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Secular Democracy in Europe

(Originally published in the January - March 2005 issue of The Irish Humanist, the quarterly publication of the Humanist Association of Ireland.)

On October 27th the then incoming European Commission president, Mr José Manuel Barroso delayed seeking ratification for his new Commission nominations from the EU parliament because he knew they would be rejected. The row centred on Mr Rocco Buttiglione, a fervent Catholic and friend of the Pope, who eventually stood down as the Italian commission nominee.

Below, Proinsias De Rossa who is a Member of the European Parliament (Socialist Group) and of the Humanist Association of Ireland, writes on the controversy.

"Christianity is not, and should not be, linked to any political regime nor associated with any particular form of government, even a democratic one. On this point, as elsewhere, it is essential to distinguish the domains of God and Caesar"
Robert Schumann (1886 - 1963) noted French Roman Catholic politician who is regarded as one of the founders of the European Union

Rocco Butiglione was not rejected by the European parliament as Justice and Home affairs (JHA) Commissioner 'because he was a Roman Catholic'. He was rejected because he made it clear that not only did he disagree fundamentally with the common values and rights established by the European Union for all citizens; that he would actively resist their implementation despite the fact that he would have been legally obliged to uphold them on behalf of all the people of Europe including non-Roman Catholics.

The values, political record and current political disposition of the person to be appointed as a Commissioner is of critical importance for the development of Community law. It also has a bearing on the defense of citizens' rights under the existing treaties and indeed the enhanced rights that citizens will have post 2006 if the proposed European Constitution is ratified.

To put this in stark terms, it would obviously be unacceptable to appoint as a Commissioner for JHA someone whose declared views, political record and current domestic political activity revealed them as someone who believed and worked to ensure that certain ethnic or religious categories were not entitled to equality before the law. It would be equally irresponsible in my view to appoint a person to that job who believed that single mothers, married women, and gay couples should be discriminated against.

We are intolerant of fascism and anti-Semitism. As legislators I believe members of the European parliament have a duty to be equally intolerant of misogyny, homophobia, and religious sectarianism. The victory in blocking his appointment is however only a skirmish in a struggle by religious militants to roll back hard won freedoms and the separation of the religious and public spheres.

It would equally be a mistake to think that the religious militants represent the political instincts of religious believers generally. We therefore have to build bridges in defense of democracy with all those who disagree with the Dana Rosemary Scallon/Buttligione line of argument, or who at present just feel uneasy but can't quite put their finger on why. Neither is this a debate about whether 'god' exists or not.

The Humanist Association of Ireland I believe needs to take a lead and open up a dialogue in the media on these democratic issues and in direct dialogue with various faith groups and churches. Schumann's position, that of a devout Roman Catholic and a founder of the EU is I believe a good starting point.