Not devoid of resources” “

In France “a perverse effect of the law on religious symbols” has been registered and often turns the “public structure into a sanctuary in which religions do not enter”. One of these effects was the refusal of some schools and colleges “to establish a chaplaincy, out of fear of having to grant the same authorization to Muslims”. The point was made by JEAN-PIERRE RICARD , Archbishop of Bordeaux and President of the French Bishops’ Conference, during a speech he gave to the meeting “The Catholic Church in France today” promoted by the Saint Louis de France Cultural Centre in Rome on 4 October. Archbishop Ricard was in Rome to attend the Synod of Bishops. NUMBERS OF THE CRISIS. Archbishop Ricard made a lucid analysis of the situation, not disguising the difficulties: in France there was a drop in the number of baptized (69% of the population), falling from 432,701 in 1993 to 385,460 in 2002, a drop in the number of marriages in church, from 132,128 in 1993 to 110,409 in 2002 (out of 288,000 civil marriages), of the number of priests (from 30,909 in 1992 to 25,542 in 2002), of seminarians (from 1172 in 1994 to 773 in 2003), and a reduction in the number of practising Catholics and youth who go to church. Ricard said he was “worried” but not “agonized” by this situation”: “In the course of its history the Church has responded to the crises that have struck it through a supplement of faith and a renewed missionary vigour, taking seriously the call to holiness. The reconstruction of the Church in France following the French Revolution – the archbishop recalled – is a fine example of this. I believe this is what we are called to do today. The Church, no doubt, is faced by a terrible challenge, but it is not devoid of resources to tackle it in a positive way. I think that the current crisis of the Church is more a slow crumbling away that a real change”. THE CHALLENGES THAT NEED TO BE TACKLED. The tasks proposed by Archbishop Ricard to tackle these challenges include: a more community-based ecclesial life, the development of formation and the deepening of spiritual life, a renewed youth apostolate, greater attention to the pastoral ministry of initiation (the number of adult catechumens in increasing in France), the stimuli offered by the new communities, and the courage to speak and dialogue, also with the other Christian churches and religions, and also with the state institutions. In this regard, Ricard recalled that the French Church is engaging in “regular dialogue with the state authorities, in full respect for a kind of secularism that is well understood, namely the recognition of the non-confessionalism of the State and its religious neutrality”. But “autonomy and neutrality don’t mean ignorance or absence of relations – he explained -. It is the responsibility of the State to ensure freedom of conscience and guarantee the free exercise of cults. The State must see to it that each Church or religion is able to exercise its activities not only in the private sphere of consciences but also in the public arena as organization. We are grateful to the State for having set up, in 2002, an official structure for dialogue with the Catholic Church”. At the end of his speech, Archbishop Ricard spoke of the reorganization of the dioceses – through the regrouping of parishes following the drop in the number of priests – and also of the reform of the French Bishops’ Conference, which now works especially at the level of ecclesiastical provinces, rather than at the regional level. The objective is “to permit frequent exchanges between bishops, and facilitate cooperation and mutual aid between the dioceses”. France: centenary of Cnafc The centenary of the National Federation of Catholic Family Associations (Cnafc) is being celebrated in France this year. CNAFC is an umbrella organization representing 350 associations and 38,000 families. It was founded in 1905. The member associations are celebrating the centenary with two main events. The first is the solemn Mass celebrated in the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris on Sunday 2 October, at the end of the so-called “Familiathlon”, comprising a series of sporting and other popular activities in the Champ de Mars. Then, on Sunday 9 October, the Catholic family associations are urging families to perform a “gesture that may bear witness to their concern and affection” “throughout France” and within each family. In recent days some representatives of the Federation testified before the parliamentary Mission charged with monitoring the development of family law. The Federation has asked Parliament to establish a “hierarchy” between the various “contracts” that link couples in France, “bearing in mind the paramount interest of children and of society”. In the view of the Federation, “civil matrimony, between a man and a woman, made to last, is the alliance that society must protect and enhance. It must benefit from public recognition”.