“The Christian Faith has something to Say about Morality”

Pope’s John Paul II is much attached to France for he owes it his theological formation. I particularly remember his visit during the commemoration of Clodoveo’s baptism anniversary as a moment of flowering for France’s baptism. The “elder daughter of the Western Church”, just to call it this way, has given a lot to the Church. The pope is worried about the ideological laicism strongly shown in our days. We favor the laicism but we oppose an ideological laicism that threatens to confine the Church to a subjectivity ghetto. This stream of consciousness does not want public life to be influenced by Christian and religious realities. Such a separation, which I would describe as absolute “profanity,” would certainly constitute a threat to Europe’s spiritual, moral and humane image. We hope the Church in France be strong enough to help Europe deal with such a provocation. Christian faith must enlighten public life. Let’s not trust the fierce laicism that leads to fundamentalism.
The State should not be a guarantor of freedom of thought and religion. We don’t try to impose our faith through politics, but we are convinced faith is also the light for reason and the catholic political man must be able to transmit that light in his political fight. The right to live must be protected by the State from the first, up to the last instant of life. Politicians must respect that. A politician that adopts a different position, who does not respect the image of God and the privilege of the human being, opposes the rational elements of faith. On this issue, we are in agreement with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops though we haven’t expressed it in such a way. Catholics should only receive the communion when they deserve it. This has to do with their position regarding abortion and other matters too. Conscience is not only subjective but objective. I think that the “subjectification” of the conscience is a big mistake of our times.
The non inscription of Europe’s Christian roots is a serious mistake. Europe is a cultural continent, not a geographical continent. It is its culture that gives it its common identity. The roots that formed this continent are those of Christianity. It is just a historical fact. And it didn’t happen long ago. Europe’s rebirth after WWII was possible due to political men who had strong Christian roots, such as Schumann, Adenauer, De Gaulle, De Gasperi, and others. I fear Europe hates itself and its own great history. That is why Turkey does not belong to Europe, although that does not mean we should not have good relations with this country. But Turkey should found its own cultural continent along with Arabic countries based on Islam.