French party rebukes pope over abortion

PARIS France's governing Socialist Party delivered a stingingadmonition to Pope John Paul II on Friday, officially "regretting"the visiting pontiff's decision to pray at the grave of a prominentanti-abortion crusader.

"The meaning of such a gesture can only cause discontent andrisks encouraging in our country the determination of those who wagea struggle bearing the mark of intolerance," the party of PrimeMinister Lionel Jospin said in a statement.

The rebuke was issued a few hours before the pope, here for thefour-day World Youth Days festival that has drawn more than 500,000Roman Catholic pilgrims, was expected to travel by helicopter to thetomb of French geneticist Jerome Lejeune in Chalo-Saint-Mars, 40miles southeast of Paris.Vatican authorities described the visit to the grave of Lejeune,a friend and intellectual soulmate of the pope, as private. Thecemetery was surrounded by some 400 French anti-terrorist forces whokept out onlookers and reporters.Lejeune was the founder of Let Them Live, an anti-abortiongroup, and had just been appointed by John Paul II to a high Vaticanpost when he died in April, 1994.Lejeune was renowned in scientific circles around the world forhis discovery of the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome. Inpart because of his research, many women choose to end theirpregnancies when tests show evidence of the congenital condition inthe fetus.The Socialist Party statement said that the French right toabortion, in place since 1975, should be respected, and it condemnedprotests at a Paris hospital by anti-abortion groups during the WorldYouth Days events this week.The Socialist Party joined other abortion rights advocates whohad singled out this item on the pope's agenda for criticism. "Thepope is reopening the debate over abortion that once tore thiscountry apart and that no one wants to revive," declared YvetteRoudy, a Socialist former minister of women's rights, before thepontiff arrived Thursday. "The pope is welcome in France as long ashe doesn't meddle in the internal affairs of the republic," she said.French trade unionists, protesting John Paul's strict oppositionto artificial contraception, handed out 10,000 free condoms topassers-by and young Roman Catholic pilgrims gathered in Paris forthe pope's visit.Church and state have been officially separate in France formore than 90 years, and the principle of laicism, or religioustolerance, is stoutly defended here even though most French citizensstill describe themselves as Catholics.Prime Minister Jospin, a Protestant, is expected to meet thepope before he leaves Sunday.