Looking to the future” “

After the great event of WYD the German Catholic Church is showing a new consciousness and a renewed wish for action. So much emerged from the plenary assembly of Germany’s bishops, who met at Fulda from 19 to 22 September. Apart from the celebrations commemorating the 40th anniversary of the exchange of letters of reconciliation between Germany and Poland, the German bishops looked back to the youth meeting in Cologne to review the situation of the Church in Germany and to think of the future. “NEW SIGNS OF THE TIME”. A panoramic view of the current situation of the Church in Germany was offered by Cardinal Karl Lehmann, bishop of Mainz, who was re-confirmed President of the German Bishops’ Conference. Lehmann devoted his keynote speech on 19 September to “New signs of the time. Criteria for analysing the situation of the Church and guiding its actions”. He tackled the situation, problems and priorities of the German Catholic Church in a climate of “reigning secularism”. The cardinal first of all drew attention in general to “a return to spirituality, especially as a consequence of tragic events” such as 11 September, the tsunami or the terror attacks in Madrid and London: “I don’t want to draw long-term optimistic forecasts from these events, but they do demonstrate that there does exist in man – even if dispersed and hidden – an ultimate profundity that has not disappeared for good in the generalized climate of secularism” of our time. This new religious conviction – Lehmann continued – was announced by the “new religious faith of the young generations, as emerged in an exemplary way at the WYD in Paris, Rome, Toronto and Cologne”. But the cardinal warned of the danger of enlarging the concept of religion to “represent only a very vague transcendental movement”. We especially need to beware of a concept of religion that “in various respects is largely incompatible with the Christian faith and especially with its understanding of Church”. KEYWORD: non FALLING INTO LINE. According to the President of the German Bishops’ Conference, “it’s not enough to trace the limits against the forms of life that predominate in the secularised cultural world. It would be even worse to adapt ourselves to them”. It is clear that in this way we would not convince people. On the contrary, this adaptation would result in the Church losing its own power to attract people. “…a Church adapted to society would become superfluous because it would offer something that already exists”. PrioritIES. Cardinal Lehmann spelt out a number of priorities for the Church in our time: living with pluralism by defending its own positions; mounting a “spiritual” offensive, based on the direct and personal witness of Christians; recognizing and integrating the contributions of all the elements that compose the Church, while holding fast to the fundamental distinction between clergy and laity; experiencing the Church and the faith by basing oneself on the “primacy of God” and “primacy of the Gospel”; and abandoning the temptations of self-sufficiency, in the sign of the seed that, dying, produces the birth of the plant. These, in short, are the priorities to tackle the times we live in. What is needed is a Church able to take a courageous stance in a pluralist world: “If we wish to survive in a situation of pluralism, we must also have greater courage to defend our positions. If we are really Catholics, and hence universal, at least potentially, and if we believe in our faith and in our reason, we cannot isolate ourselves in an obtuse self-limitation. We must finally emerge from a situation of inferiority complex that is still present, nor must we blindly follow any trend to show our presence of spirit”. The Church must have the courage “to bear witness in a binding and determined way within an open society”, since “only in this way can the Gospel of Jesus Christ develop its real power”. Ecumenism. Lehmann then spoke of ecumenism: “ecumenism, even in the 21st century, is a gift of the Spirit”. The ecumenical movement must be promoted, albeit in the consciousness of having to respond to “crises and setbacks”. “We must grow far more by entering into dialogue with the strengths of the other person. We cannot be satisfied with the minimum common denominator”, he declared. “The living faith is concrete and often reveals its inner strength in its realization. Abstract formulae are not a living witness. That’s why we must go forward together in greater depth. A vague direction in ecumenism is not enough. We must learn more from each other, through dialogue and sometimes through dispute… We must be more open and dare more, but only if we are ever more deeply rooted in the faith and if we remain ever closer to Jesus Christ”.