Rome, Italy, Nov 26, 2008 / 09:06 pm (CNA).- In response to a court ruling this week that crucifixes must be removed from a local school in his city, Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez of Valladolid, Spain said, “In a culture that is Christian, the crucifix does not hurt anyone,” as it is a sign of “love and peace.”

The archbishop told Vatican Radio that the ruling endangers religious freedom and is a sign of the increasingly more radical secularism. “Any religious symbol could be suppressed and removed from any place,” he said, pointing to the example of the city of Brujas in Belgium, “where there are small statues and pictures of Mary and Christ on street corners and intersections, and non-religious people, non-Christians, don’t complain about it.”

Archbishop Rodriguez said he feared a time would come when Christians would have to ask permission to say that they believe in God and in Jesus Christ. “I want to continue displaying religious symbols, because to me that is part of the religious freedom that we all desire,” he said.

The mayor of Valladolid said this week he would not remove a crucifix from city hall despite the court ruling.

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