"Good News" Update

France Says "Non" To EU Constitution

by Christopher A. Ferrara

        In the first bit of really good news to come out Europe in a long time, the French people, coming to their senses, have voted down the proposed constitution of the European Union by a vote of about 58% to 42% in a referendum conducted on Sunday, May 29. For now, at least, the creation of a European secular superstate has been derailed.

        Associated Press (May 29) reported the good news as "a stinging repudiation of [French President Jacques Chirac’s] leadership and the ambitious, decades-long effort to further unite the continent." Even better, "France's rejection could set the continent's plans back by years. The nation was a primary architect of European unity." As a result of the French vote — better still — "There is no more constitution," leading opponent Philippe de Villiers said. ‘It is necessary to reconstruct Europe on other foundations that don't currently exist.’"

        I have a suggestion for an alternate foundation: Christianity. It worked rather well for more than a 1000 years, from the time of the French king Charlemagne until the French Revolutionaries overthrew Catholic social order in France — 100 years to the day after Our Lord requested through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, but did not receive, the Consecration of France to His Sacred Heart.

        The voting down of the EU constitution in France represents a resounding defeat not only for the secularist forces of Europe but also for elements of the Vatican apparatus that have been pushing the EU monstrosity for years. Sad to say, Pope John Paul II was himself an ardent backer of the EU, despite Vatican misgivings about the proposed constitution’s failure to mention "the Christian roots" of Europe — as if such window dressing could even begin to address the evil of the pluralist, anti-Catholic state.

        As CWNews observed in 2003 (June 9), the late Pope was "a firm advocate of the entry of the Eastern European countries into the European Union. He has mentioned that ambition frequently during his trips to these Eastern European countries: in Bulgaria in 2002, Ukraine in 2001, Slovenia and Romania in 1999, and Hungary in 1996. The Pontiff has also repeatedly called upon the countries of Western Europe to welcome their Eastern neighbors, saying that their entry into the Union will help to restore the historical patrimony of European culture."

        But this, of course, is a delusion. The once-Catholic countries of Eastern Europe would do absolutely nothing to "restore the historical patrimony of European culture," since they too have been secularized by the dogma of pluralism and the worship of the god of "Liberty" — which is to say, "liberty" from the authority of the Catholic Church.

        So, let us rejoice in the good news of the moment. And let us hope that France, once known as "the eldest daughter of the Church," has (however inadvertently) put an end to the drive to create a massive Leviathan government in Europe that would have stomped out the few remaining traces of former Christendom. Perhaps this is a case of God writing straight with crooked lines, using a fallen nation that was once the exemplar of the Catholic confessional state to begin the long march back to sanity. Now if only Pope Benedict XVI would consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.