Eurolink News

Church settles on middle way in Lisbon debate (24th Sept 2009)

September 24, 2009 at 4:18 pm Leave a comment

After weeks of sometimes conflicting comments from various church leaders about Lisbon, the Catholic hierarchy has adopted a neutral position on the treaty. A statement issued by the Irish Bishops’ Conference said they did not seek to align themselves with either side of the referendum debate, but wished to make it clear that Catholics could, ‘in good conscience, vote “Yes” or “No”’. Without specifically endorsing the “Yes” campaign, the statement emphasised that the treaty ‘does not undermine existing legal protections in Ireland for unborn children’. It also made an indirect jibe at posters and leaflets published by anti-Lisbon groups Cóir and Eire go Brách, by warning that ‘any material which misinforms voters is an interference with the exercise of a fundamental right and has no place in church buildings or grounds.’
Elsewhere, a group representing three Irish Protestant churches (Church of Ireland, Methodists and Quakers) has come out strongly in favour of Lisbon, and warned voters of the isolation that could follow for Ireland if the treaty is rejected.
Meanwhile church leaders have not responded to accusations by Dublin MEP Joe Higgins that they have ignored the arms question in the Lisbon Treaty. The Socialist MEP said it was ‘puzzling’ that the Catholic Church would not discuss what he claimed was the treaty’s attempt to ‘walk the Irish people blindfold into a militarised Europe’. Mr Higgins also described the arms industry as ‘the guilty secret the EU political establishment likes to keep hidden’.
However Mr Higgins failed to acknowledge that the European Defence Agency operates ‘without prejudice to the competence of member states in defence matters’, and that it has no power to tell member states to boost their arms stocks. He also did not mention that the EU has no power to regulate, limit or prevent the arms trade, which would no doubt continue with or without the Lisbon Treaty.

Entry filed under: Lisbon II, Neutrality and the EU. Tags: .