Source: Balkan Insight
French feminist writer Caroline Fourest told BIRN that such referenda are not votes for or against religion in general.
While visiting Zagreb in almost total secrecy and surrounded by security guards – she wrote for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which Islamists have targeted – she said such referenda were “not about the Catholic religion”.
The result of the referendum in Ireland, where some 87 per cent of the population are Catholic, showed Catholics valued tolerance, coexistence and respect for other people, she noted.
“It is not an issue of faith or religion; it is an issue of the political instrumentalization of faith or religion. You can be Catholic or Jewish or Muslim, but have a strong respect for what is right and just,” she concluded.
Categories: Europe and Australia