Europeismo e universalismo tra riflessioni storiche e aspirazioni politiche.

The papacy of John Paul II was characterized by obvious innovations, but also by its strict continuity with predecessors. The ecumenical vocation is the most valuable contribution of the Church to "coexistence", considered not only as a balance of opposing forces, but as the acceptance of universal ethical principles on which human society was to be based. The universality of human rights, and human nature shared by all, are at the centre of the reflections of Pope John Paul II and are the necessary premise for his initiatives and respect for the coexistence of different cultures, both within Western liberal states and developing countries, in the sign of the substantial unity of mankind. His idea of Europe, not different from that of the founding fathers, his commitment to the unification and the formation of a European consciousness lie in his universal vision of political reality.