ecumenism " "
On Tuesday, 12 July, twelve representatives of churches, religious institutions and communities belonging to the Christian, Jewish and Moslem traditions met with the President of the European Commission, Manuel Barroso. The aim of the meeting: to re-affirm the commitment of the participants “to building a free, united, prosperous and peaceful Europe, characterized by solidarity, in which all citizens and peoples, irrespective of their religion, culture, tradition and ethnic origin, may live together and feel united in their diversity”. In pursuit of this objective, the European Commission and the religious exponents pledged “to continue mutual dialogue”, irrespective of whether the Constitutional Treaty, with its articles I-42 and I-52 (relating to the open, transparent and regular dialogue between the European institutions and the faith communities), comes into force or not. Pastor Thomas Wipf, representing the Conference of European Churches (CEC), recalled the importance of a Europe built on values and not just on the economy. According to Wipf, the results of the French and Dutch referenda need to be taken seriously and more especially the reasons that determined the victory of the “no” to the European Constitution need to be pondered. “The great problem he added seems to be the inability to think in a European perspective rather than in an often restricted and selfish national perspective. The meeting did not fail to reflect on the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July. After the intervention of Richard Chartres, Anglican bishop of London who emphasized the importance of cooperation between all the religious communities of London a joint declaration was signed in which “all the participants strongly condemn the terrorist attacks perpetrated against innocent people in London”.
