Higgins attacks Church stance on Lisbon Treaty

Socialist Party MEP Joe Higgins has attacked the Catholic Church's stance on the Lisbon Treaty.

Ireland's Catholic bishops have issued a statement saying neither a 'Yes' nor a 'No' vote will undermine Irish legal protections for the unborn.

Mr Higgins, however, says the Church should be advocating a 'No' vote because of massive EU spending on arms at a time when hundreds of millions of people are starving across the world.

He also says "thousands of scientists and engineers are sitting around desks in the EU designing more efficient weapons to kill people" when they could be using their energy to design clean-water systems for the Third World.