Buttiglione to Lead Christian Network
Rocco Buttiglione, the European commissioner-designate rejected by Brussels because of his Roman Catholic views on abortion and homosexuality, plans to form a religious lobby group to "battle for the freedom of Christians" in Europe.
Mr. Buttiglione bowed to pressure a week ago and withdrew from the commission team proposed by the incoming president, Jose Barroso, after vehement opposition from Left-wing members of the European Parliament.
Scandalised by the hostility shown by MEPs towards his religious views, the Italian minister for Europe now hopes to create a Christian network to exert pressure on "totalitarian" institutions such as the Strasbourg-based body.
In Rome last week, Mr. Buttiglione said: "There are a lot of people, including politicians, who have been ringing me not only from inside Italy, but also from Spain, Britain, and Germany."
He added that he had been inundated by thousands of letters and e-mails from well-wishers, and had received support from Italy's Jewish and Muslim communities.
"They are asking me not to let the matter drop," he said, "but to get something going through political and cultural initiatives. There are some positive elements to come out of this affair."
MEPs argued that Mr. Buttiglione's personal opposition to abortion and homosexual relationships made him unfit to serve as the European Union's justice, freedom and security commissioner.
Senior aides to the Italian minister said the new Christian network would not take the form of a political party, but be a kind of "movement or association" committed to a greater role for Christian principles in public life.
They added that the political professor, who will remain in the Italian government, was inspired by the role of Christian voters in America last week.
One close adviser said: "Mr. Buttiglione is thinking of a novel idea: a kind of resurgent Christian political movement in Europe. The success of President George W Bush in mobilising the Christian vote in America last week is a sign of what can be done."
In a reference to the American election, Mr. Buttiglione wrote in the conservative Italian newspaper, Il Foglio: "In Europe our intellectuals were always convinced that modernity brings with itself the extinction of religious faith. Now America, the most advanced country in the world, shows us that religion may be and indeed is a fundamental element of a free society and modern economy."
Yesterday, Mr. Buttiglione began a series of public speaking engagements before a packed house at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan. During a talk, entitled "The trial of the Catholic Witch. Why we cannot say we are Christians", he said: "They want a Catholic witch to burn. Well, here I am. What happened in the European Parliament is extremely serious. What they did was to say to someone that since you adhere to your religious faith, you're not suitable to be a European commissioner."
On Friday, in a widely publicized interview with the European press, Mr. Buttiglione said: "What I am thinking of is a group to battle for the freedom of Christians, which is the freedom of everyone. A group to fight against the kind of creeping totalitarianism which has emerged recently regarding my personal situation."
He also condemned the European Parliament's vendetta against him, arguing that MEPs had been partly motivated by hostility towards the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Last year, Mr. Berlusconi famously compared Martin Schulz, the German head of Socialist MEPs, to a Nazi concentration camp commandant, prompting widespread outrage. Mr. Berlusconi has put forward the foreign minister, Franco Frattini, as an alternative candidate for the commission.
"Hostility to the Italian government had something to do with it," said Mr. Buttiglione, "And that is dangerous. The EU has an internal balance in which parliament has to respect the member states.
"This is a violation of the rights of different states. I stood aside, to avoid further damage in the end. There are two aspects to my case. Does a committed Catholic have a right to be commissioner? Secondly, should the European Parliament have the right to veto the choice of European commissioners by national governments?"
The European Commission, he added, needed people "who have different views over various political questions to work together. That is upheld by the constitution. I was made the object of an attack which distorted the truth of the situation".
A professor of political science in Rome, and a friend of the Pope, Mr. Buttiglione is even turning to the works of the French Catholic philosopher Rene Girard to understand the past few turbulent weeks.
According to Girard, he said: "There is an irresistible urge in human communities from time to time to purge themselves by choosing an innocent victim from among their ranks, on whom to blame all of their own faults and vileness."
Bruce Johnston
The Sunday Telegraph U.K.
Mr. Buttiglione bowed to pressure a week ago and withdrew from the commission team proposed by the incoming president, Jose Barroso, after vehement opposition from Left-wing members of the European Parliament.
Scandalised by the hostility shown by MEPs towards his religious views, the Italian minister for Europe now hopes to create a Christian network to exert pressure on "totalitarian" institutions such as the Strasbourg-based body.
In Rome last week, Mr. Buttiglione said: "There are a lot of people, including politicians, who have been ringing me not only from inside Italy, but also from Spain, Britain, and Germany."
He added that he had been inundated by thousands of letters and e-mails from well-wishers, and had received support from Italy's Jewish and Muslim communities.
"They are asking me not to let the matter drop," he said, "but to get something going through political and cultural initiatives. There are some positive elements to come out of this affair."
MEPs argued that Mr. Buttiglione's personal opposition to abortion and homosexual relationships made him unfit to serve as the European Union's justice, freedom and security commissioner.
Senior aides to the Italian minister said the new Christian network would not take the form of a political party, but be a kind of "movement or association" committed to a greater role for Christian principles in public life.
They added that the political professor, who will remain in the Italian government, was inspired by the role of Christian voters in America last week.
One close adviser said: "Mr. Buttiglione is thinking of a novel idea: a kind of resurgent Christian political movement in Europe. The success of President George W Bush in mobilising the Christian vote in America last week is a sign of what can be done."
In a reference to the American election, Mr. Buttiglione wrote in the conservative Italian newspaper, Il Foglio: "In Europe our intellectuals were always convinced that modernity brings with itself the extinction of religious faith. Now America, the most advanced country in the world, shows us that religion may be and indeed is a fundamental element of a free society and modern economy."
Yesterday, Mr. Buttiglione began a series of public speaking engagements before a packed house at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan. During a talk, entitled "The trial of the Catholic Witch. Why we cannot say we are Christians", he said: "They want a Catholic witch to burn. Well, here I am. What happened in the European Parliament is extremely serious. What they did was to say to someone that since you adhere to your religious faith, you're not suitable to be a European commissioner."
On Friday, in a widely publicized interview with the European press, Mr. Buttiglione said: "What I am thinking of is a group to battle for the freedom of Christians, which is the freedom of everyone. A group to fight against the kind of creeping totalitarianism which has emerged recently regarding my personal situation."
He also condemned the European Parliament's vendetta against him, arguing that MEPs had been partly motivated by hostility towards the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Last year, Mr. Berlusconi famously compared Martin Schulz, the German head of Socialist MEPs, to a Nazi concentration camp commandant, prompting widespread outrage. Mr. Berlusconi has put forward the foreign minister, Franco Frattini, as an alternative candidate for the commission.
"Hostility to the Italian government had something to do with it," said Mr. Buttiglione, "And that is dangerous. The EU has an internal balance in which parliament has to respect the member states.
"This is a violation of the rights of different states. I stood aside, to avoid further damage in the end. There are two aspects to my case. Does a committed Catholic have a right to be commissioner? Secondly, should the European Parliament have the right to veto the choice of European commissioners by national governments?"
The European Commission, he added, needed people "who have different views over various political questions to work together. That is upheld by the constitution. I was made the object of an attack which distorted the truth of the situation".
A professor of political science in Rome, and a friend of the Pope, Mr. Buttiglione is even turning to the works of the French Catholic philosopher Rene Girard to understand the past few turbulent weeks.
According to Girard, he said: "There is an irresistible urge in human communities from time to time to purge themselves by choosing an innocent victim from among their ranks, on whom to blame all of their own faults and vileness."
Bruce Johnston
The Sunday Telegraph U.K.
posted by R7 | 11/07/2004 11:14:00 PM
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