EUROPE IS HISTORY, BUT HISTORY ISN'T OVER

God And The E.U.: No room at Europe's inn (JEFF CHU, June 9, 2003, TIME Europe)

A document that wants to reflect a pluralist Europe and offend no one, the draft acknowledges a "spiritual impulse always present in [Europe's] heritage." But that ecumenical, almost New Age-y note did not satisfy Christian Democrats who had pushed for an explicit nod to God; or religious E.U. states, current and future, including Italy and Poland; or, of course, the Catholic Church. "Enlightenment wasn't born out of nowhere. It came out of Christianity," says Vatican diplomat Achille Cardinal Silvestrini. "They make a point of talking about roots. If you're going to do that, you have to talk about them all." Monsignor Noel Treanor, who represents the bishops' lobby in Brussels, says Giscard's revisionism should be revised once more "out of a sense of historical exactitude."

Europe's past may be a reason for God's inclusion, but its present suggests He may not belong. Even a Vatican official notes: "If you look at modern-day Europe, it's not a society based on Christianity."

As a nod to Europe's future it should at least mention Islam. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 5, 2003 8:27 AM