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The Italian prime minister and politicians of left and right were united with the Vatican Wednesday in condemning a European court ruling that crucifixes displayed in schools are a breach of human rights.
Silvio Berlusconi judged "unacceptable" the European Court of Human Rights ruling in response to the case of an Italian mother opposed to the hanging of crucifixes on classroom walls.
The prime minister said on national television that the decision "is unacceptable for us Italians" and called it "one of those decisions that makes us doubt the good sense of Europe."
The Vatican's Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone complained that "Europe leaves us with the pumpkins from recent celebrations," referring to Halloween, and it "takes away those symbols that are most important to us".
Pierluigi Bersani, head of the main left wing opposition Democratic Party, also joined the assault on Wednesday, saying "common sense has become a victim of the law". The liberal Italy of Values party called the ruling "erroneous."
The Strasbourg court found that the right of parents to educate their children according to their own beliefs, and children's right to freedom of religion, were breached by the crucifix in classrooms.
They could also be "disturbing for pupils" from other religions and ethnic minorities, the court found, declaring a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Italian bishops' conference denounced the court as "partial and ideological". Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Church reacted "with astonishment and regret".
"The crucifix has always been a sign of God's love, unity and hospitality to all humanity. It is unpleasant that it is considered a sign of division, exclusion or a restriction of freedom," he said.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini said the cross was part of Italian tradition.
"No one, and certainly not an ideological European court, will succeed in erasing our identity," Gelmini said. "The presence of the crucifix in classrooms is not a sign of belief in Catholicism, rather it is a symbol of our tradition."
The government has said an appeal will be made.
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, said the ruling aimed to "wipe out our Christian roots".
Bishops' conferences around Europe also weighed in against the decision, with the Portuguese saying the crucifix was "part of western culture" and also "an anti-violence icon".
The German bishops' conference said the decision "ignores the true significance the crucifix holds in our society".
In 90 percent Catholic Poland, the Archbishop of Gdansk, Slawoj Leszek Glodz was unequivocal, saying, "This is another attempt to rip God from the hearts of the people".
The case was brought to the Strasbourg courts by Soile Lautsi after Italian judges finally ruled against her following years of legal wrangling, declaring on more than one occasion that the crucifix had become as much a symbol of Italian national identity as of Catholicism.
But the European court ruled in Lautsi's favour on Tuesday and awarded her 5,000 euros (7,400 dollars).
Lautsi launched the action eight years ago to defend her children, Dataico and Sami Albertin, aged 11 and 13, who went to a state school in Abano Terme near Venice.
Taking the case up to Italy's Constitutional Court and council of state, she used the example of a 2000 court ruling which found crucifixes in polling stations against the principle of secularism of the state.
The Corriere della Sera newspaper said the Strasbourg court had carried out "a little miracle, creating almost national unity to defend the symbol of Christianity".
Commentator Massimo Franco wrote that the outrage in Italy went beyond "political and even religious membership" but warned that the court could also boost more fundamentalist tendencies inside the Roman Catholic Church.
But La Stampa newspaper said that "if a religion is strong, if it has faith in its ability to create faith, then it does not need special protection".
Some right wing politicians have said that Italy's Christian roots should be enshrined in the country's constitution.
