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POST-SYNODAL
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
ECCLESIA IN EUROPA OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO THE BISHOPS MEN AND WOMEN IN THE CONSECRATED LIFE AND ALL THE
LAY FAITHFUL ON JESUS CHRIST ALIVE IN HIS CHURCH
THE SOURCE OF HOPE FOR EUROPE |
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INTRODUCTION
A proclamation of joy for Europe
1. The Church in Europe was closely united to her Bishops as they
gathered in Synod a second time and contemplated Jesus Christ, alive
in his Church, the source of hope for Europe.
This is a theme which I too wish to proclaim to all the Christians
of Europe at the beginning of this third millennium, as I join my
Brother Bishops in repeating the words of the First Letter of Saint
Peter: “Have no fear, nor be troubled, but in your hearts
reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defence to
any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you”
(3:14-15).1
This proclamation resounded throughout the Great Jubilee of the
Year 2000. The Synod was celebrated on the eve of the Jubilee and
was closely connected with that event, serving as a kind of door
opening upon the Jubilee.2 The Jubilee itself was “one unceasing
hymn of praise to the Trinity”, an authentic “journey
of reconciliation” and a “sign of true hope for all
who look to Christ and to his Church”.3 Bequeathing to us
the joy of a living encounter with Christ, “the same yesterday,
today and for ever” (Heb 13:8), it once again set before us
the Lord Jesus as the one unshaken foundation of authentic hope.
A second Synod for Europe
2. From the outset, a deeper appreciation of the theme of hope was
the principal goal of the Second Special Assembly for Europe of
the Synod of Bishops. As the last of a series of continental Synods
celebrated in preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000,4
its purpose was to analyze the situation of the Church in Europe
and to offer guidance in promoting a new proclamation of the Gospel,
as I emphasized when I announced its convocation on 23 June 1996,
at the conclusion of the Eucharist celebrated at the Olympic Stadium
in Berlin.5
The synodal Assembly had to take up, re-examine and study the issues
which surfaced in the preceding Synod for Europe, which was held
in 1991, following the collapse of the walls, on the theme: “That
we may be witnesses of Christ who has set us free”. That first
Special Assembly emphasized the urgent need for a “new evangelization”,
in the awareness that “Europe today must not simply appeal
to its former Christian heritage: it needs to be able to decide
about its future in conformity with the person and message of Jesus
Christ”.6
Nine years later, the conviction that “the Church has the
urgent task of bringing the liberating message of the Gospel to
the men and women of Europe” 7 once more emerged with compelling
force. The theme chosen for the new synodal Assembly set forth that
same challenge, this time from the standpoint of hope. There was
a need, in other words, to proclaim this message of hope to a Europe
which seems to have lost sight of it.8
The experience of the Synod
3. The synodal Assembly, which met from 1 to 23 October 1999, was
a precious opportunity for encounter, listening and dialogue: it
enabled Bishops from different parts of Europe to have a better
knowledge of one another and of the Successor of Peter. As a group
we were able to support and inspire one another, thanks above all
to the witness of those who under the former totalitarian regimes
endured harsh and prolonged persecutions on account of their faith.9
Once again we experienced moments of communion in faith and charity,
led by a desire to bring about a fraternal “exchange of gifts”
and mutually enriched by the diversity of each other's experiences.10
This led in turn to a readiness to hear the call which the Spirit
makes to the Particular Churches in Europe to face new challenges
with decision.11 With a loving gaze the participants in the Synod
did not hesitate to look at the present reality of the Continent,
noting both its light and its shadows. There was a clear recognition
that the current situation is marked by grave uncertainties at the
levels of culture, anthropology, ethics and spirituality. There
was also a clear and growing desire to understand more deeply and
to interpret this situation in order to see the tasks which await
the Church: what resulted were “useful orientations to make
the face of Christ increasingly more visible through a more incisive
proclamation confirmed by a consistent witness”.12
4. The Synod experience, lived with evangelical discernment, also
led to a growing awareness of the unity that, without denying the
differences derived from historical situations and events, links
the various parts of Europe. It is a unity which, rooted in a common
Christian inspiration, is capable of reconciling diverse cultural
traditions and which demands, at the level of both society and Church,
a constant growth in mutual knowledge open to an increased sharing
of individual values.
Throughout the Synod, a powerful impulse towards hope gradually
became evident. While taking seriously the analyses of the complexity
characterizing the Continent, the Synod Fathers saw that possibly
the most urgent matter Europe faces, in both East and West, is a
growing need for hope, a hope which will enable us to give meaning
to life and history and to continue on our way together. All the
reflections of the Synod were geared towards responding to this
need, taking as their starting-point the mystery of Christ and the
Trinity. The Synod wished to set forth once more the figure of Jesus,
alive in his Church, who reveals God as Love, a communion of the
three divine Persons.
The icon of the Book of Revelation
5. In this Post-Synodal Exhortation I am pleased to be able to share
with the Church in Europe the fruits of this Second Special Assembly
for Europe of the Synod of Bishops. In this way I intend to respond
to the desire expressed at the end of the synodal Assembly, when
the Fathers gave me the texts of their reflections and asked me
to offer to the pilgrim Church in Europe a document on the theme
of the Synod.13
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
Churches” (Rev 2:7). In proclaiming to Europe the Gospel of
hope, I will take as a guide the Book of Revelation, a “prophetic
revelation” which discloses to the community of believers
the deep and hidden meaning of what is taking place (cf. Rev 1:1).
The Book of Revelation sets before us a word addressed to Christian
communities, enabling them to interpret and experience their place
in history, with all its questions and its tribulations, in the
light of the definitive victory of the Lamb who was slain and who
rose from the dead. At the same time, it sets before us a word which
calls on us to live in a way which rejects the recurring temptation
to construct the city of man apart from God or even in opposition
to him. For should this ever happen, human society itself would
sooner or later meet with irreversible failure.
The Book of Revelation contains a word of encouragement addressed
to believers: beyond all appearances, and even if its effects are
not yet seen, the victory of Christ has already taken place and
is final. This in turn causes us to approach human situations and
events with an attitude of fundamental trust, born of faith in the
Risen One, present and at work in history.
CHAPTER ONE
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR HOPE
“Fear not, I am the first and the last
and the living one” (Rev 1:17-18)
The Risen One is always with us
6. At a time of persecution, tribulation and bewilderment for the
Church (cf. Rev 1:9), the message resounding throughout the vision
of the writer of the Book of Revelation is a message of hope: “Fear
not, I am the first and the last, and the living one, I died and
behold I am alive for ever more, and I have the keys of Death and
Hades” (Rev 1:17-18). We thus find ourselves before the Gospel,
the “good news”, that is Jesus Christ himself. He is
the First and the Last: in him all history finds its beginning,
its meaning, its direction and its fulfilment. In him and with him,
in his death and resurrection, everything has already been said.
He is the Living One: once he was dead yet now he lives for ever.
He is the Lamb standing before the throne of God (cf. Rev 5:6):
sacrificed, because he shed his blood for us on the wood of the
Cross. He is standing, because he has come back to unending life
and has shown us the infinite power of the Father's love. He holds
in his hands the seven stars (cf Rev 1:16), the persecuted Church
of God, which struggles against evil and sin, yet nonetheless has
every right to be joyful and victorious since she is in the hands
of the One who has already triumphed over evil. He walks among the
seven golden lampstands (cf. Rev 2:1), for he is present and active
in his Church at prayer. He is also “the one who comes”
(Rev 1:4), thanks to the Church's mission and the activity throughout
human history; he will come as the eschatological reaper, at the
end of time, in order to bring all things to completion (cf. Rev
14:15- 16; 22:20).
I. Challenges and signs of hope
for the Church in Europe
The dimming of hope
7. This message is also addressed today to the Churches in Europe,
often tempted by a dimming of hope. The age we are living in, with
its own particular challenges, can seem to be a time of bewilderment.
Many men and women seem disoriented, uncertain, without hope, and
not a few Christians share these feelings. There are many troubling
signs which at the beginning of the third millennium are clouding
the horizon of the European continent, which “despite great
signs of faith and witness and an atmosphere undoubtedly more free
and unified, feels all the weariness which historical events –
recent and past – have brought about deep within the hearts
of its peoples, often causing disappointment”.14
Among the aspects of this situation, so many of which were frequently
mentioned during the Synod,15 I would like to mention in a particular
way the loss of Europe's Christian memory and heritage, accompanied
by a kind of practical agnosticism and religious indifference whereby
many Europeans give the impression of living without spiritual roots
and somewhat like heirs who have squandered a patrimony entrusted
to them by history. It is no real surprise, then, that there are
efforts to create a vision of Europe which ignore its religious
heritage, and in particular, its profound Christian soul, asserting
the rights of the peoples who make up Europe without grafting those
rights on to the trunk which is enlivened by the sap of Christianity.
Certainly Europe is not lacking in prestigious symbols of the Christian
presence, yet with the slow and steady advance of secularism, these
symbols risk becoming a mere vestige of the past. Many people are
no longer able to integrate the Gospel message into their daily
experience; living one's faith in Jesus becomes increasingly difficult
in a social and cultural setting in which that faith is constantly
challenged and threatened. In many social settings it is easier
to be identified as an agnostic than a believer. The impression
is given that unbelief is self-explanatory, whereas belief needs
a sort of social legitimization which is neither obvious nor taken
for granted.
8. This loss of Christian memory is accompanied by a kind of fear
of the future. Tomorrow is often presented as something bleak and
uncertain. The future is viewed more with dread than with desire.
Among the troubling indications of this are the inner emptiness
that grips many people and the loss of meaning in life. The signs
and fruits of this existential anguish include, in particular, the
diminishing number of births, the decline in the number of vocations
to the priesthood and religious life, and the difficulty, if not
the outright refusal, to make lifelong commitments, including marriage.
We find ourselves before a widespread existential fragmentation.
A feeling of loneliness is prevalent; divisions and conflicts are
on the rise. Among other symptoms of this state of affairs, Europe
is presently witnessing the grave phenomenon of family crises and
the weakening of the very concept of the family, the continuation
or resurfacing of ethnic conflicts, the re-emergence of racism,
interreligious tensions, a selfishness that closes individuals and
groups in upon themselves, a growing overall lack of concern for
ethics and an obsessive concern for personal interests and privileges.
To many observers the current process of globalization, rather than
leading towards the greater unity of the human race, risks being
dominated by an approach that would marginalize the less powerful
and increase the number of poor in the world.
In connection with the spread of individualism, we see an increased
weakening of interpersonal solidarity: while charitable institutions
continue to carry out praiseworthy work, one notes a decline in
the sense of solidarity, with the result that many people, while
not lacking material necessities, feel increasingly alone, left
to themselves without structures of affection and support.
9. At the root of this loss of hope is an attempt to promote a vision
of man apart from God and apart from Christ. This sort of thinking
has led to man being considered as “the absolute centre of
reality, a view which makes him occupy – falsely – the
place of God and which forgets that it is not man who creates God,
but rather God who creates man. Forgetfulness of God led to the
abandonment of man”. It is therefore “no wonder that
in this context a vast field has opened for the unrestrained development
of nihilism in philosophy, of relativism in values and morality,
and of pragmatism – and even a cynical hedonism – in
daily life”.16 European culture gives the impression of “silent
apostasy” on the part of people who have all that they need
and who live as if God does not exist.
This is the context for those attempts, including the most recent
ones, to present European culture with no reference to the contribution
of the Christian religion which marked its historical development
and its universal diffusion. We are witnessing the emergence of
a new culture, largely influenced by the mass media, whose content
and character are often in conflict with the Gospel and the dignity
of the human person. This culture is also marked by an widespread
and growing religious agnosticism, connected to a more profound
moral and legal relativism rooted in confusion regarding the truth
about man as the basis of the inalienable rights of all human beings.
At times the signs of a weakening of hope are evident in disturbing
forms of what might be called a “culture of death”.17
An irrepressible yearning for hope
10. Yet, as the Synod Fathers made clear, “man cannot live
without hope: life would become meaningless and unbearable”.18
Often those in need of hope believe that they can find peace in
fleeting and insubstantial things. In this way, hope, restricted
to this world and closed to transcendence, is identified, for example,
with the paradise promised by science or technology, with various
forms of messianism, with a hedonistic natural felicity brought
about by consumerism, or with the imaginary and artificial euphoria
produced by drugs, with certain forms of millenarianism, with the
attraction of oriental philosophies, with the quest for forms of
esoteric spirituality and with the different currents of the New
Age movement.19
All these, however, show themselves profoundly illusory and incapable
of satisfying that yearning for happiness which the human heart
continues to harbour. The disturbing signs of growing hopelessness
thus continue and intensify, occasionally manifesting themselves
also in forms of aggression and violence.20
Signs of hope
11. No human being can live without looking towards the future.
How much more so the Church, which lives in expectation of the Kingdom
yet to come and already present in this world. It would be unjust
not to acknowledge the signs of the influence of Christ's Gospel
in the life of societies. The Synod Fathers sought them out and
emphasized them.
These signs must include the recovery of freedom of the Church in
Eastern Europe, with its new possibilities for pastoral activity;
the concentration of the Church on her spiritual mission and her
primary commitment to evangelization, also with regard for social
and political realities; the growing missionary awareness on the
part of all the baptized in the variety and complementarity of their
gifts and their tasks, and the increased presence of women in the
life and structures of the Christian community.
A community of peoples
12. If we look at Europe as a civil community, signs of hope are
not lacking: when we consider these signs with the eyes of faith,
we can perceive, even amid the contradictions of history, the presence
of the Spirit of God, who renews the face of the earth. At the conclusion
of their labours, the Synod Fathers described these signs in the
following way: “We joyfully recognize the growing openness
of peoples to one another, the reconciliation between countries
which have been hostile and at enmity with each other for a long
time, the progressive opening up to the countries of Eastern Europe
in the process of seeking deeper unity. Mutual recognition, forms
of cooperation and exchanges of all sorts are being developed in
such a way that little by little, a culture, indeed a European consciousness,
is being created. This we hope will encourage, especially among
the young, a sense of fraternity and the will to share. We note
as a very positive factor that the whole of this process is developing
according to democratic procedures, in a peaceful way and in the
spirit of freedom which respects and fosters legitimate diversity,
encouraging and sustaining the process leading to the growing unity
of Europe. We welcome with satisfaction all that has been done to
safeguard the conditions and ways to respect human rights. Finally,
in the context of the legitimate economic and political unity in
Europe, while acknowledging the signs of hope seen by the attention
given to the rights and to the quality of life, we sincerely hope
that, in creative fidelity to the humanist and Christian traditions
of our continent, there will be a guarantee of the primacy of ethical
and spiritual values”.21
Martyrs and witnesses to the faith
13. I intend, however, to draw particular attention to some of the
signs which have emerged in the life of the Church herself. In the
first place, together with the Synod Fathers, I want to point out
to everyone, so that it will never be forgotten, that great sign
of hope represented by the many witnesses to the Christian faith
who lived in the last century, in both East and West. They found
suitable ways to proclaim the Gospel amid situations of hostility
and persecution, often even making the supreme sacrifice by shedding
their blood.
These witnesses, and particularly those who suffered martyrdom,
are an eloquent and magnificent sign which we are called to contemplate
and to imitate. They show us the vitality of the Church; they stand
before us as a light for the Church and for humanity because they
caused the light of Christ to shine in the darkness; to the extent
that they came from different religious traditions, they also shine
forth as a sign of hope for the journey of ecumenism, in the certainty
that their blood “is also a vital source of unity for the
Church”.22
Even more radically, they tell us that martyrdom is the supreme
incarnation of the Gospel of hope: “In this way, martyrs proclaim
'the Gospel of hope' and bear witnesses to it with their lives to
the point of shedding their blood, because they are certain that
they cannot live without Christ and are ready to die for him in
the conviction that Jesus is the Lord and the Saviour of humanity
and that, therefore, only in him does mankind find true fullness
of life. According to the exhortation of the Apostle Peter, their
example shown them ready to give reason for the hope that is in
them (cf. 1 Pt 3:15). Furthermore, martyrs celebrate the 'Gospel
of hope', because the offering of their lives is the greatest manifestation
of the living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which constitutes
true spiritual worship (cf. Rom 12:1), and the source, soul and
summit of every Christian celebration. Finally, martyrs serve the
'Gospel of hope', because they express in their martyrdom a love
and service of humanity to a high degree insofar as they demonstrate
that obedience to the law of the Gospel begets a moral and societal
life which honours and promotes the dignity and freedom of every
person”.23
The holiness of many
14. One fruit of the conversion brought about by the Gospel is the
holiness of so many men and women in our time: not only those whom
the Church has officially proclaimed saints, but all those who with
simplicity and amid the circumstances of their daily lives testified
to their fidelity to Christ. How can one not think of the countless
sons and daughters of the Church who throughout Europe's history
have lived lives of generous and authentic holiness in the hiddenness
of their family and their professional and social lives? “All
of them like 'living stones' adhering to Christ 'the cornerstone',
have built Europe as a spiritual and moral edifice, leaving a most
precious inheritance to the future generations. The Lord Jesus promised:
'He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater
works than these will he do, because I go to the Father” (Jn
14:12). The saints are living proof of the fulfilment of this promise,
and they encourage the belief that this is possible in the most
difficult hours of history”.24
The parish and ecclesial movements
15. The Gospel continues to bear fruit in parish communities, among
consecrated persons, in lay associations, in groups devoted to prayer
and the apostolate and in various youth communities, as well as
through the presence and growth of new movements and ecclesial realities.
In each of them the one Spirit finds ways of awakening renewed dedication
to the Gospel, generous openness to the service of others, and a
Christian life marked by Gospel radicalism and missionary zeal.
