European elections: Germany, document from Christian Churches. “Common future in Europe”. No to nationalism

The document published by the leaders of the Christian Churches in Germany in the run-up to the European Parliament elections is entitled “For our Common Future in a Strong Europe”. This historical moment is marked by complex political, economic and social challenges, with “an ever-increasing number of autocratic and aggressive systems”, the document reads, and wars – in Ukraine and across the world – whose consequences “will shape European politics in the years to come”. The document reaffirms that the Christian Churches “support and commit themselves to an EU that recognises the inalienable and equal dignity of all people”, whose protection is guaranteed by a commitment to freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. The Christian leaders express their “firm opposition” to all forms of extremism and strongly reject “right-wing extremism, ethnic nationalism and anti-Semitism”, while also recognising themselves as co-responsible for democracy, as a political form of freedom, and for the EU as a successful model of multilateralism, peace, and reconciliation. The Christian vision of the human person has consequences for all areas, the document explains, calling on political leaders to work “for a cosmopolitan, democratic and solidarity-based EU”, and on voters to choose “parties that share and promote the spirit of Europe, its values and its core principles”. The document ends with a strong call “against the political forces that, in the spirit of ethnic nationalism, reject the coexistence of people of different nationalities or backgrounds and clearly seek to abolish the EU”. On the contrary, only “a strong and united Europe” can address the current challenges. The signatories to the document – the Evangelical Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, the Catholic Bishop Georg Bätzing and Archpriest Radu Constantin Miron who chairs the “Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany (ACK) – finally request that the European Parliament elections not be used to protest against the difficulties Germany is facing but to constructively support “an EU that, in the face of war, economic recession, and the challenges of digitisation, migration, and climate change, defends all individuals in their dignity and freedom and does not lose sight of the weakest”.
Valentina Bombelli