From Italy
Carla Corsetti: There should be no
crucifix in my child’s school
www.democrazia-atea.it (in Italian)
ITALY – Frosinone (Ceprano) – «The undersigned parent / defender invited the Headmaster of the Comprehensive Institute of Ceprano to immediately remove the crucifix in the classroom attended by her son, sustaining that: “the aforementioned display is a violation of the principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution and also that the exposure of a symbol of death is not compatible with the principles of democratic civilization in which I want to educate my son.» This is what is included in the action that the lawyer Carla Corsetti sent to Mariastella Gelmini, Minister of Education, University and Research, and the Headmaster of the Comprehensive State Institute of Ceprano. « The TAR of Lazio, sub-offices in Latina, » says Corsetti “is to determine as to whether the Comprehensive Institute of Ceprano has established a serious act of discrimination against a child in violation of constitutional principles, in violation of the principles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and finally, whether the Institute is in violation of the ruling of the European Court of 3/11/2009. We are also evaluating the responsibility of managers and members of the Board Institute for violation of Article 3 of the 654/1975 Law which punishes acts of discrimination on religious grounds with up to three years imprisonment. I recall” the lawyer Corsetti added. “that the Court of Cassation acquitted Judge Luigi Tosti in relation to the charge of failure to official acts for refusing to hold a hearing in the courtrooms where the crucifix was displayed, and in that case the Court has circumstances that ‘hearing was held in a courtroom devoid of sectarian symbols.” The battle of secularism undertaken by the lawyer Carla Corsetti is significant in many respects because Corsetti, besides being a lawyer and mother of the discriminated child is also the National Secretary of the Political Party Democracy Atea (Atheist Democracy) www.democrazia-atea.it . Until the Grand Chamber rules on the appeal launched by the Italian government against the ruling that awarded in favour of the spouses Albertin-Lautsi, the lawyer Corsetti has added another notch to this important civil battle. “If it is true that the crucifix is a symbol of tolerance for Catholics, I call on them to demonstrate and accept this fact and live their faith in private without high-handedly imposing it on those who do not share the same symbolism”. The document of the appeal of Carla Corsetti is published on the website of Democracy Atea and is available to all those families forced to suffer the same violation.