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European Family Associations appeal to participate in the Elections of the European Parliament

Berlin, May 15th, 2009: The Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) appeals to all persons entitled to vote to participate in the elections of the European Parliament that will take place from June 4th – 7th in the European Union.

As it could clearly be seen from the common efforts to overcome the economic and financial crisis, history had been written with the introduction of the EU single market and the Euro: Common resolute and coordinated action averts damage and helps families to better provide for their daily living on account of economic stability.

Now it has to be striven for that the Economic Union develops into to a Social Union. Besides the economic participation also the political participation of Europe’s families is essential. Democracy lives on the joint responsibility of all citizens. Thus, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe appeals to all citizens to provide with their behaviour at the polls for the necessary conditions for sustainably reliable policies that are capable of acting and that work in the public interest.

The fundamental right to vote is hard-won. Particularly the late history of new member countries shows us the importance of democracy for liberty and prosperity. The duty to vote results from the right to vote. A political community like the European Union cannot create a constitutive basis of its own. It rather relies on social institutions like families, associations, civilian social organisations and not least on the Churches that have to participate in the structuring of future Europe by public debates.

FAFCE General Meeting in Strasbourg

From November 24th to 26th 2008, the FAFCE General Autumn Meeting took place in the European capital of Strasbourg on the topic “The future of FAFCE as part of Christian civil society in Europe”. Three days in the conference centre, “La Rencontre” run by the Sisters of the Cross, gave – besides intensive expert evidence – the opportunity for FAFCE, a European Federation consisting of 16 member organisations of 14 nations, for intra-organisational and personal exchange. The positive cooperation in overcoming national borders is more than a mere side effect. Rather, it is the foundation on which “the House of Europe” will be integrated more powerfully in future social relations. With regard to content of the Meeting, the 24 participants focused their discussions on family, political topics in order to promote European consciousness. Besides the agenda of Conference Formalities, a joint seminar took place in partnership with the Union Stiftung (Saarbrucken) and Renovabis (Freising) that took into account FAFCE’s role as a Christian- inspired European umbrella organisation.

Europe’s strength lies in its variety of cultures and traditions. To ensure that communication and understanding are guaranteed, despite this variety and the immense multilingual challenges, it is essential that the Meetings are supported by a team of professional interpreters. Thus, it had been possible to discuss critically and constructively the initiatives of Euro-political institutions. It was possible to discuss the European Parliament and the Brussel Commission’s claim for a reduction of the VAT on children’s products, the integration of the protection of Sundays in the EU working hour guidelines, and the new regulations for maternity protection. The participants deemed it important that “freedom of choice” and “free time for families” was recognised as important elements of everyday life for families in relation to the economy, and the increasing social pluralism, and particularly in relation to affordable family products. The discussion also allowed for a focus on how this might be affected by religious perspectives since there had been fruitless discussions about God and the European Constitution Treaty, and the role of Europe as a Christian West. As a result of the high degree of secularization of European societies, it is more important that Christians now feed their objectively justified contributions on a civil and social level into the political decision-making process. It is important, in a prevaling culture within Europe of social individualisation, that the individual can be shown to be an inter-related being.
Within this framework, it is also important that the appropriate conditions are established that prevent a further curtailing of the living and developmental space of social family unity, in all its forms. For such a social and political discussion, it is important that religious perspectives are expressed in cultural terms.

Under the key words “consolidation follows expansion”, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations has increased considerably the number of its member organisations during the past years and this has led to a necessary clarification of its self-image (that is, the way it sees itself). In this context, several experts had been invited in order to give their impressions or perspectives. As an example of this, Mme Rita Waschbüsch, former President of the Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken, in her speech “The opportunities of an engagement of lay people within church organisations in aiding the development of the civil, social and public life in Europe”, contributed greatly to this exploration. Since another speaker had cancelled her lecture at short notice, Mr Stefan Nacke gave a speech on “Reflections on the necessary conditions for a European protection of the interests of Catholic Family Organisations”. Msgr Aldo Giordano, in his role as representative of the Holy See vis-à-vis the Council of Europe, spoke on “The family, political positioning of the Church in the context of European institutions” as well as presiding at a multi-lingual Eucharist celebration with the participants.

Finally, the continuous building up of the FAFCE requires simultaneous and equal developments of the professionalization of its work. New instruments of the FAFCE’s public relations work were presented. These were the FAFCE flyer, “Family is Europe’s wealth”, and the modern and newly designed Homepage on the website (www.family-eu.org). In citing a statement from EU-commissioner Spidla, Ms Elisabeth Bussmann, in her role as President of the FAFCE, put her finger on the problem: “Those who want to have a say on the direction of travel of the train called Europe have to sit in the front of the railway engine […] I believe that the European Union is in need of a new vision!”. To make sure that these family-political ideas gain a better hearing, the General Secretariat of FAFCE will move in summer 2009 from the capital of Berlin to Brussels, the centre of the Euro-political events.

The meeting ended with good discussions as well as a visit to the Council of Europe, and an informative and interesting guided tour of the Cathedral of Strasbourg.

Stefan Nacke