Etyczno-polityczna wizja Europy Jana Pawła II i Benedykta XVI

Abstract

The article illustrates beliefs of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI regarding Europe as a cultural union and at the same time as a political and social project. The Popes through defining dangers and suggesting ways out of moral crisis, create their own ideological project for so-called New Europe. The most vital elements of the Catholic project New Europe are as follows: the necessity of referring to God and transcendental values, the rejection of the instrumental treatment of human being through connecting politics with the truth about a man, acceptation for the state with the ideologically and not ethically neutral law, and the guarantee of religious freedom by the political community. These aims should be realized in the dialogical atmosphere. The best way is to involve the faithful of the Church in creating a new community through courageous demonstration of own beliefs in public and to engage oneself in the authentic service towards the other man. To summarize, it is claimed that Benedict XVI’s teaching is the continuation of John Paul II’s thought.