Spanish Court Says Schools Must Remove Crucifixes

For the first time, a judge in Spain has ordered a public school to remove crucifixes from the walls of its classrooms and public spaces. Today's Edmonton (Vancouver) Journal reports that the ruling came in the city of Valladolid in a case in which a parent and a secular organization claimed that schools were violating the constitutional guarantee of church-state separation. Art. 16 of Spain's Constitution provides: "No religion shall have a state character. The public powers shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and maintain the appropriate relations of cooperation, with the Catholic Church and other denominations." The court held that "The presence of these symbols in areas ... where minors are being educated can promote the idea that the state is closer" to Roman Catholicism than other religions.