Posted on 09/02/2003 6:21:46 PM PDT by nickcarraway
VILNIUS, Lithuania, Aug. 27 — The presidents of Lithuania and Poland both support enscribing specifically Christian values in a new constitution for the European Union, according to a communiqué issued here today after talks by the two leaders.
Lithuania and Poland, mainly Roman Catholic countries, are scheduled to join the European Union next year.
The communiqué said President Rolandas Paksas of Lithuania and President Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland shared "support for Pope John Paul II's initiative that Christian values should be mentioned in the future constitution of the European Union."
Petras Grazulis, a parliamentary deputy from the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party, has prepared a draft resolution urging his government to support the Vatican's position on the issue, which has caused controversy in the union.
On Sunday John Paul issued a fresh appeal to European leaders to ensure that the draft constitution for an enlarged European Union makes a clear reference to Europe's Christian heritage.
"The Catholic Church is convinced that the gospel of Christ, which has been a unifying element for the European people through centuries, still remains an unfailing source of spirituality and brotherhood today," the pope said, renewing an appeal he has made on several occasions this summer.
He has urged European leaders, who did not include a mention of Christianity in the draft constitution when it was completed in July, to ensure that an enlarged union "rediscovers its true identity."
The final text of the new constitution is to be worked out by an intergovernmental conference that opens on Oct. 4. The host of the conference is Italy, which is one of the union's Catholic countries and currently holds the presidency of the union.
The chairman of the group that approved the draft, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, has defended the absence of the reference to Christianity on the ground that some member states would not have accepted it.
In their eyes, young upstarts should be seen and not heard.
ya just gotta love it!!!
1) G-d, or whatever supreme deity they believe in.
2) The father.
3) A boss at a job.
4. Government.
Fathers die. Bosses are left behind when one changes jobs or government nationalizes that segment of the economy (health care anyone?) and government becomes boss. Religion is so segregated from everyday life and individuals are taxed so much that they have to work extended hours or 2nd jobs to maintain a standard of living so G-d is forgotten. Who's left?
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