Some Catholics pray for EU treaty "No" vote

By Jonathan Saul

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Eamonn Murphy hopes his prayers will help secure a "No" vote when predominantly Catholic Ireland votes on the European Union's reform treaty next month.

Some Catholics fear the treaty will create loopholes allowing the EU to force Ireland to relax its strict abortion laws, permit same sex marriages and erode what they regard as traditional religious values.

"Prayer can change the course of history," said Murphy, who runs a Catholic centre in the capital Dublin. "We cannot delegate to a more centralised authority our decision-making rights on matters so close to home."

Ireland is the only EU state planning a referendum on the treaty and a "no" vote could sink a treaty designed to end years of diplomatic wrangling over reform of the bloc's institutions.

An opinion poll at the weekend showed the "Yes" camp's lead had narrowed in the past two weeks, and the vote on June 12 could be close.

A number of Catholic prayer groups have put rejection of the treaty at the centre of their supplications. Some have sent text messages urging the devout to recite the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, a rosary-like prayer cycle which they believe is especially effective.

Ann Harland, a part-time bank worker, said she was praying about the outcome on June 12.

"I want the laws of God and Christian values to be upheld. Without it, anything goes," she said as soft devotional music played at the prayer and information centre.