An indispensable service” “

“Working without sparing any effort to re-establish the full and visible unity of all the followers of Christ”: the “priority commitment” assumed by BENEDICT XVI at the start of his pontificate was re-affirmed by the Pope during his meeting with the 150 delegates of Churches, Episcopal Conferences, Communities and Ecumenical Organizations of Europe, meeting in Rome for the “first stage” of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3, Sibiu, 4-8 September 2007). Recalling the theme chosen for the Assembly (“The light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for renewal and unity in Europe”), the Pope said: “”it indicates that this is the real priority for Europe: committing ourselves so that the light of Christ may shine forth and illuminate with renewed vigour the steps of the European continent at the start of the new millennium”. “This – concluded the Pope – is an indispensable service to render to the European Community, which has enlarged its frontiers in recent years”. CHRISTIANS IN EUROPE. “Europe – said the Pope – has a need to rediscover its Christian roots”, but with a view to an “incisive and illuminating presence” of Christians, “the way of reconciliation and unity needs to be pursued with greater determination”. “If the process of unification that Europe has begun is to be fruitful, Europe needs to rediscover its Christian roots, and give scope to the ethical values that form part of its huge and consolidated spiritual heritage”. But the witness of the Christians of the continent necessarily requires their unity. This is an ecumenical challenge made yet more urgent “after the fall of the [Berlin] wall, which divided the countries of Eastern and Western Europe”. “Experience – concluded the Pope – amply demonstrates that sincere and brotherly dialogue generates trust, eliminates fears and preconceptions, dissolves difficulties and opens the way to serene and constructive debate”. AN EVER MORE DEMANDING CHALLENGE. Rome, therefore, is the city that hosted the first stage of the journey of the Churches of Europe to Sibiu. The hosts of the meeting were the representatives of the Christian Churches in Italy: Cardinal Camillo Ruini for the Catholic Church, Gianni Long for the Evangelical Churches and Metropolitan Gennadios for the Orthodox. “We need – said Cardinal CAMILLO RUINI – to rediscover a common witness if we are to be more incisive in the edification of Europe. The history of the last few centuries shows us how grave is the sin of division, also in relation to the tragedies that have torn apart our continent”. In a continent in which “the religious and humanistic values” risk “being substituted by scientific and technological rationality”, the challenge for Christians “has become ever more demanding and we cannot just resign ourselves to our divisions”. Bishop AMÉDÉE GRAB, President of the CCEE, added: “A dialogue that is confused with compromise is not real dialogue. The time has come to deepen what is meant by dialogue and especially its relation with truth”. “It’s very risky to remain locked in the antitheses: identity or dialogue; truth or dialogue; truth or love. We cannot deceive ourselves into thinking that it is we, with our own strength, who are able to take forward the ecumenical process. But for the Risen One everything is possible”. BROTHERHOOD REDISCOVERED. “The process of ecumenism in Europe is undoubtedly one of the few gifts of grace in this century, in some respects rather obscure”, and “it is irresponsible to speak badly of it or to belittle it: even though it has not yet led to unity, it’s not true that it has not borne fruits”: that’s the optimistic message that Cardinal WALTER KASPER, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, brought to the European delegates. The “most important” fruit – he continued – is what John Paul II called ‘brotherhood rediscovered’, or the growing ecumenical consciousness of our continent”, even though, he explained, “today sometimes we no longer know what we want and run the risk of going in too many directions at once, with the consequence of finding ourselves ever further apart than before”. Cardinal Kasper remarked that this “ecumenism of ‘well defined profiles’ leads to a certain disenchantment, but also to greater honesty. Only by starting out from clear positions is it possible to know each other, appreciate each other and, above all, embark on a serious dialogue”. “We need – he concluded – to work in an orderly way and aim at convergences”. Kasper’s view was largely shared by the German Evangelical Bishop MARGOT KÄSSMANN: “The unity of our Churches is not a fixation, but a biblical obligation justified by the witness of our Saviour”. If “the aspiration to a ‘common Eucharist’ still remains an open question”, said Kässmann, the European Churches must pursue together “the objective of the reinforcement of faith in our continent. Many people no longer know the Bible, children are no longer educated in religious belief, the young are disoriented”. So we need “to dare a missionary renewal together”.