GREEK ORTHODOX SOLIDARITY IN FACE OF CRUCIFIX BAN
by Martin Barillas

EnerPub
rticle.asp?id=22552
Nov 13 2009

The Greek Orthodox Church is urging Christians across Europe to oppose
a ban on crucifixes in classrooms in Italy. The ban came as a result
of a November 3 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
in France that the presence of crucifixes violated a child’s right
to freedom of religion. The European Court of Human Rights found
that the compulsory display of crucifixes violated parents’ rights
to educate their children as they saw fit and restricted the right of
children to believe or not to believe. Immediately after the ruling,
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the crucifix was a
fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian
history and culture and was a symbol of unity and welcoming for all
of humanity — not one of exclusion.

Perhaps fearing the Italian case could create a precedent, the Greek
Orthodox Church will hold a Holy Synod next week to discuss possible
actions.

In opposing the crucifix ban in Italy, the Greek Orthodox Church joins
in a rare act of ecumenism with the Roman Catholic Church. The two
have been estranged for 1,000 years. The secular threat to Christian
symbols and culture has apparently created common ground.

Archbishop Ieronymos, leader of the Greek church, shares Catholic
complaints that the court is ignoring the role of Christianity in
forming Europe’s identity. The archbishop said that majorities enjoy
rights, just as minorities do. A colleague, Bishop Nicholas from
central Greece, said without the religious icons young people will
not have any worthy symbols to inspire and protect them. Celebrities
and pop-tarts are poor substitutes, he added.

The Greek Church has intervened in this case in response to an appeal
by a Greek mother whose son is studying in Italy. But without doubt
it is concerned that its omnipotence in Greece is under threat. The
Muslim presence is growing in Greece, just as the memory fades of the
genocide of Armenians and Greeks at the hands of the Ottoman Empire
at the beginning of the 20th century.

A human rights group called Helsinki Monitor has demanded that Greek
courts remove icons of Jesus Christ from above the judge’s bench and
that the gospel no longer be used for swearing oaths in the witness
box. Helsinki Monitor is urging labor unions to challenge the presence
of religious symbols in Greek schools. The Socialist government in
Greece is also considering imposing new taxes on the Church, even
while it is asking for further expenditures of church resources to
aid immigrants and the poor.

Some experts fear that the decision by the ECHR could result in
the removal of all public displays of Christian symbols in public
buildings throughout the member countries of the European Union under
provisions of the newly-passed Lisbon Treaty. The ruling effectively
incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into European
law. According to legal expert Neil Addison of the UK, given the
inter-relationship of the ECHR, the Lisbon Treat and the European
Convention on Human Rights, "unless the European Court of Human Rights
overrules itself on appeal, Italy, and indeed the rest of Europe,
has a serious problem." If an appeal by Italy to the ECHR fails,
Italy’s only resort would be an unlikely separation from the EU as
a whole. As it stands now, Italy must report back to the court as to
its efforts to remove the offending religious imagery from its public
classrooms, courts, and other public venues. A majority of Italian
politicians has come out against the ruling, citing interference by
the EU in Italy’s millennial Christian culture.

The Lisbon Treaty’s Declaration 17 says clearly that the EU would have
primacy over the laws of member states: "The Conference recalls that,
in accordance with well settled case law of the Court of Justice of
the European Union, the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on
the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States,
under the conditions laid down by the said case law." Some experts
fear that the ECHR’s decision could be used to prevent public schools
from putting on Nativity plays, and bring about the removal of icons
from Greek and Cypriot schools.

Martin Barillas is a former US diplomat, who also worked as a democracy
advocate and election observer in Latin America.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress