EU: Imminent Attack Against Catholic Commissioner Designate?

By J.C. von Krempach, J.D. | January 11, 2010

The Catholic news portal ZENIT reports today that left and liberal Members of the European Parliament plan to launch an attack against the appointment of Viviane Reding from Luxemburg as the new EU Commissioner responsible for Fundamental Rights. The reason? Mrs Reding allegedly is a Catholic practising her faith, which alone suffices to disqualify her, in the eyes of her opponents, for taking on the responsibilities assigned to her. For these opponents, such as Dutch MEP Sophie In ‘t Veld (Liberal), Austrian MEP Hannes Swoboda (Socialist),German MEP Rebecca Harms (Green), ‘promoting Fundamental Rights’ really means to attack catholic positions, such as the protectionof human life from conception to the natural death, or the respect for the natural family. It is thus inconceivable for them that responsibility for Fundamental Rights could be given to a Catholic rather than to a person sharing their own radical agenda.

N. B.: it was the liberal (ALDE) Group in the European Parliament who, as a condition for confirming his nomination, requested Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to create a new post for a Fundamental Rights Commissioner. Barroso conceded this request, but contrary to the hopes and expectations of ALDE (who wanted this sensitive post to be given to Cecilia Malmstrom from Sweden), he decided not to nominate an ALDE politician for this sensitive post.

Will we see a new ‘Buttiglione Case’? In 2004, the leftist/liberal EP Majority blocked the appointment of Italian nomminee Rocco Buttiglione as Commissioner for Justice and Interior Affairs for exactly the same reason: because they could not accept a practising Catholic being responsible for ‘Fundamental Rights’.

The hearings can be followed here.

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