Monsignor Nunzio
Galantino, the secretary general of Italian bishops conference
CEI, blasted alleged attempts to cancel or hide Christmas in an
editorial published Monday in Catholic monthly Vita Pastorale.
"If this is Christmas, I find the decisions of those who
would like to cancel or camouflage Christmas to respect other
traditions or religious confessions, making fools of themselves
in the process, to be specious and ideological," Galantino
wrote.
The comments come amid a furore over an alleged decision
by a school in Rozzano, near Milan, to scrap its traditional
Christmas concert in order to stage a more 'secular' event.
The principal at the centre of the storm, Marco Parma, at
the weekend denied reports he had taken down crucifixes and said
he had not cancelled any planned events in the run-up to
Christmas.
He said a concert would take place at Rozzano's Garofani
secondary school on December 17.
He also said that its primary school would hold a concert
on January 21, as decided at the start of the academic year in
September.
At the time the decision to hold a winter concert in
January rather than a pre-Christmas event did not attract the
media's attention.
"The only request that I opposed was that of two mums who
wanted to teach hymns to the Christian children during the lunch
break, which I continue to consider inappropriate," Parma said.
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