‘Keep cross as symbol in public life’, urge bishops

The Austrian bishops have insisted that the cross, as a symbol of justice and fairness, should remain in the country’s courtrooms, as the debate on the issue divided the Government and the judges, write Christa Pongratz-Lippitt and Mark Brolly.

The coalition Government has ruled that while state representatives such as judges and members of the police force must present themselves as “religiously neutral”, and not wear religious symbols of any sort, crosses will remain in courtrooms. The Association of Austrian Judges, however, wants the neutrality ruling extended and crosses removed.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, head of the Bishops’ Conference, said that the cross “reminds us that there is such a thing as a sacred duty to be just”. It was therefore a visible reminder for judges and juries that they must judge fairly, he said. While state representatives should remain neutral, removing all religious symbols from the public sphere would mean truncating all church spires, which was “absurd”.

There was a subst­antial difference between explicitly religious clothing and the cross, the press spokesman of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference, Paul Wuthe, told the Austrian weekly Die Ganze Woche on 10 April. “The cross cautions all those participating in a trial to be truthful and just, and recalls the humane values of Christianity on which our rule of law is based,” Wuthe said. Austria had an added reason for not removing crosses from courtrooms, he recalled. They had last been forcefully removed during the Nazi regime.

Meanwhile the leader of the Australian Ordinariate, Mgr Harry Entwistle, has urged Christians to “revere, wear and display” the cross proudly, noting that in 2016, some thousands were killed because they would not abandon their faith, which the cross symbolised.

In his Easter Message, Mgr Entwistle said Christianity was the most persecuted religion, so Christians should lift the cross high because its “shame” was a door to the salvation of all. “The first Christians would not understand how the Western world is able to treat the cross as an empty symbol,” he said. “I urge all Christians to display the cross ... which symbolises our way of life as servants of God and others.”