In today's Europe too, both in the post- Communist countries and
in the West, the parish, while in need of constant renewal,25 continues
to maintain and to carry out its particular mission, which is indispensable
and of great relevance for pastoral care and the life of the Church.
The parish is still a setting where the faithful are offered opportunities
for genuine Christian living and a place for authentic human interaction
and socialization, whether in the situations of dispersion and anonymity
typical of large modern cities or in areas which are rural and sparsely
populated.26
16. At the same time, together with the Synod Fathers, I express
my great esteem for the presence and activity of the different apostolic
associations and organizations, and for Catholic Action in particular.
I also wish to note the significant contribution that, in fellowship
with other ecclesial realities and never in isolation from them,
they can offer to new movements and to new ecclesial communities.
Such groups, in fact, “help Christians to live a more radically
evangelical life. They are a cradle for different vocations, and
they generate new forms of consecration. Above all, they promote
the vocation of the laity, and they help it to find expression in
different spheres of life. They favour the holiness of the people.
They are able to be both the messenger and the message for people
who otherwise would not encounter the Church. Frequently they promote
the journey of ecumenism and they open the ways to interreligious
dialogue. They are an antidote to the spread of sects and an invaluable
aid to the spread of joy and life in the Church”.27
The journey of ecumenism
17. We give thanks to the Lord for the great and consoling sign
of hope which is the progress made in the journey of ecumenism under
the standard of truth, charity and reconciliation. This is of the
great gifts of the Holy Spirit for a continent like Europe which
gave rise to tragic divisions between Christians during the second
millennium and which still suffers from their consequences.
I am moved as I remember certain moments of great intensity experienced
during the synodal labours and the unanimous conviction, also expressed
by the Fraternal Delegates, that this journey – despite the
problems which remain and the new ones which are emerging –
cannot be halted, but rather must continue with renewed enthusiasm,
with deeper determination and with a humble openness to mutual forgiveness
on the part of all. I readily agree with some of the observations
made by the Synod Fathers, since “the progress in ecumenical
dialogue, which has its deepest source in the same Word of God,
represents a sign of great hope for the Church of today: the growth
of unity among Christians is, in fact mutually enriching for all”.28
We need to “look with joy at the progress that has so far
been made in the dialogue both with our brethren of the Orthodox
Churches and with those of the Ecclesial Communities born of the
Reformation, recognizing in them a sign of the working of the Spirit,
for which we must praise and thank the Lord”.29
II. Returning to Christ,
the source of all hope
Confessing our faith
18. From the synodal Assembly there emerged the clear and passionate
certainty that the Church has to offer Europe the most precious
of all gifts, a gift which no one else can give: faith in Jesus
Christ, the source of the hope that does not disappoint;30 a gift
which is at the origin of the spiritual and cultural unity of the
European peoples and which both today and tomorrow can make an essential
contribution to their development and integration. After twenty
centuries, the Church stands at the beginning of the third millennium
with a message which is ever the same, a message which constitutes
her sole treasure: Jesus Christ is Lord; in him, and in no one else,
do we find salvation (cf. Acts 4:12). Christ is the source of hope
for Europe and for the whole world, “and the Church is the
channel in which the grace pouring from the pierced Heart of the
Saviour flows and spreads”.31
This confession of faith causes our hearts and lips to raise “a
joyful confession of hope: 'Risen and living Lord, you are the new
hope of the Church and of humanity. You are the one true hope for
the human family and for history. Already in this life, and in the
life to come you are “among us the hope of glory” (Col
1:27). In you and with you, we find truth: our life has meaning,
communion is possible, diversity can become richness, and the power
of the kingdom is at work in history and helps to build the city
of mankind. Love gives an eternal value to human efforts. Suffering
becomes salvific, life will conquer death, creation will share in
the glory of the children of God' ”.32
Jesus Christ our hope
19. Jesus Christ is our hope because he, the Eternal Word of God,
who is always with the Father (cf. Jn 1:18), loved us so much that
he assumed our human nature in all things but sin and shared in
our life, for the sake of our salvation. The profession of this
truth stands at the very heart of our faith. The loss of the truth
about Jesus Christ, or a failure to comprehend that truth, prevent
us from appreciating and entering into the mystery of God's love
and the Trinitarian communion.33
Jesus Christ is our hope because he reveals the mystery of the Trinity.
This is the core of the Christian faith, and it can still make a
significant contribution, as it has in the past, to the creation
of structures which, inspired by the great values of the Gospel
or measuring itself against them, are capable of promoting the life,
history and culture of the different peoples of the Continent.
Many are the spiritual roots underlying the recognition of the value
of the human person and his inalienable dignity, the sacredness
of human life and the centrality of the family, the importance of
education and freedom of thought, speech and religion, the legal
protection of individuals and groups, the promotion of solidarity
and the common good, and the recognition of the dignity of labour.
These roots have helped lead to the submission of political power
to the rule of law and to respect for the rights of individuals
and peoples. Here we should mention the spirit of ancient Greece
and Rome, the contributions of the Celtic, Germanic, Slav and Finno-Ugric
peoples and the influence of Jewish and Islamic culture. Yet it
must be acknowledged that these inspiring principles have historically
found in the Judeo-Christian tradition a force capable of harmonizing,
consolidating and promoting them. This is a fact which cannot be
ignored; on the contrary, in the process of building a united Europe
there is a need to acknowledge that this edifice must also be founded
on values that are are most fully manifested in the Christian tradition.
Such an acknowledgment is to everyone's advantage.
The Church “is not entitled to express preferences for this
or that institutional or constitutional solution” for Europe,
and for this reason she consistently desires to respect the legitimate
autonomy of the civil order.34 Nevertheless, she has the task of
reviving faith in the Trinity among the Christians of Europe, knowing
full well that this faith is the herald of authentic hope for the
continent. Many of the great paradigms of reference mentioned above,
which are at the core of European civilization, have their deepest
roots in the Church's trinitarian faith. This faith contains an
extraordinary spiritual, cultural and ethical potential which is
also capable of shedding light on some of the more important questions
discussed in Europe today, such as social disintegration and the
loss of a meaningful point of reference for life and history. Hence
the need for a renewed theological, spiritual and pastoral meditation
on the mystery of the Trinity.35
20. The Particular Churches in Europe are not simple agencies or
private organizations. Rather, they carry out their work with a
specific institutional dimension that merits legal recognition,
in full respect for just systems of civil legislation. In their
self-reflection, Christian communities need to appreciate anew that
they are a gift which God has given for the enrichment of the peoples
living on the continent. This is the joyful message that they are
called to bring to every person. In coming to a deeper appreciation
of their own essential missionary dimension, they must constantly
testify that Jesus Christ “is the one and only mediator of
salvation for all of humanity. Only in him do humanity, history
and the cosmos find their definitively positive meaning and receive
their full realization: he has in himself in his life and in his
person the definitive reason of salvation. He is not only the mediator
of salvation but salvation's very source”.36
Consequently, in the context of the ethical and religious pluralism
which increasingly characterizes Europe, there is a need to profess
and proclaim the truth of Christ as the one Mediator between God
and men and the one Saviour of the world. Therefore, in union with
the whole Church, I invite my brothers and my sisters in faith –
as I did at the end of the synodal Assembly – constantly to
be open in trust to Christ and to allow themselves to be renewed
by him, proclaiming to all people of good will in the power of peace
and love that whoever encounters the Lord comes to know the Truth,
discovers the Life, and finds the Way leading to it (cf. Jn 14:6;
Ps 15:11). From the tenor of life and the witness of Christians,
the inhabitants of Europe will come to discover that Christ is the
future of man. In the faith of the Church, “there is no other
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”
(Acts 4:12).37
21. For believers, Jesus Christ is the hope of every person because
he grants eternal life. He is “the Word of life” (1
Jn 1:1), who came to the world so that men and women “may
have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). He shows us
that the true meaning of man's existence does not remain confined
within the horizons of this world, but opens instead upon eternity.
The mission of each Particular Church in Europe is to take note
of every person's thirst for truth and the need for authentic values
which can enliven the people living on the continent. With renewed
energy, each Particular Church must again bear witness to the newness
which is its life. This means initiating a well-structured cultural
and missionary outreach, demonstrating by action and by convincing
arguments how the new Europe needs to rediscover its ultimate roots.
In this context, all those who are inspired by the values of the
Gospel have an essential role to play, which is part of the solid
foundation for building a more humane and peaceful coexistence respectful
of one and all.
The Particular Churches in Europe need to restore to hope its primordially
eschatological thrust.38 True Christian hope, in fact, is theological
and eschatological, founded on the Risen One who will come again
as Redeemer and Judge and who calls us to resurrection and our eternal
reward.
