The great vision

Five years have gone by since the death of John Paul II. When he became Pope, walls still separated the free world, and the part of Europe that had succeeded in not being subjected to the yoke of Communism, from the rest of the continent. The idea of the 27-member Europe in which we now live, open also to the other states that had formerly been the victims of Communist rule, was born in his spirit. Speaking of Pius XII, John Paul II said that, in contrast to the attitude adopted by most statesmen of the period, his constant claims aroused trust in the not irreversible character of contemporary history and of the shape assumed by Europe after Yalta. Pius XII clearly pronounced his support for the nations that had been reduced to bondage and for the “Church of silence”. “For many years, within the limits of the fundamental powers of the Church, this was the only possible means of action in support of ‘European integration’.” These words faithfully reflect, in the first place, John Paul II’s support for and commitment to the unification of the continent.The Slav Pope had a vision of his own of “the Europe of the spirit” and the Church was called to play a particular role in its creation. At Strasbourg he said: “My duty consists in forcefully underlining that if the religious and Christian substratum of this continent were to be reduced to the role of inspiring ethics and its social effectiveness, not only would the entire heritage of the European past be negated, but a future worthy of the European man – I mean any European man, believer or not – would be compromised”.In 1991, addressing the diplomatic corps, John Paul II stressed: “The Church cannot renounce proclaiming the truth about the integral character of the fundamental human values, since if only some of them were to be accepted, this could undermine the very foundations of the social order. Pluralist states, too, cannot renounce ethical norms in their legislation and public life, especially when the fundamental good represented by the life of man from the moment of conception to natural death demands protection”.As a man who combated the atheist regime, John Paul II was profoundly conscious of the difference between the secular character of the State and the atheist ideology. In his judgement, “the postulate of ideological neutrality is right in principle when it is a question of the State’s duty to protect the freedom of conscience and of confession of all its citizens, irrespective of the religion or ideology they profess. But the postulate that consists in not accepting in any way the dimension of holiness in social life or in the life of the State is a postulate that actively promotes the atheism of the State and of social life and that has little in common with ideological neutrality”. That’s why John Paul II encouraged the faithful: “Defend the crucifix; do not permit the Name of God to be offended in your hearts, in social or in family life. Let us thank Divine Providence for the return of the crucifix to schools, public offices and hospitals. May they remain there!”Five years have gone by since he left us, but his testament still remains to be realized.