FRONT PAGE
Apart from fostering the Christian heritage of the old continent and underlining the need to draw inspiration from it to tackle current challenges, Benedict XVI, in his recent address to members of the European People’s Party, spelt out what should be the real role of the Church in relation to political life. The main question addressed in the Pope’s message, which particularly took into account the European reality, was to clarify that “when Churches or ecclesial communities intervene in public debate, expressing reservations or recalling various principles, this does not constitute a form of intolerance or an interference, since such interventions are aimed solely at enlightening consciences, enabling them to act freely and responsibly, according to the true demands of justice, even when this should conflict with situations of power and personal interest. As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable”.These non-negotiable principles, whose defence cannot be renounced by the hierarchy of the Church, nor their enactment renounced by her faithful, through the concrete exercise of the vote, political militancy or the active exercise of responsibility in government, include, according to the Pope: “the protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death, the recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family, as a union between a man and a woman based on marriage… and the protection of the right of parents to educate their children”. And to combat the accusation that in this way the Church only interferes in politics and hence risks being considered a political adversary, Benedict XVI wished to clarify that these non-negotiable principles, even if they are not truths of faith, need to be enacted and realised not just by Catholics but by any citizen, since “they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore they are common to all humanity. The Church’s action in promoting them is therefore not confessional in character”. At the basis of this attitude is, as Benedict XVI points out, “a culture that is now fairly widespread in Europe, which relegates to the private and subjective sphere the manifestation of one’s own religious convictions”. To overcome this culture there is no alternative but the active exercise of citizenship by Catholics, and their increasing involvement in public and political life at all levels: from civic and cultural associations to political representation, with personal responsibility and coherence of faith. And to this end Catholics need – the Pope stressed – to act in solidarity with other citizens who, even if not believers, share the same objectives of the dignity of the human person and the achievement of the common good. Exemplary in this political, cultural and civic collaboration is the policy undertaken by Catholics in Italy in uniting their forces, also involving non-Catholics, in the defence of “non-negotiable principles”, especially those relating to the right to life: it is no accident that the “Science & Life” Committee proved successful with its proposal to abstain from last year’s referendum on the law on assisted reproduction.Let us hope that this example may be propagated in other political scenarios of the old Europe!
