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Pope enters crucifix controversy
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul Friday forcefully weighed in on a national controversy in Italy over crucifixes in schools, saying it was undemocratic and dangerous to try to erase a country's religious symbols. "Recognizing (a nation's) religious heritage means recognizing the symbols that set it apart," the pope told European Union interior ministers meeting in Rome. For the past week Italy has been caught up in a controversy sparked by a local judge's order that a crucifix be taken off the wall of a school in a small town east of Rome. The ruling, which has dominated the country's media, followed a complaint by Adel Smith, a Muslim rights activist who did not want his children to see crucifixes in their school. It sparked widespread outrage in the country, which is nominally overwhelmingly Catholic although only some 25 percent of Italians go to church regularly according to some polls. The pope called for "proper recognition, even through laws, of distinctive religious traditions." In Rome, the Education Ministry filed an appeal against the local judge's ruling. At about the same time the pope was addressing the interior ministers, a regional judge suspended the order and scheduled a hearing on the issue for next month. The pope said people could not be forced to renounce their religious symbols in the name of what he called "an incorrect interpretation" of the principle of social equality. "Social co-existence and peace cannot be achieved by erasing the religious distinctiveness of each people," he said, adding that such attempts would be "not only futile but even undemocratic" and could lead to instability and conflict. Most leaders of Italy's million-strong Muslim community have distanced themselves from the firebrand Smith, who has appeared on Italian television defending Osama bin Laden. Sociologists have expressed concern that the crucifix debate could inflame relations between Catholic Italians and a growing Islamic community made up mostly of immigrants. Racial tensions have grown in some areas of Italy as more and more Muslims seek to enter Italy, legally and illegally, in search of a better life. Some commentators have said Smith's demand may backfire and fuel the very intolerance it aimed to counter. In the past week, in fact, newspapers have published pictures of Catholics outside churches and schools holding crosses and placards with slogans such as "Muslim hands off our crucifixes." Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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