His Europe

A Pope for a united Europe, aware of its own Christian roots, open to the present challenges and capable of looking at the future. Gianni Borsa on behalf of SIR Europe has discussed the issue with Thomas Brechenmacher, Bavarian, professor of modern history at the University of Potsdam and author of many essays on 20th century’s Europe and continental integration. On the grounds of these works of research, this scholar reflects on the contribution given by Karol Wojtyla to overcome the “cold war” and to the process of approach between western and eastern Europe.John Paul II, the Pope who came from the East, is considered as one of the main characters of the most recent European history. There is a widespread opinion that his support to the free trade union Solidarnosc has been a fundamental element to encourage the construction of democratic awareness and the fight against the Communist regime in Poland. As a historian, do you think this remark is correct?“For sure, John Paul II has been a central point of reference for the Solidarnosc movement. In fact, the very concept of Solidarnosc, which means solidarity, expresses a key point in the catholic social doctrine. This is to be added to the Pope’s explicit appeal to the respect of human rights. Lech Walesa (leader of the Solidarnosc movement and later President of the Polish Republic, note of the editor) refers that, in 1980, he undersigned the Dansk Agreement using a fountain pen with a portrait of John Paul II on the cap. John Paul II was the most important point of moral reference for the strikes movement, which strongly reinforced the awareness of the opposition. In this context, a decisive role was played by the two apostolic journeys he made to Poland in 1979 and in 1983, which turned into a triumph. In Poland, communism had not succeeded in destroying the catholic mindset of people: this charismatic Pope had the opportunity to leverage just on this fact”.Could we assume that the figure of John Paul II had an impact on the cultural, social, and religious dissident movements which were operational also in the other countries of the Warsaw Pact, so as to be considered one of the facts that lead to the fall of the Berlin wall and the disruption of the Iron Curtain?“I am convinced that the election of the Polish Karol Wojtyla to the papal throne should be considered as a decisive moment in the way toward the disruption of the Communist supremacy in Eastern Europe. A professed opponent – and totally unconditioned by Communism -, with his pontifical election he took a moral position which enjoyed high global consideration. His message “Do not be afraid…” had reinforced the opposition movements beyond the Iron Curtain and had given them, at the same time, the feeling they had a passionate ally in the “free world”. On the other hand, he had caught by surprise – and paralyzed – the leaders of the countries of the “Eastern block”. We know this in details, for example, by the reaction in the DDR (German Democratic Republic) to the election of Wojtyla to the papal throne. The new Polish Pope began to hinder the military actions against the opponents, such as those carried out in 1956 in Hungary or in 1968 in Prague. The history of the fall of the Berlin wall and the disruption of the Iron Curtain cannot be written on the background of its enlarged context without mentioning the role played by the Polish Pope”.Pope Wojtyla has been the promoter of two European Synods: the first in 1991, the second in 1999. The latter was followed by the apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Europa, which deals with the figure of Jesus Christ as the “Hope for Europe”, but also with ecumenism and the need for evangelizing the social context. Furthermore, Wojtyla hoped for the presence of adequately trained and skilful Christian people in the EU institutions to contribute to give life to a European cohabitation which be more and more respectful of every woman and every man, and consistent with the common good. In your opinion, did the Church of John Paul II firmly support the construction of the “common house”?“I am convinced that in the catholic Church there is an acute awareness of the importance of the process of European integration. During his pontificate, John Paul II has fostered this awareness like no one before him, because he was deeply convinced that Christianity is the only great conquest of European culture. It is now up to the Church to convey this teaching of John Paul II. My feeling is that this work on the construction of the European “common house” is being carried out efficaciously. I could mention, for example, the endeavour of the Holy See in favour of the Eastward enlargement of the European Union, or the commitment of the European Bishops’ Conferences in view of an adequate insertion of the instances of the Church into the draft of the European Constitution. No doubt that the Church could not avoid the temporary (or final?) failure of this project of Constitution”.We remember several forms of attention by John Paul II vis-à-vis the issue of Europe: many significant speeches, his visits to the European institutions, and the indication of the Saints Patrons of Europe. He invited our Continent to rediscover its own “spiritual unity” and to “breath with two lungs”, a western lung and an eastern one. But he especially insisted on the “Christian roots” of the Continent, to be rediscovered and valued also in the public arena. What could have been the intentions of his “obstinacy”?“According to John Paul II, Europe would be really established only with the unity of the East and the West, considering these two as different mental “aggregate states”: in the West, the strength of rationality in philosophy and theology, and the political and economic conquests; in the East, the mystical depth of Orthodoxy, which penetrated into spheres of human existence which were totally different if compared to the primacy of the reason in the West. Cyril and Methodius, Benedict of Norcia, Catherine of Siena, Bridget of Sweden… The “European saints” to whom John Paul II entrusted Europe on the occasion of the end of the Millennium, as well as Edith Stein – in reference to the Jewish roots of Christianity, and of Europe – symbolize this very idea of Europe. Europe had to breath with these two lungs, and the spirit it had to breath was the spirit of Christianity. In the eyes of the Pope, Europe was to witness this specific spirituality, this identity, because it had been threatened – and almost destroyed – in its very essence by the strong currents of dechristianization and agnosticism. In the tragedies of the 20th century – stemmed out of God’s oblivion and the self-absolutization of the person, so heavily suffered by the Polish Karol Wojtyla, John Paul II identified the historical root of this semi-destruction of Europe. The events following the years 1989-1990 provided for a unique opportunity to restore the whole Europe in the right spirit, the one of the two lungs. This was the origin of his obstinacy in the European Christian proclamation”.We often hear that the group of the “founding fathers” of the European Community included three Christian statesmen: Schuman, Adenauer and De Gasperi. Do the Christian people of today still have at heart the European Union? Do they understand the stake of European unity in a time of global challenges?“In the European thought advocated by Schuman, Adenauer e De Gasperi, the economic issues were not exclusive. Behind that thought, there had always been the conviction that Europe should be constructed in conformity to the values of Christian social ethics: human dignity, freedom, justice, solidarity, and subsidiarity. Unfortunately, the debate on the European Constitution has highlighted that these Christian-western foundations of the European thought have been somewhat downgraded. Most Europeans -Christian and non-Christian alike – are not especially well informed about this topic. But this assertion, although a bit pessimistic, should not lead to resignation, because on the very background of global challenges it is even more important to connect again the European thought to the orientation in terms of values of the European historical precursors”.