To build together

“I am from Bosnia Herzegovina. At the end of the 20th century my community suffered genocide. I am really glad that Ratko Mladic has been arrested. As Muslims living in Europe we place high hopes in the EU”, said the Grand Mufti of the Islamic community in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Mustafa Ceric, following a meeting between EU institutions and religious leaders that took place in Brussels on May 30. The annual meeting takes place in the context of Art 17 of the Lisbon Treaty. Over the past years the meeting developed into an open, transparent dialogue, marked by mutual respect, addressed to political players as well as to those committed in the promotion of the human person, spirituality and ethics and in the enhancement of values shared by contemporary men and women alike. In fact, at the Berlaymont building – that houses the headquarters of the EU Commission – the speakers reiterated key concepts such as human dignity, social justice and solidarity.This year’s meeting couldn’t fail to mention the unfolding of events in the South-Mediterranean region and across the Middle East, where young people and popular movements hold out for the enforcement of human rights, modern democracies, the respect of women as well as of ethnic, religious and cultural minority groups, often to the risk of their own lives. In a statement, the EU Commission points out: “Since the beginning of the year extraordinary events have been unfolding in the Europe’s closest neighbourhood that remind us of the waves of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 80s and early 90s. We share common future with our neighbours”. Europe “is above all determined to promote and protect democratic rights and liberties, not only in our continent, but also beyond. Democracy has been the key for peace and prosperity in Europe, the EU is resolved to share these benefits with all partners”. The political officers (Buzek representing the EU Parliament, Van Rompuy the Council, Barroso the Commission) and the religious leaders, spoke with one voice. Due respect and attention was paid to the Catholic Church in the person of Msgr. Adrianus Van Luyn and Card. Reinhard Marx, respectively COMECE president and vice-president, and the Archbishop of Warsaw Card. Kaminierz Nycz. A single voice was heard in Brussels, spoken by Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists. Emphasis was placed on the need to defend freedom of worship as well as on the need to protect and enforce human dignity, peaceful coexistence, inalienable rights and social justice – to be achieved by means of fair economic development. The EU-Church meeting was marked by the same vision, encompassing shared values, ethics, history, and the outlook towards the future, with a firm acknowledgement of the urgent needs of European and extra-EU populations. The reiterated, explicit reference to the figure of John Paul II shed light on the path of courage, openness and determination undertaken by Wojtyla in the course of his long pontificate.