ROME – Ahead of looming European elections in June, and with a war on the continent still raging, the president of the European bishops has stressed the need for unity and setting aside partisan interests following a meeting with Pope Francis.
Speaking to the Italian news agency SIR after a 26 January meeting with the pontiff, Bishop Mariano Crociata of Noto in Italy said the upcoming June 6-9 European Parliamentary elections are a “critical step” for the continent.
“In fact, the possibility that the political orientations of voters will give rise to a majority capable of looking seriously to the future of the European Union is being tested,” he said, also voicing concern about participation and calling for awareness to be raised about the importance of voting.
A recent survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations forecasts major gains for more conservative parties, and even the far right, in the June ballot. Although projections are that pro-EU moderates and progressives may still be able to cobble together a majority, the right-wing Identity & Democracy group is projected to become the third largest bloc in the European parliament.
Crociata, who serves as president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), said there is an image, and often a reality, of the European Union which moves forward “by ignoring the sensitivities, needs and problems of the peoples of which it should be an expression and guide”.
“This fuels intolerance, rejection, and therefore also anti-Europeanism and absenteeism,” he said.
In terms of European integration, Crociata said it has grown in recent decades, despite some stalls along the way, and said there is a need for more “decisive steps forward” in various areas to strengthen Europe’s global influence.
“Unfortunately, the European Union appears weak in the geopolitical context, despite having taken clear and coherent positions, as, for example, in the case of the war in Ukraine and in the fight against climate change,” he said.
Europe must “grow in the same direction,” he said, but cautioned that “this would require overcoming partisan selfishness, not to be confused with the legitimate cultural freedom and identity and the values of each people”.
“The risk of divergence is great,” he said, adding that citizens must be involved in order for European unity, growth and integration.
“For this reason, everyone needs to share a sense of values and spirituality, a soul,” he said.
Crociata, who took over last year for Luxemburg archbishop and close papal aide Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich as president of COMECE, met Pope Francis on 26 January at the Vatican to discuss a variety of issues, including Europe’s global standing, migration, the war in Ukraine, and the upcoming EU elections.
In his interview with SIR, Crociata described his conversation with the Pope as “very serene and attentive”, saying Francis was both sensitive and thoughtful about current status of the EU and its future.
“He always starts from the initial inspiration of the union, as found in the great figures who started it immediately after the tragedy of the Second World War,” Crociata said.
The Pope, he said, touched on several topics, including the freedom of Europe, “understood first and foremost as a breath of peoples, who must have the opportunity to express themselves, their culture and their values, in a constructive and creative relationship with other peoples linked through their respective countries and by precise commitments of the European Union.”
Crociata advocated for EU enlargement, saying significant growth can come from allowing entry to countries waiting to join, such as Ukraine and Moldova, with whom accession negotiations have already begun, and Georgia, which has been granted official candidate status.
In December, Crociata praised what he said were the “historic decisions” regarding Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, saying it sent a message of hope to the citizens of countries which have long held out hope of joining the EU.
“The more the European Union assumes the dimensions of Europe as a whole, the more possibility of wars on our continent is removed and the dynamic that leads toward a true, ever stronger unity and towards a solid balance among Union bodies and citizens is strengthened,” Crociata told SIR.
He highlighted the issue of migration and its impact on European countries.
“Migration is a thorn that causes great suffering,” he said, adding that it is “unthinkable” that Europe, with a rapidly dropping birth rate, fails to recognize “the need for a contribution such as that of immigrants for its survival.”
Measures such as the recent EU Pact on Migration and Asylum are evidence of the desire to find a common approach to the issue by member countries, he said, while cautioning that there is also a tendency “to pass onto others the burden and the effects of the immigration flows and to put security and the defence of borders above the duty to welcome and of solidarity.”
“We need to move toward a vision that together gives order to the migration flows and integration processes, and of integration in the various countries according to possibility and in a proportionate manner,” Crociata said.
He noted that Pope Francis also addressed the work done by COMECE in relation to institutional dialogue between ecclesial and civil entities, explaining that the Pope addressed how this dialogue can be done “profitably”, Crociata said, while at other times “it runs the risk of becoming a formality”.
“It is important that it is strengthened with the new Parliament and the new Commission that will emerge from the June elections,” Crociata concluded.
He also sent a message to young people casting a vote for the first time, saying they are agents of “change and renewal” for Europe.
“Younger people must be told that Europe is their tomorrow, which they are called to build right now, so that their present anticipates the best of what they desire for themselves and for everyone in the future,” he said.
Photo: Polish voters express solidarity with the European Union by waving EU flags as they gather outside a TV studio where the main candidates in the Polish elections took part in a debate, Warsaw, Poland, 9 October 2023. (Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images.)
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.