Jesus Christ alive in his Church
22. By returning to Christ, the peoples of Europe will be able to
rediscover the hope which alone can give full meaning to life. Today
too they can discover that hope, for Jesus is present, alive and
at work in his Church. He is in the Church and the Church is in
him (cf. Jn 15:1ff.; Gal 3:28; Eph 4:15-16; Acts 9:5). In the Church,
by virtue of the gift of the Holy Spirit, he unceasingly continues
his saving work.39
With the eyes of faith we are enabled to see the mysterious presence
of Jesus in the different signs that he has left us. He is present
first of all in Sacred Scripture, which everywhere speaks of him
(cf. Lk 24:27, 44-47). Yet in a unique way he is present in the
Eucharist. This “presence is called 'real' - by which it is
not intended to exclude all other types of presence as if they
could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest
sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ,
the God-Man, is wholly and entirely present”.40 In the Eucharist,
in fact, “is contained truly, really and substantially the
Body and the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with his soul
and divinity, and therefore the whole Christ”.41 “Truly
the Eucharist is a mysterium fidei, a mystery which surpasses our
understanding and can only be received in faith”.42 Also real
is the presence of Jesus in the other liturgical actions of the
Church, which she celebrates in his name. Among these are the Sacraments,
actions of Christ which he carries out at the hands of men.43
Jesus is also present in the world in other very real ways, and
especially through his disciples who, in fidelity to the twin commandment
of love, worship God in Spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4:24) and testify
by their lives to the fraternal love that sets them apart as followers
of the Lord (cf. Mt 25:31-46; Jn 13:35; 15:1-17).44
CHAPTER TWO
THE GOSPEL OF HOPE ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM
“Awake, and strengthen what remains
and is on the point of death” (Rev 3:2)
I. The Lord calls to conversion
Jesus speaks today to our Churches
23. “The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right
hand, who walks among the golden lampstands..., the first and the
last, who died and came to life..., the Son of God” (Rev 2:1,8,18).
It is Jesus himself who speaks to his Church. His message is addressed
to all the individual Particular Churches and concerns their inner
life, which is at times marked by the presence of ideas and ways
of thinking incompatible with the Gospel tradition, frequently subjected
to different forms of persecution and, what is yet more dangerous,
beset by troubling symptoms of worldliness, the loss of an earlier
faith, and compromise with the “logic” of the world.
Not infrequently communities have lost their first love (cf. Rev
2:4).
One sees how our ecclesial communities are struggling with weaknesses,
weariness and divisions. They too need to hear anew the voice of
the Bridegroom, who invites them to conversion, spurs them on to
bold new undertakings and calls forth their commitment to the great
task of the “new evangelization”. The Church must constantly
submit to the judgment of Christ's word and live her human reality
in a state of purification, so as to be ever more perfectly the
Bride without spot or wrinkle, adorned with fine linen, bright and
pure (cf. Eph 5:27; Rev 19:7-8).
In this way Jesus Christ is calling our Churches in Europe to conversion,
and they, with their Lord and by the power of his presence, are
becoming bearers of hope for humanity.
The work of the Gospel throughout history
24. Europe has been widely and profoundly permeated by Christianity.
“There can be no doubt that, in Europe's complex history,
Christianity has been a central and defining element, established
on the firm foundation of the classical heritage and the multiple
contributions of the various ethnic and cultural steams which have
succeeded one another down the centuries. The Christian faith has
shaped the culture of the Continent and is inextricably bound up
with its history, to the extent that Europe's history would be incomprehensible
without reference to the events which marked first the great period
of evangelization and then the long centuries when Christianity,
despite the painful division between East and West, came to be the
religion of the European peoples. Even in modern and contemporary
times, when religious unity progressively disintegrated as a result
both of further divisions between Christians and the gradual detachment
of cultures from the horizon of faith, the role played by faith
has continued to be significant”.45
25. The Church's concern for Europe is born of her very nature and
mission. Down the centuries the Church has been closely linked to
our continent, so that Europe's spiritual face gradually took shape
thanks to the efforts of great missionaries, the witness of saints
and martyrs, and the tireless efforts of monks and nuns, men and
women religious and pastors. From the biblical conception of man
Europe drew the best of its humanistic culture, found inspiration
for its artistic and intellectual creations, created systems of
law and, not least, advanced the dignity of the person as a subject
of inalienable rights.46 The Church, as the bearer of the Gospel,
thus helped to spread and consolidate those values which have made
European culture universal.
With all this in mind, the Church of today, with a renewed sense
of responsibility, is conscious of the urgency of not squandering
this precious patrimony and of helping Europe to build herself by
revitalizing her original Christian roots.47
Showing the true face of Church
26. The entire Church in Europe ought to feel that the Lord's command
and call is addressed to her: examine yourself, be converted, “awake,
and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death”
(Rev 3:2). The need to do so is also born of a consideration of
the present time: “The serious situation of indifference towards
religion on the part of so many Europeans, the presence of many
people even on our continent who do not yet know Jesus Christ and
his Church and who are not baptized, the secularism which poisons
a wide spectrum of Christians who habitually think, make decisions
and live, 'as if Christ did not exist', far from extinguishing our
hope, make this hope more humble and more able to trust in God alone.
It is from his mercy that we receive the grace and call to conversion”.48
27. Although at times, as in the Gospel episode of the calming of
the tempest (cf. Mk 4:35-41; Lk 8:22-25), it can appear that Christ
is asleep and leaves his barque to be tossed by the tumultuous waves,
the Church in Europe is called to grow in the certainty that the
Lord, through the gift of his Spirit, is ever present and at work
in her midst and in all human history. He prolongs his mission throughout
time and makes the Church a stream of new life coursing through
the life of humanity as a sign of hope for all.
In a context where a temptation to activism is also attractive at
the pastoral level, Christians in Europe must continue to be a transparent
image of the Risen Christ, living in close communion with him.
There is a need for communities which, by contemplating and imitating
the Virgin Mary, the figure and model of the Church in faith and
holiness,49 cultivate the sense of liturgical life and of interior
life. Before all and above all, they should praise the Lord, worship
him and hear his Word. Only in this way will they be able to partake
of his mystery and live totally in relation to him as members of
his faithful Bride.
28. In the face of recurring impulses to division and opposition,
the different Particular Churches in Europe, strengthened also by
their bond with the Successor of Peter, must be committed to being
a true locus and means of communion for the whole People of God
in faith and love.50 They should therefore foster a climate of fraternal
charity, lived with Gospel radicalism in the name of Jesus and in
his love; they should create cordial relationships, communication,
shared responsibility and participation, missionary consciousness,
concern and readiness to serve. They should be prompted by attitudes
of esteem, acceptance and mutual correction (cf. Rom 12:10; 15:7-14),
as well as of service and reciprocal support (cf. Gal 5:13; 6:2),
mutual forgiveness (cf. Col 3:13), and mutual edification (cf. 1
Thes 5:11). They need to set in place a pastoral programme which
by maximizing all legitimate diversity would also foster ready cooperation
among individuals and groups. They need to revitalize participatory
bodies as valuable instruments of communion aimed at a united missionary
activity, and enabling the emergence of adequately trained and qualified
pastoral workers. In this way, the Churches themselves, enlivened
by the communion which is the manifestation of God's love, the ground
and reason for the hope which does not disappoint (cf. Rom 5:5),
will be a more brilliant reflection of the Trinity, as well as a
challenging sign which invites belief (cf. Jn 17:21).
29. If communion in the Church is to be experienced more fully,
there is a need to make the most of the variety of charisms and
vocations which increasingly converge on unity and can enrich it
(cf. 1 Cor 12). In this regard, the new movements and the new ecclesial
communities must “abandon every temptation to claim rights
of primogeniture and every mutual incomprehension”, advance
along the path of more authentic communion between themselves and
with all other ecclesial realities, and “live with love in
full obedience to the Bishops”. But it is also necessary for
the Bishops “to show them that fatherhood and that love which
are proper to Pastors” 51 and to acknowledge, maximize and
coordinate their charisms and their presence for the building up
of the one Church.
Thanks to an increase in cooperation between the different ecclesial
bodies under the loving leadership of their pastors, the whole Church
will be able to present to all a more beautiful and credible face,
a clearer and more evident reflection of the Lord's own face, and
will then be able to give new hope and comfort both to those who
seek her and to those who, even though not seeking her, nonetheless
need her.
In order to respond to the Gospel's call to conversion, “we
must join in making a humble and courageous examination of conscience,
in order to acknowledge our fears and our mistakes, sincerely confess
our slowness to believe, our omissions, our infidelities and our
faults”.52 Far from fostering an attitude of hopelessness
and discouragement, the evangelical acknowledgment of one's sins
will surely awaken within the community the experience of each one
of the baptized: the joy of profound liberation and the grace of
a new beginning which will enable it to set out with greater vigour
upon the path of evangelization.
Advancing towards Christian unity
30. Finally, the Gospel of hope is also a forceful summons to conversion
in the field of ecumenism. In the conviction that Christian unity
corresponds to the Lord's prayer “that they may all be one”
(cf. Jn 17:11), and that it is essential today for greater credibility
in evangelization and the growth of European unity, all the Churches
and Ecclesial Communities need to “be assisted and encouraged
to see the journey of ecumenism as a 'travelling together' towards
Christ”53 and towards the visible unity which he wills, so
that unity in diversity may shine forth within the Church as a gift
of the Holy Spirit, the builder of communion.
