Vatican Delegation to Forum Decries EU Stand
The Vatican used the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women as a platform Saturday to attack European Union policy on the family, charging the EU with seeking to roll back parental rights, belittle motherhood and undermine religious faith.
The delegation sent by Pope John Paul II said the EU is leading a coalition that is anti-family and anti-religion in negotiations to forge a new global charter for women.
References to motherhood in the draft document are all negative, Vatican spokesman Joachim Navarro-Valls said, and negotiators are “attempting to eliminate all recognition of parental rights and responsibilities.”
The sharp criticism shook the gathering out of a weekend lull. It marked the first dispute to spill from behind closed doors into public bickering since it began last week.
Feminist leaders condemned the blast from the Holy See, one of the most influential participants in its own right as well as through voting proxies such as Malta and Ecuador.
EU spokeswoman Cristina Alberdi of Spain dismissed the charges as simply incorrect and urged calm in the debate.
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