This is a rare position. German, Belgian, French and Luxembourg bishops expressed concern on Monday about the rise of populism in Europe, fearing the disappearance of the European Union two months before the June 9 elections.
In their pastoral letter entitled “A new lease of life for Europe”, the men of the church from the four countries called for “a renewal of European construction (…) putting solidarity and the place of man at the heart of this project,” indicated the diocese of Metz in a press release.
“Is the European Union at risk of disappearing if it does not regain its reason for being? “, ask the bishops, for whom “peace and solidarity in diversity” is the key.
This Monday, April 8, 2024, the bishops of the Euregio published a joint pastoral letter "A new lease of life for Europe", at the Robert Schuman House in Scy-Chazelles (Moselle). https://t.co/i4f6a2qJLE pic.twitter.com/mZbaOtuS1L
— Church of Moselle (@DioceseMetz) April 8, 2024
They noted in particular that the EU can be considered by Europeans "as a normative straightjacket, led by soulless technocrats, responsible for implementing principles likely to make it possible to live together, but not worrying about the real problems of the citizens ".
“What paralyzes European living together today is the fear of nations losing control over their destiny. A fear that causes withdrawal into oneself and tension with others,” they note in the letter.
A critique of the “liberal and free trade model”
Evoking, in addition to this “nationalist crisis”, the “economic” crisis, the bishops noted that “the impoverishment of certain regions and the unemployment which has affected populations have widened gaps between us”, criticizing “the liberal and free trade model , which prevailed among the decision-makers of the European Union” and which “caused a lot of social and territorial damage”. “These uncertainties give rise to populism, which is also the consequence of the economic crisis, and which criticizes the European project,” they stressed.
Calling to restore humanity to Europe, the bishops also rejected the idea of a “club of the haves”, but rather a “community which places the human being (…) at the center of common interests”. They also called for “believing very strongly in the future of Europe. It has been a field of struggle for good to triumph and it will triumph if we feel concerned by the institutions that we want to give it and by the commitments that we are willing to make.”
According to the signatories, “the establishment of a new economy, not based on profit, but a social economy which guarantees access to work and land”, constitutes one of the main issues of the elections.