ENGLISH

Irish President Mary McAleese said this week that Ireland would support amention of God in the preamble to the 465-article constitution, which is expected to be finalised by mid-December at an EU leaders summit in Brussels. “The Irish government has indicated that it would welcome such an inclusion if consensus can be reached on suitable language,” McAleese told members of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg. “A number of questions remain to be fully debated and finally resolved including the issue of a reference to God.”

Her appeal came after visiting Pope John Paul at the Vatican two weeks ago, where the pontiff made a personal appeal asking her to push for the inclusion in the charter. The pope said Ireland had an “essential role” to play in affirming its Christian identity in an enlarged European Union.

Members of the European Parliament’s conservative People’s Party presented a petition of 400,000 signatures to Italian European Affairs Minister Rocco Buttiglione this week, supporting the call for “explicit recognition” of Christianity in the constitution. Germany, Austria, Portugal, Slovakia and

the Netherlands also say they have no problems in giving greater prominence in the charter text to God.

The preamble to the draft of the constitution contains a very vague reference to Christianity’s past. It merely says Europe draws “inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance ... still present in its heritage”.

Will you be joining us in Paris on 6th December as part of a joint event with Libre Pensée to defend secularism in Europe? Details from

Courtessy of Humanist Network News/ 19. November 2003

Catholics Invigorate Contraception Opposition (Column)
The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, admitting that American Catholics pay little attention to their church's ban on contraception, are undertaking an effort to reinforce it.
The contraception question was introduced by the Committee for Pro-Life Activities, the bishops' anti-abortion body. The committee proposed the writing of an easily understandable booklet, and the conference voted to approve the project.

The booklet is to address questions about the church's teaching on marriage and sex, why "natural family planning" -- seeking or avoiding pregnancy according to the fertility cycle -- is acceptable and why God hates artificial birth control. (Perhaps because He didn’t think of it?)

The Catholic Church has, in recent months, has been accused of spreading lies about the HIV-blocking abilities of condoms. It is not known whether this is an official part of the church’s anti-contraception campaign.

“Natural family planning,” a.k.a. the “Rhythm Method,” has a failure rate of about 25 percent. The surest results of the Catholic Church's doctrine would be more Catholics (at best) and millions of unwanted children born to unprepared families (at the worst). Skyrocketing fertility rates would quickly lead to a dramatic drop in per capita income, and a rapid growth in human population.

This, in turn, could lead to a new Dark Ages. This would result in an decrease in literacy, an increase in superstition and a possible return to the church. Hiding a recruitment ploy in an anti-contraception movement? Those Catholic bishops are crazy like foxes.

Rob Greene, IHS