US Congress to Defend Pope at the United Nations

By Austin Ruse

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM) The United States Senate and House of Representative began considering this week resolutions condemning the ongoing attack on the presence of the Holy See at the UN. The resolutions threaten that a Vatican ouster from the UN would "further damage relations between the United States and the United Nations."

     The attack on the Vatican's status began a year ago under the leadership of a pro-abortion group called "Catholics for a Free Choice." Nearly 400 organizations, mostly pro-abortion advocates like International Planned Parenthood Federation, have joined the call for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to "review" the Holy See's status with a view to downgrading them to non-governmental organization status, which would be identical status to that held by the Girl Scouts.

     Even campaign organizer Frances Kissling does not believe her campaign will be successful. Rather she expects the campaign will "keep the Vatican on its toes" during UN conferences. It is understood her intention is to intimidate the Holy See delegations and its allies in the developing world. The Holy See participates in a coalition of Latin American and Muslim states that has successfully kept abortion from becoming an international human right. The Senate and House resolutions emphasize that the attack on the Holy See comes mostly over the question of abortion.

     The resolutions, introduced by Republican Congressman Christopher Smith in the House and by Republican Senators Rick Santorum and Bob Smith in the Senate, praise the Holy See's work at the UN. The resolutions counter the claim that the Holy See is not a state and thereby should be afforded no place at the UN by pointing out that the Holy See has traded diplomats for 1600 years and is recognized as a state by as many 169 nations.

     The resolutions "commend the Holy See for its unique contributions to a thoughtful and robust dialogue in issues of international concern during its 36 years as a Permanent Observer at the United Nations."

     The resolutions "strongly object to any effort to expel the Holy See from the United Nations as a state participant by removing its status as a nonmember state Permanent Observer," and says "that any degradation of the status accorded to the Holy See would seriously damage the credibility of the United Nations by demonstrating that its rules of participation are manipulable for ideological reasons rather than being rooted in neutral principles and objective facts of sovereignty."

     Senior congressional aides believe "only the most vociferous pro-abortion supporters can possibly vote against these resolutions. These Congressional resolutions may finally force a comment by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who has so far remained silent on this ongoing attack on the Holy See.

     Veteran Vatican watchers call the resolutions "historical documents."

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