GERMANY: Germany's Roman Catholic Church, backed by the Vatican, has strongly criticised the country's president for suggesting public schools should ban Christian symbols if they outlaw Muslim headscarves.
Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of the German Bishops' Conference, said in comments published yesterday that president Johannes Rau was wrong to equate the headscarves with Christian symbols long identified with German culture.
The row erupted after several German states said they planned to outlaw teachers wearing Muslim headscarves.
There is a similar controversy in neighbouring France, which is set to outlaw Muslim veils in schools, along with overt Christian and Jewish symbols, to uphold its secular system.
President Rau sparked the German dispute last week by saying that any ban should be applied equally to all religions.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, German-born head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has also criticised Mr Rau, saying the church would not let the cross be banished from public view.
Cardinal Lehmann told Focus magazine many women saw the Muslim veil as a symbol of discrimination while Christian crosses or religious clothing had "not the slightest trace of political propaganda about them".
These different symbols could not be lumped together as "missionary garb", as Mr Rau had done, he said.
France has about five million Muslims, mostly from north Africa, while Germany's three million are mostly from Turkey.
Paris announced last month it would soon ban Muslim veils, Jewish skullcaps and large crosses from state schools and hospitals to respect the legal separation of church and state.
French politicians almost never mention their religion. In Germany, by contrast, schools offer religious instruction, tax offices collect "church tax" to finance recognised churches, and politicians - including practising Protestant Mr Rau - openly speak about faith if they want.
Cardinal Ratzinger, one of Pope John Paul's closest advisers, said Mr Rau had given "a very curious lesson" by arguing religious symbols should remain private matters. "I would not bar a Muslim woman from wearing a headscarf, but even less would I let anyone ban the cross as a public sign of reconciliation."