The Nationalism of Exclusion
Parties with nationalist agendas have been able to increase their popularity throughout Europe. This became particularly evident in the European elections in May 2014.
Justice and Peace Europe, the association of 31 national Justice and Peace commissions, now wishes to address this phenomenon in its annual ‘concerted action’.
On the occasion of the launch of the joint initiative, that started on Ash Wednesday, Luxembourg’s Archbishop, Jean-Claude Hollerich, the President of Justice and Peace Europe, said:
“Simple slogans and cheap propaganda at the expense of immigrants and against the EU may have their impact on some people who are worried about their future, however, they are not a response to the complex challenges of our times.
“To these no simple solutions exist. Plain and simple, on the contrary, are the goals of these parties and movements: political and economic power. But they do not serve the poor, the weak and the really disadvantaged people.”
A jointly produced text entitled The Nationalism of Exclusion will be submitted to politicians and policy-makers. The text calls upon organisations of civil society and Churches to “speak out against and question all expressions of nationalist rhetoric in private and in public life”. It also holds that “the Christian vision of universal justice and peace does not allow for any kind of chauvinism”.
The General Secretariat of Justice and Peace Europe based in Brussels also provided the national commissions with an action plan that inter alia invites them to discuss and assess the programmes and methods of nationalist and xenophobic parties.
You can download the full three-page declaration below and to the right of this page.
The Conference of European Justice and Peace Commissions (Justice and Peace Europe) is a European network of 31 national Justice and Peace commissions which were established and recognised by their respective Bishops´Conferences. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council´s Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, they are committed to the promotion of global social justice and universal peace.
The General Secretariat of Justice and Peace Europe has been based in Brussels since the conclusion of a strategic partnership with the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE).
