Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Fatima ( Fides Service) - “Men and women Religious, with trust in the life of the Spirit and in the Church can be present where new paths are being traced for Europe. This is an urgent call to build Europe after God’s own heart”. This statement was issued at the end of the 12th general assembly of Union of European Conferences of Religious Major Superiors held 6 to 12 February in Fatima (see Fides 2/2/2006). The meeting of which the slogan was “Religious life today: our spiritual life and the challenges facing Europe”, brought together delegates from 42 conferences or unions of men and women Major Superiors representing 400,000 religious all over the continent.
In the final message addressed to men and women Religious, the Superiors say Europe faces many challenges which prompt “hope and creativity but can also fear, resignation and discouragement”. These challenges concern everyone but Religious in particular because they concern the essential and most precious gift, life and its meaning, the dignity of every man and woman and justice and peace. In this sense men and women religious must “realise the riches of religious life”, the resources it possesses and from which it must draw. The message underlines the primacy of God: “the experience of prayer and contemplation renders us witnesses of the faith to a world in search of meaning, frequently without hope and certainty for the future."
Community life helps Religious “welcome diversity… it is a call to overcome individualism, it leads to solidarity with other communities and other cultures” . Another important aspect of religious life are the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience which “orient our deepest desires rendering us capable of loving and serving”. Vows also “free us from the temptation to exercise our power over others and to work to defend the dignity of every human person, especially the most disadvantaged, in the face of modern day slavery”. Other values which emerge in religious life are reconciliation “a fruit of an experience of dialogue, truth and humility” and the importance of being open to God who calls Christians to “recognise the hopes and expectations of a Europe which is rebuilding and is searching for its soul”. The message concludes with a call to live the respective founders’ charisma “to meet the most urgent needs of our day, especially those of young people who are the future of Europe”. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 20/2/2006 - righe 28, parole 413)
