Crucifix at school, "I'll explain why it is important for everyone"

“For a Christian it is a revelation of God, but that man hanging on a cross speaks to everyone because it represents self-sacrifice and the gift of life for all: love, responsibility, solidarity, welcome, the common good… It does not offend anyone: it tells us that one exists for others and not only for oneself. It seems clear to me that the problem is not to remove it, but to explain its meaning ”.

This was stated in an interview with Corriere della Sera, the archbishop of the diocese of Chieti-Vasto and theologian Bruno Strong in the aftermath of sentence of the Cassation according to which the posting of the Crucifix at school is not an act of discrimination.

“It seems sacrosanct to me, like it is sacrosanct to say that a campaign against the Crucifix would make no sense - he observes - It would be the denial of our deepest cultural identity, as well as of our spiritual root ”that is“ Italian and Western ”.

“There is no doubt - he explains - that the Crucifix has a extraordinary symbolic value for all our cultural heritage. Christianity has shaped our history and its values ​​in itself, such as the person and the infinite dignity of the human being or suffering and the offering of one's life for others, and therefore solidarity. All meanings that represent the soul of the West, do not offend anyone and, if well explained, can encourage all people, regardless of whether they believe it or not ”.

On the hypothesis that other religious symbols can accompany the crucifix in the classrooms, Forte concludes: "I am not at all against the idea that there may be other symbols. Their presence is justified if there are people in the class who feel they are represented, who ask for it. It would be a form of syncretism, rather, if we felt we had to do it at all costs, like this, in the abstract ”.