The cited article reports on the European Court of Human Rights hearing a case seeking removal of Christian icons from Greek courtrooms. Two atheists claim these symbols compromise judicial neutrality, with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) intervening to defend their display. The piece presents this as a matter of “religious freedom” and cultural heritage, quoting ADF counsel Adina Portaru arguing that “public spaces should not be stripped of crosses, icons, or other symbols with religious, cultural, and historical significance.”
Naturalism Masquerading as Neutrality
The plaintiffs’ argument rests on the modernist heresy condemned by Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors: That “the State must be separated from the Church” (Proposition 55). Their demand for “neutral” public spaces constitutes not neutrality but hostility toward the Social Kingship of Christ, violating the first commandment’s requirement that civil authorities honor God publicly. As Pius XI declared in Quas Primas: “Rulers of states…fulfill this duty themselves and with their people…to contribute to the increase of their homeland’s happiness.”
The article’s reference to ADF’s “cultural heritage” defense dangerously reduces Christianity to a folk tradition rather than the one true religion demanding submission from all nations. This echoes the condemned proposition that “the Church ought to be separated from the State” (Syllabus, Proposition 55). The Holy Office under St. Pius X warned against such naturalism in Lamentabili Sane, condemning the idea that “Christian doctrine was initially Jewish…[evolving] through gradual development” (Proposition 60).
Judicial Apostasy From Divine Law
the presence of a crucifix in state classrooms does not “amount to indoctrination or interfere with the right of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion.”
This relativistic framing accepts the anti-Catholic premise that governments may permit religious expression rather than require it as their sacred duty. Leo XIII’s Immortale Dei establishes that states must “have God for their chief authority and lawgiver,” making the very notion of “neutral courts” apostasy. The Greek courts’ initial rejection of the atheists’ demands – while commendable – fails to cite the true foundation: Christ’s eternal right to reign over all temporal powers.
The article omits any reference to Greece’s historical status as an Orthodox nation, exposing the modernist tendency to erase dogmatic truth in favor of pluralistic falsehood. Pius IX’s condemnation applies here: “Liberty of conscience and worship is each man’s personal right” (Syllabus, Proposition 15). When ADF speaks of symbols not “imposing belief,” they implicitly deny Catholicism’s exclusive claim to truth – a betrayal echoing the Vatican II heresy of religious liberty.
The Masonic Roots of Secularization
This legal attack follows the Masonic blueprint exposed in the Syllabus‘s condemnation of societies promoting “indifferentism” (Proposition 4). The 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 2335) excommunicates those who join Masonic lodges precisely for advancing this anti-Christian agenda. That the case originates in Greece – home to Mount Athos’ monastic republic – reveals the diabolical disorientation: Ancient Christian strongholds now capitulating to secular humanism.
ADF’s argument from “cultural significance” proves spiritually bankrupt. As Pius XI warned in Quas Primas: “When God and Jesus Christ were removed from laws and states…the entire human society had to be shaken.” The true Catholic response demands not preservation of artifacts but restoration of Christ’s reign through the conversion of nations. Any compromise accepts the revolutionary lie that man – not God – is the measure of justice.
Source:
Christian symbols in public buildings on trial before European Court of Human Rights (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 16.01.2026