The shock waves of the British referendum result are spreading uncertainty far and wide. What concepts in Catholic thought can we cling to in this most uncertain of times?

What is Europe? We could say, as St Augustine did about time, that if nobody asks, then we know. But when we are asked to explain, we can’t do it.

Geographically, Europe is a tiny peninsula with a few islands on the fringe of the huge Asian land mass. It is a patchwork of nations, languages, cultures. History shows that without a framework to hold them together, Europeans tend to go to war with each other. “Europe” is also an idea, a dream of peace, unity and harmony on our continent. And it is a historical memory of what seems, in retrospect, to have been at least partial realisations of that dream – the Roman Empire and that of Charlemagne.

Politics, economics, culture – and not least religion – are woven into the concept of Europe. Its cultural borders have never been clearly defined; its political borders have never coincided with those of geography or culture; its religious roots are, for sure, dominated by Christianity, but include Judaism and also Islam.