John Paul II Pleads With Europe on Eve of Crucial Meeting
[Note: this meeting ended in disarray and no decisions were reached on anything.]
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 11, 2003- John Paul II appealed to European citizens not to forget the values that forged the continent's history, and to recognize that Christianity was the force capable of promoting those ideals.
The Pope's appeal today came on the eve of the start of a two-day meeting of the European Council in Brussels, which is expected to complete the text of the future European Constitution.

Sources in the Italian government, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, told ZENIT agency that mention of the Christian roots in the preamble of the Constitutional Treaty is all but discarded.

During the annual Mass celebrated for university students in St. Peter's Basilica, the Holy Father said: "It is indispensable that the Europe of today safeguard its patrimony of values, and recognize that it was above all the force of Christianity that was capable of promoting, conciliating and consolidating them."

Holy See believes the EU constitution is flawed
MADRID, Spain, NOV. 20, 2003
The Holy See believes the draft of the European Constitution has two flaws: It recognizes neither the continent's Christian heritage nor the proper role of churches. Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, explained the Catholic Church's view in Madrid at a symposium organised by the Spanish episcopal conference to mark the 40th anniversary of John XXIII's encyclical "Pacem in Terris."

In the opening address, the cardinal said that "the Holy Father is not seeking a position of privilege for the Catholic Church when he tirelessly reminds of the importance of the Christian roots of Europe, the very identity of Europe. Nor is it simply a nominal issue to satisfy a sector of the European population. I think it is a serious deficiency not to mention Christianity in the future Constitution of Europe."
The present draft of the preamble of the Constitution is limited to the "cultural, religious and humanist legacies of Europe."

In regard to the Pope's second request (the role of Christian churches in Europe) the draft Constitution in Article 51 of Title VII says simply that "the Union will respect and not prejudge the recognized statute, in virtue of national Law, to the Churches and associations or religious communities in the Member States."

Cardinal Poupard said: "It is an article that the churches share with so-called philosophical and non-confessional organizations, with which the Union 'will maintain an open, transparent, and regular dialogue. What are these philosophical and non-confessional organizations? Is it possible to distinguish between sects, alternative religious movements and deep-rooted Churches in Europe? The omission in Europe's Magna Carta is a dangerous deficiency. Aphasia, we know, leads to amnesia, and the latter to paralysis."

Christianity a Force for European Unity, Bishops Say

BRUSSELS, Belgium, OCT. 31, 2003 - The Christian faith has helped to unite Europe throughout history and can still be a force for unity, says the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community. COMECE issued that key message after its two-day meeting in Brussels ended today. COMECE is a commission of the Catholic bishops' conferences of the member states of the European Union. The conferences of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland are associate members.

The bishops discussed the work of the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC), which is preparing the EU Constitutional Treaty, based on the draft proposed by the European Convention. They welcomed this draft as a whole. Yet, "the bishops from the current and new member states of the European Union renewed their call to the participants in the IGC for a reference to Christianity in the preamble of the treaty. Referring to Christianity and its importance does not mean in any way that Europe has only one religion. It would not put in question the separation of church and state nor the neutrality of the EU institutions, which the Catholic Church unreservedly supports."

At a public debate during the plenary meeting, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels affirmed that:
"The role of Christianity in the formation of Europe is an undeniable historical fact. Anyone who denies this role must be doing it for ideological reasons. Even if all the values we share in common are not exclusively Christian, they have all passed through the mould of Christianity. If Christianity succeeds in uniting Europe in the future, it will be because it provides it with a common set of values."

Bishops Renew Call for Reference to Christianity in Constitution

BRUSSELS, Belgium, SEPT. 22, 2003 - The presidency of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community is renewing its call for a reference to Christianity in the preamble of the future EU Constitution. The president and vice presidents of COMECE outlined their request in a letter to Silvio Berlusconi, president of the European Council, on the eve of the Intergovernmental Conference. The conference, which opens Oct. 4 in Rome, will decide on the Constitutional Treaty.

German Bishop Josef Homeyer, Dutch Bishop Adrianus van Luyn and French Archbishop Hippolyte Simon, who met in Brussels last Friday, welcomed the proposed references to "Europe's religious inheritance and values, to the protection of religious freedom, and to the identity and specific contribution of Churches and religious communities."

Yet, they renewed their call for a reference to Christianity in the preamble of the Constitution, which they say "would complete the Constitution by giving concrete expression to what many citizens recognize as the source of the values on which the European project is founded. Given that Christianity's contribution to European civilization is undeniable, omitting such a reference would be difficult to understand for many citizens in Europe, whether or not they believe in the Transcendent," they conclude.

COMECE, together with religious communities and groups, has made numerous contributions to the drafting of the Constitution over the last two years.

