A resolution by the European Parliament condemning the persecution of religious minorities also contains language condemning religious teachings against abortion and homosexuality.

The resolution also states that religious freedom is “only possible with the assurance of personal and human freedom, including the right to sexual and reproductive health and the right to self-determination, regardless of origin or sexual orientation.”

Father Manuel Barrios Prieto, the secretary-general of the EU bishops’ commission, responded that “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, constitute a serious violation of the international law that discredits the European Union before the international community and before millions of European citizens.”