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eduardo89
03-18-2011, 04:11 PM
Vatican praises EU decision on crucifixes in class

VICTOR L. SIMPSON
Associated Press
March 18 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110318/ap_on_re_eu/eu_europe_classroom_crucifixes


ROME – Crucifixes in public school classrooms do not violate a student's freedom of conscience, a European high court ruled Friday in a verdict welcomed by the Vatican in its campaign to remind the continent of its Christian roots.

The case was brought by a Finnish-born woman living in Italy who objected to the crucifixes in her children's classrooms, arguing they violated the secular principles public schools are supposed to uphold. The debate divided Europe's traditional Catholic and Orthodox countries and their more secular neighbors that observe a strict separation between church and state.

Initially, the Strasbourg, France-based European Court of Human Rights sided with the mother. Italy appealed, supported by more than a dozen countries including the late Pope John Paul II's predominantly Catholic Poland, and won.

Friday's reversal has implications in 47 countries, opening the way for Europeans who want religious symbols in classrooms to petition their governments to allow them.
It was not immediately clear how the ruling would affect France, a traditionally Catholic country with a strictly secular state that does not allow crucifixes or other religious symbols in public schools, including the Muslim headscarf.

The court's Grand Chamber said Italy has done nothing wrong and it found no evidence the display of such a symbol on classroom walls "might have an influence on pupils."

"The popular sentiment in Europe has won today," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.



Good news in my opinion.

Kludge
03-18-2011, 04:18 PM
Good news to me, too. I had a couple openly socialist teachers (as well as an open anarchist and a couple conservatives) and I learned from them - a lot. I understood their arguments and today, I'm able to relate to them. It's good to be exposed to ideas. We should all expose our kids to as many ideas as we can.

There's a critical difference between allowing children to be exposed to ideas, and forcing them to hear nothing but one idea. When there are many teachers, as in the relevant schools, they are exposed to many different people sharing their interpretations of the world and how to solve our problems. The problem which can crop up from these types of discussion is when people say a certain opinion should be EXCLUDED (not INcluded) from a school, and our children lose that exposure and information.

Stary Hickory
03-18-2011, 06:13 PM
I like it, but hey...really the problem always has and will be that people are forced to patronize a school system...all choice is removed...freedom gone. Then such squabbles become legitimate because of the coerced nature of the whole thing.

It's immoral, but only because people are forced to associate with public schools.

BlackTerrel
03-18-2011, 07:29 PM
Not high on my list of priorities but I agree - good ruling.

LibForestPaul
03-18-2011, 07:31 PM
Now if only they put of some Indian dream catchers and some wiccan pentacles....

kpitcher
03-18-2011, 09:34 PM
It's Italy, they should go back to their roots and have phallic symbols to honor Hermes like in the old days.