The European Parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of a report on the persecution of religious minorities that has been strongly criticized by the Catholic Church.
Members of the European Union's legislative body officially adopted the report, titled "Persecution of minorities on grounds of belief or religion," during a plenary session in Strasbourg, France, on May 3.
The Christian legal group ADF International stated that the initial draft highlighted the scale of anti-Christian persecution worldwide, but the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee made substantial amendments to the text.
"The persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa was omitted and all references to Christians, except one, were removed," said ADF International.
"The report, however, includes multiple references emphasizing protections for atheist, secular, or humanist belief minorities."
The vote took place after the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) suggested that the report treated the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and the right to life as "second-class rights."
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COMECE's Secretary General, Father Manuel Enrique Barrios Prieto, said on May 3: "Any attempt to undermine the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and the right to life through abusive interpretations that unduly restrict their legitimate scope or to subject them to newly created and non-consensual 'so-called human rights,' including abortion, constitutes a serious violation of international law that discredits the European Union before the international community and before millions of European citizens."
He added that the text would be "of no help to the millions of religious believers who are victims of persecution because of their faith, particularly vulnerable women and girls, as their situation will be obscured and rendered invisible by prioritizing other political interests."
The adopted and amended text now expresses "deep concern about the misuse and instrumentalization of belief or religion to impose discriminatory policies, laws, including criminal laws, or restrictions that contradict and undermine the rights of LGBTIQ persons, women and girls and restrict access to basic services, such as education and health, including sexual and reproductive rights, criminalize abortion in all cases, criminalize adultery or facilitate religious practices that violate human rights."
Adina Portaru, Senior Counsel for ADF International in Brussels, Belgium, argued that the text undermined the role of the EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, which became vacant in September 2021.
The adopted report calls for "a transparent and comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness and added value of the position of Special Envoy." It adds that the envoy should also focus on "the rights to non-belief, apostasy, and adherence to atheistic views, while paying attention to the situation of non-believers at risk."
Portaru said: "We regret that the hijacked report does not call on the European Commission to take all necessary steps to appoint a new Special Envoy."
"The Special Envoy played a crucial role in highlighting the horrors of religious persecution at the European level. This role has helped raise awareness of some of the most severe and persistent violations of fundamental rights in the world and has contributed to focusing EU efforts to counter them."
"The EU must not only continue but intensify its efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief worldwide. The renewal of the mandate of a Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU is more necessary than ever."
The European Parliament has been accused of ignoring the critical situation of Afghanistan's Christian minority in a resolution on that South Asian country adopted in September 2021.
The EU's only directly elected institution has also faced criticism from Catholics for its advocacy of abortion.
It voted in June 2021 in favor of a report describing this practice as "essential healthcare" and seeking to redefine conscientious objection as a "denial of medical care."
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