‘Europe Must Rediscover Its Soul’

Europe must put unification over sovereignty and Catholic Christianity above all in order “to offer the entire world its indispensable contribution to the ‘common good.’” That was the message from the presidents of the French, German, Italian and Polish bishops’ conferences, published in Catholic media on Friday in an open letter to “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christians in Europe.”

In the letter, titled “The Strength of Hope,” the bishops write:

• “Exacerbated nationalism is a form of idolatry.”
• “The united Europe was not born against homelands but against the nationalisms that destroyed them.”
• “Christians are called to share their hope of universal fraternity with all inhabitants of the European continent.”

The letter is a call for Europeans to meet the challenges of international disorder, political instability, violence and war with not only increased religious devotion to Catholicism but also increased political unification between nations.

• The bishops aren’t content with the EU being just an economic bloc. They see nationalism as a form of idolatry and unification as a solution.

Cause for concern: Europeans unifying under a renewed belief in God sounds like a positive development. But the Word of God actually warns, specifically and repeatedly, that false Christianity exists, that it has destroyed true Christianity, and that it devastates not only individuals but nations.

“Reflecting on what helped found Europe” and looking to Europe’s “founding fathers” will unify the Continent, the bishops claim. Bible prophecy shows they are not wrong.

• The letter references West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, French Prime Minister Robert Schuman and Italian Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi as founding fathers who were “inspired by their Christian faith” to begin unifying Europe.

As the Trumpet has noted in the past, for men like these, “the European project was as much a religious ambition as a political one.”

Adenauer, De Gasperi, Schuman, the bishops and many other leading religious and political figures in Europe earnestly desire a new Catholic European empire.

The bishops’ letter ends with a call for European Christians, who account for 70 percent of the population of the European Union, to “share their hope of universal fraternity with all inhabitants of the European continent.”

As our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire states: “Very soon now, 10 nations, or groups of nations, in Europe will band together in a union influenced by a great church. Everything about the union will seem right: the religion, the prosperity, the military might. But the final fruits of this union will be horrifying.” This union, envisioned by powerful European political-religious leaders for decades, is forming now. It is indeed a revival of the Holy Roman Empire.