THE BELL TOLLS FOR EUROPE

LIDIA DUDKIEWICZ, THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ‘NIEDZIELA’

All signs in Heaven and on the Earth are calling for return of the old Continent to its roots, to values on which its excellent founders had been building the European community. Among them are candidates for altars: Robert Schuman and Alcide De Gasperi, as well as a Christian politician Konrad Adenauer. Schuman was thought to treat his place on a parliamentary bench as a monk saying a breviary prayer in the Religious Order choir. He was perceived as a saint man. He even wanted to become a priest but was convinced that the saints of the XX century also wear secular clothes. He realized his political mandate as vocation of a Christian man to function in the sphere of politics. He used to say that serving to the world should also be serving to God. According to Schuman – who had even a function of a chairperson of the European Parliament – ‘value of Europe means Europe of values’. It turns out that Europe has gone away far from its fathers-founders. The process of integration had taken place for a correctly few dozen years, on the basis of a concept of the so-called Europe of capitals, but when Germany became the strongest country of the European Union, there appeared a temptation of federalization of the community, that is, transforming it into a super-country, managed by Brussels in an authoritative way, with the dictate of Germany. And this means germanization of Europe – columnists of ‘Niedziela’ note. In this concept the European Parliament would be supposed to be superior in relation to parliaments in particular allied countries. So, Eurocrats betrayed founders of the European community and departed from foundations which had been accompanying the integration of countries of Europe 60 years ago. Who seduced Europe…? – journalist Witold Gadowski has been wondering on it in one of his comments. He noted an Altiero Spinelli whose surname had been placed over the main entrance to the European Parliament which even suggests that he might allegedly be the patron of Europe. Whereas Spinelli is a communist activist Trotskyist who in the times of Mussolini, imprisoned on Ventotene island, wrote ‘A manifestation from Ventotene’, being a ready-prepared project of a process of creating one country on the area of the whole European Union. Gadowski notes that Spinelli was a Trotskyist till the end of his life and organized a union of European federalists which has been functioning till today. Now tendencies to create one European country may get strong, especially after Brexit, when Great Britain began a divorce process with the European Union. So, supporters of Spinelli can get activated.

We remember very well when in the year 2014 pope Francis was consistently speaking in the European Parliament. At that moment he named Europe an infertile grandma in order to warn us that it was going to end. He said directly that European institutions should not be afraid of Christianity. He was calling that Europe should return to its roots. It may turn out that Poland of St. John Paul II, being governed by people caring about Christian values and national heritage, caring about family, today have an unusual significance to save Europe’s roots. Cardinal August Hlond, the primate of Poland, said: ‘Poland will grow to the significance of moral powerful country and will be an inspiration for the future of Europe, if it does not subdue to atheism, and in a fight of spirits it will remain steadfast on the side of God’. Today these are extremely important words.

AA

„Niedziela” 28/2016

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl