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“Three challenges should motivate Christians in considering Europe a great cause to which to commit ourselves”, says Father Gabriel Nissim, chairman of the Decere Association, in a reflection written in view of the forthcoming referendum on 29 May, in which French citizens will be asked to vote yes or no to the adoption of the European Constitutional Treaty. The reflection was sent to all parish priests by Archbishop Joseph Doré of Strasbourg. Father Nissim’s first challenge is “peace and reconciliation”: “We need he says to learn to live no longer for ourselves but together with and for others, in respect for the diversity of our languages, cultures and religions”. The second challenge “is our European economic model, characterized by a high level of social protection”: “The Europe we want as Christians he says , must ensure to each and every citizen a number of fundamental social rights, including the right to family life and the right to work”. This presupposes “an open Europe, conscious of its own responsibility towards the rest of the planet, and capable of developing a culture of solidarity”. The third challenge concerns the contribution of Christians “to enable the Christian heritage of the values that have made Europe to bear fruit today”, a responsibility than can best be fulfilled by embodying those values in ourselves”. “The construction of Europe concludes Father Nissim still has a long way to go. While no form of human society can be absolutized, Europe can be for many a strong sign of hope”.