If this is to happen, there is need for patient and persevering
commitment on the part of all, a commitment inspired both by genuine
hope and sober realism, aimed at “the enhancing of all that
already unites us, sincere reciprocal esteem, the elimination of
prejudice, knowledge and mutual love”.54 Consequently, the
pursuit of unity, in order to have a firm basis, cannot fail to
include the passionate search for truth through dialogue and discussion
which can acknowledge the progress already made and consider it
an incentive for even greater progress in resolving the disagreements
which continue to divide Christians.
31. Dialogue must continue with firm resolve, undaunted by difficulties
and hardship. It should be carried on “under different aspects
(doctrinal, spiritual and practical), following the logic of the
exchange of gifts which the Spirit awakens in every Church; it should
train the community and the faithful, and young people in particular,
to experience moments of encounter and to make ecumenism, rightly
understood, an ordinary dimension of ecclesial life and activity”.55
Such dialogue represents one of the chief concerns of the Church,
especially in this Europe, which in the last millennium witnessed
the rise of all too many divisions between Christians and which
is today moving towards greater unity. We may not halt on this journey
nor may we turn back! We need to continue this journey in a spirit
of trust, so that mutual respect, the search for truth, cooperation
in charity and above all the ecumenism of holiness, will not fail,
with God's help, to bear fruit.
32. Despite the inevitable difficulties, I ask everyone to acknowledge
and appreciate, in love and fraternity, the contribution which the
Eastern Catholic Churches can offer for a more genuine building
up of unity 56 through their very presence, the richness of their
tradition, the witness of their “unity in diversity”,
the inculturation which they have accomplished in their proclamation
of the Gospel, and the diversity of their rites. At the same time
I wish to assure once more the pastors and our brothers and sisters
of the Orthodox Churches that the new evangelization is in no way
to be confused with proselytism, without prejudice to the duty of
respect for truth, for freedom and for the dignity of every person.
II. The whole Church is sent on mission
33. Serving the Gospel of hope by means of a charity which evangelizes
is the commitment and the responsibility of everyone. Whatever the
charism and ministry of each individual, charity is the royal road
prescribed for all and which all can travel: it is the road upon
which the whole ecclesial community is called to journey in the
footsteps of its Master.
The commitment of ordained ministers
34. In a special way priests are called by virtue of their ministry
to celebrate, teach and serve the Gospel of hope. Through the Sacrament
of Orders which configures them to Christ the Head and Shepherd,
Bishops and priests must conform their whole life and all their
activity to Jesus. By the preaching of the word, the celebration
of the sacraments and their leadership of the Christian community,
they make present the mystery of Christ, and in the exercise of
their ministry “they are called to prolong the presence of
Christ, the One High Priest, embodying his way of life and making
him visible in the midst of the flock entrusted to their care”.57
As men who are “in” the world yet not “of”
the world (cf. Jn 17:15-16), priests are called in Europe's present
cultural and spiritual situation to be a sign of contradiction and
of hope for a society suffering from “horizontalism”
and in need of openness to the Transcendent.
35. In this context priestly celibacy also stands out as the sign
of hope put totally in the Lord. Celibacy is not merely an ecclesiastical
discipline imposed by authority; rather it is first and foremost
a grace, a priceless gift of God for his Church, a prophetic value
for the contemporary world, a source of intense spiritual life and
pastoral fruitfulness, a witness to the eschatological Kingdom,
a sign of God's love for this world, as well as a sign of the priest's
undivided love for God and for his people.58 Lived in response to
God's gift and as a mastery of the temptations of a hedonistic society,
it not only leads to the human fulfilment of those who are called
to embrace it, but proves to be a source of growth for others as
well.
Celibacy is esteemed in the whole Church as fitting for the priesthood,59
obligatory in the Lat- in Church 60 and deeply respected by the
Eastern Churches.61 In the present cultural context, it stands out
as an eloquent sign which needs to be cherished as a precious good
for the Church. A revision of the present discipline in this regard
would not help to resolve the crisis of vocations to the priesthood
being felt in many parts of Europe.62 A commitment to the service
of the Gospel of hope also demands that the Church make every effort
to propose celibacy in its full biblical, theological and spiritual
richness.
36. We cannot fail to see that the exercise of the sacred ministry
today is fraught with many difficulties on account of the prevailing
culture and the lessened numbers of priests, together with the increase
of pastoral responsibilities and the fatigue which this can involve.
Consequently, all the more esteem, gratitude and support is due
to those priests who carry out with praiseworthy dedication and
fidelity the ministry which they have received.63
To these priests, making my own the words of the Synod Fathers,
I also wish to offer, with confidence and gratitude, my own encouragement:
“Do not lose heart and do not allow yourselves to be overcome
with weariness! In full communion with us Bishops, persevere in
your invaluable and indispensable ministry in joyful fraternity
with your brother priests, in generous collaboration with those
in consecrated life and with all the lay faithful”.64
Together with priests I also wish to mention deacons, who share,
albeit to a different degree, in the one Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Sent forth in service to ecclesial communion, they exercise, under
the leadership of the Bishop and his presbyterate, the “diakonia”
of liturgy, word and charity.65 In their own way, they are at the
service of the Gospel of hope.
The witness of consecrated persons
37. Particularly eloquent is the witness of consecrated persons.
In this regard, acknowledgment must first be made of the fundamental
role played by monasticism and consecrated life in the evangelization
of Europe and in the shaping of its Christian identity.66 This role
must continue to be played today, at a time when a “new evangelization”
of the continent is urgently needed and, with the creation of more
complex structures and relationships, it stands at a critical turning
point. Europe will always need the holiness, prophetic witness,
evangelizing activity and service of consecrated persons. Attention
also needs to be paid to the specific contribution which Secular
Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life can make thanks to their
aspiration to transform the world from within through the power
of the Beatitudes.
38. The specific contribution which consecrated persons can make
to the Gospel of hope takes as its starting-point several characteristics
of the present-day cultural and social face of Europe.67 The demand
for new forms of spirituality, now making itself felt throughout
society, needs to find a response in the acknowledgment of God's
absolute primacy which consecrated persons experience in their total
gift of self and their permanent conversion in a life offered up
as true spiritual worship. In an atmosphere poisoned by secularism
and dominated by consumerism, consecrated life, as a gift of the
Spirit to the Church and for the Church, becomes an ever greater
sign of hope to the extent that it testifies to life's transcendent
dimension. In today's multicultural and multireligious world, there
is also a demand for the witness of that evangelical fraternity
which characterizes the consecrated life and makes it a stimulus
to purifying and integrating different values through the reconciliation
of divisions. The presence of new forms of poverty and marginalization
ought to call forth that creativity in the care of those most in
need which has marked so many founders of Religious Institutes.
Finally, the tendency to a certain self-absorption can find an antidote
in the readiness of consecrated persons to continue the work of
evangelization on other continents, despite the decrease of numbers
in various Institutes.
Concern for vocations
39. Since the commitment of ordained ministers and consecrated persons
is decisive, some mention must be made of the disturbing shortage
of seminarians and aspirants to religious life, especially in Western
Europe. This situation calls for everyone to be involved in an effective
pastoral programme of promoting vocations. “Whenever the person
of Jesus Christ is presented clearly to young people, he inspires
in them a hope that motivates them to abandon everything in order
to follow him in response to his call, and to bear witness to him
among their peers”.68 The pasto-ral care of vocations is thus
a vital issue for the future of the Christian faith in Europe and,
in turn, for the spiritual advancement of the very peoples who inhabit
the continent. It is a challenge which must be met by a Church which
wishes to proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of hope.69
40. To create a much-needed pastoral programme of promoting vocations,
it is beneficial to explain to the laity the Church's faith regarding
the nature and dignity of the ministerial priesthood; to encourage
families to live as true “domestic churches”, so that
in their midst the variety of vocations can be discerned, accepted
and nurtured; and to engage in pastoral work aimed at helping young
people in particular to choose a life rooted in Christ and completely
dedicated to the Church.70
In the certainty that the Holy Spirit is still at work today, and
that the signs of his presence are not lacking, it is mainly a question
of making the promotion of vocations a part of ordinary pastoral
care. There is a need “to rekindle a deep yearning for God,
especially in young people, thus creating a suitable context in
which generous vocational responses can be made”; it is urgent
that a great movement of prayer spread across the ecclesial Communities
of the European continent, since “changed historical and cultural
situations demand that the pastoral care of vocations be perceived
as one of the primary objectives of the entire Christian community”.71
It is also indispensable for priests themselves to live and work
in a way consistent with their true sacramental identity. For if
the image they project is unclear or indifferent, how can they attract
young people to imitate them?
The mission of the laity
41. The contribution of the lay faithful to the life of the Church
is essential: they have an irreplaceable role in the proclamation
and the service of the Gospel of hope, since “through them
the Church of Christ is made present in the various sectors of the
world, as a sign and source of hope and of love”.72 As full
sharers in the Church's mission in the world, they are called to
testify that the Christian faith constitutes the only complete response
to the questions which life sets before every individual and every
society, and they are able to imbue the world with the values of
the Kingdom of God, the promise and guarantee of a hope which does
not disappoint.
Europe yesterday and today has experienced the presence of important
and illustrious examples of such lay persons. As the Synod Fathers
emphasized, grateful mention must be made especially of those men
and women who have and who continue to bear witness to Christ and
his Gospel by their service to public life and the responsibilities
which this entails. It is supremely important “to prompt and
sustain specific vocations to serve the common good: persons who
after the example and manner of many so-called 'Fathers of Europe'
can be builders of tomorrow's European society, establishing it
a on a firm spiritual foundation”.73
Equal esteem is due to the work carried out by Christian lay persons,
often in the hidden- ness of daily life, through humble acts of
service capable of proclaiming God's mercy to the poor; we must
be grateful to these men and women for their fearless witness of
charity and forgiveness, values which bring the Gospel to the vast
frontiers of politics, social life, the economy, culture, ecology,
international life, family life, education, professional life, the
world of labour and the caring professions.74 This calls for programmes
of training capable of preparing suitable lay persons to apply their
faith in temporal affairs. These programmes, based on a serious
introduction to the Church's life and particularly the study of
her social doctrine, ought to be able to provide them not only with
teaching and encouragement, but also with adequate grounding in
spirituality in order to strengthen their commitment, lived as an
authentic path to holiness.
The role of women
42. The Church is very much aware of the specific contribution of
women in service of the Gospel of hope. The history of the Christian
community demonstrates that women have always had an outstanding
place in bearing witness to the Gospel. Mention must be made of
how much they have done, often in silence and obscurity, to receive
and pass on the gift of God through physical and spiritual motherhood,
education, catechesis, the accomplishment of great charitable works,
through the life of prayer and contemplation, and through mystical
experiences and writings rich in the wisdom of the Gospel.75
In the light of their splendid and powerful witness in the past,
the Church expresses her confidence in all that women are capable
of doing today for the growth of hope at every level. There are
aspects of contemporary European society which represent a challenge
for women's capacity to receive, share and bring to birth in love,
with determination and generosity. One thinks, for example, of the
prevalent scientific and technical mind-set which eclipses the areas
of affectivity and emotional life, the lack of generosity, the widespread
fear of giving life to new children, the difficulty of relating
with others and of accepting those who are different. It is in this
context that the Church looks to women for the life-giving contribution
of a new wave of hope.
43. For this to happen, however, the dignity of women must be promoted
above all in the Church, inasmuch as woman and man enjoy equal dignity,
for both have been created in the image and likeness of God (cf.
Gen 1:27) and each has been given proper and specific gifts.
It is to be hoped, as the Synod emphasized, that the full participation
of women in the Church's life and mission will be fostered by making
better use of their gifts and by entrusting them with ecclesial
roles reserved by law to laypersons. There must also be a due appreciation
of women's mission as wives and mothers and their dedication to
family life.76
The Church has not failed to raise her voice in denunciation of
injustice and the violence perpetrated against women wherever and
however this occurs. She demands that laws protecting women be enforced,
and that effective measures be taken against the demeaning portrayal
of women in advertising and against the scourge of prostitution.
She also expresses the hope that the domestic work done by mothers
will be considered, like that of fathers, as a contribution to the
common good, even through forms of financial retribution.
CHAPTER THREE
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF HOPE
“Go, take the scroll which is open ...
take it and eat” (Rev 10:8.9)
I. Proclaiming the mystery of Christ
Revelation gives meaning to history
44. The vision of the Book of Revelation tells us of “a scroll
written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals” and
held “in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne”
(Rev 5:1). This writing contains the God's plan of creation and
salvation, his detailed design for all things, for persons, things
and events. No created being, on earth or in heaven, is able to
“open the scroll or to look into it” (Rev 5:3) so as
to understand its contents. In the confusion of human affairs, no
one is able to declare the unfolding of the future and the ultimate
meaning of things.
Only Jesus Christ gains possession of the sealed scroll (cf. Rev
5:6-7); only he is “worthy to take the scroll and open its
seals” (Rev 5:9). Only Jesus is able to reveal and bring about
the plan of God hidden therein. Left to himself, man is not capable
of giving meaning to history and to human affairs: life remains
without hope. Only the Son of God is able to dispel the shadows
and to show the way.
The open scroll is given to John and, through him, to the whole
Church. John is told to take the book and to eat it: “Go,
take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing
on the sea and on the land ... take it and eat it” (Rev 10:8-9).
Only when he has assimilated it deeply will he be able to communicate
it properly to others, to whom he is sent with the order to “prophesy
about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings” (Rev
10:11).
The urgent need for proclamation
45. The Gospel of hope, received and assimilated by the Church,
calls for daily proclamation and witness. This is the proper vocation
of the Church in every time and place. It is also the mission of
the Church in Europe today. For “evangelizing is the grace
and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. The Church
exists in order to evangelize, that is to say in order to preach
and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile
sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in the Mass,
which is the memorial of his death and glorious Resurrection”.77
Church in Europe, the “new evangelization” is the task
set before you! Rediscover the enthusiasm of proclamation. Hear
today, addressed to you at the beginning of this third millennium,
the plea heard at the beginning of the first millennium, when a
man of Macedonia appeared in a vision to Paul and begged him: “Come
over to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:9). Even if it remains
unexpressed or even repressed, this is the most profound and genuine
plea rising from the hearts of Europeans today, who yearn for a
hope which does not disappoint. This hope has been bestowed on you
as a gift which must then be joyfully given away in every time and
place. Let the proclamation of Jesus, which is the Gospel of hope,
be your boast and your whole life. Carry on with renewed zeal in
the same missionary spirit which, down these twenty centuries, beginning
with the preaching of the Apostles Peter and Paul, has inspired
so many holy men and women, the Saints who were authentic evangelizers
of the European continent.
A first proclamation and a renewed proclamation
46. In various parts of Europe a first proclamation of the Gospel
is needed: the number of the unbaptized is growing, both because
of the significant presence of immigrants of other religions and
because children born into families of Christian tradition have
not received Baptism, either as a result of the Communist domination
or the spread of religious indifference.78 Indeed, Europe is now
one of those traditionally Christian places which, in addition to
a new evangelization, require in some cases a first evangelization.
The Church cannot shirk the responsibility of making a courageous
diagnosis which will make it possible to decide on appropriate therapies.
On the “old” continent too, there are vast social and
cultural areas which stand in need of a true missio ad gentes.79
47. Everywhere, then, a renewed proclamation is needed even for
those already baptized. Many Europeans today think they know what
Christianity is, yet they do not really know it at all. Often they
are lacking in knowledge of the most basic elements and notions
of the faith. Many of the baptized live as if Christ did not exist:
the gestures and signs of faith are repeated, especially in devotional
practices, but they fail to correspond to a real acceptance of the
content of the faith and fidelity to the person of Jesus. The great
certainties of the faith are being undermined in many people by
a vague religiosity lacking real commitment; various forms of agnosticism
and practical atheism are spreading and serve to widen the division
between faith and life; some people have been affected by the spirit
of an immanentist humanism, which has weakened the faith and often,
tragically, led to its complete abandonment; one encounters a sort
of secularist interpretation of Christian faith which is corrosive
and accompanied by a deep crisis of conscience and of Christian
moral practice.80 The great values which amply inspired European
culture have been separated from the Gospel, thus losing their very
soul and paving the way for any number of aberrations.
“When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
(Lk 18:8). Will he find faith in our countries, in this Europe of
ancient Christian tradition? This is an open question which clearly
reveals the depth and the drama of one of the most serious challenges
which our Churches are called to face. It can be said as the Synod
emphasized that this challenge frequently consists not so much in
baptizing new converts as in enabling those already baptized to
be converted to Christ and his Gospel: 81 in our communities we
need to be seriously concerned about bringing the Gospel of hope
to all those who are far from the faith or who have abandoned the
practice of Christianity.
Fidelity to the one message
48. Proclaiming the Gospel of hope calls for steadfast fidelity
to the Gospel itself. The Church's preaching, in all its forms,
must be increasingly centred on the person of Jesus and increasingly
converge on him. Vigilant care must be taken that Christ is presented
in his fullness: not merely as an ethical model, but above all as
the Son of God, the one, necessary Saviour of all, who lives and
is at work in his Church. If our hope is to be true and unshakable,
“an integral, clear and renewed preaching of the Risen Christ,
the resurrection and eternal life” 82 must be a priority for
pastoral activity in coming years.
Although the Gospel to be preached is the same in every time, this
preaching can be carried out in different ways. All are called to
“proclaim” Jesus and their faith in him in every situation;
to “draw” others to the faith through models of personal,
family, professional and community life which reflect the Gospel;
“to radiate” joy, love and hope, so that many people,
seeing our good works, will give glory to our Father in heaven (cf.
Mt 5:16) and be won over; to become “a leaven” transforming
and enlivening from within every expression of culture.83
By the witness of life
49. Europe calls out for credible evangelizers, whose lives, in
communion with the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, radiate the
beauty of the Gospel.84 Such evangelizers must be properly trained.85
Now more than ever a missionary consciousness is needed in all Christians,
beginning with Bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, catechists
and teachers of religion: “All the baptized, since they are
witnesses of Christ, should receive a training appropriate to their
circumstances, not only so that their faith does not wither for
lack of care in a hostile environment such as the secularist world,
but also so that their witness to the Gospel will receive strength
and inspiration”.86
Our contemporaries “listen more willingly to witnesses than
to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they
are witnesses”.87 The presence and the signs of holiness are
thus decisive: holiness is the essential prerequisite for an authentic
evangelization capable of reviving hope. What is needed are forceful,
personal and communal testimonies of new life in Christ. It is not
enough that truth and grace are offered through the proclamation
of the word and the celebration of the sacraments; they need to
be accepted and experienced in every practical situation, in the
way Christians and ecclesial communities lead their lives. This
is one of the greatest challenges set before the Church in Europe
at the beginning of the new millennium.
Training for an adult faith
50. “Europe's cultural and religious situation today calls
for the presence of Catholics who are adult in their faith and for
missionary Christian communities who testify to God's love before
all mankind”.88 The proclamation of the Gospel of hope thus
implies a concern to foster the movement from a faith supported
by social tradition, important as this is, to a more personal and
adult faith, one marked by knowledge and conviction.
Christians are therefore “called to have a faith capable of
critically confronting contemporary culture and resisting its enticements;
of having an real effect on the world of culture, finance, society
and politics; of demonstrating that the fellowship between Catholics
and other Christians is more powerful than any ethnic bond; of joyfully
passing on the faith to new generations; and of building a Christian
culture ready to evangelize the larger culture in which we live”.89
51. Along with ensuring that the ministry of the word, the celebration
of the liturgy and the exercise of charity are directed to building
up and sustaining a mature and personal faith, Christian communities
need to work at proposing a catechesis adapted to the varying spiritual
journeys of the faithful at different ages and in different life
situations, and to provide for suitable programmes for spiritual
accompaniment and for the rediscovery of one's own Baptism.90 Naturally
a fundamental point of reference in this commitment will be the
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Given its undeniable priority in pastoral activity, there is a particular
need to cultivate and, if need be, reinstitute the ministry of catechesis
as a means of education and faith development for each individual,
so that the seed planted by the Holy Spirit and passed on by Baptism
can grow and reach maturity. In constant reference to the word of
God, preserved in sacred Scripture, proclaimed in the liturgy and
interpreted by the Church's Tradition, an organic and systematic
catechesis constitutes beyond the shadow of a doubt an essential
and primary means of forming Christians in an adult faith.91
52. In this same context, the important task of theology must also
be emphasized. There is an intrinsic and inseparable link between
evangelization and theological reflection, since theology, as a
science possessed of a proper status and methodology, draws its
life from the Church's faith and stands at the service of her mission.92
Theology is born of faith and is called to interpret faith, preserving
its unbreakable link to the Christian community in all its different
forms; as a service to the spiritual growth of all the faithful,93
it introduces them to a deeper understanding of the message of Christ.
In carrying out her mission of proclaiming the Gospel of hope, the
Church in Europe expresses esteem and gratitude for the vocation
of theologians, she values them and supports their work.94 With
respect and affection I encourage theologians to persevere in the
service which they render, to combine their scholarly research with
prayer, to engage in attentive dialogue with contemporary culture,
to adhere faithfully to the Magisterium and to cooperate with it
in a spirit of communion in truth and charity, immersed in the sensus
fidei of the People of God and helping to nurture it.
II. Bearing witness in unity and dialogue
Communion between the Particular Churches
53. The power of the proclamation of the Gospel of hope will be
all the more effective if it is linked to the witness of a profound
unity and communion in the Church. The individual Particular Churches
cannot face alone the challenge before them. There is need for genuine
cooperation between all the Particular Churches of the Continent
as an expression of their essential communion; a cooperation which
is also called for by the new reality of Europe.95 Here mention
must be made of the contribution offered by continental ecclesial
bodies, beginning with the Council of European Episcopal Conferences.
The Council is an effective means for exploring together appropriate
ways of evangelizing Europe.96 Through an “exchange of gifts”
between the various Particular Churches, the experiences and the
reflections of Western and Eastern, Northern and Southern Europe
are shared and common pastoral approaches emerge. The Council is
becoming an increasingly significant expression of the collegial
sentiment linking the Bishops of the Continent, aimed at proclaiming
together, boldly and faithfully, the name of Jesus Christ, the sole
source of hope for everyone in Europe.
Together with all Christians
54. The duty of fraternal and committed ecumenical cooperation also
emerges as an irrevocable imperative.
The future of evangelization is closely linked to the witness of
unity given by all Christ's followers: “All Christians are
called to carry out this mission in accordance with their vocation.
The task of evangelization involves moving towards one another and
moving forward together as Christians, and it must begin from within;
evangelization and unity, evangelization and ecumenism are indissolubly
linked”.97 Therefore I once again make my own the words written
by Paul VI to Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I: “May the
Holy Spirit guide us along the way of reconciliation, so that the
unity of our Churches may become an ever more radiant sign of hope
and consolation for all mankind”.98
In dialogue with other religions
55. As is the case with the overall commitment to the “new
evangelization”, so too proclaiming the Gospel of hope calls
for the establishment of a profound and perceptive interreligious
dialogue, particularly with Judaism and with Islam. “Understood
as a method and means of mutual knowledge and enrichment, dialogue
is not in opposition to the mission ad gentes; indeed, it has special
links with that mission and is one of its expressions”.99
Engagement in this dialogue must avoid yielding to a “widespread
indifferentism, which sad to say, is found also among Christians.
It is often based on incorrect theological perspectives and is characterized
by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion
is as good as another' ”.100
56. It is rather a matter of being more vividly aware of the relationship
which binds the Church to the Jewish people and of Israel's unique
role in salvation history. As was already clear from the First Special
Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops, and was reaffirmed
in the latest Synod, there is need for acknowledgment of the common
roots linking Christianity and the Jewish people, who are called
by God to a covenant which remains irrevocable (cf. Rom 11:29) 101
and has attained definitive fullness in Christ.
Consequently it is necessary to encourage dialogue with Judaism,
knowing that it is fundamentally important for the self-knowledge
of Christians and for the transcending of divisions between the
Churches, and to work for the flowering of a new springtime in mutual
relations. This demands that each ecclesial community engage, to
the extent that circumstances permit, in dialogue and cooperation
with believers of the Jewish religion. This engagement also implies
that “acknowledgment be given to any part which the children
of the Church have had in the growth and spread of antisemitism
in history; forgiveness must be sought for this from God, and every
effort must be made to favour encounters of reconciliation and of
friendship with the sons of Israel”.102 It will likewise be
appropriate to mention the many Christians who, sometimes at the
cost of their lives, helped and saved, especially in times of persecution,
these their “elder brethren”.
57. It is also a question of growing in knowledge of other religions,
in order to establish a fraternal conversation with their members
who live in today's Europe. A proper relationship with Islam is
particularly important. As has often become evident in recent years
to the Bishops of Europe, this “needs to be conducted prudently,
with clear ideas about possibilities and limits, and with confidence
in God's saving plan for all his children”.103 It is also
necessary to take into account the notable gap between European
culture, with its profound Christian roots, and Muslim thought.104
In this regard, Christians living in daily contact with Muslims
should be properly trained in an objective knowledge of Islam and
enabled to draw comparisons with their own faith. Such training
should be provided particularly to seminarians, priests and all
pastoral workers. It is on the other hand understandable that the
Church, even as she asks the European institutions to ensure the
promotion of religious freedom in Europe, should feel the need to
insist that reciprocity in guaranteeing religious freedom also be
observed in countries of different religious traditions, where Christians
are a minority.105
In this context, “one can understand the astonishment and
the feeling of frustration of Christians who welcome, for example
in Europe, believers of other religions, giving them the possibility
of exercising their worship, and who see themselves forbidden all
exercise of Christian worship” 106 in countries where those
believers are in the majority and have made their own religion the
only one admitted and promoted. The human person has a right to
religious freedom, and all people, in every part of the world, “should
be immune from coercion on the part of individuals, social groups
and every human power”.107
III. Evangelizing the life of society
The evangelization of culture
and the inculturation of the Gospel
58. The proclamation of Jesus Christ must also reach contemporary
European culture. The evangelization of culture must show that in
today's Europe too it is possible to live the Gospel fully as a
path which gives meaning to existence. To this end, pastoral practice
must undertake the task of shaping a Christian mentality in ordinary
life: in families, in schools, in social communications, in cultural
life, in the workplace and the economy, in politics, in leisure-time,
in health and in sickness. What is needed is a calm critical assessment
of the current cultural situation of Europe and an evaluation of
the emerging trends and the more significant contemporary events
and situations in the light of the centrality of Christ and of Christian
anthropology.
