THE BISHOP of Chelmsford has said the European Union has no future if it is “simply a set of pragmatic political and economic functions and programmes”.The Anglican Bishop John Gladwin highlighted the issue in a debate on the Queen’s Speech in the House of Lords.
He told peers: “We use the word ‘Europe’ in our debates as if it were simply a set of institutions and functions. No wonder people are turned off and complain of distant and bureaucratic powers a long way away that are uninterested in their lives.
“If Europe is simply a set of pragmatic political and economic functions and programmes, it has no future. Its future lies only in renewing the deeper themes of its cultures.
“Of course it is possible to see European institutions as essentially secular. Indeed, many do, but that would ally these institutions to one particular intellectual tradition in European history, which would be disastrous.”
Bishop Gladwin said that Europe had always been a meeting ground for many cultures and faiths.
“Europe has a significant Jewish history, which the 20th century brought so brutally to the surface, and an important Islamic history, which we are growingly aware of in the 21st century,” he said.
“In its midst, there is a strong secular thematic culture that arises from classical antiquity through to the Enlightenment, with its strong and passionate demand for liberty, equality and fraternity.”
He added: “If we are to engage the people again in Europe beyond the level of finding some warm sunshine in winter, which is very attractive at this point in our weather system, European institutions and our leaders need to be seen to be drawing on these rich streams of cultural and faith history that make us what we are and that have the potential to shape our future.
“Politics, faith and culture need to re-engage with each other in Europe.”
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(Source: RI)