Pope argues for inclusion of Christian roots in Constitution

AACHEN, Germany, SEPT. 8, 2003 (Zenit.org).- As Europe advances in its process of union, John Paul II again urged the continent not to forget its Christian past.
"The Christian roots are a foundation of freedom because they make Europe a melting pot of different cultures and experiences," the Pope said in a message for the 17th International Meeting of Prayer for Peace. "These ancient roots drove the European peoples to touch the limits of the earth and to reach the depth of man, of his intangible dignity, of the fundamental equality of all, of the universal right to justice and peace."
According to the Pontiff, the religious and human wisdom accumulated by Europe over the centuries is a patrimony that can be used "in the growth of the whole of humanity."
He expressed his conviction that Europe "anchored solidly in its roots, will accelerate the process of internal union and offer its indispensable contribution to progress and peace among all peoples of the earth."

Prodi Calls for Recognition of Christianity in Euro Text

BRUSSELS, Belgium, SEPT. 4, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The inseparable bond between Europe and Christianity calls for the latter's recognition in the Constitutional Treaty, says the president of the European Commission.

Romano Prodi demonstrated his conviction in No. 3 of Dialoghi, the quarterly magazine of Italian Catholic Action, where he describes some aspects of the "Europe we are and the one we should be."
According to Prodi, "the monotheist religions, particularly the Christian religion," have been "one of the essential roots of Europe and one of its factors of development," as "the history of Europe and the history of Christianity are indissolubly united." All this "must be recognized in the Constitutional Treaty," he writes.

In Prodi's opinion, recognition of the Christian roots does not impede "discovering the roots that link Europe with the people of Israel" and "affirming our will to dialogue with Islam."
On the contrary, "the encounter of values of different inspirations" can become "a factor of greater integration," overcoming the "conflicts which have divided us for centuries," he said.
It is an imperative step given the role the continent is called to assume "in a context of multilateralism and supranational democracy" on the international scene, very different from the image offered until today of a Europe "of division and political calculations," Prodi added.

Adrian Hilton in Spectator, 30 August 03
[Hilton is author of The Principality & Power of Europe. He teaches Philosophy & Religious Studies. An approved conservative candidate.]
When the Vatican refers to God, it sees itself as God’s infallible vice-regent on earth. Cardinal Ratzinger’s paper Dominus Jesus (5 Sept 03) proclaimed that the Catholic church is the sole mediator in the salvation of God’s people and all other churches (including the Church of England) ‘are not churches in the proper sense’.

The Roman church is founded on the dogma that the Pope is the ‘supreme ruler of the world, superior to all kings, prime ministers and presidents. The Sunday Telegraph (21July03) said: ‘John Paul II is preparing to assume the mantle of the new Holy Roman Emperor, reigning from the Urals to the Atlantic’.
Cardinal Martini of Milan addressed the Euro Parliament in 1997 and emphasised that Europe must recognise ‘the primacy of the divine’ (ie of the Pope) and the importance of a single faith (ie Catholic). 
Protestants fear that the EU is nothing less than an attempt to create a new Holy Roman empire.

The Catholic seeks to achieve this through the Christian Democrat and Christian Socialist parties. The EU’s founding fathers, de Gasperi, Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer, have received the ultimate reward – they have been beatified for founding the Union on Roman Catholic principles. The very act of bestowing sainthood to politicians is designed the idea that those who lead the union do so by divine right.

Pope Urges Recognition of Christian Roots in Euro Constitution

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 24, 2003 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II urged those putting the final touches on the European Constitution to recognize explicitly the Christian roots of the continent.
The Pope has been emphasizing this proposal for months.

"The Catholic Church is convinced that the Gospel of Christ, which has been a unifying element of European peoples during many centuries, continues to be, also today, an inexhaustible source of spirituality and fraternity. To take this into account is to recognize explicitly in the treaty the Christian roots of Europe.”

The proposed draft treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, written by the European Convention, is being studied by the governments of the member states. It is expected to be completed and approved during an intergovernmental conference this October in Rome. The draft proposal mentions "the cultural, religious and humanist heritage" of the continent, but makes no explicit reference to Christianity.

"New Europe" Must Turn to Christian Roots, Says John Paul II

 CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, JULY 20, 2003 (Zenit.org).- With a European Constitution on the geopolitical horizon, John Paul II stressed the importance of "the new Europe ... to build herself by revitalizing her original Christian roots."

Addressing the faithful gathered today to pray the Angelus the Pope said "Europe has been widely and profoundly permeated by Christianity. It constitutes a central and qualifying element, which has gradually consolidated itself on the foundation of the classical heritage and on the diverse contributions made by successive ethnic-cultural currents in the course of the centuries. The Christian faith has shaped the culture of Europe constituting a whole with its history and, notwithstanding the painful division between East and West, Christianity has become the religion of the European peoples".