Rome, Italy, Jul 2, 2010 / 18:19 pm
The Italian government has expressed optimism about the outcome of an appeal against a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling barring the display of crucifixes in school classrooms. Officials said the crucifix is not a threat to “secularity” and is not used for indoctrination.
Last November the court said the display of crosses in Italian schools violated children’s and parents’ freedom of belief. The government requested that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber, the court’s appellate body.
After a three-hour hearing on Wednesday, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said Italy had “everything in order to ensure a positive result.”
“This is a great battle for the freedom and identity of our Christian values,” he said, according to ANSA.