Vatican City, Sep 11, 2005 / 22:00 pm
On Friday, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, told members of the fifth International Congress of the Pontifical Academy of Theology that the role of the Church in Europe is one of profound importance--both historically and in its teaching about the "ultimate truths of humanity."
The Archbishop spoke on, "The Role of the Church and Christians in the Future of Europe" to members of the Congress, which was held in Krakow, Poland.
Archbishop Lajolo spoke first on "the attention the Popes have given to Europe" which, he said, "has always been lively, constructive and encouraging."
He specifically recalled, among others, Pope Pius XII who "publicly endorsed the idea of forming a European Union," and of the late John Paul II who "played an historical role in assisting that process which started here in Poland and led to the collapse of the unnatural division imposed upon Europe by a materialist ideology and an antihuman power."