Not to be minimized” “

An appeal not to “minimize” the “seriously stalled process” of Europe, and to redefine its “objectives” through “a sincere assumption of responsibility by governments”, has been made by Cardinal CAMILLO RUINI , President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI). On opening the permanent Council of Italian bishops on 19 September, Ruini spoke of the “process of the European Union”, which “has seriously stalled as a result of the negative outcome of the referenda on the Constitutional Treaty held in France and in Holland, compounded by the failure to reach an agreement on the funding of the EU budget at the summit of heads of state and of government” held in Brussels in June. The resulting “pause for reflection” has given rise to the deferment of the deadlines within which the Treaty should be ratified. In the view of the CEI, the crisis of the EU “should not be minimized”, given “the gravity of the problems and the implications of the decisions that the European Union has before it”. The crisis requires that “the EU should redefine its own objectives and proportion to them the structures of the Union and any further enlargements”. The Italian bishops call for “a sincere assumption of responsibility by governments” and a “more coherent application of the principle of subsidiarity”, so that “belonging to united Europe be perceived in people’s consciousness not as conflicting with individual national citizenship, but as the condition for nations themselves, together, to secure a decent future”. Among the “significant” events at the European level, Ruini cited the 25th anniversary of the birth of Solidarnosc in Poland and the announcement of the IRA that it has “definitively” given up the armed struggle, calling it an “historic turning point for Ireland”. (For the complete text of Cardinal Ruini’s speech see old.agensir.it .) WYD AND THE “STYLE” OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. What makes the Church not an “anonymous collective” but a “communion of persons” is the “intrinsic link of the Church with the eucharistic Christ, who embraces all continents, cultures and nations”. That’s how Cardinal Ruini summed up one of the characteristics of the “style” with which Benedict XVI gave his imprint to the 20th WYD. Among the most “significant” moments of the Pope’s visit to Cologne he mentioned his visit to the Synagogue and his meeting with the representatives of the other churches and Christian communities and the Moslem community: events that expressed the “spirit” and “attitude” of “sincere and universal brotherhood” and the “peculiar charism of keeping together universal opening and Catholic identity” typical of the new Pope. TERRORISM AND THE “CHALLENGES” TO PEACE. At the international level, in the view of the Italian Church, “the worst threat, because it is morally destructive of the bonds of human co-existence, remains that of terrorism”. Citing the terror attacks of London and Sharm el Sheikh, Ruini emphasized the need to continue to react “to this threat, which cannot have any justification, in a more effective and collective way, though without making the mistake of recognizing the terrorists’ claim – as unfounded one – to be regarded as representatives of the Islamic world”. To react to the “worrying” massacres in Iraq, which “especially strike the civilian population”, it is indispensable, according to the CEI, to “insist of the democratic involvement of the population, which, in spit of everything, continues to give signs of a great yearning for redemption and revival, and to make every effort to reach shared agreements between all sections of the community”, beginning with the new Constitution. In the Holy Land, the withdrawal from Gaza “can represent an important step to peace”, but the process “remains very arduous and full of pitfalls”. “PACS” AND THE “SOCIAL ROLE” OF THE FAMILY. So-called “pacs” – solidarity pacts between cohabiting adults – risk becoming a kind of surrogate for marriage: “something – said Ruini – for which there is no real need and which would, on the contrary, obscure the nature and value of the family and cause very grave damage to the Italian people”. Cardinal Ruini re-affirmed the need to “safeguard the family founded on marriage” which “must be defended”, as Benedict XVI also stressed in his speech at the Quirinal, “from any attack aimed at undermining its cohesion and placing in question its very existence”. As regards any “public juridical recognition of de facto unions”, Ruini also recalled “the teaching of the Church which is very clear and offered to everyone”. In Italy, he said, we must never lose sight of “the very great social role played by the family”. For those “unions”, on the other hand, that “have a wish or a need to be given legal protection, in their reciprocal relations, there exists in the first place the path of the common law”. “If any further, specific and well-founded needs should emerge, any legislation to protect them ought not, in any case, to give rise to a legislatively pre-constituted model tending to define something similar to marriage, but ought to be confined to the sphere of people’s rights and duties”.