” “Relaunching dialogue

“The process of getting to know and assimilating the Ecumenical Charter is lengthy. The Charter will be all the more important the more it is capable of generating life”. That’s how Father Aldo Giordano , general secretary of the Council of the European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), reviews the progress of the Charter in an interview with SirEurope, just over a year after its publication and in view of the consultation promoted by the CCEE and the KEK (Conference of European Churches), due to be held in Ottmaring (Germany) from 7 to 10 September. Objectives of the meeting: an evaluation of the reception of the Charter in the various European countries and a reflection on the document as a contribution to ecumenical dialogue and European integration. In the course of the consultation, a letter will be presented to the European Churches. On the Charter and on the progress of ecumenism in central and eastern Europe we also sounded out the opinion of Romanian Orthodox archimandrite Iuvenalie Ionascu. Various initiatives. “Translated into 24 European languages, the European Ecumenical Charter was received in different ways from country to country and from Church to Church – explains Aldo Giordano – but no ecumenical document has aroused so much interest and debate”. “In Georgia, for example – he explains – an informal initiative was promoted between the Catholic Church, the Protestant Churches and some members of the Orthodox Church. In Germany the Charter has inspired a meeting between the Serbian-Orthodox Church, the German Churches and the Catholic Church; the Council of the Churches has prepared a brochure to explain what the Charter is, and the possibility is being discussed of getting it signed on the occasion of the ecumenical meeting planned for Berlin in 2003”. “In a report of the Belgian Episcopal Conference – continues the CCEE secretary – the document’s importance is stressed. In the UK, in the early days of June, the leaders of the four main Churches (Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist) signed, in the presence of the Queen, a personal commitment to dialogue that takes its cue from the Ecumenical Charter”. Looking to the future. The novelty of the Charter, in the view of Aldo Giordano, consists in “prompting each Church to concern itself with the problems of the whole of Europe and to assume responsibility for dialogue with all the Churches”. Nonetheless there are limits: “In the countries of eastern Europe and in the Orthodox Churches – points out Giordano – the Charter’s repercussions are more limited, but we need to give more time to this process, because a feeling of mistrust in ecumenism in general is registered there. The Russian Churches, on the other hand, are critical, but this at least demonstrates an attitude of interest”. Among future projects there’s also the intention to publish a book on the history of the Charter. In 2003 Kek and CCEE will carry out an assessment on the diffusion of the document, and the proposal of holding the third European ecumenical assembly in 2006 is being studied. “We also want to study – explains the CCEE secretary – what contribution the Charter may make to the work of the Convention for the future of Europe. The European political institutions, though reaffirming their secular nature, are expecting a good deal from the Churches, especially as regards ethical questions and the promotion of the so-called ‘soul’ of Europe. In our relations with the institutions we must present a united front at the ecumenical level and show ourselves capable of dialoguing also with other religions”. The voice of Eastern Europe. Taking his cue from the question of values and human rights, Iuvenalie Ionascu expresses concern about the enlargement of the European Union to the countries of central and eastern Europe. “The Orthodox Church – he declares – is asking on what moral and spiritual values the future Europe will be founded. The legislation of the various European countries is being standardized in a worrying manner and adopting common positions that run counter to the values of the Christian conscience”. In Romania “there is a growing development of brotherly relations with the Catholic and Protestant Churches, although there are still areas, such as Transylvania, where the conflict between Orthodox and Greek-Catholics continues. An ecumenical mentality needs to be promoted – suggests the archimandrite – to help the future generations to take those steps forward that now seem impossible”. The Ecumenical Charter may represent a valid aid. Gigliola Alfaro