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The election of Karol Wojtyla on 16 October 1978 projected Europe towards new horizons. During his pontificate, he visited the European institutions; he tackled European question in over a thousand discourses and played a key role in the opening of a historic process that led to the reunification of the European continent. It is impossible to reduce the thought of Pope John Paul II on Europe to the limits of a modest editorial. At least three recurrent themes in his reflection should however be recalled. The first regards the relation between Eastern, Central and Western Europe. It is a question of guaranteeing the harmonious functioning of the two lungs of Europe in cultural, political and spiritual terms. The revision of the Financial Prospects of the EU represents a decisive text. The recent declaration of COMECE with the title La solidaritè est l’âme de l’Europe (Solidarity is the soul of Europe) explores this question from an ethical and social point of view. We need to hope that the difficult negotiations in this sector will reach a generous conclusion. Apart from these fundamental considerations of an economic and political order, there is still a lot to be done to develop the contacts between the peoples of the old and new member states. The local churches of Eastern, Central and Western Europe must continue their own efforts with vigour and imagination to forge contacts with and discover the local churches of the other regions of our continent. Another recurrent theme in John Paul II’s thought is the crucial role of memory for the formation of a living identity and a sense of our origins illuminated by education and founded on knowledge, as an essential prerequisite for the identity of a society. John Paul II maintained the importance of the Christian heritage of Europe for all European citizens. He clarified this concept by presenting it as a living force that guarantees that Europe be at the service of the general common good. The debate on the preamble of the Constitutional Treaty was one of the moments in which passions on this score became crystallized. Other more concrete texts will continue to represent challenges at the level of the daily formulation of policies in such sectors as immigration, research or trade policy. The EU will have to come to grips with, and make inevitable decisions on, the question of the values of Europe. Creating and maintaining the dynamic of the ethical reflection and the political will in the field of society and between the political leaders will be of crucial importance if the EU is to put into practice its own values as enumerated in articles 1-2 of the Constitutional Treaty and if all Christians are to take part in them. Lastly, addressing himself directly to the churches of Europe in his post-synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa (n° 45, 65, 69, 105), John Paul II opened a new horizon to the leaders of the local churches. He asks that the Church think and act on a European scale to turn the construction of Europe into an integral part of the concerns of the local churches. This prophetic appeal, now more than ever opportune, must not remain without an answer.
