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Left: Yugoslavia's Tito, the first Communist leader to visit the Vatican.
Above: Romania's Cardinal Mindszenty, free to travel to Rome.
the Vatican is that of mediator between
East and West. Any man who could
fulfill such a role would certainly go
down in history. Pope Paul assuredly
would like to be the one who is credited
with bringing about peace between the
Communist bloc and the Free World.
As part of the worldwide unity quest,
the Vatican has directed strong efforts
to bring Eastern Europe into the fold.
Impo rtance of the EEC
Tying right in with the search for
peace is the role of the European Com–
mon Market or Europeao Economic
Community ( EEC). The nucleus of the
EEC is its Catholic majority. Britaio
will be the first country in the union
with a Protestant majority.
One of the greatest hopes for a
united Europe is its ability to serve as a
balance of power between East and
West. The fact of having Europe united
feligiomly
under the banner of CathoJi–
cism could weU offset political and
national animosities - and make the
union a
dolfbly
more powerful entity.
Realizing this critica! point, the Vati–
can establishcd diplomatic relations
with the six Common Market oations in
November of 1970, nominating Igino
Cardinale as nuncio or ambassador to
thc Common Market Commission in
Brussels. The story in
L'Osservatore Ro–
mano
emphasizcd that the Vatican has
always supported efforts to unify
Europe without any política! reserva–
tions.
A United and Catholic Europe
One of the major arguments for a
politically united Europe is that this
"Third Power Bloc" could serve as a
balance and "referee" between the
United States and the U.S.S.R.
If
Europe is "united" under a com–
mon religion, then the Vatican would
have more than just its prestige to help
bring about a reconciliation. It would
also have the political and economic
power of a United States of Europe to
back up its efforts.
No such political-religious entity has
l5
existed since the Holy Roman Empire.
But thcre are many who would not view
a new "Holy Roman Empire" as such a
bad innovation. CertainJy, for many
Europeans, and definitely for the Vati–
can, a union such as this would have a
great many advantages.
A question which still remains is:
How can Europe be united if a signifi·
cant portion of it remains outside EEC
jurisdiction and behind the I ron Cur–
tain ?
Sorne very deiinite trends are.. clearly
visible and with predictable results,
unless something unusual occurs. For
one thing, a politically united Europe
seems inevitable. How long it will take
or exactly in what form it will emerge
remains to be seen. In spite of the pes·
simism expressed by sorne authorities as
late as two years ago, the hopes and
dreams set clown in bJueprint for the
union continue to take shape in reality.
The exact size of this "Un ited States
of Europe" is still undetermined,
though sorne have already suggested the
reasonable number of
1O
nations.
Others would be closely associated. But
any final European union seerns incom·
plete without the traditionally European
countries of Poland, Hungary, Romanía,
Czechoslovakia, or Yugoslavia - and
of course, East Germany. Will some or
possibly even all of these Eastern
countries eventually find their way into
sorne sort of European federation? Only
time will tell.
De Gaulle's drcam of a united
Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals
seems out of the question, even for the
future. Although Russia may be
European geographica!ly, it just does
not lit in with the rest of Europe. In
contrast, sorne of the Eastern European
countries have historically had their ties
with the countries of Western Europe.
That is why Russia is having a hard
time keeping them under control. Ooly
superior military might has held the
rusting I ron Curtain from disintegratíng.
The Vatican, you can be sure, will
continue to do its part in courting the
Eastern European countries. Its
Ost–
poiitik
has been to bring them back
into the "fold" for a long time. And
that is certainly the path it must con-
tinue to travel.
o