The first official draft of the future European Constitution, presented yesterday in Brussels by former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing, makes no mention of Europe's religious roots nor the juridical status of churches.
Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and members of other religious communities have asked the European Convention to include in Article 2 of what should be the future "Magna Carta" of Europe, which articulates "the Union's values," a reference to God and to the Christian values that forged Europe.
In the first draft, the article states: "The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, values which are common to the member states. Its aim is a society at peace, through the practice of tolerance, justice and solidarity."
In a press statement today, following a meeting between German foreign affairs minister Joschka Fischer and Pope John Paul II, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls requested that the document be improved.
"The Holy See has noted that the values and elements already introduced in the plan -- relating to the first three titles of the treaty -- are fundamental for the life of the Union," the Vatican Press Office statement acknowledges.
During Foreign Minister Fischer's meeting with the Pope and key officials, including Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Jean Louis Tauran, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, "surprise was expressed, because the juridical status of churches and religious communities has been disregarded. Lastly, the desire was expressed that the present plan be improved and the gaps filled," Navarro-Valls continued.
"We are very disappointed, not by what is written, but by what is not written," the secretary-general of the Council of European Catholic Episcopal Conferences, Monsignor Aldo Giordano, said.
The document was presented to the 105 members of the European Convention, to be discussed by the assembly. Debate on amendments will take place either at the end of February, or on March 17 and 18.
Giscard d'Estaing would like to present a unanimous proposal from the European Convention by the end of the spring, which will have to be approved by the inter-governmental conference charged with writing the future constitutional treaty. This Feb. 6 draft of the European Constitution, which will only have consultative value, can be read at the official web page of the European Convention.