A decisive space

A meeting devoted to “a new humanism for Europe: the role of the universities” will be held in Rome, from 21 to 24 June 2007. Promoted by the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome, the meeting will be subdivided into four areas of research (the human person, the society of man, the view of the sciences, creativity and memory) and will culminate in a meeting with Benedict XVI, on Saturday 23 June. This meeting and other important questions is touched on by Monsignor CESARE NOSIGLIA , CCEE delegate for catechesis, schools and universities, in a message to the participants in the European meeting of national delegates of university ministry, held in Rome from 28 September to 1st October 2006. DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHURCH AND UNIVERSITIES. Three particular fields are underlined by Mons. Nosiglia in his message: the consolidation of the network of delegates and national leaders of university ministry in the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe and in the local Churches of the continent; the fact that the “European space of higher education” will start in 2010, i.e. the objective of the so-called “Bologna process” that will guide the life of the universities of Europe; and the preparation of the European meeting of university teachers in June 2007. As regards the first aspect, Mons. Nosiglia stressed that the European Bishops’ Conferences must consider the university ministry “an absolute priority in their mission and in their service of evangelization and cultural promotion”, so that “the dialogue between the Church and the universities may once again become central in the pastoral programmes of the local Churches and of each Christian community”. It is also important, he suggests, to “activate the link between youth ministry and university ministry that, at times, struggles to get off the ground in the dioceses, but that represents one of the most effective means for educating the new generations in the faith”. DELICATE TRANSITION. With reference to the “European space of higher education”. Mons. Nosiglia pointed out that “for the Church this is the first cultural challenge of the third millennium. In fact, the Bologna process, to which 45 European countries have signed up, is not only an ‘administrative’ process, but also one of redefining the very idea of the university”. “After its birth from the heart of the Church – added Mons. Nosiglia – the University is now being re-thought on the basis of contemporary European culture and the socio-economic expectations of Europe”. The university experience now “affects the majority of youth aged between 19 and 30 and represents a place of cultural formation and elaboration decisive for the construction of Europe”. In Nosiglia’s view, “the Church in Europe can look forward to 2010 with confidence and hope”: “The publication of the ‘Lineamenta [guidelines] of university pastoral care in Europe’ and the network of national delegates are the basis from which to start out to launch a project of pastoral reflection and animation aimed at involving all the local Churches, in particular those containing university campuses”. According to Mons. Nosiglia, “it is essential that the Church be involved in supporting university pastoral care in the last years of the Bologna process, so that students, teachers and technical and administrative personnel may discover the vocation and the responsibility of being active in the universities in this delicate historical transition”. A GREAT CHALLENGE. A great deal of interest and attention is also being aroused by preparations for the European meeting of university teachers. “It’s the first time – pointed out Mons. Nosiglia – that the CCEE is involving university teachers. It’s a great challenge and a great opportunity for dialogue and communion with the academic world”. The meeting, he explained, “would be developed on the model of the Jubilee of the Universities, favouring moments of cultural meeting, prayer and ecclesial sharing”. Together with the CCEE a number of other Catholic bodies are involved in its organization: offices of the Roman Curia, such as the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Federation of Catholic Universities (FUCE), theological faculties, movements and associations, and religious congregations that work in the universities. The support and coordination of the bishops’ conferences is very important – declared Monsignor Nosiglia – to encourage the participation of teachers of all local Churches, especially those with university campuses”. Moreover, the meeting in June is just one of the events being planned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the treaties that laid the foundation of the European Community, “in the perspective of the witness of a qualified Christian presence for the construction of united Europe”. Mons. Nosiglia also recalled another key event in the preparations for the meeting in June 2007: the 5th European University Day that will be celebrated on 10 March 2007, on the theme “Intellectual charity, the means for a new cooperation in Europe and Asia”.