President's Commission Rejected. Right-Winger Fired

Niall001

Commission President withdraws team of commissioners as Parliament planned to reject his proposed team of commissioners.

I figure there's some interesting issues raised. Here are the details.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3957625.stm
Barroso admits team must change

Mr Barroso plans more consultation before deciding on a new line-up
The incoming president of the European Commission has admitted he will have to change his team of commissioners, after opposition in the European Parliament.
Jose Manuel Barroso said necessary changes must be made, after postponing a crucial vote rather than face a veto.

Some MEPs were against the inclusion of Rocco Buttiglione, who has expressed controversial views on gays and women.

But Italy says that at present it is standing by its nomination of Mr Buttiglione as a commissioner.

However, the government said that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would talk to other European leaders to try to find a way out of the crisis.

Many MEPs were angry that Mr Buttiglione, who recently said he regarded homosexuality as a sin, had been put forward for the post of justice and home affairs commissioner

Taking time out

A vote to approve the new commission was postponed on Tuesday after Mr Barroso withdrew his proposed line-up, saying more time was needed to choose a team that the parliament would approve.

Necessary changes and sufficient changes must be made in the team," Mr Barroso said after the parliamentary session.

The incoming leader said he is confident of winning support for a changed line-up.

But he declined to say whether he was planning to reshuffle his commission line-up and put Mr Buttiglione in a less contentious portfolio or ask Italy to propose another candidate.

"I believe that stopping the clock is the best way to find a solution in the best interests of Europe and its people," he told the news conference.

The BBC's European Affairs correspondent William Horsley says the postponement is a major victory for the parliament - the European Union's only directly-elected democratic institution - in its struggle for a bigger voice in running EU affairs.

Mr Barroso said he would consult parliament and EU leaders, who are responsible for nominating the commissioners, before putting forward new proposals "in the next few weeks".

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Mr Buttiglione remained Italy's candidate.

Asked whether Italy would consider replacing him, he said: "This is a debate that will be subject to future reflection between the commission president and European heads of state. We certainly can't do it now".

The Italian press reported on Wednesday that Mr Buttiglione had already refused a request from Mr Berlusconi to withdraw his candidacy.

Mr Buttiglione's spokesman told the BBC there was no question of him standing down.

He is due to return to Rome on Friday, where the signing of the new EU constitution is likely to be overshadowed by the political storm.

Victory

The new commission had been due to start work on 1 November.

Incumbent commission leader Romano Prodi and his commission will now remain in office until a new team is approved, but there is no clear protocol on how to proceed.

Parliament President Josep Borrell said the EU was now entering "virgin political territory".

To applause from MEPs, Mr Barroso told parliament he believed the outcome of Wednesday's vote would not have been "positive for the European institutions or the European project".

Socialist floor leader Martin Schulz said the outcome was "a victory for the European Parliament, especially for my group".

Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson was among those who welcomed the decision to postpone the vote, but said the setback has not been helped by Mr Barroso's previous "inaction".

"This is a setback but it is not the end of the world, by any means," he said.

"However, I would have to add that MEPs will be looking at three or four other commissioners who do not appear to be up for the job."

The 732-member parliament cannot choose to reject Mr Buttiglione alone - deputies must accept or reject the new commission as a whole.

The 24 new commissioners were initially put forward by the governments of individual member states.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3718210.stm

Profile: Rocco Buttiglione

A good Catholic can be a good European, says Buttiglione
Rocco Buttiglione was Italy's surprise choice as the European Union's new commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security.

However his remarks on homosexuality and the role of women during a confirmation hearing two weeks ago sparked an institutional crisis which led to him withdrawing his candidacy.

A whole host of MEPs demanded that he be stripped of his portfolio, but Italy was outraged at the suggestion and the Vatican complained of a "new inquisition".

But Mr Buttiglione, while apologising for his expressions and the reaction they provoked, has refused to say sorry for his ideas.

Public or personal?

He appeared to be sticking firm to his principle that the personal and political can coexist while being at odds.

