All thinkers

Ruler / statesman · Contemporary

Ven. Robert Schuman

1886–1963 · Christian Democracy; European reconciliation

Venerable Latin

French Foreign Minister and Prime Minister; declared Venerable 2021.

A Lorrainer, lawyer and daily Mass-goer, who as French Foreign Minister proposed the Schuman Declaration (9 May 1950) creating the European Coal and Steel Community, so that war between France and Germany would become “not merely unthinkable but materially impossible.” He held that democracy “will be Christian or it will not exist” and that Europe's unity must rest on its Christian soul, not on economics alone.

Why he matters: A Father of Europe whose heroic virtue the Church has recognized; the model of a Christian statesman building reconciliation on forgiveness, subsidiarity and the common good.

Reading

  • For Europe (Pour l'Europe)
    Robert Schuman · His own short statement of the European idea.
    Journal
  • Robert Schuman: Father of Europe
    Margriet Krijtenburg · A study of his political philosophy and faith.
    Journal
  • The Schuman Declaration (9 May 1950)
    Robert Schuman · The founding text of the European project.
    Journal

Documented positions

Where this thinker stands on each dispute the test covers.

Settled teaching Its center Open question Beyond teaching, not condemned Condemned error
I

God and Being · What is, and whence it is.

Is the world governed by purpose? Providence and final causes
Chance and mechanism Providence and final causes
II

Faith, Reason and Truth · How we know, and whom we trust.

Are the world's learning and arts a danger or a gift? A gift to be baptized
A danger: Athens has nothing to do with Jerusalem A gift to be baptized
III

The Human Person · Soul, body, freedom and the Fall.

Person and community Between
Individualism Collectivism
IV

The Moral Life · Law, virtue, conscience and the good.

Is morality objective and knowable? Natural law
Relativism Natural law
VI

Church and Society · Authority, the state, wealth and the nation.

Church and state Social kingship of Christ
Laicism Social kingship of Christ
The economic order Between
Socialism Laissez-faire capitalism
Where does authority come from? Authority from God
Social contract Authority from God
Reform or tradition? Guided by tradition
Remake by reason Guided by tradition
The nation and the Church Nation does not matter
Nation or race first Nation does not matter
May the state restrain false religion? Civil liberty for every religion
The confessional state: error has no rights Civil liberty for every religion
Which form of government best suits a Christian people? Democracy and participation
Monarchy and hierarchy Democracy and participation
May a Christian take up the sword? Never: the way of the Cross is nonviolence
Never: the way of the Cross is nonviolence Yes: war can be just and sometimes a duty
VII

Worship, Prayer and the Two Lungs · Liturgy, icons, the Spirit, and the See of Peter.

Contemplation or action? Action: the apostolate and the works of mercy
Action: the apostolate and the works of mercy Contemplation: the one thing needful

A profile of your philosophical and theological leanings, measured against the settled teaching of the Catholic Church, East and West. It is a tool for examination and reading, not an instrument of judgment.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam.