Christians have a "particularly important" role to play in Europe because of their ethical values, the Pope's "foreign secretary" said today.
At a time when law now determines what is ethical, and it is no longer the ethics that inspire the law, Archbishop Paul Gallagher said Christians can through their own actions and witness in society, "recall the ethical foundation which must guide our action in the world."
Describing the world as "broken and crushed", he continued: "To rebuild Europe together, we need unity. It is necessary to rediscover the unity which is at the very foundation of the life of the human person."
His speech delivered at the Building Europe Together conference at the University of Strasbourg's theology faculty today was in honour of 50 years of the Holy See's presence at the Council of Europe.
Reflecting on the Catholic and Christian vision for Europe, and inspired by the views of Pope Francis, who will tomorrow deliver his address to his diplomatic corps, Archbishop Gallagher acknowledged that some view Europe in a negative way, as a soulless body where "good and evil are ultimately determined by law, decrees or the law of the greatest number".
But he asked for this pessimistic outlook to be put aside. Instead, he urged a vision of Europe which does not ignore its foundation and its Christian roots.
The Archbishop, who is originally from Liverpool and has risen through the diplomatic service to become the Pope's Secretary for Relations with States, referred to this year's 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. He said a European identity had been forged over the years "based on shared values that transcend cultural diversity".
Important themes, for the Holy See as well as Europe, are human rights and human dignity.
Another is education, he continued, discussing why Pope Francis is in May this year planning a world meeting in Rome, to "rebuild the world educational pact".
Archbishop Gallagher said: "This meeting will rekindle the commitment for and with the younger generations, by renewing the passion for a more open and inclusive education, capable of patient listening, constructive dialogue and mutual understanding. It is more necessary than ever to join our efforts in a vast educational alliance to train mature people, capable of overcoming fragmentation and opposition, and stitching up the fabric of relationships for a more fraternal humanity."
A third important theme is migration.
"In the history of peoples, migration has always been a good for humanity. Over the past centuries, there have been migrations linked to conquests, but also to deportation. The occupations have always resulted in a multitude of victims and devastation. Civilisations and cultures have often been wiped out and new ones built.
"The fact remains that history is made of migrations. And migrations are also part of our contemporary and modern history; they affect in particular many countries of our dear Europe."
He acknowledged however the risks associated with migration.
"There is also the very real danger that the phenomenon of migration will take place wildly and become a breeding ground for human trafficking, the exploitation of the migrants themselves and their recruitment into criminal groups."
The key was a coexistence that respects diversity.
"It is therefore necessary to remain attentive to these attempts to use religion as a single ideological thought," he said. "One can think of the sad scourge of terrorism promoted 'in the name of God', which causes so much destruction, massacres and innocent victims. Such a message is literally the opposite of what religions – all religions as such – offer. Pope Francis has repeatedly reiterated that killing in the name of God is the greatest lie that man can speak."
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