front page" "
The regional Conference held by Caritas Europe is being held at Dubrovnik, in Croatia, from 11 to 15 May. Msgr. Aldo Giordano , general secretary of the CCEE, addressed the conference on its inaugural day. A new chapter in the history of europe. Msgr. Giordano pointed out the “particular interest” with which the Churches are following the process of unification, which “reached a new and historic culmination on 1st May”. “During this process,” he explained, “the Churches have always had in mind the ‘whole’ of Europe. They don’t want to speak of an enlargement of the EU, but rather of a ‘europization of Europe'”: a “Europe of all the nations”. According to Giordano, enlargement marks the end of the division [of Europe] and “the start of a new chapter: Europe that breathes with “two lungs”. “The fears expressed by the countries of Eastern Europe, and in particular by the Orthodox Churches, need to be taken seriously: what will become of the tradition of Eastern Europe and its values if it ends up in the arms of a secularised and relativist West? The West must not impose its culture: such an enterprise would lead to failure”. “The Churches hope for a Europe” that “is reinforced and that is therefore able to pursue in the best way the exchange of gifts with the other regions of the world by making her own contribution to justice and peace”. “Europe he continued has been injured by the Iraqi crisis and must now position herself in a new way on the international stage. This implies on the one hand the need for the transatlantic axis to be reviewed and reconstructed”; on the other, the need to engage “with Asia, which is becoming ever stronger on the world geopolitical scene”. The Church in Europe too is called to foster closer relations with the Churches of other continents”. The Church and the European Constitution. “To build a Europe of peace and solidarity”, maintains Msgr. Giordano, “it is indispensable that the whole ‘building’ be characterised by an idea, by a vision”. He stressed three aspects in relation to the European Constitution: “Europe and values”, “the legal recognition of the status and role of the Churches” and “the Christian roots of Europe”. With regard to the values mentioned in the current draft of the Constitution, Giordano warns: “it’s not enough to give a rhetorical shell to values”, since “completely different positions may be taken in the name of the same value”. That’s why it is so important for “Christians to commit themselves in the sector of values and human rights”, because they “can communicate something really special”. As regards Christian roots, Giordano comments that the “discussion on the issue is particularly lively, interesting but also painful. Why is it so difficult he asks to call Christianity by its name?”. There are many reasons: “ideological mistrust inherited from the past; the authoritarian attitude of a certain kind of secularism”, and the “growing tendency to consider religion a private matter”. “What grieves me most he continued is to note how much incomprehension and ignorance about Christianity there is in Europe”. questions and problems of europe. Two main questions: “the co-existence of peoples, cultures, ethnic groups and religions”, in other words “the question of peace”, and the question of the meaning of life”, which comprises “the great ethical questions of humanity”, “from biomedicine to the protection of the environment. “Today, humanity has a great need for God”, he declared. “The first contribution that the Churches can make, is to give Christianity itself to humanity. In Europe too, the Church considers that her primary task is to find ways for a new quality of evangelization”. According to Giordano, the risen Christ realises a “universal family of the faithful”, “catholicity”, or “the universality of Christianity”. From this point of view, Giordano stressed the progress made in relations between Eastern and Western Europe and added: it is very important to deepen this sense of belonging to the universal family of Christianity, to be able to tackle the great challenges of globalization and peace”. ecumenism and inter religious dialogue. Msgr. Giordano also drew attention to the progress made in ecumenism, especially through the Charta Oecumenica, the document signed by the CCEE and CEC in Strasbourg in 2001: “The Charter is a text, a process, and, yes, also a dream: that of helping to ensure that a blue sky opens up again above Europe and its Churches “With her great experience, the Church must take the dialogue in hand again”. L