"The only thing I cannot do is to change my principles against my conscience for political convenience," he wrote in the last line of a letter to Mr Barroso.

The only thing I cannot do is to change my principles against my conscience for political convenience

Rocco Buttiglione

Mr Buttiglione is a philosopher-politician, a man equally at home giving an ethics seminar as discussing practical solutions to Europe's immigration issues.

The 56-year-old Christian Democrat has been Italy's European Affairs minister since 2001.

A father of four, he is a devoted, God-fearing Roman Catholic and a professor of political science in Rome.

He is considered to be one of the closest friends and counsellors of Pope John Paul II.

He has even written a book delving into the mind of the man who became the head of the Catholic Church.

Controversial convictions

During a three-hour grilling at the European Parliament by MEPs earlier this month, Mr Buttiglione's views on some of the topics in his new portfolio - including immigration and security - raised uneasy murmurings.

"Many things may be considered immoral which should not be prohibited," he said as he was quizzed on his views of homosexuality.

"I may think that homosexuality is a sin, and this has no effect on politics, unless I say that homosexuality is a crime."

Yet a man who has often taken a conservative stance on many sensitive political issues - opposing artificial insemination and abortion - said there were some things the state should leave well alone.

"The state has no right to stick its nose into these things and nobody can be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation... this stands in the Charter of Human Rights, this stands in the Constitution and I have pledged to defend this constitution," he said.

Ambition

On the subject of immigration, Mr Buttiglione also managed to get people hot under the collar.

Rocco Buttiglione
Calling the situation a "humanitarian crisis", he defended his country's much-criticised decision to deport many of the thousands of would-be immigrants who arrive on its shores each year.

"This is not an expulsion. It is a refusal for entry at the border, which is in accordance with international law," he told his audience.

He has been a vocal supporter of Germany's and Italy's plans to set up processing centres in North Africa for people seeking asylum in the EU, although he stressed that the centres would provide humanitarian relief.

He also suggested that EU representatives could be sent out to the centres to advise those seeking asylum on the rights and to weed out fake applicants.

Heading to Brussels has always been Mr Buttiglione's ambition.

He is quoted as telling Italy's La Corriere della Sera newspaper that, "I may be a nobody in Italy, but in Europe I will be someone."

But it seems Mr Buttiglione's first taste of fame had an unpleasantly bitter aftertaste.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3956453.stm
Q&A: EU Commission row
The incoming President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, withdrew his team of commissioners on Wednesday, just an hour before the European Parliament was due to vote on the proposed line-up.
It had become clear that MEPs were likely to reject the team.

The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels explains what is behind the crisis.

Q: What happens next?

The EU is now in new political territory. Mr Barroso said he needed time to consult further with the national governments, who nominate the commissioners.

The present commission, headed by Romano Prodi, will have to stay in office for some time - perhaps for several weeks after its normal term ends on 1 November. Most of its members - not least Mr Prodi himself - want to move on.

The immediate cause of the row is Rocco Buttiglione, the Italian politician nominated as European commissioner for justice and security.

His conservative views on homosexuals and women led the European Parliament's civil liberties committee to vote against him, for the first time ever in the assembly's history. However, Mr Buttiglione was approved by the legal affairs committee.

The Dutch government, which currently holds the EU presidency, will hold urgent talks with all concerned to help Mr Barroso redesign his team.

While Mr Barroso himself will stay on, Mr Buttiglione has resigned. EU governments will have to confirm or change the commissioners they nominated. But others could quit too, due to government changes in Slovenia and Hungary.

Meanwhile, EU countries will be busy grappling with ratification of the European Constitution, economic difficulties and the results of the US presidential elections.

This week has seen MEPs flexing their political muscles as never before.

Whether the EU will regain some of its public credibility as a result is less clear. Whatever happens next, Mr Barroso faces a tough five years. He will have to work very hard to regain the confidence of the Socialists, Liberals and Greens in the European Parliament.

Q: What is the row about?

To some, the Buttiglione row is another episode in last year's confrontation between the leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who compared Mr Schulz to a Nazi concentration camp guard.

