Catholic groups push for EU reform after coronavirus crisis

Warsaw, Poland – As Europeans struggle to resume their daily lives after the easing of coronavirus closures, Catholic organizations are urging governments to learn lessons from the crisis and introduce far-reaching reforms.

“It is an illusion to think that we can just get back to normal after this – it is this” normal “that has led us to the pandemic,” said Chiara Martinelli, senior adviser to International Development Cooperation and solidarity (CIDSE), based in Brussels. a grouping of 17 Catholic development agencies.

“We need policies to move forward, not backward, and the voice of Catholics, collaborating with other faiths, must be heard,” she said. “If we are to put values ​​at the heart of policy making, we must also advocate for practical solutions.

Martinelli, an Italian, spoke just after the Catholic bishops of Europe met on June 3 to highlight the church’s contribution to “righteous recovery that leaves no one behind”.

She told NCR the time had come to be provocative by proposing a “new strategy” for Europe and forward-looking measures to resolve long-standing problems.

“This pandemic has come amid a growing understanding in Europe of the need for a more holistic approach,” Martinelli said.

“The EU is at a dangerous time, lacking the credibility and support of its citizens, and if its institutions are to build a plan in several sectors, they must involve the different stakeholders – civil society, trade unions, religious groups and others, which “will all be crucial for a new Europe”, she said.

CIDSE was one of many Catholic groups to support calls for a universal minimum wage in Europe, which has been advocated in the EU Pillar of social rights 2017, but has not been introduced in all countries.

But other reforms are also advocated, in recognition both of the systemic failures highlighted by the crisis and of the key role played in maintaining health care, transport and food production during periods of confinement by people. people at the lowest economic levels, who often live without regulated income, sick pay, leave or pension rights.

When COVID-19 reached Europe earlier this year, the EU practically ceased to function, as its 27 member states sealed their borders and adopted unilateral policies. It is hoped that a revived EU can now serve as a vehicle for the necessary changes.

Presenting on May 27 a 2000-page recovery plan, under which 750 billion euros will be raised on the capital markets for needy countries, the German President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, predicted the “ambitious plan” would make it possible to “revive” the European economy by allocating funds “where the needs for resilience are greatest”.

However, some countries, including the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden, have insisted that the funds should be disbursed in the form of loans only, an option which experts say will require further action. drastic austerity in the poorest countries of the EU.

This prompted further warnings from COMECE, the Brussels-based commission representing the EU’s Catholic bishops, which urged EU leaders on May 27 restore public confidence in the continental union.

COMECE, led by Luxembourg cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, said the pandemic had highlighted the importance of “healthy public infrastructure and services”, including the fight against corruption, fairer taxation and ” ecological, social and contributory justice “.

This was to mean “a clear perspective for a Europe to become united”, and a swift agreement on increased aid to the poor and the homeless, he said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have hit the EU in unexpected and brutal ways, exposing our vulnerability to public health crises, as well as the EU’s fragility and weakness in times of crisis,” the EU said. commission.

Martinelli said she and other Catholic experts will emphasize the interconnectedness of current problems and the need for “policy coherence” to resolve them.

Other Catholic organizations have urged the EU to maintain its commitments to international aid and debt relief, while advocating for targeted efforts at home.

After the death toll in nursing homes across the continent, the Rome-based Sant’Egidio community has warned against a “selective health system” that prioritizes young and healthy people, while the 20 Jesuit provinces in Europe demanded the reorientation of military budgets towards health, social services and support for asylum seekers.

The Catholic Peace Movement Pax Christi International urged a “profound global transformation”, insisting that COVID-19 has exposed “inherently interconnected expressions of systemic violence, including economic injustice, ecological destruction, militarism and racism.”

Meanwhile, Caritas-Europa echoed The European Commission forecasts a deep economic recession and has called on the trade bloc to focus on reducing difficulties in its new multiannual financial framework for the 2020s.

In May, Caritas joined other Christian aid groups, including the predominantly Protestant Eurodiaconia, in a new EU alliance to invest in children, calling for “ambitious measures” to come to the aid of the 110 million people, including a quarter of children, who already faced poverty before the pandemic.

Peter Verhaeghe, head of policy and advocacy at Caritas-Europa, says continued coronavirus lockdowns have already become ‘unbearable’ for many Europeans, especially those who are employed informally on zero hour contracts, who have lost not only their jobs, but also all forms of social protection.

“We must work for the ideal of having no worker without rights, and ensure that everyone has the right to basic benefits when they need them – in a system of solidarity that reflects Catholic social teaching”, Verhaeghe, whose network is one of the seven regions of the Vatican. based at Caritas Internationalis, told NCR.

“This crisis has affected a large number of people, working and self-employed, who thought they would never have problems but now find themselves relying on society at large,” said Verhaeghe. “As this drags on, I see initiatives emerging to make sure things are done differently in the future.”

Calls for real change have also come from Catholic leaders across Europe, including Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and Catalan Cardinal Juan José Omella, who heads the Spanish Bishops’ Conference.

Figures like these followed the lead of Pope Francis, who described COVID-19 in a Pentecostal letter to priests as an “invisible, silent, expansive and viral presence”, which had already disrupted and upset “agendas seemingly overwhelming worlds, “and urged Christians to” proclaim and prophesy the future “with a” realistic and creative imagination. “

With all European countries forecast To see drastic declines in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, from 6.6% in Germany to over 11% in Britain, France, Italy and Spain, those calls would need to increase.

There are predictions of serious unrest by the end of the summer, as the effects of the pandemic are felt in bankrupt businesses, cuts in social assistance and emergency budgets, in an atmosphere of activism already fueled by the continent-wide “Black Lives Matter” protests.

In a statement made in early June, the Catholic bishops of Europe reiterated the church’s closeness to the many victims of COVID-19 and the frontline workers who struggle against it, as well as their concern over the devastating economic consequences of the pandemic.

They added that the crisis had exposed “the great limits of individualism” and urged European leaders to invest in the family – “the true cell of solidarity and sharing”.

Martinelli said Catholic voices like these will be important in bringing ideas and ideas to the table of European policymakers and ensuring that “systemic solidarity” remains at the forefront.

“This could be the last chance for Europe – a last window of opportunity to show leadership and demonstrate that we can truly build a better future,” she told NCR.

“The pandemic has shown how ready young people are to help older people when they are in danger – now we need to see what older leaders can do for the next generation in Europe,” Martinelli said. “This requires not only emergency measures, but long-term thinking and resources for a much broader recovery.”

[Jonathan Luxmoore covers church news from Oxford, England, and Warsaw, Poland. The God of the Gulag is his two-volume study of communist-era martyrs, published by Gracewing in 2016.]