A just separation” “

The debate is continuing in Europe about the secular State: in Italy, following the recent referendum on medically assisted procreation in which the Catholic Church played a major role; in Spain, following the decision of the Zapatero government to recognize homosexual unions, which led the bishops to adopt a hard-line opposition; and especially in France, because this year the country is celebrating the centenary of the law of 9 December 1905 on the separation between Church and State. John Paul II himself intervened in the debate with a letter to the French bishops on 11 February this year. The French bishops, in turn, meeting in plenary assembly from 13 to 15 June, dedicated a part of their deliberations to the question and published a final statement of which we give a résumé below. THE LAW SHOULD NOT BE CHANGED. In the light of the “important changes that have occurred in French society and of the legislative provisions that have completed the law in the course of time, the French bishops do not consider that “the law of 1905 should be changed”. Without wishing to “idealise” it, the secularism that emerges from the law permits “a satisfactory balance to be struck in the relations between the State and the religious organizations”. “Consequently – declares the French Church – it does not seem to us wise to tinker with this balance that has made pacification between the various parties possible in our country today”. In saying so, the bishops do not intend “to condemn themselves to immobility”: on the contrary they wish to contribute to the debate. AutonomY, NOT MUTUAL IGNORANCE. “The secular regime – write the bishops – is linked to the non-confessional nature of the State and its non-competence in the field of religious faith and of the internal organization of the religious communities”. “This autonomy does not mean mutual ignorance”. “The public authorities do not intervene in the internal life of the Church and the Church has no vocation to interfere in political life”, but that does not mean that “the rule of law should necessarily be independent of ethics, since it is at the service of human rights, and since the Church does not exceed her responsibility when she appeals to the public authorities if the human being and the rights of the human person and his transcendent aspect be not respected. So this just separation of powers does not preclude mutual understanding, relations and dialogue”. This concept of secularism – continue the French bishops – is, however, distinguished by some “radical” interpretations of the term that reveal a negative approach to the religious phenomenon and the “wish to relegate the social influence of religions to an exclusively private sphere”. “We wish to point out in this regard – write the bishops – that we are concerned to witness sometimes, in some circumstances, the revival of attitudes and stances characterized by a form of secularism that we would have hoped was now a thing of the past”. THE VOICE OF THE CHURCH. The message that the French Church wishes to spell out in this statement on the secular State is clear: the bishops ask to be able to continue to “make our contribution to the life of our country”. “Repudiating any sectarian attitude”, the Church “wishes to contribute to keeping alive the religious, moral and spiritual values that form an integral part of the heritage of France and that have contributed to her identity. If the Church intervenes in the debates of our time, it is because she intends to make heard her concept of man and bear witness to it in the light of her experience. The Church does not want to remain barricaded behind the defence of her vested interests, but to help promote the integral dignity of each human person in our social life, as well as peace and justice. She intends to participate in this way, together with others, in the various fields of social life: in solidarity, in culture, in the life of the cities, in the field of healthcare, education, politics and support for the family”. John Paul II had also asked for this: “I encourage – he wrote in his letter of 11 February – French Catholics to be present in all the sectors of civil society…with the task of forging a serene dialogue that is respectful of everyone”.