Why Catholics should vote in favour

“A Catholic can, without reserve and in good conscience, vote ‘Yes’ for the Lisbon Treaty. There are no grounds to justify a ‘No’ vote in the Lisbon Treaty on the basis of specifically religious or ethical concerns”. Msgr. Nöel Treanor, bishop of Down and Connor, and representative of the Irish Bishops’ Conference to COMECE, (the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community) delivered his opening address to the Joint Committee for European Affairs on September 16. Next October 2 Irish citizens will be called to the polls for the second time to vote in favor or against the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, after the negative outcome of May 2008 consultations. “The permanent Commission of the Irish Bishops’ Conference will release a statement in due time”, Msgr. Treanor explained, and recalled that recently Cardinal Sean Brady, President of Irish bishops and primate of All Ireland, called Catholic faithful to vote in favor of the Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty does not favor abortion. Msgr. Treanor encourages all those involved in this debate to provide accurate information on the question, guarding against “publications and organizations who are intent once again on influencing the outcome of the forthcoming referendum by introducing misleading or inaccurate information. This includes suggesting, for example, that the Lisbon Treaty would undermine existing legal protections in Ireland for unborn children”. “The Lisbon Treaty – the prelate remarks – does not alter the legal position of abortion in Ireland. This is further assured by the legal guarantees (which will become protocols) secured by the Irish Government in the period since the first referendum”. In weighing up the Lisbon Treaty, “citizens will wish to take account of the opportunities as well as the challenges which go with participating in a free, democratic political system at both national and EU level”. As relates to the concern “about a ‘creeping’ impact of EU institutions on important ethical issues falling within national competence”, the Treaty “does not give grounds for such concern”, the prelate points out, and warns: “Here the competent and robust exercise of their representative functions by our elected Ministers, acting in the Council, and by our Members of the European Parliament will be determinative in co-shaping, with our fellow Europeans, the ethical and societal fabric of tomorrow’s Europe”. Christians present in the public debate at European level. Whether it is “the influence of secular ideology, cultural forces which undermine a consistent ethic of life, or concerns about the status of marriage and the family”, the ideal of participation “invites Christians to engage fully with the representative and democratic institutions available to them at both national and EU level” Msgr. Treanor said quoting from Pope Benedict XVI’s address at the COMECE conference in Rome in March 2007 regarding the need for Christians to be present in the public debate at European level. “We need to promote the dialogue of reason and faith in the life of the EU and its institutions” – the Irish bishop declared -. “Citizens of religious faith need to secure and use the opportunities provided to Churches and faith based organizations in Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty” to secure “their rightful place in the dialogue about Europe and its values”. This Article provides “an invaluable and unprecedented opportunity” for Churches and faith communities “by recognizing for the first time in the primary law of the EU the existing status of Churches at a national level, their ‘identity and specific contribution’ to society”, and by committing the European Union to ‘maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue’ with them. Co-determining Europe’s future. A rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, cautions Msgr. Treanor, “might jeopardise this important achievement” and might “weaken rather than strengthen the influence of our Christian heritage and values on the future direction of the European Union and its prospect as a community of values”. The “European Union is a project and a process. It is a process which is still young and in some respects fragile. The Lisbon Treaty marks an important point in its evolution but it is not the final word”. For Msgr. Treanor, the “opportunity to co-determine with our fellow Europeans the shape and quality of the future of Europe is enhanced, not diminished, by the Lisbon Treaty”. Thus the role of Ireland, a “key member State, should not be put at risk by a vote based on frustrations or even anger with domestic political parties”. Similarly, “concerns about our economy or other difficulties at a domestic level should not fuel a ‘no’ vote”. “It is my belief that the EU is a necessary and vital support to Ireland and its economy in addressing these issues”, he declared. The Church, he concludes, “recognizes, respects and does not usurp” politicians’ primary responsibility for “clarifying and promoting the Lisbon Treaty”. “The Church rather reminds all Christians of their duty to vote on matters of such importance on the basis of accurate information, and an informed conscience and with due regard for the pursuit of solidarity and the global common good”.