Today too, in recalling Christianity's contributions to culture
throughout the history of Europe, there is a need to demonstrate
the Gospel approach, both theoretical and practical, to reality
and to man himself. Furthermore, considering the great importance
of the sciences and technological achievements in European culture
and society, the Church, through both her institutes of study and
in her practical pastoral initiatives, is called to be constructive
in her approach to scientific knowledge and its applications, pointing
out the insufficiency and inadequacy of notions inspired by a scientism
which recognizes only experimental knowledge as objectively valid,
and presenting ethical criteria which man possesses as inscribed
in his very nature.108
59. An important part of any programme for the evangelization of
culture is the service rendered by Catholic schools. There is a
need to ensure the recognition of a genuine freedom of education
and equal juridical standing between state schools and other schools.
Catholic schools are sometimes the sole means by which the Christian
tradition can be presented to those who are distant from it. I encourage
the faithful involved in the field of primary and secondary education
to persevere in their mission and to bring the light of Christ the
Saviour to bear upon their specific educational, scientific and
academic activities.109 In particular, greater recognition is due
to the contribution made by Christians who conduct research and
teach in universities: in their “service to thought”
they hand down to the next generation the values of an intellectual
tradition enriched by two thousand years of humanistic and Christian
experience. Convinced of the importance of academic institutions,
I also ask the various local Churches to promote an adequate pastoral
care of the university community, favouring whatever corresponds
to present cultural needs.110
60. Nor should we overlook the positive contribution made by the
wise use of the cultural treasures of the Church. These can be a
special element in the rekindling of a humanism of Christian inspiration.
When properly preserved and intelligently used, these living testimonies
of the faith as professed down the ages can prove a useful resource
for the new evangelization and for catechesis, and lead to a rediscovery
of the sense of mystery.
At the same time new artistic expressions of the faith should be
promoted through a constant dialogue with those engaged in the arts.111
The Church in fact needs art, literature, music, painting, sculpture
and architecture, because she “must make perceptible, and
as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible,
of God”,112 and because artistic beauty, as a sort of echo
of the Spirit of God, is a symbol pointing to the mystery, an invitation
to seek out the face of God made visible in Jesus of Nazareth.
Training young people in the faith
61. I encourage the Church in Europe to give greater attention to
the training of young people in the faith. As we look to the future,
we cannot but think of them: we need to make contact with the minds,
the hearts and the character of the young in order to provide them
with a sound human and Christian formation.
Wherever many young people are present, it is hard not to perceive
the wide variety of their attitudes and approaches. We can see their
desire to be together and to come out of their isolation, and their
thirst, recognized in differing degrees, for the absolute; we see
in them a secret faith needing to be purified and desirous of following
the Lord; we become aware of their decision to continue the journey
already begun and the need to share their faith.
62. To this end, there is need for a renewed youth ministry, organized
by age groups and attentive to the varying situations of children,
adolescents and young adults. It will also be necessary to provide
this ministry with a more organic structure and consistency, and
to be patiently concerned with the questions raised by young people,
in order to make them protagonists of the evangelization and the
building of society.
In this process opportunities should be provided for encounter among
young people, so as to foster a climate of mutual listening and
prayer. There is no need to fear making demands upon them with regard
to their spiritual growth. The way of holiness should be pointed
out to them and they should be encouraged to make demanding choices
in their following of Jesus, drawing their strength from an intense
sacramental life. In this way they will learn to resist the enticements
of a culture which often proposes values which are merely superficial
or even contrary to the Gospel, and become capable of demonstrating
a Christian approach to every sphere of human life, including entertainment
and leisure.113
I can still see clearly the joyful faces of so many young people,
the true hope of the Church and of the world and an eloquent sign
of the Spirit who unceasingly causes new energies to arise. I have
met them during my travels to various countries and during the unforgettable
World Youth Days.114
Attention to the mass media
63. Given the importance of the means of social communication, the
Church in Europe must necessarily pay particular attention to the
multi-faceted world of the mass media. This would include, among
other things: the adequate training of Christians who work in the
field of communications and of those who make use of the media,
for a better understanding of the new kinds of language employed
in the media. Special attention should be given to choosing properly
trained persons to communicate the message through the media. It
would also prove very helpful to have an exchange of information
and of strategies between the Churches about different aspects and
initiatives concerning this communication. Nor should the creation
of local instruments of social communications be neglected, also
on the parish level.
At the same time, it is a matter of becoming involved in the processes
of social communications, in order to make them more respectful
of the truth of information and of the dignity of the human person.
In this regard, I invite Catholics to contribute to the establishment
of a code of ethics for those who work in the field of social communications,
letting themselves be guided by the criteria which the competent
agencies of the Holy See have recently indicated,115 and which the
Bishops in Synod have listed as follows: “respect for the
dignity of the human person, for his or her rights, including the
right of privacy; service to truth, to justice and to human, cultural
and spiritual values; respect for diverse cultures to avoid their
disappearance within the majority, protection of minority groups
and of the weak; pursuit of the common good, over and above particular
interests and the predominance of economic criteria alone”.116
The mission “ad gentes”
64. A proclamation of Jesus Christ and his Gospel limited to the
European context alone would betray symptoms of a disturbing lack
of hope. The work of evangelization is animated by true Christian
hope when it is open to universal horizons, which lead us to offer
freely to all what we ourselves have received as gift. In this way
the mission ad gentes becomes an expression of a Church shaped by
the Gospel of hope, which is continually renewed and rejuvenated.
Down the centuries this has been part of the self-awareness of the
Church in Europe: countless hosts of missionaries, going forth to
meet other races and other civilizations, have proclaimed the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to the peoples of the whole world.
The same missionary ardour must animate the Church in Europe today.
The decrease in the numbers of priests and of consecrated men and
women in some countries must not prevent any Particular Church from
making its own the needs of the universal Church. Every Church will
find a way to prepare its faithful for the mission ad gentes, and
thus respond with generosity to the appeal of many peoples and nations
which desire to know the Gospel. The Churches of other continents,
particularly Asia and Africa, still look to the Churches in Europe
and expect them to continue to carry out their missionary vocation.
Christians in Europe cannot be unfaithful to their own history.117
The Gospel: a book for the Europe
of today and tomorrow
65. As I stepped through the Holy Door at the beginning of the Great
Jubilee of the Year 2000, I held high the Book of the Gospels, showing
it to the Church and to the world. This same ritual action, carried
out by all the Bishops in the different cathedrals of the world,
points to the task awaiting the Church of our Continent now and
for ever.
Church in Europe, enter the new millennium with the Book of the
Gospels! May every member of the faithful hear the Council's plea
“to learn 'the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ' (Phil
3:8) by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. 'Ignorance of
the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ' ”.118 May the Holy
Bible continue to be a treasure for the Church and for every Christian:
in the careful study of God's word we will daily find nourishment
and strength to carry out our mission.
Let us take up this book! Let us receive it from the Lord who continually
offers it to us through his Church (cf. Rev 10:8). Let us devour
it (cf. Rev 10:9), so that it can become our very life. Let us savour
it deeply: it will make demands of us, but it will give us joy because
it is sweet as honey (cf. Rev 10:9-10). Filled with hope, we will
be able to share it with every man and woman whom we encounter on
our way.
CHAPTER FOUR
CELEBRATING THE GOSPEL OF HOPE
“To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honour and glory and might
for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:13)
A community of prayer
66. The Gospel of hope, as a proclamation of the truth which sets
us free (cf. Jn 8:32) is meant to be celebrated. Before the Lamb
of the Book of Revelation there begins a solemn liturgy of praise
and adoration: “To him who sits upon the throne and to the
Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!”
(Rev 5:13). This vision, which reveals both God and the meaning
of all history, takes place “on the Lord's day” (Rev
1:10), the day of the resurrection, as re- lived by the Sunday assembly.
The Church which receives this revelation is a community of prayer.
In her prayer she listens to her Lord and hears what the Spirit
is saying to her. She worships, gives praise, offers thanks, and
ends by imploring the coming of the Lord: “Come, Lord Jesus!”
(Rev 22:16-20). She thus declares that salvation comes from him
alone.
Church of God dwelling in Europe, you too are called to be a community
which prays, celebrating your Lord in the Sacraments, in the liturgy
and in your whole life. In prayer you will discover the Lord's life-giving
presence. By making him the foundation of all your activity, you
will thus be able to invite Europeans to an encounter with him,
our true hope, the One who alone knows how to satisfy fully the
yearning for God hidden in the different forms of religious quest
now reappearing in contemporary Europe.
I. Rediscovering the Liturgy
The religious | |
