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Crucifixes can be displayed in state schools, EU Court rules
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March 19, 2011
Original URL: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Crucifixes_can_be_displayed_in_state_schools,_EU_Court_rules



The   ruled unanimously on Friday that state school classrooms
displaying  do not violate the rights of non-Catholic pupils.

In a reversal of their unanimous November 2009 decision, the court said
that although the crucifix is "above all a ", it is an "essentially
passive symbol" and there was no evidence that crucifixes displayed on
classroom walls influence pupils.

The court's final ruling reverses their unanimous 2009 decision in a
case brought by a Finnish-born mother living in Italy who objected to
the  symbols in her children's classrooms because they violated the 
principles that state schools should uphold. The court agreed, saying
the crucifix might be "emotionally disturbing for pupils of other
religions or those who profess no religion". But the decision created a
vociferous outcry in many European countries such as Italy, which argued
that the crucifix was a  symbol, identified Europe's culture and
history.

Italy's foreign minister, , welcomed the reversal. According to the
newspaper , he said "[t]he decision underlines, above all, the rights of
citizens to defend their own values and their own identities. I hope
that following this verdict Europe will begin to examine issues of
tolerance and religious freedom with the same courage." 

Friday's ruling will be binding on the 47 countries that are members of
the , the continent's monitor of human rights.  

== Sources == 

* http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/mar/18/european-court-human-rights-crucifixes-allowed
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12791082



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