Spanish bishops say any vote is legitimate option in EU referendum

Published: 2005-02-11

BARCELONA, Spain (CNS) -- The Spanish bishops told Catholic voters that almost any option, including abstaining, is legitimate in the upcoming referendum on the European Constitution. The move prompted criticism from the Spanish government, which fears such open-ended guidance will encourage voter apathy. "A 'yes' or 'no' vote, leaving the ballot paper blank, or abstention, are all possible legitimate options," the bishops said in a statement Feb. 4. Spain will be the first of the European Union's member states to try to ratify the constitution by putting it to a referendum Feb. 20. While praising the constitution's recognition of the citizens' right to choose religious education for their children, the bishops' guidelines regretted that the document makes no commitment to exclude practices such as abortion, euthanasia and embryonic research. The bishops also lamented the omission of any reference to Christianity as the root of European values. "The constitution presents positive and negative elements in a framework whose merit, taken as a whole, is not easy to specify," the bishops said, urging Catholics to cast their votes after "carefully weighing the issues." The bishops said that abstention could be justified if individual voters felt "perplexity" at the length and complexity of the 175-page document. The day after the statement was released, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Rodriguez Zapatero, whose government is pushing for a "yes" vote, criticized the "legitimization" of abstention in the referendum. While reflecting the rocky relations between his government and the bishops, Zapatero's speech also indicates the government's fears that, although the "yes" lobby seems set to win Feb. 20, there may be a low voter turnout.

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