Gozo Bishop Mario Grech warned that if the EU chose to be ethically indifferent and sceptical towards fundamental values in the name of tolerance it risked reawakening the "frightening skeletons" of its past.
Stopping short of referring to Europe's divisions that led to two world wars and their repercussions, Mgr Grech said that if the rules of life were not fixed, society would descend into relativism.
Speaking during a Marian manifestation in Marsalforn on Thursday night, Mgr Grech spoke on how the EU had the euro and common laws but there was no commitment to have ethical unity. "By this I mean working towards common ethical and moral values that are the backbone of every society," he told the congregation.
The late Pope John Paul II, who greatly believed in Europe, used to say Europeans faced a major challenge to build a culture and unity ethic and if these were lacking, the policy aimed at bringing about unity would be destined to fail.
Referring to the campaign of Brigitta Ohlsson, Swedish Liberal People's Party member, to collect a million signatures to pressure the EU to push countries such as Malta to introduce abortion legislation, Mgr Grech said this was not the first time pressure was being made for immoral laws to be enacted.
Ironically, on the day of his homily, the Church was celebrating the feast of St Brigida of Sweden, who had been proposed as one of three patron saints of Europe by Pope John Paul II.
Mgr Grech said some months ago, Arie Hoekman, a United Nations Population Fund representative from the Netherlands, said the breakdown of the traditional family was a triumph for those who had human rights at heart. "Could there be a more blurred vision than this?" Mgr Grech asked.
One of the reasons why families were going through tough times was because society was bent on pleasure and did not want to know about mortification, he said.
"In the contest of a European environment that is morally polluted, we not only have to defend (ourselves) against the current that destroys the family... but we have to be proactive and send a message of hope," he said.
He appealed to families to educate children in human and Christian values in order to prepare for a new political generation.