Fifty years for Europe

“Acting on various levels, at the local level as well as that of the decision-making centres, the Church has a great role to play in the construction of Europe, by promoting and consolidating fundamental values, which revolve around the dignity of the human person”, said Bishop ADRIANUS VAN LUYN of Rotterdam, President of COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community. Msgr. Van Luyn was speaking in Brussels on 9 May at a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of OCIPE (the Jesuit-run Office of Initiative for Europe). In Van Luyn’s view, “the centrality of man, transcending the boundaries of space and time, must be at the basis of a Europe in which man himself is not reduced to a being that produces and consumes, but is able to live in all his cultural, social, spiritual and religious integrity”. Founded in Strasbourg in 1956 at the request of the then archbishop, Mons. Weber, OCIPE, now present in Brussels, Budapest and Warsaw, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Europe Day, the annual day instituted in memory of the Schuman Declaration (9 May 1950) which led to the creation of the ECSC and then to the EEC. Introducing the event, the office’s Director FRANK TURNER explained that OCIPE “aims to accompany the construction of Europe by assisting the personnel of the European institutions in professional and spiritual discernment, by supporting critical reflection on values and responsibilities in the perspective of the Christian faith, and by promoting the solidarity of Europe within itself and with the world”. Maria Lyra Travers, who was attending the celebration as SIR correspondent, gathered some comments and reactions. AT LOCAL LEVEL. The Archbishop of Brussels, Cardinal GODFRIED DANNEELS , spoke of the daily commitment of the Church at the diocesan level, in a multi-cultural and multi-religious situation like that of Brussels. “In Belgium – he explained – there are three pastoral ministries, that for the Flemish community, that for the French-speaking community and that for the foreign community, which comprises immigrants from many different nationalities and social classes. The Church builds Europe day by day, through the conversion of local communities to a European and international mentality, and ever-closer integration between the various communities of the Christian faith”. “What I dream of is not a single multi-cultural and multi-religious Church, which absorbs all the differences and riches of the manifestations of Christianity, but a Church in which Christian faiths live peacefully side by side, mutually illuminate each other and are able to live united in diversity”: that is the cardinal’s hope. CHRISTIAN VALUES. Bishop Van Luyn stressed the contribution that the Church can make to the EU institutions through such organizations as OCIPE, COMECE, Caritas and the Jesuit refugee service, all of them based in Brussels. “The Church’s social doctrine – he said – is at the basis of our work of monitoring. We consider legislative proposals from the viewpoint of human dignity and respect for the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. The issues that are particularly close to our heart are the Constitution, globalization, the European social model, enlargement and immigration”. He also remarked on what he called the “paradox of Europe”. “In spite of the fact that the European project has brought many benefits to citizens, they have difficulty in understanding, still less sharing it. Citizens must take possession of Europe, while the decision-making bodies must keep their promises if they are to re-gain credibility”. IN THE INSTITUTIONS. KATRIN HATZINGER , legal adviser of the Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (EKD), is involved in the promotion of Christian values in the European decision-making centres. “It’s a huge commitment – she concedes – but one that in the political arena of Brussels is reflected in small gains, such as persuading an MEP to propose a particular amendment to a legislative text. It’s difficult to convince politicians that the Church has something to offer them and make them understand why we take an interest in politics; an interest that is often considered unnatural, even suspect, says Hatzinger. “The Church does not want to interfere in affairs of state”, but wishes “to place at the service of citizens the expertise she possesses in the human and social field”. Cooperation and synergy between the various associations are essential for the success of this mission. “A process of rapprochement and sharing between Christian faiths is already underway”, says PRZEMYS?AW S?OWIK, staff member of the European Commission, alluding to what is jokingly called the “General Directorate of spirituality”: namely, the chapel situated at the heart of the European institutions, a meeting place for foreign “professionals of Europe” at Sunday mass.