The bishops said yesterday they were seriously concerned over a report approved earlier this month by a committee of the European Parliament which has recommended that abortion should be made legal in all EU present and future member states.

In a statement, signed by Archbishop Joseph Mercieca, Gozo Bishop Nikol Cauchi and Auxiliary Bishop Annetto Depasquale, the local Church said the report, drawn up by the committee for the rights and equal opportunities of women of the European Parliament, was approved on June 4.

But the government said last night it was a well-known fact that the EU had no right - or the competence - to impose a position in favour of abortion on its members.

In a statement, the government also stressed that the resolutions issued by the European Parliament were not legally binding on member states.

The government said it would like to put the bishops' minds at rest that - as it was very well known - it had always maintained a strong position against the legalisation of abortion both in Malta and in international fora.

The government was conscious that there was a lobby in favour of abortion not only in the European Parliament but also in other international fora, especially from groups which did not belong to the European People's Party.

Government said it wanted to assure the bishops that it intended to continue showing determination against abortion once Malta joined the EU.

"In that way it would be giving faithful witness to Catholic beliefs and values as encouraged to do by the Pope. The government also feels that Maltese MEP's would be able to do the same in the European Parliament."

There were 19 MEPs who voted in favour, 11 against and two abstentions.

The Church said the European Parliament would take a vote on the recommendations made in this report on July 4.

The bishops also called on "all the representatives of our people" to express their voice in a strong manner against the recommendation for abortion to be legalised in present and future EU member states.

The Church said that abortion was a killing and went against God's laws.

"It is a total affront to God, nobody has a right over life."

The bishops said that the Catholic Church defended the human life from its conception and condemned abortion without any reservations.

"For this reason, as bishops, we would like to encourage the members of the local Church and everyone else to join us in our prayers for God to help the members of the European Parliament to refuse this proposal."

The report, as approved by the parliamentary committee, recommends the governments of the member states and the candidate countries to strive to implement a health and social policy which will lead to a lower incidence of abortion, in particular through the provision of family planning counselling and services, the offering of material and financial support for pregnant women in difficulties, and to regard unsafe abortion as an issue of major public health concern.

It also recommends that the governments of the member states and the accession countries ensure the provision of unbiased, scientific and clearly understandable information and counselling on sexual and reproductive health, including the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and the risks involved in unsafe abortions carried out under unsuitable conditions;

The report calls upon the governments of the member states and the accession countries to provide specialised sexual and reproductive health services which include high quality and professional advice and counselling adapted to the needs of specific groups (e.g. immigrants), provided by a trained, multidisciplinary staff; underlines that advice and counselling must be confidential and non-judgmental and that in case of legitimate conscientious objection of the provider, referral to other service providers must take place; where advice on abortion is provided, attention must be drawn to the physical and psychological health risks associated with abortion, and alternative solutions (adoption, availability of support in the event of a decision to keep the child) must be discussed;

Recommends that, in order to safeguard women's reproductive health and rights, abortion should be made legal, safe and accessible to all;

Calls upon the governments of the member states and the accession countries to refrain in any case from prosecuting women who have undergone illegal abortions;

As regards adolescent sexual and reproductive health/ sexuality education, the report underlines that adolescent sexual and reproductive health and their needs with regard to sexuality and reproduction differ from those of adults;

Reminds that active participation of young people (their rights, views and competence) is important in the development, implementation and evaluation of sexuality education programmes in cooperation with other parties, particularly parents; enhancing parenting skills and capacities also has an important part to play in this;

Reminds that sexuality education should be provided in a gender-sensitive way, i.e. that account must be taken of the particular sensitivities of boys and girls, starting early in life, continuing to adulthood, with a focused approach at different stages of life development, and taking into account different lifestyles, whereby due attention should be paid to sexually transmitted diseases (i.e. HIV/AIDS);

The report stresses that sexuality education must be considered in a holistic and positive way paying attention to psycho-social as well as bio-medical aspects and based on mutual respect and responsibility.