European liberals, realizing they are up against a stoically conservative pope intent on returning Europe to cultural and political recognition of its Roman Catholic roots, are becoming increasingly aggressive in their efforts.

Deeply disturbed by Pope Benedict’s intransigence on succumbing to their liberalizing efforts, the secularists are active on two fronts—denigration of the Vatican through press publicity of the venal sins of the priesthood, and legal efforts to remove religious imagery from public places.

In one such move, the liberal secularist push in Europe, in an effort to quash the power of religion over the minds of the people, obtained a favorable ruling from the European Court last November on the matter of the public display of the Catholic crucifix. This decision has resulted in a considerable backlash from European Catholics, with powerful support from the Vatican.

Associated Press recently reported:

An emotional debate over crucifixes in classrooms is opening a new crack in European unity.It all started in a small town in northern Italy, where Finnish-born Soile Lautsi was so shocked by the sight of crosses above the blackboard in her children’s public school classroom that she called a lawyer to see if she could get them removed.Her case went all the way to Europe’s highest court—and her victory has set up a major confrontation between traditional Catholic and Orthodox countries and nations in the north that observe a strict separation between church and state. Italy and more than a dozen other countries are fighting the European Court of Human Rights ruling, contending the crucifix is a symbol of the continent’s historic and cultural roots.”This is a great battle for the freedom and identity of our Christian values,” said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

But it’s not only Romish loyalists who are backing an appeal against the European court’s ruling. Orthodox Christian countries including Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Bulgaria and even Russia are supporting an appeal against the court’s decision.

AP noted that Gregor Puppinck, director of the Christian lobbying group European Center for Law and Justice, has stated that “The support from so many other countries—we are talking here about a third of the membership of the Council of Europe—has given the case great political significance.”

With such wide-ranging international support for the European court’s ruling to be overturned, the EU legal eagles will need to think twice before bringing down their final verdict due for decision this autumn.

This is patently a test case for Benedict’s efforts, in the tradition of his predecessor, John Paul ii, to gain the support of the European Union for public recognition of Europe’s cultural tradition founded on the religion of Rome.

With the Catholic Church having 2,000 years of history dominating the Continent, the liberal secularists are doomed to failure in their aggressive efforts to dethrone Benedict and his religion from its continuing powerful influence behind the scenes in the EU. In particular, they underestimate the strength of the connection that links Europe’s powerful elites with Rome. Regardless of any court decision, ultimately it is they who really pull the strings in crafting the great dream of European unification.

One thing is guaranteed: Rome will be the ultimate winner in this tussle between European secularists and the Vatican. How can we be so sure of this outcome? Read our booklet Daniel Unlocks Revelation for the answer.