Church-run hospitals in Ireland will now have to remove religious symbols

A good step.

Hospitals in Ireland that are run by the Catholic Church will be obliged to removed crucifixes and other religious symbols from wards if a patient asks.

A new Government report inspecting the relationship between the state and church-run hospitals has noted that hospitals should be conscious of the impact decor can have on a patient. The review noted that hospitals must ensure a patient's personal preferences are met. Speaking about the news, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "We should have regard to the fact that in modern Ireland there's now a diversity of views on religion and so on." "It's not a campaign from the Government or anyone around removing cribs or crucifixes or statues of Our Lady, that's not what's going to happen. "But it is a message to charities and voluntary bodies that do run hospitals and schools just to have regard to these things." "And the ethos of an institution that's publicly funded should reflect the public, not just any one section of the public."