I COMMEND The European Court of Human Rights for ruling that Italian public schools can continue to display crucifixes in classrooms.

Religion is a part of man’s being and essence and thus there can never truly be any total separation of church and state. Where this is taking place, man is headed for anarchy, chaos, and disaster.

To Roman Catholics the Cross is the sign of the Passion, and at the same time it is a sign of the Resurrection. It is, so to speak, the saving staff that God holds out to us, the bridge by which we can pass over the abyss of death, and all the threats of the Evil One, and reach God.

The Cross displays what is distinctively Christian. It is also a symbol of universal love. It is the image of the Christian revolution which has spread the idea of authentic equality between all men all over the world.

The most basic Christian gesture in prayer is and always will be the sign of the Cross. It is a way of confessing Christ crucified with one’s very body. It is a visible and public Yes to Him who suffered for us. It is a confession of faith, a confession of hope.

Let us fight to keep our religious signs and symbols from the atheistic clutches of Big Brother in this Orwellian age.