June 21, 2006: According to Otto von Habsburg, religious faith in western Europe faces greater dangers than it did previously in the countries of eastern Europe. Habsburg, who was for many years a delegate to the European Parlament in Strasbourg, made his comments last weekend during a panel discussion held as part of the convention "Treffpunkt Weltkirche" ["universal church: meeting place"] held in Augsburg, Germany. According to Habsburg, the EU's newest members from eastern Europe can be of service by performing "missionary work" in western Europe.

Habsburg sees prosperity in western Europe as having provided a freedom that robs people of their real freedom: "We have a largely dechristianized society. Today attempts are made to criminalize, to marginalize or to silence those people who stand up for Christian ideals." He emphasized the importance of "standing up for one's own principles and being willing to do battle." Habsburg was critical of the Roman Catholic Church for being too passive. "We have professional Catholics, who don't live for, but from the church," as he put it.

Habsburg's remarks on prohibiting the Muslim head covering, an ongoing topic in Germany, may have surprised some listeners. "I am absolutely against it," he said and referred to former Pope John Paul II as having been one of the first to speak out on the issue. "It won't hurt us at all," he added, seeing himself in line with the pope's position. Habsburg also defended American president George W. Bush's stand on the question of legalizing same-sex marriages: "It is not acceptable for us to institutionalize something that wrecks marriage." Interestingly, eastern European countries are much more conservative on this issue than their western European neighbors.

Habsburg sees a reference to God in the EU constitution as the big contemporary battle. According to him, the roots of the conflict on this issue date back to World War II. Habsburg supports the introduction of a resolution to change the wording of the treaty's text from simply referring to Christian values. "We have to talk about God. It's God that matters and not just some values. We have to dare to do something that others have been doing a long time – public profession. We have to speak up publicly." According to Habsburg, there are too many Christians who are afraid to show their colors. He wants more openness, since it is not enough to be "well behaved in the background," since "that isn't what we are called to do."