Gozo Bishop Mario Grech hoped that the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force yesterday, would inaugurate a new era not just for member states but also for the relations between the political community and Churches.

In addition to institutional reform, the treaty recognises the identity and specific contribution of Churches and engages on an open, transparent and regular dialogue with them.

“Hopefully this dialogue between the European institutions” and the Churches be will be emulated by individual states and NGOs as well.

“In this dialogue, the sole interest of Churches is to try to incorporate into the political process the Gospel of Jesus Christ which applies equally to all,” Mgr Grech said.

He said that Christians firmly believed that a “fruitful dialogue between faith and reason... constitutes the most appropriate framework for promoting fraternal collaboration between believers and non-believers in their shared commitment to working for justice and the peace of human family”.

“There is no point in blaming a European Union for attempting to impose alien values to one’s culture, if one is not active within the European community in fostering those values and in building up a consensus around the significance and importance of those values,” he said.