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Pope Benedict XVI's
refusal to address the European parliament for fear it is becoming "militantly secularist" initially struck me, a humanist MEP, a triumph of equality and rationality for the EU.
I read the Vatican's contention that the EU has become increasingly "secularist" over recent years to mean less Christian. In some respects this is true.
The EU refused to mention "God" in the now moribund constitution and has permitted the use of EU funding for research involving stem cells.
Since its inception over 50 years ago the EU has indeed moved away from the deeply Christian beliefs of its founding fathers in order to bring together an estimated 497m Europeans. The 2008 population count across the EU includes an estimated 16m Muslims, over a million Jews and approximately 18m atheists. Under the EU's
Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development stem cell research can be funded, on a case-by-case basis, subject to certain conditions. These conditions include a guarantee that EU cash would not be used for the destruction of human embryos, a compromise with critics of stem cell research.
But on deeper reflection, I think it's a cop-out of the grandest scale, setting a dangerous precedent for other cultural and religious leaders to "opt out" of EU proceedings if they are dissatisfied with their values and methods. By refusing to take part in the parliament's
Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the pontiff is effectively holding the EU to ransom.
However, Pope Benedict's rejection of the same invitation to address the European Parliament indicates that compromise and tolerance is not what the Catholic church is about. The Vatican is in danger of looking like it is withdrawing from the proceedings of the EU because it is not in agreement with all its decisions. This is fateful for both the future of Europe and the future of the Catholic church, especially as Commission President Borrosso has offered the churches a "major contribution to the EU's ongoing dialogue".
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RGforever