European Court hears arguments over crucifixes in public schools

Jun 30, 2010, 15:40 GMT

Paris - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard new arguments Wednesday about the presence of crucifixes in public schools.

The 17 judges of the Grand Chamber of the ECHR are dealing with the complaint of an Italian mother, Soile Lautsi, who said that the presence of crucifixes in the classrooms of her two children were contrary to the principle of secularism.

In November 2009, the ECHR had agreed with Lautsi, ruling that the presence of crucifixes in public schools violated the principle of freedom of religion. Italy then asked in January for the case to be referred to the Grand Chamber.

On Wednesday, the representative of the Italian government, Nicola Lettieri, argued before the court that the crucifixes were 'expressions of tradition' and 'popular folk symbols,' and thus did not violate religious freedom.

Italy received support from the German Conference of Bishops, which demanded that crucifixes be allowed to remain in classrooms. In a statement, the head of the group, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, said they helped preserve European traditions and values.

But Lautsi's attorney, Niccolo Paoletti, argued that the Italian Constitutional Court has repeatedly confirmed the state's neutrality in religious matters and in 2001 ordered crucifixes to be removed from public schools.

In addition, he said the presence of the crucifix conveyed the impression that the state privileged Christian children, which led to the exclusion of children who had other beliefs.

A decision is expected to be announced in several months.