Serious questions” “

The General Secretaries of the 34 Bishops’ Conferences of Europe will meet at St. Gallen (Switzerland) from 26 to 30 May. Among the questions on the agenda: the role of Christianity and of the Churches in Europe, in consideration of the recent events linked to the papacy and basic trends at the economic, socio-political and anthropological level; the bioethical questions raised by developments in scientific and medical research (from research on the brain, on embryos and on stem cells, to the question of euthanasia); collaboration between the Bishops’ Conferences in Europe in urgent fields such as immigration, the mass media society, responsibility for the creation, relations with Muslims in Europe, relations of Europe with Africa; and the Third European Ecumenical Assembly due to be held at Sibiu in Romania in September 2007. Part of the work will also be dedicated to some particular events in the months ahead: World Youth Day (Cologne, 16-21 August 2005); the civic mission in European capitals (Vienna, Lisbon, Paris, Brussels, Budapest…); the Catholic Semaines Sociales in France and the equivalent event in Italy (Lille, 23-26 September 2004 and Bologna, 7-10 October 2005) and the process of the ratification of the EU Constitutional Treaty. In view of the meeting in St. Gallen, we interviewed Monsignor Aldo Giordano , secretary of the CCEE. At St. Gallen the general secretaries will discuss the role of Christianity and of the Churches in Europe in the light of a series of events including the new Pontificate. What does Christian Europe expect from the new Pope? “In 7/8 European countries, the highest percentage of deaths among adolescents and young adults is suicide. This is an indication that there is an urgent need for meaning in our continent. I think it is especially this question that Europeans address to the Pope, even if often in an unconscious and inarticulate way. Europe awaits a father to indicate the path to salvation. It would also be very important for us Christians not to run the risk of imposing our long and variegated ‘shopping list’ on the Pope. Rather, we should take seriously the hopes that the Pope has in us and in Europe. For the Pope, the serious question is that of our living faith in Jesus Christ and our capacity for communion as brothers. This desire of the Pope to bring Christ to Europe and to create a family also coincides with the deepest aspiration of European Christians”. Discussion will also focus on the Third European Ecumenical Assembly to be held at Sibiu in Romania in 2007. What are the difficulties being encountered in its preparation and what are the presuppositions for its success? What should be expected from it? “The basic difficulty stems from the current ecumenical situation. Over the last few decades historic steps forward have been taken in the process of reconciliation among Christians, but now it does not seem clear how we ought to proceed and where the achievable goal lies. There is a certain spirit of resignation, and there are those who ask themselves: what’s the use of a new ecumenical assembly? Why commit forces and funds to it? Will all Churches be involved in the process? How can we make the Christian people protagonist of this event? How can we avoid arousing false hopes? In response to such questions, we are thinking of an assembly that aims high and tries to resume the ecumenical process by rethinking each step with the light of Christ. Moreover we are not thinking of a single event, but of a real pilgrimage-process conducted in stages that may involve the people and help to discover the Christian roots of Europe. We want to create a European network capable of harvesting the richness of the experiences that the Spirit has aroused. We urge each community to pray that this assembly may become a great spiritual event. We will discover along the way what this assembly is”. Will scope also be given to bioethical questions? They are delicate questions that touch on issues of life, abortion and euthanasia. But they are also issues on which the Churches are divided. What influence is had on them by the divisions between Christians at the European level? And what margin of convergence between the various Churches is possible? “It’s true that as Churches we are more divided on these fundamental ethical issues than we are on typically dogmatic questions. In general there is consensus on them between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, while greater differences of view divide us from the Reformed Churches and communities. A new factor is represented by the pentecostal and evangelical communities, which often feel in agreement with Catholics and Orthodox on such issues as abortion, euthanasia and embryos. We have to recognize that we have not yet been able to conduct together a long and profound reflection so as to reach common positions. So an urgent task lies before us. I increasingly feel that the competent political institutions on these issues await the voice of the Church and that the questions posed here are ever more urgent and decisive for the very future of man”.