The West must prioritize Christ and the Church, not tech or GDP.
On February 14, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a speech at the annual Munich Security Conference in which he expressed the United States’ desire to stand with Europe.
Rubio spoke in solidarity with Europe in upholding our common Western Heritage while remaining firm against mass migration, economic exploitation and cultural shame. He also highlighted the common bonds of history, culture and Christian identity that have united the U.S. and Europe, referring to the U.S. as “a child of Europe,” while saying that “America is charting the path for a new century of prosperity” and that the U.S. wants to do it with Europe, “our cherished allies and our oldest friends.”
Rubio warned that Europe is threatened economically due to its former “handing control of […] critical supply chains to both adversaries and rivals” and that it must “reindustrialize” to take back control of its industry and prosper into the 21st century. He also called on Europe to “regain control of…national borders” due to the mass migration which has plagued Europe with cultural crises and crime and caused political controversy.
Besides the borders, Rubio called for Europe to protect the “national sovereignty” of each of its nations against harmful and misguided globalism. With the U.S., Europe needs its institutions to be “reformed” and “rebuilt” to protect its economies, borders and national interests in order to “revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history.”
Rubio’s speech shows support for Christianity’s prominence due to many references to “Christian faith” and “Christianity.” When commenting about Western Civilization, he says that the U.S. and Europe are “bound to one another” by “centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made together.”
He credits Europe as the place where the “vaulted ceilings of the Sistine Chapel and the towering spires of the great cathedral in Cologne” testify to a “faith in God.” In a speech which calls on unity and pride in the glories of the West, Rubio rightly shows how Christianity is an important part of Europe and America’s heritage. He alludes to God’s Providence throughout the centuries in the expansion by “missionaries, [and] its pilgrims”.
From a Catholic perspective, however, Rubio posits principles and goals for the future of Western Civilization that neglect internal issues that threaten the West’s identity more than external ones, and also run contrary to Catholic principles.
Although Western nations are threatened by weak economies, migration and harmful globalism, they are also in danger from internal moral and social decline, and from a loss of Catholic identity.
Western countries have been suffering for years from declining birth rates due to the loss of a “culture of life,” driven by contraception and abortion. There is also the threat of radical sexual and gender ideologies which are supported in the education systems and government policies of Europe and the U.S. Finally, the priorities of Western nations are not moral living, spiritual growth or cultural flourishing, but instead the growth and flourishing of technology and wealth.
Rubio referenced political and economic success frequently in his speech, and expressed these priorities, saying, “The alliance that we want is one that is not paralyzed into inaction by fear […] and the only fear we have is the fear of the shame of not leaving our nations prouder, stronger and wealthier for our children.” For Rubio, pride, strength and wealth are the greatest assets, not faith, family, and morality.
As Secretary of State, it would be imprudent for Marco Rubio to publicly state purely Catholic ideals as the goals of international security; there are other ways for Catholic teaching to be implemented in policies and governments.
On the other hand, it is a shame that Christian identity, morality and culture are not more expressly prioritized, because they risk becoming mere features of Western Civilization among many, instead of remaining its backbone. There would be no point in nations defending the West from external threats if there is rotting and decline in its Christian soul.