Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Baar (Fides Service) - The Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) organised a seminar 25-28 March for representatives of Bishops’ Conferences on “alternative” religions in Europe, including New Age groups, meditation and healing therapies, new religious movements outside or parallel to the Christian tradition, and religious groups that have come into Europe from other continents. The Swiss Catholic Working Group on New Religious Movements also contributed generously to the meeting. 24 people represented 19 European Bishops’ Conferences; they included theologians and philosophers, a canon lawyer, a psychologist, and several people who work full-time in this area, some in the area of research and others in counselling centres. The Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Inter-religious Dialogue were also represented.
The preparation of the document Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life, published in February 2003 by the two Pontifical Councils represented, was presented by Mgr. Peter Fleetwood (CCEE Secretariat), and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata (Secretary, Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue). It was a “provisional report”, and there is to be a consultation on the responses to it in Rome later in 2004. Mr. Richard Rouse (Pontifical Council for Culture) spoke of the working document (Instrumentum Laboris) that had been discussed at the Council’s recent Plenary Assembly. One of its conclusions, based on responses to a questionnaire on unbelief in the world today, was that unbelief does not really figure in Africa, Asia and the Muslim world. The point was made that it is rare in North America as well: unbelief is a distinctly European phenomenon.
Professor Martin Baumann (University of Lucerne) described the varied situation of Asian religions in Europe, above all Buddhism and Hinduism. Factors like colonial history explain the size and location of some communities, but the numbers of European converts (mainly to Buddhism) makes the picture more complex. Dr. Benjamin Simon (University of Heidelberg) gave three models for the development (ecclesiogenesis) of African religious groups in Europe, suggesting that they interact with local (ecumenical) ventures according to the stage they have reached in establishing an identity. Fr. Joachim Müller (Swiss Catholic Working Group on New Religious Movements) described the religious landscape in German-speaking Europe, particularly Switzerland, offering a kind of “thermometer” for diagnosing whether membership of religious groups makes people healthy or otherwise. Several people gave reports on the situation in their home areas, some with extensive documentation.
A friendly but serious atmosphere allowed free discussion on issues like the best way of responding to inquiries about particular therapies, what the Church needs to do to understand why people find spiritual satisfaction in particular groups, and proposing appropriate policies, and the need to capitalise on Christianity’s rich mystical tradition. Participants focused throughout on the service they can give to the Bishops’ Conferences that sent them, and offered them a few recommendations. It seems crucial to recognise the effects of “alternative” religions on the culture being evangelised, and experts ought to be consulted on this. Participants recommended a flexible but regular system of communicating as a group, which could also benefit smaller countries with fewer resources and keep them ‘in the loop’. They hoped there could be further seminars like this one, and thanked CCEE for what some referred to as a “really fascinating” meeting. (SL) (Fides Service 31/3/2004 EM lines 46 Words: 561)
