Robert Schuman, Alcide de Gasperi, Jean Monnet and Conrad Adenauer are considered the fathers of the European construction that over the years has led to the current Union. On May 9, 1950, Schuman, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, gave the speech in which he proposed the constitution of the Coal and Steel Community, the starting point of everything. That is why May 9 is Europe Day.
In April 1951, six countries signed the agreement. It was an initiative to guarantee peace after a history of confrontations, especially between France and Germany, but it went much further.
As Pope John Paul II would say three decades later, “it was a clear spiritual option in favor of forgiveness and a will to overcome violence through dialogue and solidarity.”
Three of those great architects of European construction, Schuman, De Gasperi and Adenauer, were deeply Catholic, to the point that the first two are in the process of beatification. Faith illuminated his political action. On the other hand, Jean Monnet “was a layman respectful of the religious ideas of Schuman, Adenauer and Gasperi.”
For this reason, the spiritual nerve, the background and the principles that gave rise to the European Union were deeply Catholic. The flag itself, with 12 stars and a blue background, was based on the image of the Virgin in the cathedral of Strasbourg, a city disputed by the Germans and French.
Those who are at the head of the Union today seem to have made a clean slate of all this. A fundamental sample is enough. A few weeks ago, the European Parliament approved urging states to recognize abortion as a fundamental human right in their respective legislation. Barbarism is served, even though it has been approved by representatives of supposedly civilized countries. France approved shortly before including such a right in the Constitution. In Heaven, those fathers of Europe cannot suffer, but they would cry with sorrow if they lived.
Therefore, on the eve of European and other internal elections, it may be useful to remember what Benedict XVI called “non-negotiable principles” in politics.
In 2006 he received several hundred parliamentarians from the European People’s Party in audience and told them that the defense of life from conception to natural death, the family as a union of a man and a woman, and the right were “non-negotiable principles.” of parents to have the last word in the education of their children. She would reiterate it on other occasions.
A few days ago, after the publication of Dignitas infinite, Pope Francis reaffirmed such principles using the same terminology as his predecessor. The pontiffs have also insisted that bishops must guide the faithful in political matters. Practically it will never be in support or rejection of a specific party, but it will shed light on those principles, adapting them to the specific situation.
On the other hand, the proliferation of ethically harmful laws – there are many in various countries, including Spain – also highlights the need for many coherent Christians and people who respect the dignity of the person in their integrity to actively participate in public life. .