A guarantee for peace

The interview with Mgr. Jean Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxemburg, for SIR Europe, is another contribution to the special feature dedicated to the reflections of European bishops on the process of European integration and on the Church’ thought on the European common home (Cf. SIR Europe 62-63-64-65-66-67-69- 71-75-76-77-78-79).What beliefs and expectations do Catholics have in your country towards the EU?“Luxemburg was in the European integration process right from the beginning. And in this sense, Luxembourgers, more than other people in the EU, have very great expectations. The EU is a guarantee for peace and prosperity in our countries and I think that most Luxembourgers see it in that way”.Consensus is based on correct information: considering your daily experience, do you believe that information on the European Union and European Churches is adequate?“No, I don’t believe that. Good information on the EU is very scarce. Normally if we look at television news, because Luxembourgers watch TV news also from other countries, normally you can say that what goes well is due to the local government and for everything that goes bad people blame the EU, and this is a very limited information. It’s misinformation given. I also think that the Churches in the EU should have a greater place in the media because they can give a very big contribution for peace and prosperity in Europe”.How can the Church in your country contribute to the European Union?“I think that this is a very important point because Luxemburg is one of the seats of the EU institutions. So first of all we have to have pastoral care for all the people working for the EU in Luxembourg. Pastoral care is not only direct pastoral care, but there should also be large offer from the Church: talks given about Christianity and the EU; there should also be intellectual discussions, where the Church is involved and where the people working for the Union see the contribution the Churches and the Catholic Church in Luxembourg can offer”.What stock do you take about the work carried out by the European Churches in the EU?“The work is very important but very often, as I just mentioned before, that kind of work is not known by people, and it is not known also by people going to church normally on Sunday. I think we need more information about the work done by the Churches. And the Churches could be even a little bit more active in the EU. There is a kind of tiredness of Europe, linked to the financial crisis, linked to problems with our common currency, the euro. This tiredness of Europe is in fact very dangerous. Really believing, faithful Christians have been at the origins of the European integration process. Let’s just mention people like Adenauer, Schuman, De Gasperi. They were really convinced by their Catholic faith that they had to work for integration in Europe. I think in the last time we have a little bit forgotten that kind of commitment for Europe. So the Churches could be more committed in the European integration process”.