Remarkable events are taking place in Europe. Yet most people in America, Canada, Australia, Britain and other countries around the world are too busy and focused on too many things to notice. Developments in Europe are going to have a dramatic effect on the world in the future. We need to understand why these are occurring and where they are leading, because even experts in international relations are going to be surprised by events that will occur in the years just ahead.

The search for peace is a major concern in the world today. People pray for peace. They light candles for peace. They march in the streets and stage demonstrations to promote peace and prevent war. Yet, strife, violence, and war continue. Is there a reason? Why have the concerted efforts of intelligent human beings for more than a century failed to find a lasting peace between nations and peoples?

In July of 2003, the Vatican approved the release of Pope John Paul's proposed Decalogue for constructing a new Europe—10 points the Catholic Church has formulated to guide the current efforts to unify Europe. The document carries the theme of "Ecclesia in Europe" [the Church in Europe] and expresses the papal hope that Europeans will build a "Europe of values" and not just a "Europe of merchants."

How difficult would it be, currently, for terrorists to get their hands on enough radioactive material for a dirty bomb? According to a recent article by Carrie Dahlberg in the Sacramento Bee: "Despite fears that radioactive material could be shaped into a dirty bomb, hundreds of radioactive products are for sale through catalogs, Web sites and suppliers to anyone with a license to own them."

Many people want to change their lives, but they simply don't know how to do it. Change is frightening, and there is a fear of the unknown that often makes people cling to old behaviors, no matter how bad those behaviors are. People don't know how to go about changing their lives, even though there are many changes that people often want to make.