Never without values

With an interview with mons. Christian Kratz, auxiliar bishop of Strasbourg, SIR Europe is continuing its special feature dedicated to the reflections of European bishops on the process of European integration and on the Church’s thought on the European common home. Among the Catholics of your country, what is the opinion about the European Union? What are their expectations?“Generally speaking, the French catholic faithful who are committed in the Church are quite in favour of the European construction. Many wish that Europe be not only a platform of economic exchanges, but a Europe of values which takes into consideration the needs of people, and especially of the poorest. Europe is often perceived as a heavy and technocratic administrative apparatus, unable to respond to the challenges of today’s world”.Public opinion grounds on correct information: based on your every-day reality, do you think the Information on the EU and the European Churches is appropriate?“The European institutions are often little known by the European Christian faithful, as well as by most other citizens. Many see first of all the constraints that Europe imposes on their own country. There are still many efforts to be made in the area of European information and communication, but also in the perception of Europe, which rarely keeps up to our expectations vis-à-vis the latter. As we are living in a time of financial and economic crisis, but also in a crisis of politics and ethics, in our European peoples there is a strong tendency to withdraw into themselves in order to defend their own national interests rather than European solidarity. Having said that, the Christian media regularly give information concerning the European construction and its evolution”.How can the Church of your country contribute to the European Union?“Europe today, this is looking together for answers to the problems the member States have to cope with. In this connection, the Church of France can offer to Europe its cultural difference. To the eyes of many of our neighbours, we appear as a “pastoral laboratory”. Also the central and eastern European countries are looking at us in their search for elements of response to the secularization of their own societies. In the south, Spain is under the impression of living something very similar to the “1905 in France”, that is the head-on crash between its bishops and the Zapatero government, whether it is on bioethics or on the teaching of religion in school. In Germany, where the Church institutions are still very strong, some of the issues which we are dealing with today had already been coming up 25, 30 or 40 years ago. They are very interested in the Dagens Report – which contained reflections on how to propose our faith to a secular society – and in our orientations in matter of catechesis”.How do you assess the work that has been done by the European Churches in the European Union?“The European Churches have a visible presence on a European level, by means of COMECE, CCEE but also the religious congregations, especially the Jesuits and the Dominicans. They do their best to make the voice of the Church be heard in Europe, in very different fields such as ecology, economics, migrations, bio-ethical issues, etc. The European Churches produce reports and documents which are based on the work of groups of experts who inform on the challenges and problems raised by the questions which are discussed in the European Union. It is not a lobbying activity, at least under the negative meaning we give to this term in France. The Churches have the concern to defend the common good and produce an original and expected reflection on a certain number of issues having to do with human identity, vocation and becoming. Although the persons responsible on a European level very often do not agree with the Church, they do not hesitate in asking our advice and have recourse to our expertise”.