Italian judge sets off debate after ordering removal of crucifix

Published: 2003-10-27

R0ME (CNS) -- A judge in central Italy set off a debate involving Catholics, Muslims and politicians after he ordered the removal of crucifixes from classrooms in an elementary school. Mario Montanaro, a judge in the court at L'Aquila, ruled Oct. 25 that laws requiring schools to have a crucifix in every classroom showed preference for Catholicism and ignored the role of other religions in society. He gave the elementary school in the town of Ofena 30 days to remove the crucifixes. The case was started by Adel Smith, president of the Muslim Union of Italy, whose children attend the Ofena school. Bishop Giuseppe Betori, general secretary of the Italian bishops' conference, said Oct. 26 the judge's decision violated national laws passed in the 1920s that have never been changed by Parliament nor overturned by a constitutional court.

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