John Paul II’s vision for Europe

In February 2020, the Polish Episcopal Conference called for St John Paul II to be recognised as a Doctor of the Church and co-patron of Europe. In my piece for The Times of Malta (22.V.2020), I argue that his work still resonates with us as we debate the future and identity of Europe:

"The tragedy befalling his homeland did not leave him indifferent. He was a patriot. Patriotism is “a love for everything to do with our native land: its history, its tradition, its language and its natural features”.

He argued that patriotism could be the antidote to unhealthy forms of nationalism since it “is a love of one’s native land that accords rights to all other nations equal to those claimed for one’s own”.

John Paul II’s patriotism was not insular. He understood that Poland’s harrowing national experience was intrinsically tied with Europe’s historical trajectory. By embracing rather than rejecting the experience of his homeland, John Paul II became an even greater European...

He understood that Europe was not merely an artificial bureaucratic construct but, rather, the sum of its political and historical experiences. To build its future, one had to comprehend it in its totality – without any historical whitewashing. Its future cannot be rooted in a level of abstraction but in the sense of place."

The full piece may be read on The Times of Malta website