Vatican calls in its political acolytes for power summit

The Vatican is inviting Catholic world leaders to a “top level summit” with the Pope to discuss how the Vatican’s waning political influence can be revived and extended. The two day summit, slated for early next year, will be attended by — among others — the German chancellor Angela Merkel, US vice president Joe Biden, rightwing former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and, inevitably, Tony Blair.

The conference entitled “Witness for Christ in the Political Community” aims to promote the Vatican’s reactionary agenda throughout the international body politic.

Topics on the agenda include all the Catholic Church’s obsessions: “the family” (a euphemism for the Vatican’s virulently anti-homosexual stance); “life issues” (the Pope’s implacable opposition to abortion and euthanasia); education (how the Church can increase its stranglehold on schools); bio-ethics (how the Vatican can dictate medical research) and “Christian roots” (which means how Christianity can gain special privileges in law and society). Perhaps the most threatening Vatican policy of all to world sustainability and poverty is the intransigent opposition to “artificial” birth control. This doubtless straddles several of the above topics.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “The Vatican repeatedly claims that it does not interfere in politics. This conference has no other purpose than to persuade political leaders to incorporate the Catholic agenda into national laws. The Pope may claim his power is being eroded, but the reality is that the Vatican’s political influence is hugely disproportionate. They blackmail Catholic politicians throughout the world into imposing Catholic dogma. Because the papal enclave in Rome is regarded as a sovereign state, they have unparalleled influence in international organisations and an ambassadors, frequently doyen of the diplomatic corps, worldwide – but zero accountability.

“This blatant attempt at political manipulation is to be deplored by any democrat or secularist. These politicians will be bowing and scraping before this dangerous, reactionary and unelected tyrant, and the world will almost certainly suffer because of it.”

American Bishop intervenes directly in the political process