The Europe to come

The Church cannot furnish made-to-measure answers or propose solutions to the problems linked to every question of the European Union. That is not her task. But what she can do, without ever trivializing the seriousness of the situation, is to let herself be guided by some important principles that she has “inherited” and would like to transmit. These principles can help us to analyze the situation in hand and help us to find solutions to the problems we face. They do not owe their significance to the world of politics or the rule of law (even if they have found expression and juridical formulation in them). They precede the very existence of man and are, from this point of view, “meta-political” and “meta-economic”: they are the fundamental principles of the inviolable dignity of the human person and the common good, and the principles that flow from them: subsidiarity and solidarity. These four principles, which descend from the social doctrine of the Church, are further unfolded if seen from the point of view of justice and truth. The Church’s task is constantly to remind us of this and to monitor in this light the activity of the European Union and of its institutions. Before anything else, the Churches must follow with great intellectual and spiritual attention the process of European unification in order fully to grasp its long-term significance. A greater degree of curiosity about how the European institutions conduct their own activities and take decisions would be desirable within the Church. To this end, however, the Church needs to gain a deeper understanding of the processes and mechanisms that support EU policies. Christianity will only survive in Europe if Christians have the will to play an active role in giving form to the construction of Europe and work for a more human future for our continent.A just world order founded on solidarity, however, would be inconceivable without understanding between religions and cultures. Due to the history of Europe and the situation in which we find ourselves today, with a proliferation of different cultures, heaped one on top of the other, a fervent desire for understanding between religions and cultures that is difficult to find elsewhere is being registered in the continent. That’s why the Church in Europe must now practice intercultural dialogue as one of her principal tasks, and promote dialogue between religions. The dialogue between cultures, ideologies and religions is not so much one of theological nature… rather, and above all, it is a dialogue on moral values between people who live in different cultures and civilizations. Its contents have to do with questions “about the whys and wherefores” in matters of meaning and morals. Human beings can avoid these questions in their thought but not in their actions. So it becomes imperative for the Churches to offer their own religious perception of the human condition in the world.It is by virtue of their common humanity that all mankind, Christians and non-Christians alike, become conscious of their own responsibility for their fellowmen, today and in the future. So, the final objective of a dialogue conceived in this way is to try to achieve a human and humanizing society, within which peoples of different cultural and religious origins can live peacefully together in Europe.