The European Union and the Catholic Church, an Outline of the Problem

Abstract

The paper discusses the problem of the relationship between the European Union and the Church from the legal point of view, both “de lege lata” and “de lege ferenda.”

The author shows the development of the European Union with regard to its quantitative aspect, i.e. incorporating the states of mid-eastern Europe into the Union, and in its qualitative aspect, consisting in transforming the Union from a group of states into a community of nations and European states, a fact that will be expressed in the future constitution of the European Union.

Then the author shows the postulates put forward on behalf of the Catholic Church by the Apostolic See and episcopates of the European countries. They tend to a recognition by the law of the European Union of the legal position of the churches and religion as permanent elements of European culture, in particular they seek to include the “invocation Dei” in the preamble to the future Constitution of the European Union.