Irish bishops rap opposition to Lisbon Treaty

September 22, 2009

The Irish bishops' conference has released a statement rejecting claims that approval of the Lisbon Treaty could endanger the country's legal stand against abortion. The Treaty, according to the bishops' statement, "does not undermine existing legal protections in Ireland for unborn children."

Cóir, the group leading opposition to the Lisbon Treaty in the campaign running up to a national referendum, replied that the bishops' statement missed the point of their argument. The danger, the group said, is not that the Lisbon Treaty itself would overthrow Ireland's pro-life law, but that "the treaty will give the EU courts the right to decide on abortion and a great many other social issues in the future."

Although the Irish bishops claimed in their statement that they were remaining neutral on the referendum, they condemned what they called "misleading, incorrect, irrelevant" statements by opponents of the Treaty. They said: ??"The Lisbon Treaty is of the greatest importance, not only for us here in Ireland but also for the future shape of the European project."

 

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Further information:

• Church tells Catholics no abortion risk from Lisbon (Reuters)
• Cóir disputes Bishops' claim on abortion (Irish Times)
• Bishops: Lisbon no threat to protections for unborn (Irish Examiner)
• Irish bishops push for Yes vote on European Treaty (CWN Feature, Sep 16)