Crucifixes to Stay on Display in Italy
Crucifixes are to stay on the walls of Italian classrooms, courtrooms and public offices, despite demands that they should be removed, now that Roman Catholicism is no longer the state religion.
The Council of State, a body of jurists that advises the government on legal matters, ruled that the crucifixes should remain as a symbol of Italy’s Christian culture and civilization. The ruling was published on Sunday.
The Education Ministry had asked the council for its views after some groups said that crucifixes should be removed.
Roman Catholicism lost its status as the state religion when a concordat between Rome and the Vatican was revised in 1985.
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