The Irish Times - Thursday, January 21, 2010

Van Rompuy and divisive Buttiglione contribute to book

Herman Van Rompuy: spoke at Catholic conference last year

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ARTHUR BEESLEY

EUROPEAN COUNCIL president Herman Van Rompuy has emerged alongside Rocco Buttiglione, the divisive Italian conservative, as co-signatory of a forthcoming book on Pope Benedict’s social philosophy.

Still at the outset of his mandate, the appearance of Mr Van Rompuy’s name beside Mr Buttiglione on the book’s cover has potential to lead him into risky ground.

Mr Buttiglione’s intolerant views on homosexuality provoked controversy in European politics six years ago, leading MEPs to reject his appointment as Rome’s nominee to the European Commission. However, he remains vice-president of the Italian parliament.

Although the Belgian paper Le Soir suggested Mr Van Rompuy is maintaining “dangerous liaisons” in his association with the Italian, his office replied that Mr Buttiglione did not have the plague and held a public office.

Both men spoke at a conference organised by a Catholic student group on the pope’s Charity in Truth encyclical in Liege last October. Mr Van Rompuy was Belgian prime minister at the time.

Their contributions – and those of other speakers – are set to be published in book format in the next two months.

“The president has his own views and his own ideas. He cannot from one day to the other change from Catholic to not Catholic,” said a spokesman for Mr Van Rompuy.

Asked whether associating himself in this way with a figure such as Mr Buttiglione was risky given the high office Mr Van Rompuy now holds, the spokesman said “he doesn’t necessarily have to share the ideas of another person” to appear together in the same book.

The spokesman said Mr Van Rompuy was invited to speak at the conference and was happy to accept. He did not invite Mr Buttiglione or any other speakers.

Having authorised the use in the book of his conference contribution when he was still prime minister, his office said the new job he assumed in December changed nothing as regards the book or in respect of the views he expressed at the conference.