Madrid, Spain, Feb 6, 2005 / 22:00 pm
As the February 20 date for the referendum on the EU Constitution looms, the Bishops Conference of Spain called on Spaniards to cast an informed vote, with full knowledge of the facts about the different ambiguities in the Constitution in areas such as the Christian roots of Europe, abortion, euthanasia, marriage and the family. “The Church puts her hopes in Europe.”
The document explains that, as on other occasions, the bishops “are fulfilling their pastoral duty to offer help to Catholics and to public opinion in general regarding the moral dimension of voting responsibly and in conscience.”
“The Church puts her hopes in Europe. The Holy See, the European bishops and Catholic politicians and those of other Christian denominations have been among the first to encourage a great plan of European unification which, bringing to an end the sad chapter of great and repeated wars, gives way to an age of unity and true progress,” the bishops maintained.
The bishops stated that voters must go to the polls with sufficient information and with full knowledge of the facts. “The content of the Constitution presents positive and negative elements,” the added, “and assessing it in its entirety is not an easy task.”