Pope criticises EU declaration
Pope Benedict has strongly criticised the EU for excluding a mention of God and Europe's Christian roots in declarations marking the 50th anniversary of its founding.
European Union leaders kicked off festivities to mark its 50th anniversary on Saturday with a gala concert at the Berlin Philharmonic hosted by Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor. The official part of the celebrations, the signing on Sunday of a Berlin Declaration on the principles and goals uniting the 27-member bloc, made no mention of Christianity, which Benedict calls a form of "apostasy of itself".
The Pope, who - like his predecessor John Paul II - often calls for a mention of God and Christianity in the European Constitution, said leaders could not exclude values that helped forge the "very soul" of the continent.
He said: "If on the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome the governments of the union want to get closer to their citizens, how can they exclude an element as essential to the identity of Europe as Christianity, in which the vast majority of its people continue to identify."
"It is no surprise that today's Europe, while it purports to be a community of values, seems to increasingly contest the existence of absolute and universal values.
"Does not this unique form of apostasy of itself, even before God, lead it [Europe] to doubt its very identity?"
Apostasy is a total desertion of or departure from one's religion.
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Monday, March 26, 2007
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