A group of senior European bishops on Friday issued an appeal urging Europe to \u201crediscover its soul\u201d in response to what they described as a world \u201ctorn and polarized\u201d by war and violence.<\/p>\n
The text, published Feb. 13, said many citizens are \u201canguished and disoriented\u201d and warned that the international order is under threat. In that context, the bishops said Europe must recover its spiritual identity in order to offer the wider world its \u201cindispensable contribution\u201d to the common good.<\/p>\n
The appeal also recalls Christianity\u2019s historic role in shaping the continent, arguing that even if Christians are fewer in number today, they are still called to return \u201cwith courage and perseverance\u201d to the foundation of their hope.<\/p>\n
Looking back to the postwar period and the construction of the European Union, the bishops invoked the legacy of founding figures Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide De Gasperi, describing them as architects of a \u201cmagnificent, though fragile\u201d project inspired by their Christian faith. The text cites St. John Paul II\u2019s repeated emphasis on the role of Christians in building Europe, recalling his observation that the founders\u2019 love for Christ was inseparable from their commitment to humanity.<\/p>\n
The bishops warned that Europe \u201ccannot be reduced to an economic and financial market\u201d without betraying the founders\u2019 original vision. They urged the continent to reject exclusivist forms of isolationism and violence, uphold the rule of law, and favor supranational solutions to conflicts through appropriate mechanisms and alliances.<\/p>\n
Europe, they added, must remain ready to resume dialogue even amid conflict, working for reconciliation and peace. \u201cAn international framework is dying and a new one has yet to be born,\u201d the bishops wrote, arguing that the world still needs Europe \u2014 and that Christians, wherever they live, should make that urgency their own.<\/p>\n
The text closes with a quotation attributed to Schuman: \u201cPolitics, when lived as a selfless service to the city and to the human person, can become an act of love toward one\u2019s neighbor.\u201d On the basis of their faith, the bishops said, Christians are called to share with all Europeans their hope for universal fraternity.<\/p>\n
The appeal was signed by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France, president of the French Bishops\u2019 Conference; Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi of Bologna, Italy, president of the Italian Bishops\u2019 Conference; Bishop Georg B\u00e4tzing of Limburg, Germany, president of the German Bishops\u2019 Conference; and Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdansk, Poland, president of the Polish Bishops\u2019 Conference.<\/p>\n