Mr Schulz and his group vowed to vote against the European Commission unless Mr Berlusconi's protégé stepped down.

But Mr Buttiglione is not the only designated European Commissioner criticised by the MEPs.

The Dutch businesswoman Neelie Kroes (a Liberal), set to take over the powerful portfolio of competition commissioner, showed insufficient grasp of details and raised doubts about her future independence in the post.

The former Hungarian foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs (a Socialist) also failed to convince MEPs that he knew enough to become an effective European Commissioner for energy, while the former Latvian parliamentary speaker Ingrida Udre (a eurosceptic Green), designated as taxation commissioner, did not provide enough clarification about past allegations of financial irregularities.

The Christian Democrats, who make up the biggest parliamentary group, did not call for the resignation of any of them, in order to show their support for Mr Barroso, who is also a conservative.

Q: What does the EU Commission do?

It is more than simply a civil service for the EU - it is the only body that can propose legislation.

Legislation is then amended and passed, or rejected, by the EU Parliament, jointly with the Council of Ministers, which represents the member governments. MEPs also scrutinise the work of the commissioners.
The Commission is sometimes seen as the driving force behind European integration, but is ultimately under the control of the member states. Each commissioner is in charge of a policy area, such as agriculture or enlargement.

Commissioners are appointed by the member states, and are usually senior politicians. However, their job is to act in the general European interest, not to advance the interests of their own country.

Q: How much power do the MEPs have?

The MEPs opposed to Mr Buttiglione were delighted with Mr Barroso's climbdown on Wednesday, seeing this as a decisive shift in the EU's power structure - a victory for the European Parliament, which has proven that it has real muscle.

The parliament, which confirmed Mr Barroso in a separate vote this summer, cannot reject individual commissioners. According to the Nice Treaty, it votes on the European Commission "as a body."

The European Parliament's rules of procedure make clear that it "shall elect or reject the Commission by a majority of votes cast," so abstentions do not count.

The vote is taken by roll-call, unlike the vote for the commission president, which was secret.

The European Parliament's powers have been strengthened over the years. But the right to nominate or reject individual commissioners rests with the commission president and EU governments - even in the European Constitution, which was signed by EU leaders in Rome on Friday.

None of the current EU treaties explains what should happen in case the entire commission is rejected.

The only precedent is the fall of the European Commission led by Jacques Santer in 1999 over allegations of nepotism and loss of political control. But that was a year before the end of its mandate, whereas the Barroso Commission has not even taken office.

Q: Why didn't Mr Barroso simply find someone else?

It is not up to him to nominate the members of his team. The decision was taken by each of the 25 EU governments, after consultations with Mr Barroso. He did persuade them to nominate more women than ever before - eight out of 24. But none of the governments gave him a choice of candidates. The only room for manoeuvre he had was in the distribution of portfolios.

Q: Didn't Mr Barroso try to appease the MEPs?

In a letter to Mr Barroso, Mr Buttiglione expressed regret over the problems caused by his confirmation hearing and said he was strongly opposed to discrimination of any kind.

Mr Barroso followed this with several compromise proposals.

He offered to set up a new European agency for human rights and to launch an action plan on discrimination.

He said he would take away Mr Buttiglione's powers in these sensitive areas and transfer them to a group of several commissioners led by Mr Barroso himself. And he rejected plans for transit camps for asylum seekers in North Africa - an Italian government proposal.

But he refused to give in to the parliament's main demand, arguing that a reshuffle of the commission at this stage would cause more problems than it would solve.

www.reuters.co.uk/newsPac...ction=news

ROME (Reuters) - The EU's new justice and security chief, Italy's Rocco Buttiglione, says he is ready to withdraw from the incoming European Commission to help defuse a unprecedented crisis for the executive.

"I am ready to stand aside to smooth the way for (incoming Commission President Jose Manuel) Barroso's commission, which I wish every success because Europe needs a strong commission," Buttiglione read from a statement on Saturday.

