Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Czech Bishops Denounce Crucifix Ruling of European Court

Catholic Online
1/8/2010
Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)

The European Parliament was due to vote on this appeal Dec. 17, but instead postponed the decision for a later meeting.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Zenit.org) - The Czech bishops are sending an appeal to Europe to remember its principles, especially with regard to the recent ruling that crucifixes in schools are a violation of rights.

The Czech bishops' conference issued a statement Tuesday, the first day of its plenary conference in Prague, in which it affirmed, "We hope that member states of the Council of Europe will not be subject to denying the principles upon which the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights were created."

The statement was written in response to the recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which decided in favor of a mother who protested the crucifix in her children's Italian school.

The court did not order crucifixes to be removed, however, and the Italian government is appealing the decision.

The European Parliament was due to vote on this appeal Dec. 17, but instead postponed the decision for a later meeting.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute reported that a "little-publicized" decision by the Italian constitutional court last month is calling into question the legitimacy of the European court's ruling.

The Italian court decided that "where rulings by the European Court of Human Rights conflict with provisions of the Italian Constitution, such rulings lack legitimacy," the institute affirmed.

It stated further that this decision could "embolden" other countries such as Ireland, which is currently being challenged by the human rights court due to its stance on protecting human life in the womb.
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See also from Catholic World News, "Czech bishops denounce European court’s crucifix ruling."

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 11:39 AM