Rome (NEV), May 27, 2018 – Is there a government strategy to get back the Catholic religion teaching (IRC) a compulsory subject? And to go back to the times of exemption, foreseen by the 1929 Concordat?
Starting from these questions, the press conference organized by the National Coordination “School and Constitution” was held on Wednesday, May 23 together with the associations that signed the document “Should IRC teachers be examination commissioners?”, sent to the Ministry of Education. The Federation of Protestant Churches (FCEI) is among the promoter associations.
The document enters into the merits of the legislative decree that tacitly overturned the provisions contained in the previous legislation of the ‘Consolidated act on school’, concerning the composition of the commissions for the third year’s examination of the secondary school. “The decree no longer specifies the examination subjects and appoints as commissioners all the teachers of the class (and therefore also the teacher of the Catholic religion)” the signatories explained.
The associations that promoted the document ask for “a ministerial circular that clarifies whether the IRC is one of the examination subjects, and, if it is not, why should the teacher be present. Furthermore the associations ask what is the protection of those who do not make use of the IRC in the examination center, based on the constitutional principles of freedom of conscience (Art.19 of the Italian Constitution) and of parents’ educational freedom (Art.30 of the Italian Constitution) as per the Law 121/85″.
At the press conference, representing the FCEI, was Ilaria Valenzi, legal advisor of the Commission of Evangelical Churches for the Relations with the State (CCERS).
