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Vol. 12 No. 2 (2019)

Articles

The Christian Concept of Europe According to Saint John Paul II

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32084/tekapr.2019.12.2-7  [Google Scholar]
Published: 2019-12-31

Abstract

In the face of neo-Marxist globalism, whose goal is the programmatic obliteration of every identity of being as a being, “urgently need Europe to find its Christian identity and live it accordingly.” The issues of transcendence of the Old Continent are inextricably linked to personal levels: individual, national and social. In this connection, “the central principle of all just social order must be respect for man, his dignity and his inalienable rights. This was aptly recognized by the ancient formula: Hominum causa omne ius constitutum est.” Such an optimal vision of the human person in its social and specifically individual identity can be concretised in all dimensions of human existence only on the basis of the Christian roots of Europe and their affirmation and realization is the deepest desire for the great spirit of Saint John Paul II, which gives expression in the words: “Europe, about which I dream, is a political, and above all spiritual unity, in which Christian politicians of all countries are aware of the riches that faith gives to man: as engaged men and women try these riches use it in the service of all, that the people of Europe may be created, over which the face of God shines.” For this reason, the Old Continent should “be a place of reconciliation and coexistence of people and nations, approaching each other with deep respect and sincere kindness.” Essential help in this necessary for the size of Europe as a “community of spirit” process is university education as a crown of education of minds, memory and freedom of the human person and entire nations, sometimes deeply wounded by the historical drama of evil and weakness: “University, creating opportunities for the development of humanities, can help in the cleansing of memory that does not acquaint us with wrongs and faults, but allows forgiveness and ask for forgiveness, and then open the mind and heart to the truth, goodness and beauty that constitute common wealth and which in accordance, care and develop.” However, the community and at the same time the institution that gave Europe the most, not only strictly in the spiritual-moral-religious sense, but also in the sense of science, art or economy, is the Church built on St. Peter and his successors, for whom John Paul II the Great, demands due respect and proper respect – of course, for the well-being of all Europeans: “The element that determines the identity of this continent is the Church founded by Jesus Christ. «There is no doubt that in the complex history of Europe, Christianity is a key and decisive element», based on a solid foundation of the classical tradition and succumbing to multiple influences of various ethno-cultural trends in subsequent centuries.” In connection with the above, Europe as” «the old continent»” should “explicitly refer to God and the Christian faith,” means “to recognize the historical and cultural reality that shapes the present and is the source of the identity of Europeans.”

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