P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
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INTENTION : |
That the European Union may know how to draw new nourishment from the Christian patrimony which has been an essential part of its culture and history.
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A process of secularisation in the middle of the last millennium, was aimed at excluding God and Christianity from every expression of human life. This process eventually led to atheism, laicism, agnosticism and secularism. The Christian religion was thus relegated within the confines of each person's private life. Consequently any explicit reference to religions was removed from the European Charter. This unfortunate fact has distressed the Holy Father who sees it as anti-historical and offensive for the builders of modern Europe.
Much of what Europe has produced in the juridical, artistic, literary and philosophical fields bears the stamp of Christianity. The great human values inherent in the Christian message: a person's dignity and inviolability, freedom of conscience, the dignity of work and workers, every person's right to a dignified and secure life and hence to participation in the wealth of the earth destined by God for the enjoyment of all human beings, are a testimony of the rich patrimony found in the culture and history of Europe.
It is hoped that the policy makers of the European Union while showing understanding and creating conditions for better economic performance may also preserve and draw new nourishment from the Christian patrimony.
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