Russian Church’s response to the text of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights

RUSSIAN CHURCH’S RESPONSE TO THE TEXT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia sent on December 14 letters to Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece and the Pope of Rome John Paul II, setting forth some considerations which emerged after he examined the text of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights (http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/unit/charte/pdf/charter_en.pdf), which was declared by the European Council at its meeting on December 7 in Nice. Similar letters have been sent by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, to the Russian Foreign Minister I. S. Ivanov and the Conference of European Churches General Secretary Rev. Keith Clements.

These letters, prompted by the adoption of the Charter, which can become one of the basis of the constitution of the united Europe, have also been motivated by the concern for a possible reaction to this document on the part of the faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church. Many of them live in countries that have already become candidates for membership in the European Union. When the Charter was drafted, the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches, as well as the Conference of European Churches already expressed some critical remarks on the document. In these letters the Holy Authorities of the Russian Church also expressed hope for solidarity and further common efforts for improving the European international law.

His Holiness stated in his letters that “While recognizing that the Charter has a considerable positive significance as it seals many vital human rights including a wide range of economic and social rights, I am compelled to draw your attention to a number of weak points of the document. First of all I should note that the spiritual and moral foundations of the human dignity have been expressed insufficiently and the moral responsibility of a person and the need for him to realize his obligations as bound up with his rights are actually ignored. The Preamble of the Charter, as has been noted by representatives of Christian Churches and organizations on many occasions, ignores Europe’s religious heritage, emphasizing only the role of humanistic values, which are not absolute priorities for an integral religious outlook.

There are also more particular but no less important remarks to make. Article 21 of the Charter 21 forbids ‘discrimination on any grounds’, including religion, ‘political or other opinion’ and ‘sexual orientation’. The literary understanding and radical application of this principle by a state may come into insurmountable conflict with the statutes of the Church and many other religious communities who are guided in their internal life by the religious law that has been honored by believers above any human law. The same is true for the provision of Article 23 presupposing the equality of sexes in employment. I believe that the application of these principles should be counterbalanced by measures to reinforce the non-interference of the state in the internal affairs of religious organizations, which are formed on voluntary basis and cannot therefore be a source of discrimination in the above-mentioned cases. We do not recognize divisions on the ground of ‘sexual orientation’ as rooted in the human nature. Therefore, the inclusion of this ground in Article 21 appears utterly unjustified.

Article 13 actually urges to lift up any restrictions from various forms of artistic self-expression, which, as is well known, can be used for bad purposes and can serve as a means to fan up political and other strife and even offend religious, national and other feelings. Restrictions are also lifted up from scientific research, which can also promote wicked purposes and interests. Apparently, a more balanced and responsible approach to these issues needs to be worked out, prompted by the real life circumstances.

There are also other reasons for concern, such as the denial of a number political, economic and social rights to those who are not EU member states, while such people make up a considerable part of the population in some candidate states and have no opportunity for obtaining citizenship quickly”.