” “”Not having been able to include a reference to the Christian roots of Europe in the Constitutional Treaty, for which I have endeavoured for a long time, in silence, does not mean to ignore them. The problem was due to the legacies of the past”. With this "personal" memory, the Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi explained to the audience of bishops and European delegates, gathered for the European Comece Congress, the reason for the omitted reference to the Christian roots in the European Charter. About this, Prodi revealed that, "when speaking of the amendments for including a reference to the Christian legacy in the Treaty that was then being discussed by the Heads of State and Government, they had answered him: ‘shove them away!’. We cannot discuss them because ours is a different story”. However, he added, “art. 52 was included (status of the Churches and non-confessional organisations, editor’s note), something that would have seemed impossible beforehand”. According to Prodi, “we have to understand the limits of a past reality of a break that has split the European countries and that Europe can reconcile". To his "sadness" for not having been able to have such reference included, Prodi opposed "the awareness of the need to move on" according to "our common heritage of values”. (to be continued)” “
