The Romanian Patriarchate considers unfair the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) through which the Italian state is required to eliminate the crucifixes from public schools because it is an attack on the religious-spiritual identity of the Italian people and, implicitly, of the majority of European citizens.

Under the pretext of the defense of the rights and liberties of a minority both aggressive and intolerant towards the values publicly shared by a majority, creator of culture and civilization on the European continent, we see again an attempt to minimize the role and contribution of Christianity to the culture and civilization of Europe. This intention was obvious on the occasion of the drafting of the European Constitution Project (2003) when ample debates took place for the introduction of a special provision concerning the Christian roots of Europe. This provision was not included in the final text of the Constitution because an anti-religious and self-sufficient current, under the pretext of neutrality, sought to impose at all costs a specific vision on what the laity of state power means. At the time, unfortunately, the provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) were completely ignored. These principles stated clearly that 'the European Union respects and does not modify the status which, on the basis of national right, the religious Churches, associations and communities in the member states enjoy.'

These decisions, including that of ECtHR against the Italian state, show a tendency for uniformity under the pretext of the protection of pluralism and a tendency to exile religion into the private space, as it was the case during the Communist regime in Eastern Europe, when an ideological minority persecuted the faith, tradition and culture of the majority.

The Christian basis of Europe does not represent just a root, but rather a value matrix which confers a specific identity to the European culture and civilization, which contributes to the education and shaping of the human personality with a positive and responsible attitude towards oneself and towards the society, open and tolerant towards other religions and values.

We thus appreciate that a society cannot exist without symbols, and if Christian religious symbols which developed into national cultural lay symbols will be excluded from the public space, other symbols (commercial-consumerist, pragmatic, nihilistic and globalizing) will take their place, bringing about confusion instead of convergence and revolt instead of mutual respect.

THE PRESS OFFICE OF THE ROMANIAN PATRIARCHATE