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Church in the WorldSlovak Church backs abortion opt-outEurope 21 January 2006THE PRESIDENT of the Slovak Bishops? Conference has defended a draft Church-State agreement allowing Catholics to opt out of professional duties which contradict their principles. ?We can talk of freedom of conscience when a person has the right to refuse actions which are against the moral code of the religion he professes,? said Bishop Frantisek Tondra of Spis. The 69-year-old bishop was reacting to claims by a group of MEPs that the proposed agreement would violate the right of European Union citizens to obtain abortions and divorces. In an open letter to Slovak government ministers and parliamentarians, he said the conscience clause would benefit Churches belonging to the Slovak Ecumenical Council as well as Catholics. ?There is no justification for the claim that this discriminates against non-Catholic citizens of our state,? Bishop Tondra added. ?A similar situation occurred when an agreement was signed on teaching religion in schools?. The agreement is the last of four follow-up measures envisaged under a November 2000 Concordat with the Vatican, codifying Church rights in the post-Communist country, and will give doctors and judges a legal entitlement to opt out of abortions and divorce proceedings. More than 50 MEPs and 130 pro-choice NGOs co-signed a letter earlier this month to the Slovak premier, Mikulas Dziurinda, claiming the proposed provision would violate women?s rights in Slovakia, where Catholics make up 70 per cent of the population of 5.4 million. However, the clause was defended by Slovakia?s parliament speaker and Christian Democrat leader, Pavol Hrusovsky, who said he believed ?political hysteria by opponents of Christian values? had replaced ?reasoned judgement?.
Three earlier 2002-4 agreements regulated the Catholic Church?s finances, and confirmed its right to operate army, police and prison chaplaincies, as well as to teach religion in state schools. However, Church lawyers have warned that the latest conscience clause could be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights, despite being supported by tens of thousands in a late 2005 Church-backed parliamentary petition. |
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