Patriarch Alexy on EU's ties to religion

I believe him when he says he wants to make faith central to the EU member countries. At the same time he refuses to meet with the leader of most of the people he is often talking to. Regardless of his opinion of the state of the Rome-Moscow relationship, His Holiness needs to make joint declarations and work openly to spread the Gospel even if things like territorial concerns continue to act as a roadblock to ecumenical discussions.

(Directions to Orthodoxy) Moscow, February 28, Interfax - The Commonwealth of Independent States' European countries must not be passive onlookers in the European processes, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia said.

"I am convinced that the Christian heritage and its presence in the life of society can provide a solid foundation for relations between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova on the one hand and the European Union on the other," Alexy II said during talks with President of the European People's Party Wilfred Martens at the St. Daniel's monastery in Moscow.

The patriarch said that the Orthodox peoples of these states "cannot and do not deem it possible to merely remain onlookers in the processes in Europe, but, guided by their own historical and cultural traditions, must play their role in strengthening the Christian values in the European Union."

Alexy II also welcomed the aspiration of the European People's Party, which unites Europe's Christian democratic parties at a pan-European level "to work on the basis of Christian values."

"This approach can only be welcomed by our Church," Alexy II said.