European court ruling prompts strong reactions from Italians, Christians and Muslims alike.
Rome, Italy, November 12, (CNA) – A number of Italian officials have responded to the ruling by the European Human Rights Court that ordered schools in Italy to remove crucifixes from classrooms by taking unprecedented measures to preserve the Christian symbol.
According to the Italian daily Avvenire, the mayor of Sezzadio, Pier Luigi Arnera, has levelled a fine of 500 euros against anyone who removes a crucifix from a public place.
Arnera explained that the displaying of the crucifix in “places other than churches does not affect the dignity of anyone, because it is one of our cultural references.” Likewise in the cities of Sassuolo and Trapani, officials have acquired dozens more crucifixes to display them in public schools.
In Montegrotto Terme, digital billboards that normally are used to inform the public are now displaying the crucifix with the phrase, “We will not take it down.” The mayor of Assisi has ordered that Nativity scenes be displayed in addition to the crucifix in public offices.
In Varesotto a local contractor placed a 16 foot cross on his farm in order to express his indignation over the court ruling.
Muslim writer defends Italy’s use of Crucifix in classrooms
ROME, Italy (CNA) – A young Muslim writer has defended Italy’s use of Crucifixes in public schools after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that they violate religious freedom.
Teenager Randa Ghazy, who has in the past written a book chiding Italy’s strict immigration laws, has written an article entitled, I, a Muslim, Defend the Crucifix, in which she expresses her opposition to a ruling by the EU Human Rights Court that the crucifixes infringed religious freedom but did not order that they be taken down.
The article will appear in the December edition of the magazine Mondo e Missione, a publication of the Pontifical Institute Missioni Estere.
“One of the most beautiful memories of my childhood and adolescence was of Fr Bruno,” she writes. “I would often go to the oratory with my little brother and the sisters would treat us with great kindness and care.”
Ghazy recalls as well that “Fr Bruno made us truly laugh. When it was time for Mass, my brother and I would run off to play ping pong and eat candy. Every day Fr Bruno would ask us to stay with the other kids who were there in the church, which we embarrassingly declined to do.
“One day, Father said to us, ‘Why don’t you come and say your prayers?’ And so we did. During Mass my brother and I slowly recited prayers from the Koran. So the Crucifix, all the different kinds that I remember (from grade school to college) was always a symbol of security for me, a projection of the greatness of the heart of Christ, and in some way, of Fr Bruno.”
For this reason, Ghazy says, “I support and encourage every possible debate between Muslim and Christian citizens, all discussion about the secularity of the State, but with respect for the great models of humility that each one can find in his past and his experiences. I turn off the television so I don’t see the continuous verbal assaults, I remember Fr Bruno and I smile, thinking about those two little Muslims who looked at each other in that beautiful church. I almost feel nostalgia for the 90s.”
The young Muslim writer was born in 1987 in the Italian region of Lombardy to Egyptian parents. She has written three books, the first when she was only 15, entitled, Dreaming of Palestine. The book is about the friendship shared by a group of young people in the occupied territories.
Her second book, Bloody Trial, was published in 2005. In 2007 she wrote Today I’m Not Going to Kill Anyone: Short Stories of a Young Muslim Who is Not a Terrorist.
Nuncio: religious freedom is UN’s responsibility
Papal Nuncio says duty of UN is to ensure religious freedom for all
By Catholic News Service
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations has a significant role to play in helping nations “fully ensure, at all levels, the implementation of the right to religious freedom” for all people, the United Nations Nuncio said.
“A century and a half ago … religion was described as the ‘opium of the people,’ (but) today, in the context of globalisation, it is increasingly regarded as the ‘vitamin of the poor,’” Archbishop Celestino Migliore told the UN General Assembly on November 10.
He said the UN charter and other UN documents affirm “full respect for and promotion not only of the fundamental freedom of conscience but also of the expression and practice of everybody’s religion, without restriction.” The United Nations’ ultimate goal in pursuing interreligious dialogue and cooperation should be “to engage states as well as all segments of human society to recognise, respect and promote the dignity and rights of every person and each community in the world,” he said.
The unique contribution of religions and the dialogue and cooperation among them is that they “tend to raise the human spirit, protect life, empower the weak, translate ideals into action, purify institutions (and) contribute to resolving economic and non-economic inequalities,” the Archbishop said.
Throughout history it is well known that individuals and leaders have manipulated religions, he said.
“Recently, the manipulation and misuse of religion for political purposes have given rise to debates and deliberations at the UN on the theme, placing it in the context of human rights. Recent social and political events have renewed the engagement of the UN to integrate its reflection and action on affirming a culture of respect with a specific concern for interreligious understanding,” he said.
The Archbishop pointed out the leadership the Catholic Church has shown in reaching out to other religions, noting that 40 years ago the Second Vatican Council issued Nostra Aetate, its declaration on relations with non-Christian religions. “A council on interreligious dialogue was set up more than 40 years ago,” he said, and more recently there was “a first-of-its-kind initiative with the representatives of the 138 Muslim signatories of the document A Common Word Between Us and You.”
The document was an October 2007 letter to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders signed by senior Muslim leaders and later endorsed by dozens of others.
The letter highlights two theological similarities found in both the Koran and the New Testament: belief in one God and love of neighbour.
The letter also proposes theological dialogue to find common ground.
“This engagement seeks to foster greater respect, understanding and cooperation among believers of various denominations, encourage the study of religions and promote the formation of persons dedicated to dialogue,” Archbishop Migliore said.