Answer political disillusion with ‘catholic values’: Welby

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured), speaking after receiving an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Paris, said Europe needed to rediscover religion as part of its response to the widespread disappointment with politics that has led to the Brexit vote and support for nationalist leaders on the Continent.

Noting the importance of Catholic Social Teaching to the founders of the European Union, he said last week that “the values and vision for the twenty-first century need to be catholic (with a small c). By this I mean that it needs to be broad, flexible, comprehensive, with a fundamental drive towards inclusion.”

Europeans should also focus on the positive values and virtues that emerged from their Judaeo-Christian tradition and feel confident in defending them in public. “This is not – for those concerned – a call for a return to Christendom, but being open about our tradition and heritage – both the good and the bad.”

This was especially relevant because of the Islamist militancy that has attacked several countries in Europe, including France a year ago, he said. “If we treat religiously-motivated violence solely as a security issue, or a political issue, then it will be incredibly difficult – probably impossible – to overcome it,” he said.

“A theological voice needs to be part of the response, and we should not be bashful in offering that. This requires a move away from the argument that has become increasingly popular, which is to say that Isis is ‘nothing to do with Islam’, or that Christian militia in the Central African Republic are nothing to do with Christianity, or Hindu nationalist persecution of Christians in South India is nothing to do with Hinduism … Until religious leaders take responsibility for the actions of those who do things in the name of their religion, we will see no resolution,” he said.

Regardless of one’s personal view on the Brexit vote, he said, leaders on both sides of the Channel should ensure that “pursuit of the common good remains at the heart of the process”.

While Brexit may now dominate political debate in Europe, the “rapid rebirth of nationalism” across the continent is probably an even bigger change, he added.

The archbishop told his French audience that their country’s laïcité policy “is not capable of dealing with the challenges of religious groups with powerful, internally coherent, albeit evil narratives”.