Pope John Paul II Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === European Union === John Paul II pushed for a reference to Europe's Christian cultural roots in the draft of the [[European Constitution]]. In his 2003 [[apostolic exhortation]] ''[[Ecclesia in Europa]]'', John Paul II wrote that he "fully (respected) the secular nature of (European) institutions". However, he wanted the constitution to enshrine religious rights, including acknowledging the rights of religious groups to organise freely, recognise the specific identity of each denomination and allow for a "structured dialogue" between each religious community and the [[European Union]] (EU), and extend across the EU the legal status enjoyed by religious institutions in individual member states. John Paul II said: "I wish once more to appeal to those drawing up the future European Constitutional Treaty so that it will include a reference to the religion and in particular to the Christian heritage of Europe." The pope's desire for a reference to Europe's Christian identity in the EU Constitution was supported by non-Catholic representatives of the [[Church of England]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Churches]] from Russia, Romania, and Greece.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.eubusiness.com/topics/european-council/aggregator/113730 |title=Pope says EU constitution should cite Christian heritage |publisher=EU Business |date=28 June 2003 |access-date=14 November 2013}}</ref> John Paul II's demand to include a reference to Europe's Christian roots in the European Constitution was supported by some non-Christians, such as [[Joseph Weiler]], a practising [[Orthodox Jew]] and renowned constitutional lawyer, who said that the EU Constitution's lack of a reference to Christianity was not a "demonstration of neutrality" but rather "a [[Jacobin]] attitude".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/jewish-professor-defends-mention-of-christianity-in-euro-text |title=Jewish Professor Defends Mention of Christianity in Euro Text |publisher=[[Zenit News Agency]] |date=17 September 2003 |access-date=14 November 2013}}</ref> At the same time, John Paul II was an enthusiastic supporter of [[European integration]]; in particular, he supported his native Poland's entry into the bloc. On 19 May 2003, three weeks before a referendum was held in Poland on EU membership, the Polish pope addressed his compatriots and urged them to vote for Poland's EU membership at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City State. While some conservative, Catholic politicians in Poland opposed EU membership, John Paul II said: <blockquote>"I know that there are many in opposition to integration. I appreciate their concern about maintaining the cultural and religious identity of our nation. However, I must emphasise that Poland has always been an important part of Europe. Europe needs Poland. The Church in Europe needs the Poles' testimony of faith. Poland needs Europe."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://euobserver.com/enlargement/11309 |title=Pope paves the way to Polish "Yes" vote |author=Marcin Frydrych |publisher=[[EUObserver.com]] |date=21 May 2003 |access-date=14 November 2013}}</ref></blockquote> The Polish pope compared Poland's entry into the EU to the [[Union of Lublin]], which was signed in 1569 and united the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385β1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] into one nation and created an elective monarchy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www2.tygodnik.com.pl/tp/2811/main01.php |title=Od Unii Lubelskiej do Unii Europejskiej |language=pl |trans-title=From the Union of Lublin to the European Union |author=Rev. Adam Boniecki |publisher=[[Tygodnik Powszechny]] |date=25 May 2003 |access-date=14 November 2013}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page