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	The Tie between Church and State Is Not Sacred By Judith Crosbie European Voice June 11, 2009 http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/the-tie-between-church-and-state-is-not-sacred/65149.aspx In demanding that guarantees be attached to the Lisbon treaty, the Irish government is exhibiting an unhealthy deference to the Catholic church. The leaders of the European Union's national governments will next week (18-19 June) agree to requests from Ireland to 'clarify' the much-argued-over Lisbon treaty. The 'clarifications' that the European Council will issue are meant to encourage voters in Ireland to back the treaty in a second referendum in the autumn. The demands include a declaration on workers' rights as well as legal guarantees of Ireland's freedom to decide on military neutrality, taxation and ethical issues. The most innocuous of these guarantees would appear to be the ethical one. EU officials are used to Irish governments demanding assurances that the Union will not try to impose abortion or other perceived evils on its people. Ireland secured a protocol to the Maastricht treaty, even before it was put to the people in a referendum, saying that it would not affect the Irish constitution's ban on abortion. This time around, the protocol will be broader, taking in not only abortion, but potentially also stem-cell research, gay marriage and the role of religion in education. Few at an EU level have questioned Ireland's insistence on retaining control over these issues. Indeed, the assurances are considered almost meaningless since they restate the obvious: that the EU has no competence in these areas.
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