Address of Polish Bishops on the occasion of Poland's entry into the European Union

Poland will soon become a rightful member state of the European Union. This event will decide upon the place and significance of our country in Europe for long years to come.

Our entry into the Union was supported by the vast majority of our nation. This decision should be respected. It entails a duty to do everything in our power in order to take advantage of this moment of history for the good of the nation, to take up the new challenges and to decisively counter the dangers that might be linked to our entry into the European Union.

1. The new historical situation and the challenges for the Church and the nation

We are faced with a reality which creates unprecedented opportunities for our nation, but which simultaneously brings new challenges and threats.

Many fear that we will lose our identity and sovereignty. National identity is preserved and expressed through culture, including moral and religious values. The historical experiences of the periods of partitions, WW II occupation and communism prove convincingly that we managed to endure or even develop as a nation under immeasurably more difficult conditions.

Today sovereignty has a different significance. States, deciding on a partial transfer of their powers for the sake of the EU institutions, receive in return a share in and the right to co-decide not only about the life of their own countries, but also of other European states. This likewise confers upon them the right to jointly participate in the shaping of the spiritual countenance of Europe. Without the inclusion into the reintegration process, which has a global character, Poland would be without doubt doomed to isolation.

The preservation of our identity and the rich religious tradition is contingent on our taking renewed decisive efforts aiming at the deepening of our own religious formation and at the recognition of what being a Christian today means and entails.

Making more profound the spiritual dimension of our full identity is a precondition of a fruitful dialogue in truth and freedom. The Church who proclaims the religious truth at the same time calls not only for tolerance, but also straightforwardly demands respect for her own beliefs and respects the same right of others. The pastors of the Church in Poland, while rejecting religious fundamentalism as irreconcilable with the Gospel, stress the role of religious values in the shaping of culture and religious attitudes.

Theoretically, the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Articles 10 and 11), as well as the Draft Treaty conferring the Constitution for Europe (hereafter referred to as the Constitutional Treaty) (Article 51) guarantee the freedom of beliefs and religion both in the individual and community dimensions, as well as acknowledge the identity of churches and religious communities.

We are witnesses to increasing secularisation. The fact that there is no place for God and Christianity in the future Constitutional Treaty justifies fears that there will be no place for them in public life, either. In societies that undergo a process of secularisation, religion is treated as a purely personal matter with no reference whatsoever to public life. Such a treatment of the Christian religion testifies to a lack of understanding of its most profound essence. Being a Christian significantly obligates one to the evangelical witness in all spheres of life: private, familial, communal, cultural, scientific, economic, and political. This is because religion encompasses the whole person and all the areas of his or her life and has a marked influence on the attitude to public life. A lack of a public dimension of witness is an injury done to Christianity and to the personal dimension of religion.

Witness to faith borne in public life does not mean that we wish to impose anything on others, but only to demonstrate by the example of our own life the fullness of truth as a proposal and the invaluable treasure which we want to share with trust in the power of truth itself. This is simultaneously accompanied by an openness to dialogue with people who espouse different beliefs provided it does not threaten the dignity and the fundamental rights of the human person. A Christian cannot be contented here with mere tolerance understood as putting up with those who think differently. A truly Christian attitude calls not only for the respect for others' beliefs even if we do not share them, but even for the mutual care of one another.

In this spirit, as shepherds we express also our understanding for the concern of those persons who find it hard to accept our entry into the EU. As Christians — in line with the words of St. Paul — in spite of the multitude and diversity of gifts and ministries served in the Church, we must constantly learn to cooperate in one spirit for the common good (cf. 1 Cor 12:8-13).

As Europeans we want to be given the full right to bear witness also in public life, a witness to which the Gospel obligates us — according to Christ's command: „Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:32).

We do not strive for privileges for Christianity. The Polish Constitution guarantees full rights to all legally recognized denominations and the respect of their beliefs of, as well as to people who derive fundamental humanistic values from other sources. That is why we have every right to expect a similar attitude of respect and openness also in the future Constitutional Treaty. According to the content of the Preamble, Europe „wishes to remain a continent open to culture, learning, and social progress”. It is a paradox that the attitude of openness is declared with the attendant elimination of God and religious values.

The Church on her part fully recognizes the autonomy and independence as well as the secular character of public and state institutions. The principle of secularity may in no way be tantamount to laicism. It means equality of and respect for the beliefs of all citizens and denominations recognized by the state, „in a pluralistic society secularity is a meeting space between the various spiritual traditions of the nation” (Address of John Paul II to the diplomatic corps, 13 January 2004, no. 3).

