Time of rediscovery” “

The general secretaries of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe met for their annual meeting in Belgrade (10-13 June 2004). The meeting focused on the question of “Christianity and Europe”, subdivided into five sections: questions about meaning, political questions; ethical debates; ecumenism and relations with secularism and with other religions. On Saturday 12 June the secretaries were received by Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church. “A deep Christian spirituality is indispensable to advance in the process of reconciliation between the Churches”, said the Patriarch. On Sunday 13 June the participants were guests in the Orthodox monastery of Kovilj, where they were received by Bishop Irinej of Novi Sad. A spirit of genuine communion characterized the meeting, sign of the ecumenical progress made between the churches in Serbia in recent years; the work of various ecumenical commissions and joint projects are now underway in Serbia. So the doors are now open to tackle the difficulties and prejudices that still persist. Archbishop Hocevar of Belgrade hopes that an ecumenical centre may be established for this region of Europe, especially to promote mutual knowledge, cultural dialogue and prayer. QUESTions about MEANING AND GOSPEL RESPONSES. “There are signs indicating that the time has come for a new rediscovery and proposal of the Gospel for our continent: the debate on the Christian roots of Europe, the confusion and fear aroused by terrorism, the perception of the lack of foundations, the new search for meaning and spirituality, the spread of ambiguous, irrational, sectarian and alternative religious experiences…”, said Father Aldo Giordano, general secretary of the Ccee. And Christianity in Europe is seeking new roads to respond to the deepest needs of society. Events like those of recent months are a demonstration of this: the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela organized by the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community (Comece); the ecumenical meeting of the new movements in Stuttgart (8 May); the ‘pilgrimage of peoples’ to Mariazell (21-22 May); and the journey of John Paul II to Switzerland (5-6 June). “These elements testify that a Christian people exists in Europe, transcending every barrier. This is something in which Europe can take satisfaction!”. secularization and secularism. Two views emerged from the dialogue: there are those who see in the experience of the Western churches a partial failure to confront modern culture and the secularisation to which also the Church is alleged to have adjusted. On the other hand, there are those who also see in secularisation a chance for the Gospel and for the Christian experience. The general secretaries of the countries of Eastern Europe have posed some questions to their colleagues: “Under Communism, Christians were sidelined and humiliated: will the same be true in the European Union?” “Is faith forced to remain a private affair also in the new Europe?” “The founding fathers of the idea of Europe were Christians, and yet efforts are now being made to silence the voice of Christians: why?”. The participants however agreed that “a real exchange of gifts is possible and necessary: the West can offer to the Eastern Europe its own experience of how to live as Christians in a secularised society, and Eastern Europe can help the West to recover lost values”, as the final communiqué puts it. THE LAY STATE. A lively debate was aroused by the question of the relation between Christianity, ‘laicity’ and religions: secularism that rejects the role of religion is one thing, genuine ‘laicity’ that is a way of ordering relations between Church and State is something else. Monsignor Stanislas Lalanne presented the emblematic experience of France, where “the clear separation between State and Church does not mean indifference between the two”. The recent controversy about the legislation on the wearing of Islamic headscarves in schools has however shown the limitations and weakness of this model of ‘laicity’. In a secular society the Church must be able to listen to people’s questions and find the language to answer them. “There is no evangelization without dialogue… we ought not just to listen to the questions for which we have the answers”, said Father Lalanne quoting the late Cardinal Billé. RELATIONS BETWEEN CHURCH AND EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS. Comece secretary Msgr. Noël Treanor presented the positive experience of dialogue and collaboration between the ecclesial and the political worlds in Brussels and also in various countries. “We need to overcome the prejudice that the institutions are contrary to the Church. A particularly significant example is article 51 of the draft constitutional treaty that guarantees the freedom of religion of churches and communities and recognizes their role and their specific contribution”. According to Treanor, the paragraph in the Constitution that calls for transparent and regular dialogue between institutions and churches is particularly promising. The need has therefore emerged for the Church to create a network between experts in the legal and ethical fields able to intervene in and interact with the institutions.