.- A Vatican representative participating at the 113th session of the Committee of the Ministers of the Council of Europe, recently held in Moldavia, has insisted on the request that the European Union’s Constitution must explicitly recognize the role of Christianity in shaping the Continent.
Archbishop Jean Claude Perisset, Apostolic Nuncio in Moldavia, said that the future constitutional treaty for the European Union “promises further opportunities for institutional cooperation between the Churches, Ecclesial Communities and other religious organizations and the European Institutions.”
“Such recognition of the public role to be played by religious institutions is welcomed, as is that of the importance which must surely be given to the religious dimension in guaranteeing the secure and peaceful development of society,” said Perisset.
Nevertheless, he said that, in the midst of the growing religious diversity, “it will be to the enduring advantage of all Europeans if due recognition is given to the unique and indisputable contribution of Christianity to European civilization.”
