VATICAN CITY, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In European schools, crucifixes are prohibited but Halloween pumpkins are promoted, observed Benedict XVI’s Secretary of State.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone stated this in response to the Tuesday decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which called for the removal of Christian symbols from public school classrooms.
«This Europe of the third millennium only leaves us the pumpkins of the feasts repeatedly celebrated and takes away from us our most cherished symbols,» said the cardinal in an article published in L’Osservatore Romano.
He continued: «It is really a loss. We must try with all our strength to preserve the signs of our faith for those who believe and those who do not believe.»
After expressing his appreciation for the initiative of the Italian government to appeal against the decision of the European judges, the prelate stated that the crucifix is the «symbol of universal love, not of exclusion, but of acceptance.»
«I wonder if this decision is or is not a reasonable sign,» he concluded.
Traditions
For his part, Monsignor Aldo Giordano, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the Council of Europe, commented to Vatican Radio that this decision confirms «a certain ideological attitude.»
«In the name of certain ideas,» he said, «it attempts to force the reality,» or demonstrates «a wish to impose things on reality.»
The priest stated: «I believe instead that Europe has extreme need of respect for the reality of the people, for the traditions. If we continue to corrode our identity, we begin to no longer have a vision for the future.»
He added, «Instead of a Europe that is at the service of persons, at the service of the people, at the service of our identity and hence with the ability of taking up our identity, to put it in communion with identities that are valued, it seems, instead, that we are afraid of our identity, we are afraid of our traditions.»
Monsignor Giordano affirmed that the decision of the European court uses «a concept of laicism in an exclusivist sense: that is, a laicism that tends to exclude, hence a laicism that creates an empty space.»
In place of a laicism of this sort, which is «dangerous» and «does not attract,» there is need of «a laicism that creates space for all positive contributions, for the social, for man, to address the great problems of humanity,» he said.
In this sense, the priest continued, the decision «does not express what people in Europe truly begin to feel and wish to live, and which some nations are already beginning to perceive.»
He concluded, «It seems to me that we have remained somewhat in the old, outdated.»
