The Spanish bishops have also congratulated the Pope on his 80th birthday. Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid, did so on their behalf during his recent inauguration of a cycle of conferences on the thought of Benedict XVI at the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See (it runs to the end of May). The occasion for his remarks was the first conference focused entirely on the future of Europe, which according to Benedict XVI takes the form of “a dialogue between laity and Catholics”. After reviewing the main documents on Europe of the theologian Josef Ratzinger, the cardinal pointed out “four essential points for the future of the Old Continent” according to the thought of Benedict XVI: “Unconditional respect for human dignity; respect for monogamous marriage; respect for the sacred; and, lastly, a dialogue between Catholics and laity that does not eliminate an opening to transcendence”. On the question of the future of Europe, the archbishop of Madrid emphasised the continuity between Benedict XVI and John Paul II. He also recalled that the famous expression “Christian roots of Europe” was pronounced by John Paul II, at the end of his first apostolic journey to Spain in 1982.
