I Like It!
Posted on 12/04/2005 10:34:44 AM PST by lizol
Conservative Poland Roils European Union
International Herald Tribune Published: December 4, 2005 By GRAHAM BOWLEY
BRUSSELS - When Polish members of the European Parliament placed an anti-abortion display in a parliamentary corridor in Strasbourg, France, recently, Ana Gomes, a Socialist legislator from Portugal, felt compelled to act, she said.
The display showed children in a concentration camp, linking abortion and Nazi crimes. "We found this deeply offensive," Ms. Gomes said. "We tried to remove it." A loud scuffle ensued as she and the Poles traded insults before the display was bundled away by Parliament guards.
But the matter does not end there. It was the latest skirmish in what some here see as an incipient culture war in the heart of Europe, a clash of values that has intensified since countries from Central and Eastern Europe that are experiencing an increase in the influence of the Roman Catholic Church joined the European Union last year.
In the 732-seat European Parliament, and more widely in the European Union, the clash extends beyond abortion to issues like women's rights and homosexuality.
"New groups have come in from Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Catholicism is certainly becoming a very angry voice against what it sees as a liberal E.U.," said Michael Cashman, 54, a European Parliament member from Britain who has campaigned for gay rights. "On women's rights and gay equality, we are fighting battles that we thought we had won years ago."
With a population of 40 million, Poland is the biggest of the 10 states that joined the European Union last year. It is still uncertain, 19 months later, how Poland, a formerly Communist and overwhelmingly Catholic nation, will fit in with the other members on issues from foreign policy to economic management.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Conservative CATHOLIC Poland Roils European Union
L
It is precisely conservatism and pride in one's own civilzational values that'll save what parts of the west can be saved from the oncoming islamic armageddon. Am happy we're born in the God-fearing, gun-owning, conservative heavy US of A!
I Like It!
L
O yeah, it definitely is. And shows so much respect for Poland and the Poles (sarcasm)
Hmmm, interesting. Portugal is one of the few nations in Europe that has abortion laws in place. They're actually much stricter than we have here in the US. I believe church attendance is higher there than it is elsewehre in Europe, as well. Sounds like this woman was quite the activist.
Catholic Poland bump!
Soooo.....give us some hints or websites or places to go so we can do the same....purchase more Polish goods. Pretty please.
Poland is showing more courage than France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Luxemberg, Holland combined. (sorry for any others I missed)
Mrs. L has been admiring the stoneware for years so this Christmas I decided to suprise her with some.
We'll also lay in some good Polish vodka for the holidays. As if I needed an excuse to keep good vodka around the house...
L
thanks.....I'll check Costco out....and the liquor store!
Thanks....I'm having a little trouble getting it to load...but, I'll try again later.
Bravo Poland! I wish my ancestral homeland - Greece - could be as outspoken and supportive of the innocent and life.
Conservative CATHOLIC Poland Roils Socialist CATHOLIC Eourpean Union.
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