Battle for life and justice” “

The General Synod of the Anglican Church has ended. Held at York from 9 to 13 July, it was jointly chaired by the archbishops of Canterbury and York, Rowan Williams and David Hope. The issues discussed included Europe, justice, drugs, and the work of the missions for evangelization and reconciliation. Various motions were approved, including the one presented by Canon Christian Baxter, of Southwell, asking the Royal Mail, the British postal service, to issue stamps with Christian illustrations during the Christmas period, given that 71% of the population of the United Kingdom declared themselves Christian in the last census. EuropE AND ANGLICAN COMMUNION. There have been three previous synodal consultations on Europe: in 1972, prior to the UK’s membership of the European Economic Community, when discussion focused on preaching the “social Gospel” and “how the church should relate to its European partners”; after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ecumenical meeting in Basel, when the Synod reflected on how to put into practice the commitment to justice, peace and safeguard of the creation, not by limiting itself to vague declarations of principle but by sending specific evaluations and recommendations to governments and international organizations; and in 1994 when the Anglican Church emphasized the progress made by the World Council of Churches (WCC), of which it is a member, and recognized the centrality of the Anglican diocese in Europe for the promotion of ecumenical dialogue. The latest General Synod has taken on board many of these ideas from the past. So says the long report on the Anglican Church in Europe and its relations with the other Christian churches of the continent, presented to the synodal assembly on Monday 13 July. The bishop of London, the Rev. Richard Chartres, in presenting the report, illustrated the “reasons for ever closer involvement in the new European context”. RETHINKING THE EUROPEAN SOUL. The bishop of London urged the assembly to reflect on the current situation. Rethinking “the soul of Europe”, declared Chartres, “goes beyond identity, it concerns questions of values and conscience”. And he added: “An introverted EU, that only concerns itself with its own conservation and prosperity, is unable to tackle the challenges of this volatile world and play its creative part in alleviating poverty and caring for our common home on this planet. Instead of “continuing to seek the European identity in a common medieval past”, Bishop Chartres urged Europeans to be “active partners in identifying, affirming and celebrating the common values and principles of the new Europe”. Emphasizing the need for renewed ecumenical commitment in the battle for life and social justice, Chartres said: “We must demonstrate that it’s crazy to relegate the energy of the faith to the margins of life and that theological differences do not inhibit common action in a wide range of social and ethical questions where the various faiths find a common foundation”. SOCIAL JUSTICE. More than once during the Synod, the strategy of the activities organized in Europe on the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000 was cited as exemplary. In particular, the attention of the bishop of London focused on the campaign for the remission of the debts of the world’s poorest countries. The administration of penal justice, its aims and effects, were also debated during the Synod, as they were by the Catholic bishops of England and Wales a few months ago. At the centre of debate was the concept of “restorative justice”, i.e. a kind of justice that incorporates the Christian concept of “forgiveness”. Seen in this perspective, penal sentence should be considered not as a punishment but as an occasion for transformation, not as a way of alienating but as a way of re-educating the person. The Anglican bishops recognized the need to reassess the role of prison chaplains and Christian volunteers in prisons. The cooperation of the Anglican Church with the other Christian churches has already borne fruit in this field: the report on penal justice presented to the Synod in York was drafted by an ecumenical organization, the Churches Criminal Justice Forum. “In response to ever more developed and standardized secular structures of government – says the dossier on Europe – the European Churches share the need to discover the nature of their common witness and joint mission”. This commitment is expressed not least in “responsible stewardship”, i.e. the shared responsibility for the safeguard of the earth and its resources.