The nations of Central and Eastern Europe, on account of their historical experiences, are concerned about the lack of a reference to God and Christianity in the Preamble to the future Constitutional Treaty. A reference to God is necessary not so much for the Church — no one disputes His presence here — but for Europe. Denying a reference to God likewise poses a threat for man. This is witnessed only too conspicuously by the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century. The historical experience of the nations of Central and Eastern Europe teaches that only God is „the one truly unquestionable guarantee of the dignity of man and the freedom of nations” (Speech of John Paul II on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of St. Adalbert, Ravenna, 22 April 2002, no. 4).

Multiplicity and diversity also in the religious sphere is a major distinguishing mark of the European tradition. This mark of civilisational unity, however, was granted to Europe by Christianity; therefore its omission in the Preamble means depriving Europe of one of the vital elements of its historical identity. In order to avoid suspicions of falsifying or even ignoring history, we refer the words about „the cultural, religious and humanist inspiration of the inheritance of Europe” from the Preamble primarily to the Christian religion without diminishing in any way the other religions which have made their contribution to the culture of Europe.

2. Unity in multiplicity and diversity

The Preamble to the future Constitutional Treaty rightly defines Europe as a reality united in its diversity. Multiplicity and diversity in their cultural, ethnic, linguistic, scientific, economic, political, and religious dimensions constitute one of the major marks of the European heritage. Hence the call for the „Europeisation of Europe” means a return to vital spiritual inspirations which create the European civilization.

The European Community cannot in any way be constricted to the economic and political dimension, since each community — if it is to be genuine — must have a spiritual dimension and must be a community of persons. Europe — as John Paul II teaches — must be a great European Community of the Spirit. In the historical dimension, it is the Christian culture that provided Europe with unity. A question arises what will be the spiritual bond in the European pluralism, a bond stronger than the antagonisms, contradictions and divergent interests which divide Europe. If Europe is truly to be a community, it must agree upon a minimum of spiritual values which people will be ready to accept and implement for the construction of the common good.

The community of faith and the code of ethical values that have cemented Europe throughout the centuries have in large measure dissolved in recent times. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his pontificate, John Paul II once again recalled the words he had spoken in Gniezno in 1997: „There will be no unity of Europe unless it is based on unity of the Sprit...” Being faithful to the Christian roots does not mean the appropriation of history, let alone the invariable repetition of past patterns, but rather „the ability to create an organic synthesis of perennial values, confirmed so often in history, and the challenge of today's world, faith and culture, the Gospel and life” (Cracow-Balice, 10 June 1997).

As Christians, we are called to preserve and cultivate these fundamental values. „The most precious good that Christians can offer Europe, and which no one else can offer, is the faith in Jesus Christ, a wellspring of hope which does not fail” (EinE, 18). We realize that not everyone is inspired by Christian motives, but there is no denying that Christian values are also the foundation of true humanism. It is European humanism that continues to guarantee Europe its special place in the history of civilization. Christian values constitute the most characteristic intellectual and spiritual legacy which has shaped European identity throughout the centuries and belongs to the treasury of culture of this continent.

These inalienable values of European culture and identity include „the dignity of the person, the sanctity of human life, the central role of the family based upon marriage as a permanent union of man and woman, the importance of education, freedom of thought, speech, and proclamation of one's own beliefs and professing a religion, legal protection of individuals and groups, cooperation of all for the sake of the common good, work understood as a personal and social good, political authority understood as ministry, subjected to the law and reason, and limited by the rights of the person and nations” (John Paul II, Message to the participants of a scientific congress, Rome, 20 June 2002, no. 3-4).

Creating a new social order in Europe we may not resign from those fundamental values, many of which — in a declarative way — are inscribed both in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and in the Constitutional Treaty. This does not in any way exclude the secular character of Europe, but is only a call for pluralism which encompasses both religious values and all other values which serve the common good.

Man, in his most profound spiritual dimension, is capable of judgment and needs clear criteria of differentiation between good and evil, truth and false, justice and wrongdoing. Without these criteria, a person is faced with the danger not only of radical subjectivism, but also of moral nihilism.

3. The task and place of Christians in the new European reality

„The foundations of the identity of Europe are built on Christianity” (John Paul II, Gniezno, 3 June 1997). It continues to be a vital and dynamic reality in Europe. The Gospel today is likewise a power of inspiration for Christians, who constitute the majority (approx. 80%) of the residents of Europe.

Christians, who have shaped the countenance of the spiritual culture through the centuries, also today wish to co-create a new European reality on a par with other Europeans. What this demands of ourselves is primarily a radical conversion, openness to the Gospel and finally evangelical radicalism. It is a drama of contemporary Christianity that it is regrettably torn by human frailty and sin and that is why it has lost for so many its characteristic power of attraction. One cannot fail to notice the enormous ecumenical effort, however, aiming at regaining the primordial unity which belongs to the core of Christianity, embracing both the Christianity of the East and of the West. A reference to it does not in any way belittle the principles of autonomy and sovereignty (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 76) defining contemporary relations between the State and the Church (Lumen Gentium, 36; Gaudium et Spes, 36), but on the contrary — „may protect the continent against a twofold danger of ideological secularism on the one hand and sectarian fundamentalism on the other” (John Paul II, before the Angelus, 16 February 2003). Despite the painful split, also today authentic Christianity can and should fulfil the role of an integrating factor, allowing reconciliation and reconstruction of mutual trust, without which there can be no true community.

