Giovanni Paolo II e l’Europa
John Paul II and Europe

Summary/Abstract: In his article entitled ‘Una frontiera per l’Europa: dove?’ (The boundary of Europe: where is it located?), published in Vita e Pensiero (October 1978), a monthly periodical disseminated by the Catholic University in Milan, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła presented the significance of such concepts and ideas as Europe, being a European,Europeaness, the West and the East. These concepts were a fruit of a longer period of reflection which was born in a culture that was almost unknown for Western Europe until then. This essay constituted a sort of a basis of a richer and more multi‑faceted concept which began to emerge in the first months of the long pontificate in the religious, cultural and political perspective. John Paul II’s ideas concerning Europe derived from other cultural roots than the ones of his predecessors in the seat of the Holy See who had a Western European background. These ideas originated from the experience of a son of one of the nations that were persecuted in Central‑Eastern Europe who referred to the right of joint creation of Europe and presence in Europe. Such rights could not be rejected by history. The promotion of the importance of Slavic peoples and their Christian experiences constitutes a key element of the entire political project of Pope John Paul II whose final goal was to unite the European continent. By anticipating the political and institutional changes of 1989, this vision aimed to prepare the nations of Central‑Eastern Europe for these changes, and eventually it proved victorious. John Paul II’s concept of Europe was equally cultural as it was political. The thought and the awareness of the Church concerning Europe became enriched in an unprecedented way thanks to the Pope’s versatile magisterium. We may say that John Paul II had his own project of Europe. Thanks to the groundbreaking events in international politics, which were brought about himself to a large extent, the late Pope could live till the day that his ideas were at least partly realized.

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