“A reference to God is the expression of the spiritual foundations of Europe and therefore deserves a place in the preamble”: the point is made by Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German Episcopal Conference, and Evangelic Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairman of the Council of the Evangelic Church of Germany, in a joint letter to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in view of the continuation of the consultations on the European Constitution, planned for 17-18 June. In their letter, made public on 4 June, the leaders of the two Churches hope for the achievement of an agreement on the text of the Constitution and urge Schröder to take steps to this end. According to Lehmann and Huber, the insertion of a reference to the Judeo-Christian roots of Europe in the preamble of the Constitution can make an “important contribution to transforming the European Union into a community of values and cultures, to a greater degree than in the past. Unifying values, as also the common cultural tradition of Europe, are so forged by the Bible and by Christianity that this ought to be given expression in the preamble”: the “express reference to the Christian influence of Europe” ought therefore to be added to those relating to the “cultural, religious (in the broad sense) and humanistic traditions”. A mention of responsibility to God would have, in the view of Lehmann and Huber, the function of rendering “the provisional, fallible and imperfect nature of the human constitution more accountable”: an important consideration, says the letter, “in view of the painful experiences of war and dictatorship in Europe. “Even those who do not believe in God the letter concludes could identify with a formula that would emphasise at the same time respect for freedom of faith”.