The Italian, a close friend of Pope John Paul, ran into fierce opposition by saying homosexuality was a sin and that marriage was for women to have children. He was the first nominee ever to be rejected by a parliamentary committee.

Barroso, former Portuguese prime minister, withdrew his line-up just before a parliamentary investiture vote on Wednesday to avoid an unprecedented defeat because of widespread opposition to Italy's nominee for the justice and security portfolio.

Berlusconi had come under heavy pressure to find an alternative to Buttiglione and late on Friday indicated he was ready to sacrifice the Catholic philosopher-turned-politician.

Italy's sudden about-face came at the end of a long day of ceremonies in which Europe's leaders gathered in Rome to sign the first pan-European constitution, designed to improve governance in the newly enlarged, 25-nation bloc.

Buttiglione said that humanity periodically decided to purify itself by choosing "an innocent victim" to take on the woes of everyone else.

"This time I have been chosen for this task and I don't complain about it too much," he told a news conference.

He thanked Barroso and his team for having "understood my reasoning and defended me as much as possible".

He also thanked Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his government for doing the same.

CABINET RESHUFFLE?

Buttiglione's recall leaves Berlusconi scrambling to find a new nominee for the commission and facing the prospect of a major reshuffle of his fractious cabinet.

Local media speculated that Foreign Minister Franco Frattini would be first in line to take on the Brussels job, leaving the foreign ministry open for Gianfranco Fini, Berlusconi's deputy and leader of the former neo-fascist National Alliance party.

Berlusconi and Fini have clashed publicly in recent days over the prime minister's proposed 6 billion euros of tax cuts and resurrected the spectre of discord in the centre-right coalition that threatened to bring the government down in July.

Berlusconi is seen to favour moving Fini to the foreign ministry to ease the stand-off over taxes.

The position of deputy prime minister could then be given to Stefano Follini, head of the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC), who triggered the summer crisis.

But it was far from clear on Saturday that a peaceful resolution could be found.

"The only certainty is that Rocco Buttiglione will be sacrificed on the altar of Barroso's Commission," broadsheet Corriere della Sera said in an editorial on Saturday.

"For the rest... the picture is of a coalition in crisis."

news.independent.co.uk/eu...ory=578080
01 November 2004

European leaders aim to resolve the crisis over the European Commission on Thursday, after the decision by Italy's Rocco Buttiglione to stand down created a way out of the impasse. Mr Buttiglione's head had been the main demand of MEPs, whose threatened veto prevented the new Commission from taking office today.

The incoming Commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, is trying to make bigger changes to ensure other criticisms of his team are lanced. The leader of the centre-right bloc in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, who had defended Mr Buttiglione, has insisted some of his political opponents must be sacrificed too.

Mr Pöttering's office named Laszlo Kovacs, Hungary's former foreign minister, due to become energy commissioner; the Dutch businesswoman Neelie Kroes, designated competition commissioner; and Latvia's Igrida Udre, who is due to take up the taxation dossier, as lacking "the necessary competence". Socialist MEPs cited problems with Ms Udre, Ms Kroes and Mariann Fischer Boel, Denmark's nominated agriculture commissioner.

Officials now hope a package can be agreed when EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday. That would lead to a series of parliamentary hearings for the new teamwith a confirmation vote either in the middle of this month or early next month.

Let us agree, there is no one single reality. Not upon this stage, not in this world, all is in the mind... imagination is the only truth. Because it cannot be contradicted except by other imaginations - Richard Matheson

There are no conclusive indications by which waking life can be distinguished from sleep - Rene Descartes

Niall001

DOSSIER ON ROCCO BUTTIGLIONE

NEW REVELATIONS BY CATHOLICS FOR A FREE CHOICE

Dr. Buttiglione has a history of making discriminatory remarks about
homosexuals, women, immigrants and others. During his assessment
hearings in October 2004, Dr. Buttiglione enraged many members of the
European Parliament by describing homosexuality as a sin and
suggesting that the role of a woman was to have children and be
protected by her husband.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Dr. Buttiglione fully supports papal pronouncements on reproductive
rights. In 2001, in his first week as European Affairs minister, he
called for a ban on artificial insemination and started a campaign to
outlaw abortion in Italy. As part of this, he proposed a 500 euro
grant to every woman who agreed to drop plans for an abortion and to
ask for therapy for women and their families considering abortion. He
also sought to reduce women’s control over their own bodies by seeking
to increase the involvement of men in the abortion decision.6

WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Dr. Buttiglione holds what he describes as well known, traditional
views about women and marriage. At his EP hearing, he said, “The
family exists in order to allow women to have children and to have the
protection of a male who takes care of them. This is the traditional
vision of marriage that I defend.”7 He has attributed the low birth
rate in Europe to women concentrating too much on their careers and
not enough on having babies.

HOMOSEXUALITY
During his EP hearing, Dr. Buttiglione described homosexuality as a
“sin.” Attacking the 2001 Gay Pride march in Milan, he said, “All are
free to call me a bigot and intolerant, but I very freely define
homosexual behaviours as an indicator of moral disorder.” Dr.
Buttiglione opposes granting same-sex couples benefits similar to
those heterosexuals receive.8

DISCRIMINATION
At the Convention that worked on the European Charter of Fundamental
Rights, he submitted an amendment calling for exclusion of sexual
orientation as a ground for discrimination—thereby permitting the
conditions to exist for discrimination against gay people.9

IMMIGRATION
Dr. Buttiglione supports camps for asylum seekers and quotas for
immigration into Europe. He has said that the “level of criminality”
of each national group should be taken into account when fixing those
quotas. He thinks that certain groups have a high level of criminality
and others, “those who are Catholic and Christian,” have a very low
level.10

HIV/AIDS
In 1989, at a conference on HIV/AIDS at the Vatican, he said that AIDS
is “divine punishment for homosexuality and drug use.”11

CHURCH AND STATE
Like the pope, Buttiglione supported the inclusion of the word “God”
in the draft European Constitution, but acknowledged that there was
widespread opposition to this move. He suggested two alternatives that
might be acceptable to conservatives (both of which were also pushed
by the pope and Vatican spokesmen at the time): either recognizing the
role of religion in the creation of European societies or making
reference to Europe’s Greek and Judeo-Christian roots.12 When a Muslim
community leader in Italy won a court battle to remove the crucifix
from a state school where his children were pupils, Buttiglione said:
“It’s ridiculous. In my opinion, the cross should stay and, in any
case, whether it stays or goes, it’s not up to a crazy Muslim activist
to forbid it. It’s our business, not his.”13

-------------

In August 2004, Dr. Rocco Buttiglione was proposed as Vice President
of the European Commission and Commissioner-designate for Freedom,
Security and Justice by the President of the European Commission,
Portugal’s José Manuel Barroso. Many expressed surprise and concern at
the choice.

Buttiglione, a conservative Catholic who has been described as one of
“Pope John Paul II’s closest friends and counsellors” and “the
intellectual alter ego of Pope John Paul II,” has a long track record
of supporting very conservative positions on HIV/AIDS, women’s rights,
immigrants’ rights, homosexual rights and reproductive rights.

Following the hearing to assess Dr. Buttiglione’s suitability for the
position, the political coordinators of the Committee on Civil
Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs voted to oppose his nomination for
both the proposed remit and any other position.

After a separate hearing in front of members of the Committee on Legal
Affairs, that committee supported his nomination, despite reservations
expressed by members of the socialist and green groupings. However,
the 25 members of the Commission (one from each member state) are
approved or rejected as a bloc, not individually, and Mr. Barroso has
expressed his full trust in all of his Commissioner-designates.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs’ vote to
oppose Dr. Buttiglione’s nomination is the first time that a
parliamentary committee rejected a nominee to the Commission.

At an October 13 meeting of the European Parliament’s Conference of
Presidents (the leaders of the various political groupings within the
European Parliament), they decided to submit all of the letters of
evaluation drawn up by the individual committees to Mr. Barroso with
no additional comments or recommendations.

