The Holy See and the nascent European commonwealth

Abstract

It is in the ‘politics of peace’ that the Holy See’s interest in a united Europe is rooted. Since the publication of the ‘Peace note’ on 1 August 1917, the Holy See has actively promoted the idea of unifying the various European States as a guarantee for a more stable world order and as an antidote to the evils of war. Following the tragedy of the Second World War, the Holy See, under the direction of Pius XII, offered its support to and actively engaged with a range of groups promoting the unification of the European peoples in a nascent project of European unionism. Such a project became urgent in light of the world’s division into East and West, as well as the resulting contrast between the two superpowers, the United States and the USSR, which meant Europe faced the danger of being effectively engulfed on the international stage. In Pius XII’s view, a rediscovery of Europe’s Christian roots was the only safeguard against a return to a state of war, as well as the sole opportunity to resist the illusory peace offered by atheistic ideologies, namely Communism.