A representative of the Irish Catholic Bishops has told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs that Catholics can, in good conscience, vote Yes for the Lisbon Treaty.The Bishop of Down and Connor Most Rev Noel Traenor said there are no grounds to justify a No vote for religious or ethical reasons.
He also criticised those publications and organisations which were intent on influencing the outcome of the referendum through the use of misleading or inaccurate information.
Dr Traenor told the Committee this afternoon that he was addressing it in his capacity as “the representative of the Irish Bishops’ Conference to the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community”.
He explained that he had served that organisation in Brussels for almost 20 years and was its general secretary for 17 years before returning to Ireland in 2008 to become Bishop of Down and Connor.
Emphasising that he was addressing the Committee with the support of the Catholic primate Cardinal Sean Brady, he referred to a statement by the Cardinal prior to last year’s referendum in which he had “made it clear that a committed Catholic, even before the current legal guarantees had been secured, could vote in favour of the Lisbon Treaty”.
He continued: “I begin by echoing that conviction. I state unequivocally that 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.
“The Lisbon Treaty 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. These legal guarantees represent a welcome and significant clarification of already existing safeguards in the relationship between the competence of the EU institutions and national sovereignty on important ethical issues.”
He claimed there was evidence that a number of publications and organisations are intent 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,” he said. “It is important to point out that no organisation actively lobbying in the current campaign, using either print or other media, speaks for or on behalf of the Catholic Church.”
Dr Traenor added that the standing committee of the Irish Bishops’ Conference would meet next Monday, following which it would issue a statement on the Lisbon Treaty.
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