The recovery of “meaning”

Although it is “necessary”, the Treaty of Lisbon is not sufficient “to solve the crisis of European politics” which “is part and parcel of European citizens’ crises”, and of “the crisis in meaning marking our epoch”. For this reason, “faith must not be confined to an enclosure within the private sphere. While the mere contribution of religions in serious social debate is insufficient”. “Faith should instead be integrated and supported”, declared on March 5th in Brussels Msgr. Adrianus van Luyn, bishop of Rotterdam and President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (Comece), in his opening address of the plenary assembly on “The respect of human dignity and the protection of creation – the incarnation of the common good by European policies of the XXIst century”, which closes today.The “whys and wherefores” of the EU. Looking back at the main events of the EU in recent months, Msgr. Van Luyn explained that “Kosovo, environmental protection, intercultural dialogue and the Lisbon Treaty” would be debated during the meeting. Despite reservations, he remarked, the Lisbon Treaty “signed in December by heads of government and State whose ratification process” by EU Countries “is under way”, “managed to adapt the Union’s mechanism to the increased number of Member States and rationalize the EU and bring it closer to the democratic ideal”. This will “enable citizens to better comprehend its mechanism”. According to Msgr. Van Luyn, the real question isn’t knowing “how” the EU works but “why”, and what are “its goals”. With reference to the “team of experts” called past December by the European Council “to issue a report on the EU’s essence and mission for the decade 2020-2030”, Comece’s President remarked that this issue “is implicitly metapolitical” since it is bound “to the very basic value of political action”. Justice, solidarity and subsidiarity. Msgr. Van Luyn defined the policies activated by the EU vis à vis terrorism and climate changes as “just and responsible”. But, he warned, “policies which only focus on ‘reacting’, go against the spirit of Europe, while the constant material development of wellbeing, which only benefits small groups of individuals, cannot represent the only long-term objective of European politics. Msgr. Van Luyn said he perceives ” a void” in this approach, “which is evident in the social sphere”. For this purpose, he said, “the European Commission in May 2007 promoted a consultation on the social reality of Europe, attended also by our Commission of Social Affairs, an initiative which we greatly appreciate”. Turning back to the topic of the plenary, the prelate said “it contains the answer to the question on the utility of the EU’s usefulness in the 21st century”; it’s “a condensed formula of Europe’s common good which can only be accomplished in the quest for justice and in the related implementation of the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity”. Religious rebirth. Comece’s President reiterated the fact that in Europe material growth is accompanied by a “loss in meaning” which “goes hand in hand with the difficulty of giving a name to wickedness”. Therefore, “it cannot be excluded that the key to overcome the crisis lies in the rediscovery of religiousness”, since “many signs prove this is true”. In this framework, “European politics and institutions” are called “to respect the human being in his religious and spiritual dimension, but also to recognize the importance” of such dimension. European politics will therefore need to be focused “on the human being in his entirety”. An encouraging sign. Msgr. Luyn thus pointed to the need to “listen to faith and support religious contribution” of which the “dialogue between the EU and religious communities envisaged in the Lisbon Treaty” is “an encouraging sign”. It is a question of “recognizing Europe’s religious heritage” emphasizing its specifically Christian contribution, “without discriminating against other religions”. “The greatest challenge faced by the Church” in the rebirth of the religious dimension “is its ability to communicate that freedom is fulfilled only in commitment”, since “in social and political life, rights and duties are inextricably bound to freedom and responsibility”. The assembly will be closing with the presentation of the Preliminary Report on Climate Changes and Christian lifestyle by Comece’s working group chaired by Franz Fischkler, former Commissioner for Agriculture.