Pope Benedict, the bishops and the EU

At the beginning of this month, Pope Benedict XVI received the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, in a private audience. According to a Vatican press release, the Holy Father and Mr Barroso discussed the present problems of the European Union, its main challenges as well as its prospects for the future.

They agreed that, notwithstanding certain difficulties, one can look forward to the process of EU integration and the consolidation of its institutions.

As Mr Barroso pointed out, "many of the founders of Europe were Catholics and today, although European institutions are secular, one has to acknowledge the Christian inspiration of the idea of a united Europe".

In a public statement on the occasion of Europe Day, the Commission of the Bishops' Conference of the European Community (COMECE) declared that if the EU wants to build a just society it has put man and his inalienable dignity at the very core of all its efforts and to pay more attention to the Christian faith and the ethical convictions of many of the European people.

It is certainly very appropriate to refer to a press release of March 11, 2005, by COMECE and Mr Barroso. This made it very clear that in their meeting both sides shared an exchange on the role of the Church in consolidating the new EU.

The European bishops called on President Barroso to engage actively with the Churches in a partnership for change in order to research. Mr Barroso asserted that the EU and the Church share very similar values as both are committed to created unity in diversity. As such he agreed that a qualitative dialogue and exchange is essential in order to pursue these shared ideals of a Europe united in peace and freedom.

The European bishops acknowledged that "the Constitutional Treaty introduces the reforms that are necessary to cope with current challenges inside and outside the European Union". They also stressed the importance of an informed and open debate during the ratification process in the member states.

President Barroso also acknowledged the important role that the Church has played throughout the history of European integration and welcomed the publication of a theological reflection on European construction published on May 9, 2005, by COMECE entitled 'The future of the European Union and the responsibility of the Catholics'.

In this reflection, the bishops expressed their hope that the EU and its member states would heed the appeal of Pope John Paul's post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia in Europa to "work for the promotion of genuine and adequate policies on the part of individual states and European Union itself".