No turning the clock back

The approaching European elections are an occasion to think of what Europe means today and what we would like it to become. The crisis we are going through is a providential time for us to reflect on and seek to take seriously the responsibility of each of us for the process Europe is engaged in. If there is one thing that this crisis has brought home to us, it is that we cannot shirk our responsibility for what is happening and for what we are doing for the future. After the end of the powerful ideologies, nationalist or internationalist, in a Europe at peace and in full economic development, what has emerged is not only an improvement of our living standards and prosperity, but also, unfortunately, a growing culture of selfishness, materialism, and hedonism that takes no account of the consequences of our actions. And now we see the result of this. How can we fail to be worried by the nonchalance, the frivolity, with which people speak about abortion or euthanasia, as if these were rights? How can we fail to be concerned by the deconstruction of the family that is also the result of policies that don’t take it into consideration as a good in itself, or that seek, in the name of equal opportunities, to establish the parity of other “unions” with what has been revealed as the real cell of society, the basic building block of all social life, in all cultures and at all times? The current crisis undoubtedly has a strong repercussion in economic life, but it’s clear that all this has its roots in far deeper moral issues and fundamental questions about the nature of man. When we lose our trust in economic activities, when violence becomes the means by which young people seek to defend their interests, when we think of everything that regards corruption or the improper use of public money, we can conclude, without much exaggeration, that man has lost the indispensable moral points of reference for a “healthy” society. What’s at stake in the European elections is the choice of the MEPs who will discuss and take decisions about issues that fall within the competence of the European institutions. Many think these questions are not directly linked to their own country and for this reason these elections don’t seem very important to them. The fact is, however, that over 60% of the legislative measures adopted in each of the member states of the European Union today have their origin within the European institutions. These are not just technical questions of social life. Within the European Parliament many questions are debated (even if not all of them ought to be discussed there) that have an influence on our life and European culture present and future. Discussion in the EP focuses on abortion, on marriage, even if we recognize that such questions are the responsibility of the family policy of member states. It also focuses on education, health care, scientific research and also religion. Our responsibility therefore begins by recognizing the importance of having well-prepared persons, who are conscious of the future consequences of their actions and who have a positive and Christian view of life and are thus able to influence decisions.It is not just a question of warning of the danger of a growing distance between us and our Christian roots, nor a nostalgic memory of our Christian past. The Church is actively involved in the construction of Europe, not in order to turn the clock back, but to ensure it becomes possible to build a Europe of persons, of human dignity, of the truth about marriage and the family, of solidarity, of responsibility to the poor and for the environment. A Europe in which people are free and responsible persons. A Europe with God, so that it may be a Europe with a soul in which citizens can find happiness. A Europe that is not “bread” alone, but also spirit. Faced by these challenges, Christians however cannot fail to see the innumerable good things that have been done so far. Christians must look to the future with a sense of responsibility and hope, not as a tragedy. Our hope, which comes from the certainty that the Lord of history and of the cosmos always loves us and accompanies us, actively impels us to build a Europe “in which all Europeans will feel at home” (Ecclesia in Europa, 121). The not knowing what the future will hold is no grave matter when we know that God shall never leave us orphans. Not feeling the responsibility and not trying to do all in our power to make our Europe more Christian does not belong to those who know that God calls them to love everyone and proclaim the truth.