laity" "
The European Forum of the laity 2004 (see SIR no. 51/2004) ended at Fatima on 7 July. The name of the new president of the Forum was announced during the final session. She is Maria Draijers , member of the Association of social organizations (VKMO) in Holland, who succeeds the Scottish Robert Corrins . In his concluding speech, Corrins summed up the tasks of the Forum: “We did not gather at Fatima for an intellectual exercise; we are here because we have accepted the task we received in baptism. We have responsibilities to society. The challenge for the Forum is to be at the service of the laity in Europe by facilitating the vital task of discernment. The Forum must also identify more effective ways for the exchange of experiences and dialogue and make itself more present in the life of the Church in Europe, through strong contacts with the faithful in parishes and local communities”. The days of the Forum in Fatima were also characterised by various testimonies. We report three of them, all of Christians engaged in politics.scHOOLS: Heinz Wilhelm Brockmann is a member of the department of education and culture in the government of the region of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), in Germany, which began a global reform of its own school system about a year ago. “As a Christian, I am convinced that children are taking second place in this reform; they are the weaker of the interests at stake and there’s no trade union that defends them. Yet when we speak of schools and children’s future, the political decisions ought to serve their interests and not those of others”. That’s why we need to be “capable of supporting pressures, resisting political manoeuvres and accepting the consequences”. “Is not civic courage a Christian virtue and should it not be exercised in politics and in government?” asks Brockman. “Love for detail” is also important: political issues cannot be reduced to questions of principle: the relevant decisions must take into consideration the complexity of the problem; they demand a great love for detail”, “knowledge of the questions, and capacity for judgement, which grow through effort and commitment”. Lastly, “being Christians also implies an ability to recognise one’s errors. That’s something difficult to accept, because it is considered a sign of weakness, which, according to politicians and public opinion, ought to be avoided”.EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN. “Equality between the sexes is not a question of numbers and quotas, but of democracy”, said Françoise Ramond, mayor of a town in the region of Paris since 2001, “because women represent half of humanity, of the Church and of a country’s inhabitants. An activist for many years in Women’s Catholic Action in France (ACGF) and in the association “Women Too”, which supports women candidates in the political elections, Ramond says that “collaboration between men and women is essential in the definition of political projects in all areas: education, family, culture, healthcare, justice…”. “The presence of women in almost all the institutional levels ranging from the Senate to local authorities with less than 3500 inhabitants – doubled in France between 1992 and 2004. The question of ‘equality’ between men and women also involves the Church”.EUROPE: Ernani Rodrigeus Lopez was a member of the Convention for the future of Europe set up by the Declaration of Laeken in December 2001. “A Christian ought not to place the political, economic, social, strategic or cultural dimensions of a particular historical period at the centre of his own perspective”. “What’s essential is to know whether Christians now and in the future act to foster human and social life and make it meaningful”. In evaluating the experience of the Convention as a Christian, Lopez underlined the following elements of the process: “the constant presence of the cultural impact of Christianity expressed by fundamental values; the absence of explicit spiritual references and a sustainable Catholic approach to European integration; and a general attitude of compromise, in the attempt to remove difficulties, paper over conflicts and so ensure European integration”. As Catholics in Europe, says Lopez, “our task is to go beyond the historical context and try to discern some fundamental questions for the future: the new evangelization, the expansion of Christianity outside Europe, the themes of justice and peace, immigration, abortion, euthanasia and eugenics, the doctrinal responses to the ethical requirements of biotechnology… “. In these fields Catholics are called to dedicate themselves in a decisive way and, he added, “in response to such questions the European Convention was nothing but a marginal and irrelevant event”.
