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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vatican Attacks End Of Law Requiring Crucifixes

Compiled From Wire Services

The Vatican vehemently attacked the German high court Friday for striking down a state law that required schools to hang crosses in every classroom.

Thursday’s ruling struck down a Bavarian state law that ordered schools to hang a cross or a crucifix in each classroom. It is the only German state known to have such a rule. Munich is Bavaria’s capital.

Karl-Georg Zierlein, a spokesman for the Constitutional Court, said the ruling meant it was no longer obligatory to have a crucifix on classroom walls, but did not order officials to remove the Christian symbols.

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, blasted the ruling as “misguided religious pluralism,” and said it “moves Europe toward catastrophe” by breaking its “Christian spiritual and cultural roots.”