ROME – In examples which suggest the strains of a county navigating the transition from being almost entirely Catholic to a more multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, one Italian school has announced a day off to allow Muslim students to celebrate the end of Ramadan, while another has refused permission for a Catholic priest to offer a traditional Easter blessing.
Inevitably, both incidents have generated national controversy and become the subject of intense political debate, especially among political and social conservatives. This is believed to be the first time an Italian school has closed in observance of an Islamic feast.
