“We need to invest in this European project, not as a distant set of institutions, but rather as something born of a long shared history, as a mother that nurtures the hope of a human future, never giving up on dialogue as a conflict resolution mechanism, never allowing the language of weapons to prevail and preventing the narrative of war as inevitable from taking hold…” Card. Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, sounded this advice at the end of his introductory speech to the meeting of the Standing Council of Italian Bishops, which took place in Rome on Monday afternoon, running until 13 March. Vincenzo Buonomo, professor of European Union law at the Pontifical Lateran University, echoed the same sentiments.
Professor, where should we restart from?
The starting point should be the roots, the idea that any form of European integration should proceed from below. It should not be dictated by criteria set at a ‘higher’ level, but should be linked to the idea of subsidiarity. Today, more than ever, we know that a Europe conceived as a hub of bureaucracy and structures imposed on the people may have had good reasons in the past, but in the current scenario it can no longer fulfil its role. The Cardinal’s reference to the commitment of individuals, of associations, of a Christian community living faith in dialogue with the world, is extremely important.
In recent years, however, both the faith and the Christian roots have been to some extent “removed” from the public arena …
In the recent period, the European Union has often tried to exclude the religious dimension and its values, limiting it to an exclusively faith-based vision. The President of the Italian Episcopal Conference proposes the religious aspect as an essential element, not because it carries a religious vision, but because Europe is the cradle of different expressions of faith, some of them born or rooted in the Old Continent, others in the process of becoming established thanks to the phenomenon of human mobility. Building Europe’s future requires a structured dialogue. It cannot be encapsulated in the slogan “Rearm Europe”.
Europe must restart from its roots. Above all, we must cultivate a ‘dream’ of Europe.
The fact that Cardinal Zuppi has reprised a large excerpt from Pope Francis’ speech of 6 May 2016 on the future of the Continent is no coincidence. A common European defence is certainly necessary, but this was also included in the plan of the founding fathers, who in 1954 had envisaged a European defence community alongside the then European Coal and Steel Community. Today, of course, this has to be seen in a global context, not just a European one.
Cardinal Zuppi stresses the importance of multilateralism in conflict resolution…
Multilateralism urgently needs to be revived.
We live in a time when multilateralism has been replaced by multipolarity,
And it’s not a question of terminology, it’s a fundamental question, because even Europe is in danger of becoming polarised in two extremes: polarised vis-à-vis other poles such as the United States, Russia and China, and polarised internally between its various countries, as we have seen recently. The key element is a bottom-up transition, which does not seek to develop regulations or directives, but rather to reaffirm the need for social cohesion based on values that underpin the economy, common foreign policy, defence and the very idea of a European government. Unless we can agree on these common values as our starting point, Europe will continue to be perceived as a system imposed from above. As citizens and believers, we cannot in good conscience sit back and wait for someone else to act. In the face of the tragic events unfolding before us, we are all called to do our part. Whether a war is fought with weapons or with tariffs, it is always about people who are excluded from society. The number of people excluded from society will increase and the true mission of Europe will be lost. Europe was created not only to ‘bring together’, but also to include different visions that need to be harmonised.
The President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference warns of the danger of a resurgence of nationalism, which “takes on new guises”, “dictates policies” and “identifies the enemy.”
The new forms of sovereigntism and nationalism not only deny the idea of Europe outlined in the Schuman Declaration, advocating the return of borders and tariffs, they also reject the possibility of coexistence and therefore of dialogue. This means rejecting the idea that “I exist because others exist, and it is precisely because others exist that I exist”. It means rejecting the idea that we live in a circular relationship in which the community dimension is a prerequisite for individual action. Cardinal Zuppi refers to Populorum Progressio, according to which
the individual good is based on the collective good: only from here can authentic cohesion be built.
Irrespective of political or ideological views, we must reject any form of opposition that leads to further divisions. I would like to stress that today, more than ever, there is need for cohesion, but this also requires a leap forward. This brings us back to Pope Francis’ “dream of a Europe…”, which is not based on the idea of a continent united by institutions, but rather one of peoples united by common values, including the religious dimension, Christianity as an essential value and a unifying force, even with respect to those who have a different religious vision or none at all. Regardless of its military strength, the availability of ten, twenty or thirty nuclear warheads, in the eyes of the world
Europe embodies a vision linked to its heritage of civilisation, art, science, spirituality and culture that no one can deny.
There is a danger that its citizens will no longer refer to this knowledge, but to a situation which, until recently, was restricted to purely economic issues, but which now risks reducing the subject of peace to a question of armaments and military strategies.
