Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
San Petersburg (Agenzia Fides) - For the first time ever, the Presidents of Europe’s 34 bishops’ conferences met in Russia, in Saint Petersburg, from 4th - 8th October 2006. “We have come here from all over Europe to express to you and the Catholics who live in this great country our deepest communion and friendship”, said Bishop Amédée Grab, the outgoing president of CCEE, at the beginning of the meeting.
In his message to the presidents, Benedict XVI expressed his hope that the meeting “might encourage the witness and contribution the Catholic Church can make, in brotherly co-operation with the other Christian confessions, to the identity and the common good of Europe, as the vanguard of authentic humanism and as a messenger of that just and lasting peace that only Christ can give”.
Patriarch Alexij II said in his letter to those taking part: “I sincerely hope that the present Assembly of the Council of Bishops' Conference in Europe will become another step on the way of developing co-operation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in preaching and affirming Christian values which the world of today needs so badly”.
CCEE’s new presidency for the period 2006-2011 was elected in the course of the meeting. Cardinal Pèter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary, was elected president and Cardinals Josip Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, and Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux, were elected vice-presidents.
Bishop Joseph Werth of the Catholic diocese of the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Russian Federation, bore witness to the fact that the history of the Church in Russia in the 20th century has been smeared with the blood of the martyrs. “The future of Russia and of its spiritual rebirth depend on the conditions and possibilities of the Church. We need to take advantage from this moment in history, which God has given us”, said Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, the metropolitan archbishop of the Catholic diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow. The first ecclesiastical structures of the Catholic Church in what is now the Russian federation date back to the 13th century. In Russia there are now about 250 official Catholic organisations, 225 of which are parishes. About 270 priests work in Russia, but only 10% are Russians. There are about 600.000 Catholics (some research indicates that it could be as much as 1% of the population, which would make the figure more like 1.400.000). Saint Petersburg is a place where ecumenical relationships are very positive. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin of the Moscow Patriarchate stressed that there is growing interest in religion and spirituality in Russia, even amongst young people. During the era of persecution, ecumenical co-operation was very strong. In more recent times there have been some difficulties, but that does not have to block dialogue. It is possible to re-create a spirit of brotherhood and to face problems without aggression and to co-operate more on areas of mutual concern like Christian values, the family and young people.
The election of the CCEE presidency was a good occasion for reflecting seriously on the service offered by CCEE, which is 35 years old in 2006. Europe is living through a period of lively transition which requires us to be firm in faith and to listen carefully to “what the Spirit is saying to the churches”. One can feel the urgent expectation of a rediscovery of Christian faith and of a fresh proclamation of the Gospel. The need for the European bishops to speak with a single voice in the face of some historic challenger is ever clearer: the phenomenon of migration, the relationships between religions, particularly with Muslims, the family, ethical questions related to life.
The vocations situation is different in Western and Eastern Europe. In the past, Western Europe provided a great number of vocations and offered the world many missionaries, but now it is living through a serious crisis. Young people in Western Europe are affected, on the one hand, by broken marriages, by isolation, by subjectivism, by a lack of guides, by the primacy of emotions, by a reluctance to make permanent choices, by the difficulty of accepting that pain exists; on the other hand, they are looking for radical choices, ideals, authenticity, personal love for Jesus Christ. Other topics for discussion were marriage and the family, ecumenical progress and Europe’s responsibility for the other continents. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 10/9/2006, righe 46, parole 648)
