Leo van Doesburg

A Hearing in the Council of Europe underlines the importance of parental rights in Education Last Tuesday I had the privilege to participate in a roundtable discussion organised by ECPM and the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) with the title:  “The Rights of the Parents and Children belonging to Religious Minorities” . This Hearing was organised on the occasion of the discussion in the Council of Europe of a motion for a resolution on the  "Protection of the rights of parents and children belonging to religious minorities" . Other participants were MPs Ben-Oni Ardelean, Valeriu Ghilețchi, Jeffrey Donaldson, Titus Corlețean, Ronan Mullen and Grégor Puppinck. Bellow you can find the full text of my contribution. I would like to especially thank Jett Weigand-Timmer for the background information she provided.

"Last week, a written declaration that aimed to focus on the "dignity to die" (which is a term used mostly to promote assisted s uic ide ) considerably failed to get the needed majority at the European Parliament. While they need a majority for this declaration, t hey only got 95 out of 751 votes. It is encouraging to see that because of a total lack of support , this initiative colla psed . Read more here in the press release of  the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE).

Possible conflict of interest of the Rapporteur on Surrogacy in the Council of Europe; Majority of the European Parliament condemns the practice of Surrogacy  This January will be a month of significant developments in the field of Surrogacy centred around the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Health and Social Affairs Committee of PACE is currently debating a report on “Human Rights and ethical issues related to surrogacy” .  The report was scheduled to be discussed in committee last November. However, the debate was postponed since serious questions were raised by Committee Members about the possible conflict of interests which could involve the Rapporteur, Dr De Sutter, due to her professional activity as head of the Department for Reproductive Medicine at the University Hospital of Ghent.  This matter will be discussed again in the next meeting of the Health and Social Affairs Committee that will take place during the next PACE Sessio...

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint. ( Isaiah 40:28-30) Dear friends , 2015 is almost over. Therefore I would like to share with you a few thoughts of reflection about the year that has passed and to share a message for the coming year. The year 2015 was a year filled with fear and uncertainty. It ended with those dreadful terrorist attacks in Paris. But also Brussels, the city where I live, was in lock down for a week and automatic rifle carrying soldiers became a common sight on the streets And The New Year Eve’s celebrations are cancel led ...

Slovenian referendum rejects same-sex marriage Last Sunday, Slovenians rejected a law introducing same-sex marriage with a wide majority. 63% of participants voted no with those approving the bill reaching only 37%. Therefore, the Bill which had been adopted last March will not enter into force . This referendum comes three years after the previous vote, when almost 55 percent of voters opposed giving more rights to same – sex couples.

An initiative hosted by ECPM MEP Mr Branislav Škripek Last Monday, I had the honour of attending the opening of the new exhibition on the “Global Impact of the Bible” organised by the French Biblical Alliance with the cooperation of the Belgian Biblical Society. The event was hosted by MEP Branislav Škripak (ECR) who is a member of ECPM with the cooperation of MEP Alojz Peterle (EPP). The organisers were kind enough to ask me to give a short greeting at the opening ceremony.

The Council of Europe's Health Committee postpones discussion of a Report on Surrogacy Last Monday, PACE’s Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development decided to postpone a discussion of a draft report on Surrogacy Motherhood, “Human Rights and ethical issues related to surrogacy” . Th is is good news, b ecause there are many questions bout the pos ition of the rapporteur .  The rapporteur, Belgian senator Petra de Sutter [1] openly confirms that she is involved in surrogacy practices in the Belgian hospital where she works [2] . The motion of the resolution asked the rapporteur to actually investigate dangers that surrogacy pose to human dignity, e.g. of the woman carrier as her body and its reproductive function is commercialized. Additionally, the same resolution states that “the practice of surrogacy also disregards the rights and human dignity of the child by effectively turning the baby in question into a product” and that therefore “the Parl...