Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Leeds (Fides Service) - The event - a four-day assembly of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) at Hinsley Hall, Leeds - was the biggest gathering of senior Catholic bishops in Britain since the Synod of Whitby in 664, more than 1,300 years ago. In a message to the meeting, Pope John Paul II said he would pray that "you will guide your respective peoples to rediscover their common spiritual roots and the enduring wisdom of their Christian heritage". The Holy Father also said he knows that "your commitment to a new evangelisation is an act of faith in the perennial value of the Gospel, which in the history of the peoples of Europe has produced abundant fruits of holiness, education, culture and civilisation".
The Pope added: "By your witness believers will be strengthened in their own specific identity and hence capable of building together 'a Christian culture ready to evangelise the larger culture in which we live'."
The main issues discussed by the meeting included Christianity's significance in Europe today; ecumenism; the churches and the European Constitution; a Third Ecumenical Assembly; co-operation between bishops' conferences; and CCEE projects, particularly in the areas of evangelisation and pastoral strategy.
Bishop Amédée Grab, CCEE President, set the tone for the discussions with two questions: How do others see us? And how do we see ourselves? He argued that if the answers were very different, it posed a serious communications challenge for the Church. The Church is often perceived as being in competition with secular culture. The Church is seen as one of many possible spiritual alternatives. People often think it has a vision of life opposed to the ethical values embodied today by medical research and there is a tendency for faith to be confined to the private sphere rather than having a public role. Bishop Grab said: "We are fully, but not exclusively, citizens of this world. This world's values are not enough for us - yet we do not despise them or look down on our culture. Our culture is the context for our mission, and the more we understand and respect it, the less of a problem there will be with our work for this culture and for those who live it… Our challenge: to belong to two societies at one and the same time."
Archbishop Jean Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux, introduced the main theme: the significance and role of Christianity in Europe today. He pointed out that there are moral toxins which Europe has to fight and reject for the sake of its harmonious development: the slide into secularisation, with the phenomena of individualisation and mass production; the tendency to consider religion as a hindrance; and the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism. Archbishop Ricard also spelt out the ways in which the presence of the Church can be a richness for European society: in defending the dignity of each and every person and family, and especially those most in need such as the poor; creating a distinct and proper relationship between politics and religion; forming a truly ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue; and bringing about a culture of solidarity in a Europe truly open to the world. Three practical engagements were formulated: to strengthen the dialogue with contemporary culture; to look for a closer dialogue with the Islamic communities in Europe especially in universities; and to campaign for the defence of Sunday as a day dedicated to God.
The Anglican Primate of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams stressed the importance of "spiritual ecumenism" which comes from recognising that we all belong to the Body of Christ and seeing one another as "a gift". He spoke of the drive within the Church of England for a "mission-shaped Church", dedicated to evangelising and giving a new shape to society. Churches have a responsibility to contribute to the development of society.
A report on the activities of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (ComECE) opened a discussion on a range of the European Union policy issues of interest to the Church: the constitutional treaty; the Lisbon strategy; migration-related issues; the forthcoming European Commission report on Turkey; bioethical issues that arise in research policy. A key issue is the question of evangelisation and of dialogue with other Churches, religions, beliefs and cultures. For this reason a CCEE commission on "evangelisation and dialogue" is being set up. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 5/10/2004; Righe 42; Parole 566)For more information see http://www.ccee.ch
