A working document prepared by the Vatican in advance of the European Synod of Bishops in October has said that monetary union could "give major stability to Europe and its economic development" if approached with a global view of solidarity.
The document also addressed "the problem connected with rising forms of nationalism in Europe" and warned that "there is a great risk of a progressive and radical de-Christianisation and paganisation of the continent."
The synod, or Second Special Assembly for Europe (the First Special Assembly for Europe was in 1991), takes place in Rome from October 1st to 23rd.
The 90-plus page document, titled Jesus Christ Alive in his Church, Source of Hope for Europe, gives a broad philosophical analysis of where Europe is today and makes some proposals for church action.
While generally welcoming European monetary union, the document said the introduction of a single currency could pose risks.
It could foster financial supremacy and the dominance of economic-commercial interests which might lead "to the construction of new barriers in Europe, primarily directed against the East, to protect the stronger economies and defend them against immigration", it said.
There was an all-too-real danger of a division of the continent into countries with a strong currency and relatively stable economy, and those with weak economies and a currency that could not be exchanged.
However, monetary union could be "an important tool in allowing the continent to increase exchanges of various kinds and in assisting a qualitative advance in living together on the continent." Even if concrete advances were modest, such progress would at least demonstrate the attainment of some crucial fundamental values, it said.
The document also noted that monetary union would require individual states "to rethink the meaning of national sovereignty and areas of jurisdiction". This underscored concerns it expressed about the growth once more of nationalism in Europe. These new "rising forms" of nationalism, it said, "arise from an unacceptable over-evaluation of belonging to a certain nation or from an extreme national esteem, in each case making these sentiments absolute."
Europe "needs to adopt an attitude which can open the people of the continent to a new, more welcoming and unifying manner of living together which a proper understanding of the `catholicity' of the church cannot help but establish and foster".
The synod, the document suggested, could offer a strong impetus "to give new thought to the concept of a nation". This ought to be done in the firm belief that, "on the one hand national differences need to be maintained and cultivated as the foundation of European solidarity and, on the other hand, that national identity is not realised unless it is open to other peoples through solidarity with them".
For its part, the Catholic Church, "far from supporting incorrect nationalistic tendencies in which she is sometimes implicated, can exercise a determining role precisely on the basis of the fundamental recognition of the primacy of God and the bonds of universal fellowship".
What matters is "properly to distinguish between nationalism and patriotism", the document said, "to discern between positive and negative aspects of national feeling; to recognise and defend the rights of minorities against the trend towards uniformity; to respect and promote the right of every nation to preserve its national sovereignty; to seek formulae which, overcoming the immediate identification of the `State' with the `nation', allow different people to live together in a single political entity with the rights and dignity of each person being amply safeguarded."
It also said that in the light of the historic experience of nationalism in Europe, the synod should be attentive to matters of forgiveness and reconciliation.
The entire document can be accessed on the Internet at www.vatican.va where it can be found under "Roman Curia", subheading "Synod of Bishops". Alternatively, it is available by contacting Father Martin Clarke, the Irish Bishops' communications officer, at 01288 4528, or 169 Booterstown Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
