The wish to know” “

Treasuring the past, even if full of fears, and looking forwards with the wish to construct one’s own future: that sums up the aspirations of David Macek , a young researcher born in Brno, in the Czech Republic, in 1976. He has a degree in sociology, and several years of post-graduate study at the Lateran University in Rome, specializing in “marriage and the family”. He has a passion for Europe that he shares with his wife and that he has cultivated since the early 1990s, after having seen, while still an adolescent, the political transformation of his country from Communism to re-won freedom. A researcher, and personally involved in politics, Macek formed part of the Czech delegation that participated in the conference promoted by the European bishops at Santiago de Compostela last week. We interviewed him. What’s your view of the debate among Catholics on integration? “Debating the theme of the European consciousness enables us to interrogate ourselves about our roots, and about the elements shared by the cultures and traditions present in the various countries, however different they are from each other. For us, besides, it’s a relatively new opportunity: for, among its other defects, Communism also had the drawback of enclosing us in the narrow confines of our States. For example, I remember that when I was a child – not all that long ago! – Vienna seemed no less distant from me than New York, yet it’s only 120 km from Brno. The frontiers to the West seemed like unscalable walls. We didn’t know what was happening in the West and so perhaps even the wish to know was quenched in us”. What hopes do your people have in the European Union? “Personally, and there are many who share the same view, I see this reunification as a point of arrival of the dreams we entertained after 1989 and the fall of the Berlin wall. But at the same time we realise that it’s only a beginning. For us freedom and democracy cannot yet be taken for granted. Moreover, we are undertaking, also thanks to the EU, a process of material development, and of modernization of the public administration and society in general. I think this process of drawing closer to the Union has enabled us to strengthen our identity and place ourselves with greater confidence in this wider community. We have had to overcome many areas of backwardness and the doubts of many about what’s ‘new’; these doubts, often understandable enough, are also present among Catholics. But today we find ourselves in a position altogether favourable to the Union and wish to make our original contribution to the community of the Twenty-Five”. So you consider the experience of Santiago positive… “Undoubtedly. It was great to be able to get to know so many people, exchange ideas, and try to explore the values that inspire others. But also praying together can help us: we were given a personal experience of the special contribution that the Church can make to Europe by fostering the European consciousness and those higher principles that should inspire the process of institutional and social development of a united Europe”. What other opportunities do you see in this direction? “In my view there are various possibilities, each with its own value. For example, my city is twinned with Utrecht, in Holland, and with Rheims, in France, while my region, Southern Moravia, has already forged ongoing relations, also at the economic level, with the province of Bergamo, in Italy. These exchanges are useful. They are obviously useful from an economic viewpoint, but even more so at the cultural level. Listening to each other helps to break down the barriers erected by fear and mistrust”. Do your contemporaries share your thirst for knowledge and travel? “I think so. In all this process of bringing people closer together that is taking place in the ‘old continent’, I see an essential role being played by the young, who are open-minded, have a great wish to learn and get to know other people. I hope too that students from Western Europe will go Eastern Europe to study. That would really be a marvellous signal of the new Europe!”.