“Europe has a need for a Constitution, but time is needed; we cannot force the pace”. So says Francois Pierre Boursier of the Catholic University of Lyons. He invites a reflection on the populist wave that is characterizing Europe in this period. It is in Boursier’s view the manifestation of a “basic anxiety”. “The construction of Europe he adds seems to be addressed preponderantly at, or to privilege, the middle classes. The working classes feel themselves sidelined, they fear being a victim of Europe”. That’s why at the social level “it’s very important that they have the conviction of a pluralist Europe”. Boursier refers, in this regard, to what happened in France with the recent elections. “Le Pen he recalls won 25 départements that has said no to Maastricht. This must make us reflect. The great risk of an acceleration in the constitutional process is just the effect of rejection”. In Boursier’s view, “the point from which we need to start out is rethinking the national identities. In France the European languages are being increasingly less taught, and the main news bulletin on France’s premier TV channel TF1 has withdrawn its correspondent from Berlin. These are signs of a evident fear of constructing a European identity. Some think that Europe will be our ruin”. In this context, the Catholic universities and the Churches have “a fundamental task”: that of “becoming ever more protagonists, devising occasions for exchange, debate and dialogue, and ensuring a presence in culture, in education and in the economy”.
