Slowly but surely the modern-day Holy Roman Empire, the European Union, tightens its hold over its member states. Among the latest steps is the implementation of the EU Arrest Warrant, which came into force on January 1 in eight of the 15 member nations, including Britain.
As the British Church Newspaper reports, “a British citizen can now find himself extradited to a foreign country for actions which are not crimes in Britain. If a foreign judicial official fills in a tick-box form claiming that the citizen is suspected of having committed a crime, a British magistrate now has no legal alternative but to order that person’s immediate arrest and subsequent delivery to a prison in that country. The Warrant thus abolishes the legal requirement, which existed until this year, that a person requesting the arrest of a British citizen had to prove they had sufficient evidence to justify an arrest – that is, a prima facie case.”
It is of concern that the extradition procedure will probably apply to the publishing of material which asserts that faith in Christ is the only way of salvation, or argues against the errors of other religions, or condemns certain sinful lifestyles. This concern is based on the fact that among the listed offences is “xenophobia”, which is defined as holding “religion or belief . . . as factors determining aversion to individuals or groups”. This offence is stated to include “the public dissemination or distribution of tracts or other material containing expressions of xenophobia”.
As we view this very significant stage in the progress of the EU, we do not lose sight of the fact that Rome is operating at the very heart of the Union, despite differences between the Vatican and secular forces in Europe. It seems to us that we are seeing a fulfilment of J A Wylie’s prediction of more than 100 years ago in his work on The Papacy: “Europe is not wide enough to hold both the old Papacy and the young Democracy; and one or other must go to the wall. . . . [The Papacy] must become the living, dominant Papacy once
more. In order that it may exist, it must reign. We may therefore expect to witness some combined and vigorous attempt on the part of Popery to recover its former dominion.” Plainly, that attempt is being made with tireless vigour.
However much more power Rome may regain, it is encouraging that the day is fast approaching when it will be proclaimed that not only the nations of Europe, but also “the kingdoms of this world, are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ” (Rev 11:15). NMR