A presence to be reconsidered” “

A lot of talk is heard about the Christian roots of Europe and the need for explicit reference to be made to them in the text of the European constitutional Treaty, which could be approved by the Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the EU on 12/13 December. “However – remarks Tadeusz Mazowiecki , former Polish Prime Minister and first leaders of the post-Communist era in Eastern Europe – little is debated about the commitment of Christians to the construction of Europe and its process of enlargement”. SIR interviewed him. It now seems confirmed that the Christian roots of Europe won’t be cited in the European constitutional Treaty. What’s your view? “We’ll see. The Treaty poses the problem of roots: it is an historic necessity, but it is also man searching for the meaning of life. What’s important at this point is that Christians commit themselves to the construction of Europe. There’s a lot of talk about the Christian roots of Europe but little about the commitment of Christians. John Paul II, in recalling the Christian roots of our continent, exhorts everyone, Catholics and Christians, to promote a non-confessional Union, in which the gospel values that are at the basis of our civilization be ever present”. Yet the Christian tradition seems to have dissolved… “I don’t think so. The Christian presence in Europe is still alive but needs to be reconsidered also in the light of enlargement. Adenauer, De Gasperi and Schuman thought of a Europe aimed at the West. Now there’s the whole of Eastern Europe that is exerting pressure with its strength, tradition, problems, and also its religious sense. I would say that we have a need of Christians who wish to commit themselves to this important phase of growth. Europe is at a time of challenge, not a time of division”. What should the features of a Christian policy for Europe be? “No precise identikit exists. I think first of all that each Christian should get involved in the social and political life of his own country. But there is something that a Christian politician must never know: hatred. The ‘not hating’ in politics is a great and incisive witness. He must also have the humility to repeat to himself ‘we are useless servants’. Once his own task has been performed, he must know how to step backwards”. Defence of life and of the family are some of the issues being debated in the European institutions where Christians are often in the minority… “For a politician, it’s important to seek agreement also on controversial issues like the defence of life. Seeking dialogue and compromise is useful, but it must never betray basic values. Sacrificing values to politics is wrong”. What kind of Europe will be the Europe of enlargement? “The European Union is not yet Europe. It does not embody all the historical, political, social and religious sense of Europe. It must not merely be economic. I think of what the Pope said, namely that Europe must breathe with both lungs. The entry of the new member countries sanctions the end of the logic of Yalta, the logic of partition. Enlargement also serves to remedy the political and economic delays that have accumulated in these decades. And Christian politicians must contribute to that”. On what must the future of Europe be founded? “On the truth, on the recognition of merits, on the confession of guilt and on the common good of Europeans. But also on the consciousness of the value of Christian civilization, of the dangers that derive from the depreciation of the dignity of man and his rights, in the conviction that each person is important and that each needs to be enabled to enjoy his own rights and fulfil his own duties”.