On October 21, 2004, the Conference of Presidents plan to meet with
Mr. Barroso to discuss all proposed appointments.

On October 26, a debate will be held in Strasbourg on the make up of
the new Commission. A vote to approve or oppose is expected the next
day.

CONSERVATIVE CATHOLIC ROOTS

In September 2002, he was the Italian government’s representative at
the opening of a conference by the ultra-conservative Roman Catholic
Opus Dei,3 a shadowy right-wing pressure group with a deeply
conservative philosophy and high-level connections in the Vatican and
in governments around the world.

But Dr. Buttiglione’s true home in the conservative Catholic movement
is Communione e Liberazione (Communion and Liberation), which believes
that freedom is only achieved through Christian faith (see box). He
has served on the editorial board of its journal, Communio. He was
closely involved in the decision to close down its weekly newspaper,
Il Sabato, after the paper threatened to elevate a confrontation with
the Vatican over political alliances.4 He is also a patron of the
antichoice World Youth Alliance.
OTHERS ON ROCCO BUTTIGLIONE, PHD

Upon his appointment to the government in 2001:

“[Rocco] has started a religious war after only three days [in
office]... Who would have guessed that the European affairs ministry
could be the ministry of God?”
--Agence France Presse, June 15, 2001.14

“I would not want, as a Spanish citizen, to have a minister of justice
who thinks that homosexuality is a sin and that a woman should stay at
home to have children under the protection of her husband…. These are
shocking attitudes—that is the least that one can say.”
--Josep Borell, president of the European Parliament, October 7,
2004.15

“He is not the commissioner for Italy. He is the commissioner for the
Vatican. It would not bother anyone if this was just in a personal,
spiritual way. But he is deeply convinced of a fundamentalist concept
of the Catholic religion, by which the state should abide by the
Pope’s rule. He is a smart, intelligent person whose political skills
are often underestimated. He has already been at the forefront of [the
campaign to include a reference to] Catholic roots in the [EU]
constitution and in blocking stem-cell research. That is why he is
effective and dangerous with his Catholic fundamentalist vision of
Europe.”
--Marco Cappato, MEP for the Italian Radical party, September 4,
2004.16

Members of Parliment speak out against Rocco Buttiglione’s nomination
to the Commission:

Members Hannes Swoboda and Martine Roure, on behalf of the Socialist
grouping, stated after his hearing at the European Parliament that
they had “serious doubt” about Mr. Buttiglione’s proposals on asylum
and his statements about family life and homosexuality. “He sees
women’s role only in the context of marriage and motherhood.”17
--Le Monde, October 12, 2004.

The Dutch Green MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg said that if Mr. Barosso did
not withdraw the nomination, the Greens may vote against the whole
European Commission.18
--Le Monde, October 12, 2004.

Bernard Poignant, president of the French socialists at the EP, said,
“When I listened to him I told myself that John Paul II had succeeded
sending a Commissioner to Brussels!”19
--Le Monde, October 12, 2004.

According to Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson, Buttiglione was
“sensationally lacking in judgment” for his comments about women and
homosexuals.20
--AFX, October 13, 2004.

VITAL STATISTICS

Rocco Buttiglione, PhD
Born:
June 6, 1948, Gallipoli, province of Lecce, Italy
Family:
Married with four daughters
Education:
Massimo D’Azeglio high school, Turin. Studied law in Turin and Rome
Professional Positions:
- Professor of Political Science, St. Pius V University
- President, Italian Union of Christian Democrats (CDUCristiani
Democratici Uniti)1
- 1994-2004, Member, Chamber of Deputies, Italian Parliament
- 1994-1995, Secretary, Partito Popolare Italiano2
- 1995, Appointed member of Parliamentary Commission for
Constitutional Reforms
- 1999-2004, Member, European Parliament
- May 2001-present, Appointed Minister of European Union Policies in
second government headed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Professional History:
Taught at several European universities:
- Lugano
- Teramo
- The International Academy of Philosophy, Liechtenstein, served as
pro-rector
- The Catholic University of Lublin, Poland, received honorary degree
in Philosophy in May 1994
- The John Paul II Institute for the Family, Rome
Has lectured widely in Latin America and the United States

