Europe must rediscover its soul in order to offer the whole world its indispensable contribution to the “common good”.
This is the heart of the appeal “Christians for Europe. The power of hope”, signed by Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi for Italy, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline for France, Mgr Georg Bätzing for Germany and Mgr Tadeusz Wojda for Poland.
Noting that the “international framework is dying and a new one has yet to be born”, the four prelates recall that in the aftermath of the Second World War, ‘many lay Catholics conceived, with determination, of Europe as a common home and committed themselves to developing a new international framework, in particular through the creation of the United Nations. The goal was to create a reconciled society, conceived as a point of convergence and a guarantee of mutual respect for specificities, a bulwark of freedom, equality and peace.”
Recalling also that ‘Europe cannot be reduced to an economic and financial market,’ the appeal emphasises how ‘the founding generation of Europe’ was well aware of ‘the temptation of totalitarian regimes that feed on nationalism to pursue hegemonic goals, the outcome of which can only be war.’
The founding fathers and Christian responsibility
Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide De Gasperi were among the protagonists of European reconstruction after the Second World War. Coming from deep-rooted Catholic traditions, they conceived the integration of the continent not as an ideological project, but as a political choice inspired by reconciliation, solidarity and the centrality of the person.
Their vision contributed to the birth of the first supranational institutions, laying the foundations for the current European Union.
The reference to the founding fathers and the Schuman Declaration
The document traces the Christian roots of the European project, recalling that “after the Hellenistic and Roman civilisations, Christianity has been one of the essential foundations of our continent” and “has largely shaped the face of a humanist, supportive and open-minded Europe”.
“Inspired by their Christian faith, they were not naive dreamers, but the architects of a magnificent, albeit fragile, edifice”.
For genuine solidarity among peoples
“Europe,” the bishops continue, “is called to seek alliances that lay the foundations for genuine solidarity among peoples”.
Although Europeans have grown closer to one another, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine, the world still needs Europe: ‘This is the urgency that Christians must make their own so that they can then commit themselves decisively, wherever they are, to its future with the same keen awareness as the founding fathers.’
In the name of their faith, ‘Christians are called to share with all the inhabitants of the European continent their hope for universal brotherhood,’ the bishops conclude.
