On the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist, in a crowded, superbly baroque Kaisersaal (Imperial Hall) in a Cistercian monastery near Vienna, Heiligenkreuz Abbey, the St. Thomas More Award was bestowed on the former Italian minister for EU Affairs and Cultural Assets and Activities, Prof. Dr. h.c. Rocco Buttiglione, by Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein.
Recipients of this prize are chosen for their public stance in favor and defense of the highest ideals of justice and truth, as exemplified by St. Thomas More. The prize is sponsored by the Old Order of St. George (Alter Orden vom hl. Georg), a lay order of knights based in Austria. Recipients of the prize are given a solid silver medal with the image of St. Thomas More on the front, and a depiction of St. George on a horse slaying the dragon, on the back.
In addition to Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein, other dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Count Peter zu Stolberg-Stolberg and His Eminence Cardinal Peter Erdö, Archbishop of Budapest and Primate of Hungary.
In his speech, Buttiglione appealed for European unity. He noted that the European people should feel themselves a united people, despite their different nationalities. He emphasized national sovereignty and pointed out that identity is always rooted in history, culture, and the knowledge of one’s people. He cited an English lord who told him that Europe will never be a united people because they do not have a proper demos—a nation in the simple sense. In response, Buttiglione answered that unifying elements should encourage every individual to seek out unity and foster the will to be united. This is crucial in bringing Europe together. It is also this will that leads the individual to seek out his own history, his nation’s history, and the rich cultural heritage that formed his identity and social image.
In prepared remarks, Buttiglione said that he experienced how “God touched the world” when Pope John Paul II woke the nations under Communism from their fateful “slumber.” He said that the Pope’s voice started a movement that would lead to a lessening of Communism’s grip on power in many nations. After what had been coined “Eurosclerosis,” a new impetus for unity arose. Communist rule was destroyed by non-violent resistance, and Germany was later reunited. What seemed impossible became reality: “enthusiasm had seized the souls of the Europeans;” the unity of Europe was made possible by the Christian values that undergirded the nations within it.
But these values were never incorporated into a European constitution, Buttiglione noted. Europe decided not to constitute itself as a people. Thus, this project lost the ground under its feet.
Years later, after the financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe is divided anew. Poland, Hungary, and other nations are ostracized. Buttiglione calls on Europe to act as a people “composed of many nations to protect our values and prosperity in a dangerous environment,” and further admonished:
Are we still capable of doing so? Will God give us once again the enthusiasm that leads many nations to a political unity, and at the same time the unity that comes without touching their cultural sovereignty and distinctiveness? Already once we wasted this gift of God.
The St. Thomas More prize is underpinned by the pro-European and anti-communist thinking of John Paul II. Using the principle of Motu Proprio (Latin for ‘on his own impulse’), John Paul II announced St. Thomas More as the patron of people in government and politicians on October 31, 2000. Nominees must personify Christian values and convictions in the fields of politics, science, and the public sphere.
Rocco Buttiglione was born in 1948 and served as an Italian minister, scientific assistant (1972-86), and philosophy professor in Rome and Urbino from 1986-94. He also taught and led the International Academy of Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein until 1994. Political philosophy, economics, and social sciences are his main fields of interest. In the years following 1994, he served in the Italian Senate and the European Parliament.
The culmination of his career—and at the same time its most tragic moment—was his nomination to the vice presidency of the European Commission in 2004. During his interview for the office, he clearly stated his conviction that natural law existed, yet expressed his respect for the different opinions of others, as he was a Catholic and open to universality. His insistence on the existence of the ius natural led the Commission to turn down his bid for the office of vice president.
The Old Order of St. George, also called the Order of the Four Emperors, is an ancient lay knightly order, founded in the 14th century by Emperor Heinrich VII and Carl IV. The perennial ideal of the order is the strengthening of Christianity and knightly virtues. Dr. Otto of Habsburg was for over 40 years, until his death in 2011, Patron of the Order. The two patron saints of the Order are St. George and St. Thomas More.
