The work now begins” “

Satisfaction for the approval of the Constitution as an undeniable step towards European integration; regret for the lack of any citation of the Christian roots; and the need to confirm the commitment and witness of believers within the European institutions. That’s the main thrust of the positions adopted by individual intellectuals, associations and groups of volunteer service, which, on the basis of Christian inspiration, have been working for years towards united Europe. THE ROLE OF CHRISTIANS TO IMPLEMENT THE CONSTITUTION. The Constitution is “an important step in the realization of the European ideal proposed by Adenauer, De Gasperi and Schuman. In this sense the agreement must be welcomed: it’s a step on the road towards the unity and integration of the continent”. Josep Mirò and Giorgio Salina, respectively president and vice-president of the Convention of Christians for Europe, applaud the result achieved by the heads of state and of government in Brussels, even if they don’t disguise the difficulties Europe now faces: “Not everything has been resolved – they point out -. Some aspects now deferred will have to be resumed at a later date. We’ll have to work for real integration, but undoubtedly it is an historic achievement, because it opens up the possibility of determining the history of peoples and nations”. On the other hand, “the work on the implementation of the Constitution is only now beginning, and involves all citizens who must in some way participate in the ratification in the various states. All citizens – specifies Mirò -, Christians included, must play their part, despite the fact that the passionate and repeated appeals of the Holy Father have been ignored; or the fact that, with the declared objective of the defence of secularism, a secular mentality that denies the explicit recognition of the truth, such as that of the Christian roots of Europe, has prevailed”. Salina adds: “We need to counter the concern that the secular mentality excludes Christian culture, or the Christian view of man and society: we need to participate, like all other cultures, in the defence of the dignity of the person and hence of life, the promotion of the family based on marriage between man and woman, freedom of education and subsidiarity”. But all this needs to be defended in respect for the secularism of the institutions, “which implies equidistance from all cultural positions and excludes censorship of one or more of them. So our commitment should be not for the safeguard of Christians, but of all men of every race, creed and religion”. articLE 51 AND THE SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHURCHES. “I think we can be satisfied with the approval of the Constitution in the aftermath of the European elections and only a few weeks after the entry of ten new members into the EU. It’s true that this Treaty has still to be ratified; but a step in the right direction has already been taken”. Emiel Lamberts, professor of the political and religious history of Europe at the University of Louvain, and a leading lay exponent of Belgian Catholicism, had hitherto insisted on the need to approve the Constitution before EU enlargement. In spite of that, he now underlines its value: “This Constitution is not just the work of the European Council; it was formulated by a Convention that conferred on it a more democratic and solid foundation. The Treaty integrates the various Community ‘pillars’ formulated and constructed in the past. It also facilitates the EU’s decision-making process, even if the institutional architecture still remains very complex”. According to Lamberts, it is significant that the text signed in Brussels recognises and defends the fundamental rights of man and enshrines “the principle of subsidiarity, which is primarily an elaboration of social Catholicism”. As regards “the absence of any reference to the Judeo-Christian roots and to God”, the professor of Louvain recalls that the cultural, religious and humanistic legacies of Europe referred to in the preamble should be interpreted as an “implicit reference to Christianity”. This position “can be understood as a consequence of the separation between Church and State, which is recognized in Vatican Council II’s Declaration on Religious Liberty Dignitatis Humanae“. Having said that, Lamberts stresses the importance of article 51 of the Treaty. It recognises the identity of the Churches and religious communities, “their specific contribution to continental integration and “the need for an open, transparent and regular dialogue between the institutions of the Union and the Churches themselves”.