Real politics, at last?

摘要

Among the roots of British wariness of the European Union, according to the late Hugo Young, was suspicion that it was all a "Catholic conspiracy, orchestrated from the Vatican". That prejudice, the writer maintained, was held by many prominent Britons, including Margaret Thatcher, It is true that many of the moving spirits of post-war European integration-Konrad Adenauer, Jacques Delors, Alcide de Gasperi and Robert Schuman-were devout Catholics. Their faith gave them a strong sense of the cultural and religious ties between Europeans that transcend national boundaries. The European flag of 12 yellow stars on a blue background also owes something to Catholicism. Arsene Heitz, who designed it in 1955, recently told Lourdes magazine that his inspiration had been the reference in the Book of Revelation, the New Testament's final section, to "a woman clothed with the sun...and a crown of twelve stars on her head."