Lithuanian parliament rejects bishop's anti-democratic plea.

THE LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT rejected a formal request from Archbishop Sigitas Tamkievicius to deny member of parliament Ausrine Marija Pavilioniene leave of absence to travel to Latin America on a factfinding trip. The trip to Peru and Brazil was organized by CFFC and the Inter-European parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (IEPFPD) and consisted of a delegation of parliamentarians from Lithuania, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Germany and Portugal who met with members of parliament and government representatives, leading activists and non-governmental organizations working on sexual and reproductive health and rights and feminist causes, as well as members of the clergy active on HIV/AIDS.

The archbishop claimed that allowing the MP to travel could "damage the image of the church." Ms Pavilioniene had come to the attention of the church hierarchy previously because she initiated a parliamentary petition on a woman's right to choose in September 2005 and she heads a cross-party group of parliamentarians seeking to improve the sexual and reproductive health of Lithuanians.

"Archbishop Tamkievicius' actions illustrate the heavy handed tactics of some church officials when confronted with views they don't agree with," said Hon. Ruth Genner, a Swiss MP and President of IEPFPD. "Trying to limit a parliamentarian's freedom of action shows how out of touch the church can be with modern Europe where we now live in plural democracies, but the church as an institution, does not accept democratic rules.... It is a victory for democracy and human rights that the Lithuanian parliament rejected his request."