VATICAN: The draft European Union constitution was criticised yesterday by a Vatican-sanctioned journal which said that failing to mention the continent's Judaeo-Christian roots was a "clear ideological deformation".
In a detailed editorial, Civilta Cattolica also criticised the constitution for not specifically repudiating war as a means of resolving international conflicts and for not allotting enough influence to countries with small populations.
The views of the Jesuit journal are authoritative because its articles are vetted by the Vatican's Secretariat of State to reflect the Holy See's official opinion.
Significantly, until now the Vatican has demanded a reference to Christianity but the editorial broadened it into Judaeo-Christian heritage.
"The generic mention of religious heritage without recognising the unequivocable historic fact of the pre-eminent contribution of Judaeo-Christian tradition in the formation of Europe is without doubt a choice that stems from a clear ideological deformation," the editorial said.
It denounced the omission as "a silence that speaks volumes" and said the problem will not go away. EU governments will meet in Rome on October 4th to start negotiations over the text, aiming to turn the draft into a treaty overhauling the bloc's institutions. The treaty would then need to be ratified by all member-states.
Pope John Paul has waged a campaign to put God into the constitution's preamble.