By Martin Banks - 4th February 2010
I can foresee a lot of future problems for the EU if Turkey is eventually allowed to join
Marcello Pera
A parliamentary hearing was told that a "rejection" of its Christian heritage has left Europe facing a "spiritual crisis."
Former Italian senate president Marcello Pera also said that Europe's Christian roots were further threatened if Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, became a member of the EU.
He told the hearing on Wednesday, "Europe is currently going through a spiritual crisis, partly because of the rejection of its Christian heritage.
"If we lose this heritage altogether it would make it impossible for Europe to aspire to having a single identity or political unification."
Pera, who co-authored a book on Christianity with the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict), said, "I do not believe Turkey belongs in Europe because its culture, tradition and history is so different from Europe's.
"I can foresee a lot of future problems for the EU if Turkey is eventually allowed to join."
Pera was a keynote speaker in a hearing, called "Unity in Diversity", on the role religious belief should play in society after ratification of the Lisbon treaty.
Another speaker, David Quinn, one of Ireland's leading religious and social affairs commentators, spelled out why Ireland requested guarantees on the treaty.
He said, "After the defeat of Lisbon in 2008, the Irish government discovered that Irish people had concerns about the possible effects of EU law in a number of areas, including family law, the right to life and the rights of religious employers such as schools.
"They were rightly concerned that the EU's anti-discrimination competence could affect these areas and therefore guarantees were sought and granted.
"These give Irish family law, our education law, and the right to life some measure of protection from the misapplication of anti-discrimination directives and the Charter of Fundamental Rights."
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