European bishops’ conference lauds democratic values
May 31, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has released a position paper on democracy, saying that the strength of the European Uhion ultimately relies on shared values.
Making the case in very general terms, and avoiding the use of religious terms, the COMECE statement argues:
The success of the European project does not depend only on economic integration and scientific and technological progress, but also on the acceptance of a set of fundamental rights and values, such as human dignity, human rights, freedom, non-discrimination, common good, subsidiarity, justice, tolerance, inclusion, solidarity and equity and religious freedom, which underpin democracy, guarantee its proper function and give substance to democracy in practice.
The COMECE paper mentions “Christian social ethics” and “Catholic Social Teaching,” and invokes the principle of subsidiarity in government, but does not mention God, Jesus, faith, worship, or prayer, nor does it suggest that the moral principles uniting Europe stem from a Christian heritage.
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