ecumenism" "
Don’t confuse matters that concern religions with the problems of public order: that is what is asked of the State by Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris, who, in the course of an interview with the press agency “France Iter”, spoke of the new law on the secularism of the State that among other things prohibits the use of the Islamic headscarf in schools. “The liberty of Islam said the archbishop is just as important as the liberty of Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism. It’s a question of public order to identify those who abuse religion to turn it into a political instrument and to turn it against the rights of man. But we must not confuse the internal statute of religions with the maintenance of public order”. If one believes that the headscarf is an extremist political sign and if one is convinced that this sign may threaten the security of the Republic, the State the archbishop added is called to assume “its responsibilities but not to interfere in religious affairs”. The archbishop of Paris also warned politicians of the risk of re-igniting “a religious war” in France, drawing attention to the “scores of cases” of verbal aggression suffered in recent days by Catholics who wear a cross round their neck. The Protestant Federation for its part has issued an official communiqué, following the assurances that President Chirac had given the Churches in his traditional New Year’s message. The Federation says the press release appreciates the President’s good will but “reiterates its fears about the risk of discrimination that may be caused by the emergency drafting of a law against the use of religious signs in schools”. Protestants are not convinced by the decision to proceed with urgency to the approval of the law. They also think it is “an illusion to believe that the serious questions regarding mutual respect or the equal dignity between men and women may be regulated simply by a law that prohibits religious signs”. The question reveals, on the contrary, “a deficit in relations that characterises French society. It begs far more complex problems such as “equal opportunities for everyone, effective integration, women’s rights and the struggle against all forms of discrimination”.
