Madam, – I am very angry with all those people in politics and the media who constantly carp on about the Lisbon Treaty referendum as if those who voted No had committed some kind of dastardly crime.
So please may I make my own position perfectly clear?
I was born in 1936 and lived through “The Emergency” and its aftermath. I grew up with no imported toys, sweets or fruits, and everything else on ration coupons. That was the second time in living memory that Europe had exploded. I never want to see that happen again and therefore I am a European. I want a united Europe. I would welcome a political setup similar to the United States, with a federal European government.
But if the Lisbon Treaty had been passed, in European law marriage would have ceased to be defined as a union between a man and a woman, and would have become defined as a union between two persons! As a Christian this is totally unacceptable. I have no objection to other forms of union being recognised, and I fully sympathise with the legal quandary gay couples find themselves in. But the primary definition of marriage must always remain that of a union between a man and a woman.
I want the European Union to thrive – but my Europe is a Christian Europe, and it must remain Christian. I will vote No to any treaty that demeans my Christianity.
Who are the chaplains to the European Parliament? Are sessions started with a prayer? At least the US, however much some may deride it, has not turned its back on God. It admits that there is a greater power, and so must we.
So as long as the terms of the treaty remain unchanged in this regard I will continue to vote No, regardless of how many referendums are put before me. I am not insane. I certainly am not anti-Europe. I’m just a Christian. Let His Kingdom come. Let His will be done on earth. . . – Yours, etc,