Christianity and the European Union : continuum and dichotomy

Abstract

A soul for Europe: this was the name given to a programme created by Jacques Delors in 1994 shortly before his departure from the Commission. The project followed on from Delors' warning in 1992: "Believe me, we will not succeed in building Europe on the basis of legislation and economic expertise alone ... , if we do not manage over the next years to give Europe a soul, to give it a spint and meaning we will have tailed". The aim was to mobilize the different religious and philosophical families to enliven a debate on the values and meaning of European integration. What indeed could be more important? President Delors gave his support to it, as did his successor Jacques Santer. Romano Prodi underlined its importance before the European Parliament in September 1999: "We have different historical and cultural traditions and we should preserve them. But we are also seeking a common identity, a new European soul". This dissertation tries to point out that Christianity which for many represent a source of meaning and guidance, have much to say in this process. Religions are one of the keys to the identity of nations and of Europe as a whole as it moves towards integration. Moreover, the dialogue between religions is a profound dialogue about the values, traditions, common history and its diverse interpretations: any progress in inter-religious or ecumenical dialogue is a step towards the unification of Europe. Economists and civil servants may not always see this to be of immediate interest, but that would be short sighted. For where is this soul of Europe if not in the search for meaning, and especially the search through religion? The debate between Christianity and Europe, has evolved with the process of integration but as the EU is now approaching a crucial phase of ratifying a Constitution this argument was emphasized more than ever. On October 29 2004 the heads of state and government of the 25 member states of the European Union, meeting in Rome signed the Constitutional treaty of the European Union. Although this constitutional treaty was adopted by consensus, this does· not mean that each member state was fully satisfied with it. Some expressed their disappointment that it failed to recognize Europe's Christian roots. This work will mention what are the opponent views on this subject and also what are the main views of those member states who worked hard for the cause to include in the treaty's text, recognition to religious heritage. This tension between secularism and religion was seen again in the successful rejection of Rocco Buttiglione as EU commissioner. His view on abortion, the family, asylum, immigration and sexual practice are seen as conservative and have been the major cause for his rejection. At this point, I took the occasion and went to Rome to interview Mr. Rocco Buttiglione personally. I took his personal opinion on the subject and I found it very compatible with my work. This dissertation will show that there is no doubt that the Christian faith played an important role in defining the cultural a spiritual profile of the people of Europe. Over the course of centuries its values became embodied in the European consciousness. In the course of the first three chapters this dissertation will show how Christianity is linked to Europe. This will be done by examining European history. This work will give a general view even about Europe's origin, mythology and geography and how in the first millennium it was even thought that Europe was a part of land given to one of Noah's sons: Japheth. St. Benedict role in forging Europe's Christian heritage is seen as one of the most important moments in the course of Christian history in Europe. Without any doubt, Europe was identified with Christianity during the Middle-Ages. Here the influence of Charlemagne was of great importance, together with the rise of Latin Christendom. The ideas of the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment brought Europe to modernity. In this particular time Europe experienced the rupture with Christianity which today we call secularization. The influence the 2 World Wars left on Europe is absolutely of great importance, in fact they resulted in the creation of the E.C. Obviously, this was a milestone in the European history. This dissertation will examine the process of European integration by posing two questions: Is the E.C now the E.U a new vision of Europe or just an economic pragmatism? Is there an element of Christianity in the E.U. idea? This work then takes a look at what is the church's view on the E.U. and the pressure that the church had always made on the E. U. to be a promoter of universal values. It will show how the process of European integration has always been supported and fully encouraged by the Catholic Church. A special attention is given to what the late Pope John Paul II has said about the E. U. with a study to the recent Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Europa" which is considered the most important document of what are the church thoughts on the process of European integration. Concluding this work once more will emphasize that in this new Europe of the 2lst century, Europe must recuperate the cultural and spiritual foundations that had acquired through the centuries. Today Europe needs a strong spiritual reintegration as well as a political economic one. Europe must affirm clearly its values inherited from the past, without which Europe risks to remain an empty name, which docs not correspond to any concept.