in northern Italy, said the religious symbols contradicted the separation of church and state as Italy has been a secular state since 1985, and violated their rights.
She and her husband Massimo Albertin complained to the school nine years ago, when their sons were aged 11 and 13, about the crosses that hung in every classroom, seeing them as contrary to their right to have their children’s education in line with their own beliefs.
The school governors rejected their complaint and Lautsi took the matter to the courts.
The education minister at the same time issued a directive instructing schools to put a crucifix in every classroom, saying he had the right to do so under royal decrees issued in the 1920s.
The family lost their court cases in Italy and took the case to the human rights court in Strasbourg, which unanimously agreed that the right to education, freedom of thought, conscience and religion had been violated.
The family received threats, their sons were beaten up and crosses painted on their house, according to Italian media.
The Italian government appealed the decision and yesterday the court ruled by a majority that while the crucifix was above all a religious symbol, there was no evidence before them that its display on classroom walls might influence pupils.
