Socialist Senator announces conversion and leaves politics over laws that “conflict with Christian ethics”

Barcelona, Spain, Nov 30, 2007 / 12:17 pm MT (CNA).-

Socialist Senator Mercedes Aroz has announced her retirement from politics at the end of the legislative session over disagreements with her party’s leaders regarding the approval of laws such as homosexual marriage, which in her judgment “directly conflict with Christian ethics.”

In statements to Europa Press, Aroz explained that she has communicated her decision to party leaders in the region and that she will continue to be active in the party.  She announced her “conversion” to Christianity after embracing Marxist ideology for decades, in a process of personal transformation that went on “for various years” and which has culminated in her “full integration as a member of the Catholic Church.”

“My current Christian commitment has led me to disagree with certain laws of the government that directly conflict with Christian ethics, such as the regulations approved for homosexual unions or research with human embryos, and that in conscience I have not been able to support,” she said.

“I have wanted to make my conversion public in order to underscore the conviction of the Catholic Church that Christianity has much to say to the men and women of our time, because there is something more than just reason and science.  Through the Christian faith one comes to fully understand one’s identity as a human being and the meaning of life,” she said.

According to Aroz, religious freedom demands “respect and positive recognition” of religious practice, in the face of attempts by the State to impose secularism, and that the State [must] lay the foundation for facilitating “religious education in schools.”

Aroz’s retirement puts an end to her 32 year-long career as a Socialist politician, during which she has held numerous posts both in Congress and the Senate.