A NSW parliamentary committee will investigate whether Cardinal George Pell was in contempt of Parliament in warning MPs not to support a bill that would open the way for therapeutic cloning.NSW Legislative Council president Peter Primrose said yesterday he had agreed to a request from Greens MP Lee Rhiannon to refer the matter to the Upper House Privileges Committee.
Cardinal Pell, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, earlier this month warned there would be “consequences” for Catholic members of the NSW Parliament who voted for a bill that would scrap a ban on stem-cell research, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer.
After the bill passed the Legislative Assembly, Cardinal Pell said he hoped the Upper House would be better informed.
Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said that following the referral of the cardinal’s comments to the privileges committee, his “outburst of muscular Catholicism” would now come under the microscope.
“The president of the upper house has agreed to my request that the privileges committee investigate the propriety of Cardinal Pell’s comments,” Ms Rhiannon said.
“I am concerned about the presence on the privileges committee of Reverend Fred Nile and Christian Right Labor MP Greg Donnelly, who made tribute during his inaugural speech to “an extraordinary person, Pope John Paul II and Senator Brian Harradine”.
“I urge both Reverend Nile and Mr Donnelly to leave their religious beliefs at home when they examine this matter.”
Ms Rhiannon said Cardinal Pell had shown no remorse for threatening consequences for Catholic MPs who did not vote against the bill.
“The archbishop has refused to cease his special brand of meddling, despite a widespread public outcry that his statements were inappropriate,” Ms Rhiannon said.
“Hopefully this referral will act as a warning to Cardinal Pell that he should refrain from launching a fresh assault on upper house MPs who are yet to cast a vote on this important bill.
“I hope the privileges committee will move quickly in their investigation as there is considerable concern in the community over Pell’s attempts to exert influence over the democratic process in NSW.”
The newly convened seven-member privileges committee is expected to meet later this month.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce