Towards full and visible unity

“Spare no effort in the task of rebuilding the full and visible unity of all Christ’s followers”: the “priority commitment” assumed by BENEDICT XVI at the start of his pontificate, was reaffirmed by the Pope during his meeting with 150 delegates of Churches, Bishops’ Conferences, communities and ecumenical institutions from throughout Europe who met in Rome from 24 to 27 January for the “first stage” of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3, Sibiu- Romania, 4-8 September 2007), which the Pope called an “ecumenical pilgrimage”. WITNESSING TO THE FAITH. “I hope – Benedict XVI had then continued – that Christ’s light will illuminate every stage of this pilgrimage and that the next European Ecumenical Assembly will help make the Christians of our countries more aware of their duty to bear witness to the faith in today’s cultural climate, often marked by relativism and indifference. This is an indispensable service to offer to the European Community which has extended its frontiers in recent years. Indeed, for the success of the unification process on which it has embarked – Benedict continued – Europe needs to rediscover its Christian roots, making room for the ethical values that are part of its vast, consolidated spiritual heritage”. The Pope also pointed out that it is the duty of “disciples of Christ” to help “Europe become aware of this special responsibility in connection with its peoples”. NINE FORUMS FOR THREE SPHERES. The Pope’s reflection has now been re-launched by Monsignor ALDO GIORDANO , general secretary of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE). “During the assembly in Sibiu – explained Giordano in a briefing to SIR – nine forums are planned. They are divided into three spheres, to each of which will be dedicated a day: the first focused on ecumenism (unity, witness, spirituality); the second on Europe (European unification, religions, migrations); and the third on the relation between Europe and the world (creation, justice and peace)”. Following the meeting of coordinators responsible for preparing the forums, held in Geneva in recent days, the CCEE general secretary expressed the hope that these themes “would be the subject of reflection during the meetings at the national and local level planned from Pentecost 2006 to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2007”. “The results of these reflections – he explains – will be pooled and used to draw up a basic text on which the delegates will be able to work during the Assembly”. How are preparations going for EAA3 in Sibiu? “There is widespread zeal – replies Giordano – and we are beginning to see some of the results of this. Among them is the national meeting that the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Metropolitanate and the Federation of the Evangelical Churches are promoting in Italy in June; the working document prepared by the Churches in Germany and linked to their own territory; the planned cross-border meetings on which France is working; and the programme of meetings in Scandinavia and in the Balkan area, in particular at Belgrade, between Catholics and Orthodox. We have also noted that, as in Romania, the country that is hosting EEA3, public opinion is also beginning to get involved”. EUROPEAN INTEGRATION. In the view of Metropolitan GENNADIOS of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, “it is essential that the Churches in Europe recognize the values of their own confessional identity, which ought not to be an obstacle to dialogue, but constitute instead the basis for being open to esteem the other Christian traditions”. “Since Europe of the military wars and the wars of religion, Europe of the struggles and schisms between the Churches, has often obscured the light of the Gospel – points out DANIEL, M etropolitan of Moldavia and Bucovina – it is all the more necessary today to work for dialogue, reconciliation, cooperation and communion between the Churches and peoples”. Daniel warns, however, that “human nature is fragile and limited”. Hence “the main duty of the Churches in Europe is not to consider our continent as self-sufficient” and as having no need for the “light of Christ”. According to Pastor RÜDIGER NOLL (CEC) , “the strongest witness that the Churches can give in Europe today is how to manage diversity”. “European integration is a theme on the agenda of the Churches”, he points out, and wonders whether “the vision of a European common home presented in the final documents of Basel is, at a distance of almost forty years, still valid” today, or whether, “in a substantially changed context, there is a need for the Churches, in the course of EAA3, to draw up a new vision” of the continent and its rules, in particular as regards human rights, against the background of the Charta Oecumenica , “an important instrument for the Churches” and a possible “model for Europe”.