Churches' proposals to European Convention

The Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches, and the Commission of the Bishops' Conference of the European Community (COMECE), of which Malta is an associate member, are of the view that should the European Union have a Constitution designed to guide it in the future that does not make any reference to religion, churches or religious communities, "this would constitute a vacuum given their vital significance to society as a whole to the values and identities upon which society is based, and to the Union's relationship it its citizens".

This omission would also run counter to current treaty provisions, protocols, declarations and secondary legislation which directly refer to and impact on religion in many areas of law, including non-discrimination, labour law, data protection, culture, media law, animal welfare, co-operation, finances, customs and economic law.

The two bodies are submitting three articles (see box) to be embodied in any future Constitution. The proposals, based on existing provisions of Community law, "are an expression of the increasing relevance of religion, churches and religious communities for the further development of the European Union".

At its meeting in Brussels on September 30, the executive committee of COMECE discussed the work of the European Convention towards drafting a constitutional treaty for the EU. In this context it considered the contributions made over recent months to the Convention by the COMECE Secretariat in co-operation with the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches.

A press release of the Secretariat says that the Committee took particular note of the legislative proposal for the status of churches and religious communities in the treaty that were submitted to the Convention on September 27.

The members of the executive committee of COMECE are Bishops Josef Homeyer of Germany (president), Adrianus van Lyun of The Netherlands, and Attilio Nicora of Italy and Mgr Noè Treanor, secretary-general.

The Apostolic Nuncio to the European Communities, Archbishop Faustino Sainz-Muñoz, takes part in meetings of the executive committee.

The first provision deals with the right of churches and religious communities to "freely organise themselves" and implies that corporate religious freedom be guaranteed. Churches and religious communities would have the right to self-determination in their teachings and organisation. Religiously motivated worship, charitable and cultural activity, and pastoral care would be protected.

This provision is necessary, say the two bodies, "because corporative religious freedom and the right to self-determination of churches and religious communities are not explicitly secured by Art. 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and by Art. 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights. These instruments deal primarily with individual rights; the corporate dimension is only covered by existing jurisprudence."

The second proposed article is meant to provide for dialogue and consultation.

The EU desires to promote the widest participation of citizens by maintaining and developing a dialogue with organised civil society. Such a provision would have to be built into any constitutional text. And it should specify "the identity and the contribution to public life of churches and religious communities".

Even in the pluralistic world we live in, and the amount of tolerance even church people give to those not agreeing with them or not belonging to any religious group, it is a sociological fact that churches and religious communities are still a force in Europe. Indeed, the very origins of today's "human rights" as expressed in the European Convention of Human Rights, can safely be traced to Christian tenets.

European states, whatever the beliefs of their peoples, still offer abundant proof of their Christian roots, Malta being possibly one of the most notable in this regard.

Churches and religious communities have been, and are still, in the forefront in fields as diverse as social policy, migration, development aid, peace-making, education and pastoral care. One would even say that denying the churches and religious communities a specified, constitutionally recognised role, would amount to a denial of fundamental human rights to the vast thousands of European citizens who adhere to them.

The third provision refers to Declaration No. 11 of the Final Act of the Treaty of Amsterdam, which states the EU respects and does not prejudice the status of churches and religious associations and communities, and also of non-confessional bodies, as recognised in each member state.

This declaration is an expression of the respect for the diversity of the "structures of the law governing religion developed in the different legal systems of the member states" that have grown over a long time "and reflect diversity and national identity".

The two bodies are of the view that Declaration No. 11 "may also be considered as an emanation of both the horizontal and the vertical dimension of the principle of subsidiarity. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, Declaration No. 11 has proven its significance, when the status under national law of churches and religious communities in the member States has been taken into account as of the drafting stages of European secondary legislation."

Proposals relating to Churches and Religious Communities in a Constitutional Treaty of the European Union

The European Union recognises and respects the rights of the churches and religious communities to freely organise themselves in accordance with national law, their convictions and statuses, and to pursue their religious aims in the framework of fundamental rights.

The EU respects the specific identity and contribution to public life of churches and religious communities and maintains a structured dialogue with them.

The EU respects and does not prejudice the status under national law of churches and religious communities, in the member States. The Union equally respects the status of philosophical and non-confessional organisations.