A sense of fundamental justice does not allow us to forget that the breakthrough year of 1989, inspired by the desire for freedom, was born in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe on the basis of primarily religious motivation. It was this religiously motivated desire for freedom that became flesh in the solidarity impulse in Poland and in its wake led to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and subsequently also to the collapse of totalitarian regimes and made possible the restoration of democracy in those countries of Europe which are currently becoming a part of the European Union. This experience of the states that have only recently shaken off the influence of atheist communism sensitises them especially acutely to all forms of wrongdoing, injustice, atheisation, and elimination of religious values.

The liberation from totalitarian regimes is for those nations a token of the justice of history. It confers upon them a special moral right for the defence of endangered religious and moral values and fully authorizes them to co-create the future spiritual dimension of Europe. It should also ensure such a social order where no person is discriminated against and relegated to the second rate of citizens, and true religious freedom is not replaced by the freedom from religion.

Poland has for over ten centuries been a part and parcel of Europe. The path of our Fatherland to the unity with the entire family of European states was ushered in by the famous Congress of Gniezno in the year 1000. Today, „on the threshold of the Second Millennium the Polish nation acquired the right to take part, on a par with other nations, in the formation of a new face of Europe” (John Paul II, Gniezno, 3 June 1997). We, Poles, may not resign from this right. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his pontificate, John Paul II once again reiterated, „Europe needs Poland, the Church in Europe needs the witness of faith of Poles. Poland needs Europe” (John Paul II, Rome, 19 May 2003).

We realise that in many respects we are different. But it is precisely this difference and diversity that constitute a significant feature and wealth of nations and societies of Europe, which unite to preserve and multiply its spiritual good. Our history, which has for centuries created the spiritual countenance of the Polish nation, is different, too. We may not lose anything of our spiritual identity and the culture inherited from our ancestors.

The awareness of this spiritual and cultural wealth inherited through the centuries and its inseparable link to the history of Christianity contributes to the fact that we Christians cannot and do not want to resign from what constitutes an inherent component part of our national and religious identity. „By becoming a member state of the European Community, the Republic of Poland cannot lose anything of its material and spiritual values which have been defended at the cost of blood by the generations of our ancestors. The Church wishes to be a partner and ally of the authorities of our country in the defence of these values” (Address of John Paul II to Madame Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, 3 December 2002).

In spite of the numerous weaknesses and deficiencies, the Church in Poland can offer Europe, as it grows in unity, a living faith, her tradition inspired by religious devotion, the pastoral efforts of her bishops and priests who, thank God, are not lacking in Poland, as well as the dynamic character of faith of a vast part of young people and certainly many other values on the basis of which Europe can become a reality endowed not only with high economic standards but also with a profound spiritual life (cf. John Paul II, Message to the Conference of the Polish Episcopate, Cracow, 8 June 1997).

With equal conviction we wish to learn Christ's Gospel and the witness of Christian life from the numerous dynamic communities of Western Europe as well as the heroic fidelity from the Churches of the East. Today this is primarily a witness of sanctity which Europe is in need of and which is longed for by the entire world. Our sense of responsibility makes us also become more fully involved in public and social life and redouble our efforts to unite faith with the witness of everyday life. Pluralism of social life requires that all those who wish to become involved in the construction of the common good should have the full right to implement this good, taking into account the diversity of motives and inspirations. When there are no ethical and religious motives for their implementation, it is hard not to conclude that the beautiful and noble slogans of overcoming divisions, of constructing the community of progress and prosperity, and of following the path of civilisation will remain only declarative in character and will never be implemented.

Noticing the dark and bright sides of contemporary reality, the Church reminds that in order to develop fully, man needs hope. Without hope there is no future. As Christians, we are called to a never-ending justification of the hope that is within us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15). This is the unchangeable calling of Christians since the time of St. Peter. The Risen Christ is our hope; in Him was accomplished a victory over evil, sin, and even over death (cf. Col 1:27). Christ has not freed us from the anxiety and fears that pose a threat to this hope, but thanks to the participation in the victory of the Risen Christ we are called to bear witness to the fact that Christian hope is more potent than the challenges, fears and adversities which the present and the future hold.

We entrust this work to Mary, the Mother of divine and human trust, asking that we might prove credible witnesses to Her Son.

Warsaw, 18 March 2004

Undersigned: the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops present at the 326th Plenary Assembly of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate

opr. mg/mg