COMMUNIONE E LIBERAZIONE

Buttiglione is a senior member of the ultra-conservative Catholic sect
Communion and Liberation, led by Fr. Don Giussani. It was founded in
the early 1970s as a conservative reaction to student unrest in Italy
in 1968. Members have been called “Stalinists of God,” the “Pope’s
Rambos” and “Wojtlya’s Monks” because of their “fervent devotion to
papal authority” and the group has gained tremendous influence under
John Paul II.

“Many of their main characteristics reflect those of Mao’s Red Guards
- the fanaticism, the blind obedience, the sloganeering, the
personality cult around the Pope, manipulation of the media,
anti-intellectualism, denunciations, the formulation of rigid
ideology, a younger generation mobilized in the struggle against their
elders.”5

1 Italian Union of Christian Democrats (Cristiani Democratici Uniti — CDU) is a conservative party which is a junior member of
Silvio Berlusconi’s coalition government.
2 The Partito Popolare Italiano (PPI — Italian Popular Party) emerged from the break-up of the formerly powerful Italian Christian
Democratic Party in 1994. After a failed attempt by Dr. Buttiglione to align the PPI with a center-right cartel (the party joined a
center-left coalition), he and his followers left the PPI and formed the Cristiani Democratici Uniti (CDU — United Christian
Democrats).
3 Agence France Presse, “Italian politicians attend opening of Opus Dei conference,” January 8, 2002.
4 Gordon Urquhart, The Pope’s Armada: Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious and Powerful New Sects in the Church, Prometheus
Books, 1999.
5 Ibid.
6 Agence France Presse, “Berlusconi’s Catholic Minister stuns allies with religious crusade,” June 15, 2001.
7 BBC News Online, “EU panel opposes justice nominee,” October 11, 2004.
8 Agence France Presse, June 15, 2001.
8 Gareth Harding, “EU Chiefs prepare for grilling,” United Press International, September 24, 2004.
9 David Gow, “MEPs reject anti-gay commission candidate,” The Guardian (UK), October 12, 2004.
10 Thomas Ferenczi, “With Rocco Buttiglione, a person close to the Vatican enters the commission,” Le Monde, October 5, 2004.
11 William D. Montalbano, “AIDS conference hears papal appeal for unity,” Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1989.
12 Zenit, “Official outlines 3 ways to get religion into a European Constitution,” September 9, 2002.
13 Tamsin Smith, “Italian Muslims fear ‘crucifix fallout,” BBC News Online, October 28, 2003.
14 Agence France Presse, “Berlusconi’s Catholic minister stuns allies with religious crusade,” June 15, 2001.
15 Josep Borell, president of the European Parliament, speaking on Radio Europe I, October 7, 2004.
16 Marco Cappato, MEP for the Italian Radical party, quoted in David Cronin, “Rocco Buttiglione: The Pope’s pal in Brussels,”
European Voice, September 4, 2004.
17 Le Monde, October 12, 2004.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 AFX, “Sweden’s Persson criticises incoming EU official over comments on women, gays,” October 13, 2004.

Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) is a non-governmental organization
with special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) of the United Nations. CFFC is accredited as an NGO with the
European Parliament. CFFC is part of the Catholic international church
reform movement, International Movement—We Are Church, and the
European network, Church on the Move. CFFC shapes and advances sexual
and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a
commitment to women’s well-being and respect and affirm the moral
capacity of women and men to make sound decisions about their lives.
Through discourse, education and advocacy, CFFC works in the United
States and internationally to infuse these values into public policy,
community life, feminist analysis and Catholic social thinking and
teaching.

Let us agree, there is no one single reality. Not upon this stage, not in this world, all is in the mind... imagination is the only truth. Because it cannot be contradicted except by other imaginations - Richard Matheson

There are no conclusive indications by which waking life can be distinguished from sleep - Rene Descartes


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