Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Belgrade (Fides Service) - At the same time that the inhabitants of the 25 nations of the European Union were going to the polls for the election of Members of the European Parliament, the General Secretaries of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe were meeting in Belgrade10-13 June 2004. The main theme of the meeting: the role of Christianity and the Churches in Europe today.
The News Release, sent to Fides, speaks of signs suggesting that now is the time of a new discovery and proposal of the Gospel for our continent: the debate about the Christian roots of Europe, the confusion and fear in the face of terrorism, the perception of a complete lack of foundations, the new search for meaning and spirituality, the spread of ambiguous, irrational, sectarian, alternative religious experiences…
The shift to the eastern end of economic and political Europe points to a new great task: the exchange between traditions and histories to overcome once and for all the scheme of an ‘East’ and ‘West’ Europe. The need to face up to modern culture and the phenomena of secularisation and secularity is urgent. In the West there is already a long experience of this, even though in part it has failed; for the East, it is a new, emerging question. One of the secretaries from the West asked if in certain countries the Church has not become partly secularised; for the secretaries from Eastern Europe the crucial questions are: under Communism Christians were marginalised and humiliated - will it be thus in the European Union, too? Will faith be forced to remain a private matter in the new Europe, too? The founding fathers of the idea of Europe were Christians, but what is happening now? A real exchange of gifts is possible: the West can offer to the East its own experience of how to live as Christians in a secularised society and the East can help the West to recover its lost values.
The participants also reflected on the relationship between the Church and the European institutions, with special reference to the constitutional treaty and ethical questions. The theme of the relationship between Christianity, secularity and religions caused a lively debate. It is one thing to talk about a secular view which rejects the role of religion, but it is something else to talk about the secularity which is an expression of the relationship between Church and state; this latter is a more authentic view. There was a presentation on the symbolic experience in France, where the clear separation between Church and state does not mean indifference between the two. However, the saga of legislation about wearing veils has shown the limits and weakness of this lay model. What also emerged was the question as to why, in some nations with a Catholic majority, we find ourselves with governments or indirect systems which seem particularly prejudiced against the Church. In a lay society the Church must be capable of listening to the questions that exist and find a language in which to reply and, above all, to witness to and proclaim the Gospel which is “Good News” for everyone.
The Belgrade meeting was also a significant ecumenical experience. On Saturday 12 June the General Secretaries were welcomed in a fraternal manner by Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church and on Sunday 13 June the participants were guests at Kovilj Orthodox Monastery, welcomed by Bishop Irinej of Novi Sad. The Secretaries discussed the ecumenical situation throughout Europe: it is important to launch a process giving fresh impetus to the ecumenical journey. For a Third European Ecumenical Assembly it is necessary to clarify the aim and method and to raise awareness about the event.
The Secretaries examined projects within CCEE’s agenda to increase collaboration between the Episcopal Conferences. In November 2004 there will be a Symposium of African and European Bishops aimed at deepening their shared pastoral responsibilities in the face of the great challenges of evangelisation, poverty, and peace. CCEE intends to examine closely its own service in the field of culture, universities and schools. One new project is the establishment of a commission for evangelisation and dialogue which will study and coordinate relationships with Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, alternative religions, and cultures. In the course of the meeting there was also a snap-shot presentation of the initiatives from the Bishops’ Conferences on the theme of the family.(S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 16/6/2004; Righe 44; Parole 612)
