European Court Affirms Crucifixes May be Displayed in Public Schools

C-FAM: The final decision can be summarized by the concurring opinion of Judge Giovanni Bonello who wrote, “The Convention has given this Court the remit to enforce freedom of religion and of conscience, but has not empowered it to bully States into secularism or to coerce countries into schemes of religious neutrality.” “It is for each individual State to choose whether to be secular or not, and whether, and to what extent, to separate Church and governance.” . . . A loss in this case would have meant, in essence, that it would be illegal under the European Convention on Human Rights to have religious symbols in any state institution anywhere in Europe,” said Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund that represented 33 Members of the European Parliament in the case. “That would have set a dangerous example for the rest of the world.”