The Churches ask to be given greater heed” “

“The European Union must be a community of values”, declared the representative of the KEK (Conference of the European Churches), Keith Jenkins , on intervening in the plenary session of the Convention for the future of Europe, dedicated to listening to civil society, on 25 June. The values on which the EU needs to founded, as recalled by Jenkins, include “the centrality of the human person, the promotion of peace and reconciliation, freedom and justice, solidarity and the sustainability of development, tolerance, democracy, the rule of law and respect for minorities”. The spokesman for the Churches also asked the Convention that, in the name of the “principle of subsidiarity”, the future treaty would also include what is envisaged by declaration no. 11 of the final act of the Treaty of Amsterdam, namely, the commitment of the EU to respect the “status of the churches, religious associations, and non confessional communities and bodies, as recognized by each member state”. We asked Keith Jenkins to comment on the participation of the Churches in the plenary session. Meanwhile, a joint document of the Christian churches, including the Catholic churches, addressed to the members of the Convention, is expected to be issued in the next few days. Are you satisfied by the work carried out within the “contact group” together with the representatives of the other Churches? “A large number of representatives of various interest groups were involved in this group: 71 participants representing 53 different organizations engaged in the field of culture, ranging from education to the safeguard of the artistic heritage. In so huge and variegated a field, we tried to ram home the message that the Churches were not intervening in the debate to defend particular interests, but because they are convinced they can make a useful contribution to the construction of the future Europe”. What aspects do you think ought to be taken into particular consideration first by the Convention and then by the intergovernmental Conference? “The European Union is not only a utilitarian institution aimed at doing things better, and being ever more efficient. It is first and foremost a ‘community of values’. The Christian Churches hope, moreover, that the future European treaty will also incorporate the Charter of fundamental rights. They also ask that the Union respect and foster diversity: that it pursue ‘unity in diversity’, to use the happy expression of the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. Lastly, the Union ought to recognize and foster the contribution of the religious, spiritual and philosophic legacy of Europe. To this end, the new European treaty ought to make explicit reference to the values on which our continent is founded”. The Churches are asking for more structured and continuous forms of dialogue with the Union. Do you have some proposals in this regard? “We have a need to structure the dialogue and relations with the European institutions, in particular with the Commission, in a less sporadic and improvised fashion than has hitherto been the case. We must progress in the direction indicated by the White Paper on Governance published last year, which makes reference to the role that the religious institutions and the Churches play in the current social context”. What is meant, from the ecumenical point of view, by the work performed in the contact group? “One of the commitments assumed with the ‘European ecumenical charter’ in April 2001 was that of promoting the Church’s relations with the European Union and pursuing as great a cohesion as possible. To this end, we are coordinating our efforts with the Commission of the episcopates of the European Community to monitor the work of the European Convention. We have sent separate contributions to the Forum of civil society on the Internet but only after having examined them together, so as to ensure substantial harmony in the proposals to wish to submit to the Convention. Of course we cannot disguise the fact that there are also differences of view between the various European Churches on some issues of an ethical character. But our work must be aimed at finding the common denominators that unite us and not the aspects that divide us”. I.I.