Italy has trouble accepting the EU's secular identity

Editorialist Gian Enrico Rusconi seizes upon the comment by Italy's new president, Giorgio Napolitano, that "Italy has no future without the Union." Rusconi singles out the Italian anomaly in a Europe founded on secular principles. "Do Italian citizens need a specific moral protectorate? Here in Italy, we take for granted the existence of some 'moral majority' embodied by a Church that considers itself authorised - for our own good, of course - to impose its judgments and its criteria. ... The day is not far off when the Union will open up - in a logical trend towards universal citizenship - to nations and cultures that have not lived through experiences such as the Enlightenment or liberalism. Turkey's possible membership in the Union is a case in point. ... This Europe will not wave any particular religious flags. It will be secular, even if it is able to recognise its Christian roots."

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