Currency and man

Of the ten countries that became members of the European Union on 1st May 2004, Slovenia is the first to introduce the single currency. It did so on 1st January 2007. The adoption of the Euro is a recognition of the progress that Slovenia has made in the economic field in the first 16 months of her independence. As Slovene citizens we are delighted about this. As Christians, who evaluate the success and stability of a nation also on the basis of other criteria, we wonder, however, whether, in tandem with economic development, the country’s ethical, spiritual and moral foundations are also being strengthened. Only those foundations can ensure the survival of our people, in Europe and in the world. They consist of the fundamental values of the person, the family, and of Christianity from which we drew our strength in the past and which represent an indispensable dimension for integral development, the good of the individual and of society. A more attentive look at society shows that the fundamental Christian values have been placed in crisis, both in Slovenia and in the other European states. In spite of the improvement of living standards, ever more people suffer as a result of the failure of their family life, loneliness and spiritual emptiness. It is a grave matter for concern that today the European policy of liberal orientation ignores and systematically eliminates the spiritual values that form the basis not only of personal and family happiness, but also of the future survival of the European peoples. This is demonstrated not only by the rejection of any reference to the Christian roots in the EU Constitutional Treaty, but even more so by the acceptance at the European level of very liberal legislation that, in absolutizing science, progress and money, fails to recognize the dignity and the respect of the person from conception to natural death. Slovenia in recent months has been added to those European countries that are ready to produce and destroy new human beings just for the benefit of scientific research. While other nations limit or curb the activities of casinos, Slovene legislation is opening new possibilities for their further development and, in this way, is threatening grave consequences for personal and family life. In spite of the results of the referendum on Sunday work and against the will of the people, the government – bowing to the iron law of capital – has decided that shops should be open on Sunday in Slovenia. In spite of the efforts of the present government, the law on religious freedom, with which Slovenia would conform to the European practice that considers the Church and the other religious movements something positive for society, has not been approved in Slovenia due to the strong dissent of the opposition. Liberal capitalism with its destructive ideology is incompatible with Christian values: economic progress and prosperity are necessary, but not at any price. In the year in which we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, a reflection is needed on the responsibility of Christians and of all men of good will for the future of the Europe. How can we ensure that fundamental values be fully protected, in particular human dignity, peace, religious freedom in all its dimensions, and the institutional rights of the Churches? “Only by respecting the human person can the foundations be laid for an authentic integral humanism”: that was the answer of Benedict XVI in his speech to the diplomatic corps on 8 January this year. Not the single currency, but man, must take first place, in Slovenia and in Europe as a whole.