“Pope John Paul Friday forcefully weighed in on a national controversy in Italy over crucifixes in schools, saying it was undemocratic and dangerous to try to erase a country’s religious symbols. “Recognizing (a nation’s) religious heritage means recognizing the symbols that set it apart,” the pope told European Union interior ministers meeting in Rome. For the past week Italy has been caught up in a controversy sparked by a local judge’s order that a crucifix be taken off the wall of a school in a small town east of Rome.”