Easter blessing 'rite not tradition'

(ANSA) - Bologna, February 26 - The chief justice of the Emilia Romagna regional administrative court (TAR) said Friday the court struck down a Bologna school ordinance authorizing Catholic priests to perform Easter blessings because that would have been a religious ritual and not just a tradition.
    The difference, said Judge Giuseppe Di Nunzio, is that actual religious rituals have no place in schools, unlike mere traditions such as displaying a crucifix or building a Nativity scene at Christmas. "The heart of the ruling is in the sense that an Easter blessing is a religious rite and not just a religious tradition," the judge told reporters on the day of the inauguration of the Emilia Romagna judicial year.
    Di Nunzio said he conveyed this line of reasoning to the Church in "a friendly chat" with Bologna Archbishop Matteo Zuppi.
    The Emilia Romagna TAR struck down the ordinance on February 10, upholding an appeal by teachers and parents.