Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Aachen (Fides Service) – In view of the imminent approval of a European Constitution, the ‘old continent’ is called to play a central role in international politics. This opinion was voiced by various speakers at the Peoples and Religions Meeting taking place in Aachen, Germany, organised by the Rome based S. Egidio Community.
“Many are wondering what face will Europe show since the discourse of individual countries is no longer important” said Giuseppe Lars chief Rabbi in Milan. “European identity must be open, it must discover its best side, the universal side, present in every culture”. It falls to religions to “reduce the selfish and utilitarian component and open to a sense of life which continues after life”.
But what is Europe? A purely geographical definition poses problems for Russia and Turkey. For Konrad Raiser, Secretary of the World Council of Churches, “since 1989 none of the earlier European identities can be re-established. Europe is a project more than a reality and this project must exclude war as a means to settle inter-state conflict. One of the values at the basis of European society is an active policy for peace”.
For Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, “the values of humanism are typically Christian values” but a lack of Christian vision of the world renders these values more fragile. The Archbishop said the Church must be itself, not let itself been exploited as a means for moralising society or justify itself with social work. Catholic Bishop Peter Erdo from Hungary called attention to the cultural definition of Europe which was not thrown into crisis by the policy of division between east and west during the cold war. “Hungarians, Czechs and Slovaks have always felt they are European in culture” Religious pluralism, the Bishop said, is a reality recognised by the Church, and it means not a “loss of values or subjectivism, but rather it is the expression of freedom of thought”.
The founders of the European Union intended Europe to be an area of peace and “a political tool at the service of peace in the world” said Jean Arnold de Clermont, president of the French Protestant Federation. “The war in Iraq is a demonstration of this European aspiration. Most public opinions in European countries were in favour of a negotiated peaceful solution under the United Nations”. To play this role Europe must work to promote justice for the south of the world.
Elisabeth Raiser of the German Lutheran Church asked what role must Christians play if they are to bring peace to the world and maintain it. “We must overcome the culture of violence which dominates the world. I recall a meeting with a group of Russian women when I asked forgiveness for what my people had done against them during the war”. It is the duty of Christians to work to heal the memories of those who have suffered violence. “We must imitate Christ who sacrificed his life to overcome violence”. Among Christian efforts for peace, Jean Dominique Durand of Lyon University in France mentioned the role of S. Egidio: “prayer, patience and growing in awareness are the basis of working for peace”. SL (Fides Service 8/9/2003 EM lines 38 Words: 478)
