Paola Binetti, a Catholic in the opposition Democratic Party, the successor of what was once the West’s largest communist party, said: “In Italy, the crucifix is a specific sign of our tradition.”

The history of Italy is marked by symbols and if we erase symbols we erase part of ourselves.

As Americans who’ve watched the ACLU trample our traditions for decades for the exact same reason as the ECHR used to justify this ruling, we all know where those arguments will end up – the circular file.

TRADITION IS TERROR!

Next the Pope will be required to offer the Muslim call to prayer five times a day, lest anyone — and we all know who we mean by “anyone” — be offended by his being head of the Catholic church and all.

Next the Pope will be required to offer the Muslim call to prayer five times a day, lest anyone — and we all know who we mean by “anyone” — be offended by his being head of the Catholic church and all.
Posted by CavalierX 2009-11-05 13:11:13

CavalierX, if we give in to every demand made by Muslims, whether it be special treatment for them or the elimination of all religious expression but theirs, THAT WILL OFFEND THEM.

And when they begin to get offended by the cowardly acts of murder and terror done in the name of their religion, then and ONLY then will I begin to give a damn about what offends them.

Strasbourg, France? Dictating to Italy? A “European Court of Human Rights”? Has the collective arrived over there?
I don’t see such outside dictates and rulings going over quite so well should it arrive on this side of the Atlantic, don’t see Americans taking it and no, I don’t see Canadians take it, not in my neck of the woods.

“I don’t see Canadians take it, not in my neck of the woods.”

Posted by NorthernCanuck
2009-11-05 14:22:52

NorthernCanuck,

I hope and pray that you are correct about that. But with the way the health care & energy bill are going at this moment, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this happening here in the U.S. and Canada. Plus the ACLU trying at every turn to try and remove anything relating to Christianity from the public square.

I never thought that I would see this happen, I’m not particularly religious, however I’ve never objected to any displays in the town square. The displays have always given me comfort over the years.

The ruling by the court in Strasbourg, which Italy said it would appeal, said crucifixes on school walls — a common sight that is part of every Italian’s life — could disturb children who were not Christians.

In that case I’d say those children deserve a healthy dose of sensitivity training. Being “disturbed” at the sight of religious expression you disagree with sounds an awful lot like hatethink to me.

Strasbourg, France? Dictating to Italy?

Sort of. The authority of the European Court of Human Rights is murky at best. The sources I’ve read often contradict each other. Some say the court’s decisions are legally binding on member states of the Council of Europe, others say it has no official authority, and at least one source I’ve read says they have power but it’s extremely limited (they can “award damages”, whatever that means, and they may have the power to expel a member state from the Council of Europe for refusing to comply; like I said, the extent of their authority is unclear).

I don’t think they have any formal executive branch so I’m not sure how they expect to enforce their decisions if a member state refuses to comply.

Big Mo asked his followers to give him Constantinople and Rome. Strangly, Jerusalem is never mentioned? Well, they’ve had Constantinople for many years and I believe they will have Rome in my lifetime. It will be strange to see the dome in St. Peters painted gold and proclaimed to the world to be one of the oldest mosques in the world.

I long for the old days when everyone in Europe was a separate nation state, there were nice border posts for customs and immigration officers to amiably slow down travel and the closest Muslims were in Turkey or across the Straits of Tarifa in Morocco. European hegemony is not only a pipe dream, but it has shown us that no union of truly diverse people can exist without some common tradition of human rights that are not existing at the whim of a government or a despotic collective.