May 17, 2003
IF POLITICS IS A WAY OF HOLINESS, WHITHER FAITH?
Robert Schuman Nearing Beatification, Exemplified Faith and Politics (Zenit, 5/16/2003)As former head of the French government, minister, and first president of the European Parliament, Robert Schuman's process for beatification offers testimony to a politician's exemplary life.
Robert Schuman (1886-1963), the man who made possible the birth of the European Union, might soon be a saint. Jacques Paragon, the postulator of the cause of beatification, announced on May 15, that the diocesan investigation of the cause of beatification is due to conclude, possibly this year.
Schuman, head of the French government, minister, and author of the May 9, 1950 Declaration -- providing the basis for European construction -- was able to open a new way in international relations based on political negotiation.
He was the first president of the European Parliament from 1958-1969. Pope Paul VI described him as "an indefatigable pioneer of European unity."...
Paragon mentioned the book by Rene Lejeune, president of the 'Institut,' whose title evokes the central message of the Father of Europe: "Robert Schuman, Father of Europe: Politics, a Way of Holiness."
Though I'm a Catholic, I hope for little more from the Vatican than that they do not dilute the 2000-year tradition by more than 0.01% per year. Pope John Paul II has been one of the greatest of popes, but his declining years are starting to resemble the last years of Ronald Reagan's presidency: the staff is starting to run the place. The Vatican, however, seems to have a hundred Oliver Norths, and they're all from "Old Europe."
I am adding something to my prayers: please Lord, let us not see the beatification of Alger Hiss, for his role in creating the United Nations.