The Slovenia Times

Politics/Society

Slovenian Bishops Present Pastoral Letter on EU Presidency

27.12.2007

By STA

Ljubljana Archbishop and Slovenian Metropolitan Alojz Uran presented a pastoral letter on Slovenia's EU presidency written by Slovenian bishops, which will be read at masses on 30 December and 1 January.

The Bishops' Conference spokesperson Andrej Saje said that the Church had also written a special prayer for leaders and peoples of the EU, which was translated into three languages and sent to all EU bishops conferences. With its EU presidency in the first half of 2008, Slovenia is taking over the most important task in its history, as it will preside over a union of 27 European countries, the letter says. "With this letter we want to point out that fact and call on you to support the government, which will carry out EU presidency on the behalf of us all, to carry out this task properly, decently and successfully," Slovenian bishops said.

They point out that European nations did not start associating only because of economical, but also because of ethical reasons. "After two world wars in the 20th century, Europe wanted to become a continent of peace, cooperation, freedom, well-being, social solidarity and respect of human rights", the letter says. The bishops believe that EU presidency is a good opportunity for Slovenia to lift itself above internal difficulties and expand its horizons, adding that by feeling and thinking European we will see how much we are trapped in our past, which hampers our development and limits our freedom.

"Only if economic excellence and political competition are subjected to the values of mutual respect, solidarity, truth, justice, dialogue, love and peace, will Europeans have joy of life and look towards the future with hope," the letter concludes.