Pope John Paul urged Europeans not to forget their Christian past today as EU leaders met to haggle over a draft constitution that has sparked outcry over its reference to the religion.
"Social, political and economic structures are certainly very important to the unity of Europe but we must absolutely not neglect the human and spiritual aspects," the pope said, presiding over a mass for university students in Rome.
"It's indispensable that the Europe of today safeguards its valuable heritage and recognises that Christianity above all has the capacity to promote, conciliate and consolidate it," the 83-year-old pontiff added.
A first draft of the constitution provoked protests from the Vatican and traditionally Catholic countries Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland because it did not mention Christianity in the opening section.
While this dominated early debate, the issue has since been overtaken by disputes over voting rights. The final constitution does not look set to mention Christianity in its preamble, although it mentions it deeper in the text.
The strongest opposition to making an explicit mention of religion in the text has come from French President Jacques Chirac, who has said his country's secularism is non-negotiable.
An official French report released on Thursday recommended banning Muslim veils, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses from public schools to help preserve secularism in France, home to more Jews and Muslims than any other EU state.