European Court of Human Rights observes the spiritual tradition of the European states

20-03-2011

The Juridical Office of the Romanian Patriarchate informs us:

The Romanian Patriarchate salutes the decision of 18 March 2011 of the Grand Chamber of the ECHR which admitted, with 15 votes against 2, the appeal of Italy in the well-known cause Lautsi contra Italia concerning the presence of the religious insignia in the public schools. This decision observes the tradition of the community in majority which wants the presence of the crucifixes in the educational space, in spite of the subjective protests of some persons, because the issue of the school environment is up to the appreciation or desire of every separate European state, and the simple (passive) presence of a religious symbol in a public space does not mean indoctrination.

So, this decision of the ECHR admits that the religious cultural tradition of a majority of a people is not imposed to the persons of some other tradition, faith or conviction through the simple presence in the public space of the religious insignia accepted by the population in majority of a state, but it represents the proof of the spirituality and identity of the community in majority.

By parity of reasoning or indirectly, this decision of the ECHR shows the groundless unjust character of the attacks against the presence of the icons in the public schools of Romania, as well as against the Religion class proposed to the pupils in the curriculum, but not imposed.

In conclusion, the final decision of the ECHR of 18 March 2011 confirms the just attitude of the Romanian Patriarchate which has supported the appeal of Italy to the ECHR ever since 2009. The Romanian Patriarchate appreciated at the time that a possible removal of the Christian religious symbols from the public school was an attempt against the religious-cultural identity of the Italian people and, implicitly, against the majority of the European citizens.

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