thank you for your kind comments.

I did think the final sentence of the original article as a bit unfair.

We have our problems in Ireland/Europe, but, God willing, we will survive and see better days.

I did not want to get involved in confrontation, but I do think the EPP is based on European Christian values, to a great extent, and being the largest party in the European Parliament is part of the mainstream and the establishment.

I’m so glad that you contribute regularly to Catholic Lane, because this is definitely a time when European eyes can help us Americans out!

I read your comment before reading the article, so I had the mindset while reading that the article was unfair. Further, I suspect that I am woefully under-informed about European politics, having only lived on two continents, neither of which were Europe.

I can see that you don’t like the final sentence of the article (“Hungary … defends true moral and cultural values against the contemporary “mainstream” … EU establishment”?

It struck me that the article was contrasting Hungary against the ex-communists in Europe who are trying to regain power. Your comment, I beleive, asserts that the EPP shares Hungary’s values.

So trying to pull all this together, does your comment mean that the EPP is the “mainstream”? If Dr. von Krempach had avoided the word “mainstream,” would the article sit better with you?

Orban is a senior member of the EPP, as are many Irish Members of the European Parliament. The whole European Community was, from the beginning, strongly influenced by Christian values and Orban and the EPP are in this tradition.

Please glance at http://www.epp.eu/party.asp?z=5B where you will see:

“The European People’s Party (EPP) is the political family of the centre-right, whose roots run deep in the history and civilisation of the European continent and has pioneered the European project from its inception. Tracing back its roots to Europe’s Founding Fathers – Robert Schuman, Alcide De Garperi, and Konrad Adenauer- EPP is committed to a strong Europe, based on a federal model that relies on the principle of subsidiarity.
Founded in 1976, the EPP strives for a democratic, transparent and efficient Europe that is close to its citizens. EPP wants a prosperous Europe through the promotion of a free market economy with a social consciousness. EPP is the largest political organisation of Europe with … the largest Group in the European Parliament with 271 members. …

Political formations of the centre-right can be tracked back to the early 1920′s…. Their political, journalistic and lobbying activity was focused mainly on fighting Communism, attacking the Soviet Union and liberating and democratising their countries.”

The EPP is the successor of previous Christian center parties and is very much a part of Europe’s Christian tradition. It is part of Europe’s mainstream and establishment.