Politicians plan boycott of pope's Bundestag speech
Published: 25 Jun 11 13:01 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20110625-35885.htmlSeveral Social Democratic parliamentarians are planning to boycott the speech Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to give to the Bundestag in September. They accuse the pontiff of oppressing millions around the world.
The boycott call is contained in a draft document drawn up by Rolf Schwanitz, who has sent it to all his 146 fellow Social Democratic Party (SPD) members of the Bundestag and asked for their signatures. The document was made available to the Rheinische Post newspaper.
- Conservatives divided over tax cuts (25 Jun 11)
- Greens still split on nuke exit plan ahead of vote (24 Jun 11)
- Mercedes to build greener Popemobile (21 Jun 11)
In it, Schwanitz slams the planned speech for September 22 by the pope in front of the parliamentary chamber, saying the Bundestag would be abused as a "decorative accessory" and was no place for "missionary work."
Schwanitz, who leads a working group called "secular members of the SPD," called the pope the "last absolute monarch" in Europe. He also said that the pontiff's stances on women's rights and contraception, gave him a good deal of the blame for "the ongoing global AIDS epidemic as well as the oppression, exploitation and stigmatization of millions of people."
In the text, Schwanitz said other SPD members had signaled they would be absent on the day the pope spoke. Party sources told the Rheinische Post that about a half dozen parliamentarians planned on going through with the boycott.
But the head of the SPD Bundestag group, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has rejected the initiative and Thomas Oppermann, another high-ranking SPD parliamentarian, called the pope-critical document "unfortunate."
Conservative parliamentarians like Hermann Kues of the Christian Democrats have shown outrage at the boycott campaign.
"I am shocked over the ignorance and delusion here," he said. "Without Christianity, our country is simply impossible to imagine."
The Local/kdj
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
Your comments about this article:
14:15 June 25, 2011 by jbakerThe Politicians and the Pope share the same bath water.Imagine this world without the Pope(Religions) or Politicians - maybe not better to some, but Less Controlling to all.
15:22 June 25, 2011 by harcourtAirForceGuy: didn't you know? He walks over a big hole with cardinals underneath (to prove he's a man) and then they blow some white smoke out of a chimney !!16:00 June 25, 2011 by ukpunk1"They accuse the pontiff of oppressing millions around the world." I'm not religious nor Catholic, so I was not oppressed.18:30 June 25, 2011 by MJMHYet if the leader of some oppressed Arab or third world nation visits-where women are treated like children and half the country is starving-not only would all the Social Democrats be in attendance but they'd also be throwing money at the the dictator.Self-hatred can be a very bad thing.
Today's headlinesGreens unite behind government nuke plan
Germany's Green Party decided on Saturday to back the government's nuclear exit plan despite an impassioned debate which threatened to split the country's strong opposition party. READ »
Drugs plot raid reveals old woman feeding rabbits with cannabis
Police in Brandenburg who discovered a large plot of cannabis called on the neighbouring house only to find an 84-year-old woman who had been feeding her rabbits with the plants. READ »
UNESCO puts five German beech forests on world heritage list
The UN's education, scientific and cultural organization, UNESCO, named five German beech forests as Natural World Heritage sites on Saturday. READ (1 COMMENT) »
Conservatives divided over tax cuts
Germany's centre-right coalition has announced it is considering middle class tax cuts, but the plans have run into opposition even among Merkel's own conservatives, including the Finance Minster. READ (1 COMMENT) »
Germany, US and Brazil favourites at Women's World Cup
Germany, the United States and Brazil are the favourites as the battle for the ultimate prize in football gets underway on Sunday in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. READ »
Police give all clear at Aachen clinic after hostage and bomb threat
Police gave the all-clear on Friday night after searching the Aachen University clinic for a man who threatened to take a child hostage and detonate a bomb if he was not given money. READ (2 COMMENTS) »
Ethnic Chinese fraternity man sparks racial row
Germany’s traditional Burschenschaften student fraternities sparked controversy recently by debating whether an ethnically Chinese German citizen could be a member. The Local spoke with him about race and Teutonic tradition. READ (6 COMMENTS) »
Tentacled tipsters and prophetic pachyderm predict Women's World Cup
During last year's Football World Cup in South Africa, Paul the Octopus shot to fame for his accurate match predictions. But a new batch of animal oracles are tipping the women's competition starting in Germany on Sunday. READ (3 COMMENTS) »
More National
- 25/06 Germany, US and Brazil favourites at Women's World Cup »
- 25/06 Conservatives divided over tax cuts (1 comment) »
- 25/06 UNESCO puts five German beech forests on world heritage list (1 comment) »
- 25/06 Drugs plot raid reveals old woman feeding rabbits with cannabis »
- 24/06 Greek immigrants remain stoic in face of German taunts (4 comments) »
- 24/06 Police give all clear at Aachen clinic after hostage and bomb threat (2 comments) »
- 23/06 Ai Weiwei's release must be first step says Merkel (2 comments) »
- 23/06 Two killed as storm front batters Germany »
- 23/06 Army admits shooting, driving problems (22 comments) »
- 22/06 US files charges in airport shooting (16 comments) »
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Politicians plan boycott of pope's Bundestag speech - The Local
via thelocal.de
