A Europe based on Lisbon: a house built on sand
The bishops’ pastoral reflection concerning the Lisbon Treaty, on the theme “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain” (Ps 127:1) has provided voters with some valuable food for thought.
In the opening section of their reflection, the bishops draw our attention to the fact that “this is a referendum on the merits of a particular treaty; it is not a referendum to assess our views on membership of the European Union…”
By its very existence, the group, EUReform demonstrates the accuracy of the bishops’ observation in that it is both opposed to the Lisbon Treaty and pro Europe.
Contrary to much of the propaganda from the yes campaign, I believe it is not only possible to combine opposition to Lisbon with support for Europe, but it is actually necessary to take this position, if we are also to take seriously our obligation to respect the people of Europe whose voices are deliberately not being heard.
The people of Europe, the true heart of Europe, rejected this constitution in its earlier pre Lisbon ‘wrapper’.
But, their democratic decision became the stone rejected so contemptuously by the builders of the Lisbon Treaty – if Christianity is not at the heart of Europe, then don’t expect derived Christian principles like respect for the democratic rights of others to be there either, in anything but name!)
To add insult to injury, the Chairman of the Convention which drew up the original form of the Constitution, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, openly admits that Lisbon contains “all the earlier proposals (from the earlier form of the Constitution)” … “that we dare not present to them directly” … “but (they are) hidden and disguised in some way.” (The Independent, London, 30 October, 2007)
Surely, deceit and the rejection of democracy are no basis on which to construct “the new European home which will be a good place for all to live only if built on the basis of authentic values which are founded on the universal moral law written on the heart of every person.” (Pope Benedict XVI, quoted in the bishops’ reflection). Deceit is clearly not an authentic value!
Surely, this is not how the Lord would “build the house,” to quote the bishops in their reference to Psalm 127 (above), on a foundation of deceit, a ‘foundation of sand’.
The unwillingness of some ‘yes’ campaigners to tolerate conscientious objection and the attempts by others to silence voices within the Church – which in some cases amounted to a form of interference in the Church by the state – has been a feature of this campaign.
It is to the bishops’ credit, therefore, that they have not been intimidated into calling for a ‘yes’ vote but have spoken out against such ‘bully-boy’ tactics, which are surely a sign of what we could expect from any post-Lisbon EU: “Conscious of the pressure from powerful interest groups in Ireland and in other parts of the EU to influence the outcome of the referendum, we ask also that the right of people to exercise their franchise freely be respected.”
Finally, the bishops ask the question, “what kind of Europe do we want for our children?”
Yes indeed! This question should be at the centre of our hearts when we cast our vote this Thursday. What kind of Europe do we want for our children: one that is “built on the basis of authentic values which are founded on the universal moral law written on the heart of every person” or one that is built on deceit and and which therefore lacks democratic authority (as noted by pro European journalist Adrian Hamilton writing in the Independent – Thursday May 29)?
The heart of Europe is not a treaty. The heart of Europe is its people! Let us not bypass them to build a Europe based on sand. Vote ‘No’.
Saturday, June 7th, 2008 and is filed under Love Thy Neighbour, Prayer & the Christian life, The Church, Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.
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John and Anna Kulach Says:
Hallo Great Ireland,
God Bless Ireland and Europe. You have saved your identity and identity of Europe.
Thank you so much. Your decision will be remembered and appreciated by entire Europe forever. It is a shame for other nations that the small Ireland have to save Europe.
Let God be with you and thank you so much..
Poland is so deeply thankfull to you. You have said what Polish Nation wanted to say. The European pos-tcommunist liberals did not allow Nation to express it’s view.
Let the Blessed Mary be with you forever.
John Kulach
Calgary, Canada
June 13th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
john and pauline Byars and Family ( scotland) Says:
Thank you Ireland for your voice. We are deeply grateful for the wisdom that guides you. May God Bless you for your courage in speaking out.
‘Do not accept anything as truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth! -One without the other becomes a destructive lie.-St. Teresa Benedicta of the cross.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:11 pm