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An appeal “to the cultural, religious and humanistic legacies” of Europe has, after a hard-fought and laborious process, found a place in the preamble to the draft European Constitution. As European citizens and not only as Christians, we would have hoped for a mention of Christianity as a reality that has for centuries represented the plural unity of the populations of the old continent. It’s a legacy that has been shaped in fruitful communication both with Judaism, root of Christianity and ever eloquent presence in Europe, and with Islam. Having said that about the roots, however, an even more problematic question still remains open: have Christians today a “Christian word” to say about Europe? Europe in fact is not an article of faith, nor is it a structural principle of the church: its very project of union is not exempt from the temptation of Babel. The process of European unification is of interest to Christian citizens, but Europe is not, nor can it be, the heavenly Jerusalem that descends from on high, nor even the people of God! For Christians cannot forget that any attempt to unify different peoples is indeed positive, but only on condition that it is not realised “against” other peoples or other areas of the world, and that it leads to the dissolution of nationalism and does not spark off the explosive mixture of religion and fatherland! Otherwise we risk projecting a new European Christendom capable of forging economic, political and cultural powers with religion, and will never achieve a Europe without eurocentric ideology, a Europe of peace and dialogue between different cultures. Today the various churches share the conviction of the necessary distinction between religion and politics: Christians don’t want a confessional state, but aspire according to the expression of John Paul II to a state characterised by “a just laicity”, in which all citizens may feel themselves represented, to whatever faith, ethical code and culture they belong, in mutual respect. In this way Christians will try to open paths together with others. With them they will strive to build the polis without any privileged status, without infallible recipes, without any claims to hegemony. The gospel in fact, though it inspires their projects, does not dictate the form in which they are realised, which needs to be sought together with other non-Christian citizens. Being Christians will then mean dedication to the service of the political community; it will mean indicating ways for a Europe characterised by such ethical principles as justice, the participation of everyone in prosperity, peace and co-existence as quality of life. Only then will the European Union not be an exclusive “benefit” for its own citizens, but be extendible to all the other countries of the world. There is a further contribution that Christians are called to make to remain faithful to the gospel and genuinely “prophetic”: the search for unity. Above all, unity of Christians: if the disciples of Jesus Christ continue to be divided and don’t even succeed in meeting to discuss the reasons for their dissent, their very ability to act for the progress of the faith will be weakened and their occasional alliance on individual aspects of European policy will be interpreted by non-Christians as the strategy of a lobby aimed at acquiring power and influence within the political institutions. Ecumenism, declared as an indispensable commitment of the churches, needs to become a daily attitude that does not permit one church to advance without or, worse still, against others: only thus shall authentic and fruitful communion be attained. Such a unity of the churches will also be a service to the unity of the whole of mankind.
