FRONT PAGE
We publish this statement at a time when the three great monotheist religions are placed dramatically in contrast to each other by the current conflict in the Middle East: a tragedy that also interrogates Europe On 12 July 2005, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, met the exponents of the churches and religious leaders for a dialogue on European issues. Almost a year later, the current President of the European Council, Wolfgang Schüssel, organized a similar meeting with Barroso. So the Commission and the Council united their forces on 30 May to launch for the first time a new stage in the dialogue already established between churches, religions and institutions of the European Union. The participants were invited to examine the question of the relations between freedom of expression, religious liberty and respect for the cultural and religious diversity of their own fellow-citizens in European multicultural society. President Barroso was accompanied by Commissioners Figel, Frattini and Spidla. In his introduction, Barroso invited the participants to engage in an exchange of ideas in a climate of frankness. For his part, Schüssel emphasized the importance of a dialogue between political and religious leaders for society. He recalled the assertion of J. Habermas, according to whom religions help to shape the rules and are hence factors of cohesion in secular society. He also drew attention with perspicacity to the negative effects aroused by fear in politics and in contemporary society. Religious faith, he suggested, can help to foster a commitment resolutely to build a meaningful future in response to the existential fears of Europe’s citizens. The presence and contribution of the fifteen participants, as well as the Dalai Lama, expressed in a surprising manner the solidarity between the various religious leaders in the context of the burning questions posed to European society, and their solidarity with the European political leaders in their concern to consolidate the Europe of values. A huge range of questions was tackled at the meeting, such as the debate on values, the constitutional process, the millennium objectives and EU development policy, the possibility of a European Islam, and the method and objective of dialogue between the churches, religions and the European Union. It was inspiring to listen to the Dalai Lama express his deep admiration for the European project, a new reality built up by the nations and peoples of Europe, an expression of political maturity of immense potential. If only a greater number of Europeans would share this political and spiritual point of view! The huge range of issues discussed at the meeting reflects the concrete contribution made by the Churches and religious communities to the fabric of European society. The religious and political representatives can undoubtedly cooperate more closely to develop a method better suited to this particular dialogue. Improvements can be made to such aspects as the common determination of the order of the day, a greater concentration on European political questions and a more direct exchange of opinions between political and religious representatives. The specific context of this dialogue, i.e. the policies of the European Union, will impose on the representatives of the churches and religious leaders a need to refine its content and style to be able to respond in a more complete way to the concerns of the politicians charged to take decisions for citizens as a whole.
