Memory and project

“The Treaty of Rome 50 years after: what values for the European Union?”: that’s the theme of the seminar organized by Comece (Commission of the episcopates of the European Community) to be held at Clermont-Ferrand in France from 9 to 11 October.THE VALUES THEN AND NOW. At the centre of the attention of the COMECE seminar are the themes and “values” of the Treaty of Rome that instituted the European Economic Community almost fifty years ago – it was signed on 25 March 1957. In particular the aim of the seminar is to reflect on the event, placing it in its historical context, underlining the values and motivations of the protagonists at the time and trying at the same time to point out what implications may flow from those values for our way of life in Europe today. Today, among other things, we face serious difficulties in the process of European unification, linked both to complex economic factors, and to dynamics of more cultural character and of integration between the peoples of Europe, initiated also by the process of EU enlargement that has accelerated in recent years. The French seminar is an important event within a wider project that sees COMECE involved in organizing a European congress together with various Catholic movements in Rome to mark the actual anniversary of the Treaty on 25 March 2007. A report on the values and prospects of Europe, drawn up by a special committee of “wise men”, formed of distinguished European Catholic personalities, will be presented to the participants on that occasion. More in general, the seminar of Clermont-Ferrand and the future congress in Rome are a manifestation of the great interest and desire of Catholics to make their own contribution to the construction of a Europe of peoples. RESPONSIBILITY OF CATHOLICS. The seminar will also make reference to the recent document drawn up by a team of theologians and philosophers at the request of the bishops of COMECE on the responsibility of Catholics for the future of the EU (‘The future of the European Union and the responsibility of Catholics’: www.comece.org). Faced by the new challenges linked to EU enlargement, says the document, “Catholics don’t have any ‘ready made’ solutions to propose, but recognise themselves as heirs of an ancient tradition that has especially left its mark on the European continent. For that reason European Catholics, conscious of being full citizens of Europe, also know they have the responsibility to keep alive this tradition that is being developed in various ways. They must reply, with other citizens, to the same questions as everyone else, but they can try to do so in an original way, on the basis of their peculiar spiritual resources”. PROTAGONIST CHURCHES. The involvement of Catholics is not only personal, but is also variously expressed “through the commitment of the lay movements (as in the semaines sociales ), and the services of the local Churches and dioceses… It is enough to think of schools, libraries, universities, chaplaincies and youth movements to perceive the role that the Church has in the education of future citizens of the Union. At the same time, the network of Catholic charities and hospitals makes a strong contribution to the daily life of our citizens”. UNITY AND DIVERSITY. The experience of unity and diversity in the Christian community can become a precise contribution to the process of European construction. “The constant concern to maintain diversity and unity in the Church is a difficult balance to preserve in the daily life of the Church. However, the same also goes for the political sphere. This concern must remain constant in the perspective of integration. The principle of subsidiarity, often recalled by the Church, here finds scope for application. It is a priority characteristic of the Christian tradition to which we would like to draw attention. This principle can be a source of inspiration in the perspective of European integration, in so far as the European institutions are often rebuked for a lack of attention to the cultural peculiarities of member states”. RELIGION AND POLITICS. These are linked, but not overlapping dimensions. “As Christians, we share the conviction that, in spite of the fact that politics does not know all the answers, political action is important for our faith and our faith is important for our political involvement”. If the Catholic Church shows herself particularly attentive to her autonomy as regards her internal organization, that is because she considers that the State ought to recognize that it does not have competence in particular fields that concern the conscience of citizens. That may be true both at the regional and at the national and European level”.