Catholic women urge Vatican to sign Europe rights convention

ROME – A consortium of Catholic women’s groups is calling connected the Holy See to articulation the Council of Europe and to motion the European Convention connected Human Rights, arguing that the Vatican should amusement consistency by expressing its steadfast committedness to protecting quality rights.

In a petition marking the Human Rights Day declared by the United Nations, the groups said the Holy See is recognized internationally arsenic a sovereign authorities and presents itself arsenic a steadfast promotor of quality rights and dignity. Yet they noted the Vatican hasn’t followed up by adhering to the European Convention, regarded arsenic the golden modular for rights protections astir the world.

“For years, the Holy See has acted similar a authorities successful its ain right. This gives emergence to rights, but besides to duties,” wrote the signatories, which are European members of the Catholic Women's Council, an planetary umbrella group, .

The Holy See enjoys perceiver presumption astatine the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and has ratified a big of U.N. and Council of Europe conventions. They see the U.N. Convention connected the Rights of the Child, the U.N. Convention against Torture, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and different weapons conventions.

Ad

But it has ne'er signed the European Convention connected Human Rights, which to day has been ratified by 47 European states.

The normal obliges signatories to respect quality rights, including the close to life, liberty, security, state of expression, assembly, religion and conscience. It prohibits torture, slavery, forced labour and favoritism based connected race, religion, sex oregon governmental beliefs.

Signatories indispensable besides guarantee that defendants person just trials earlier autarkic and unbiased judges. The normal provides recourse to the European Court of Human Rights for eventual appeals aft nationalist appeals are exhausted.

The Vatican is an implicit monarchy successful which the pope wields ultimate legislative, executive, and judicial power. It would beryllium loath to let European commissions to measure its policies forbidding the ordination of women, for example, oregon to taxable decisions of the Vatican’s transgression oregon ecclesial tribunals to appeals astatine the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights.

Ad

Yet the pope often lectures European leaders connected protecting quality rights and quality dignity, astir precocious during a sojourn this period to Cyprus and Greece wherever helium chided Europe for its nonaccomplishment to invited migrants.

During that trip, Francis lamented that authoritarian regularisation was connected the emergence successful Europe arsenic ideology wanes.

The women's groups that participated successful the petition see Catholic Women Speak successful Britain; We Are Church successful Ireland, Germany and Austria; Women for the Church successful Italy; Voices of Faith successful Rome and Liechtenstein, arsenic good arsenic akin progressive Catholic groups successful Spain, France, Croatia and Switzerland.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.