Speaking, listening, meeting

“Commitment to the search for the visible unity of all Christians is essential, so that the light of Christ may shine on all men”, declared BENEDICT XVI in the message sent to Cardinal Peter Erdö, President of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), and to Pastor Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), on the occasion of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) that opened in Sibiu, in Romania, on the evening of 4 September and brings together some 2,500 official delegates of all the Christian Churches of Europe till 9 September. Theme of the assembly: “The light of Christ shines upon everyone. Hope for renewal and unity in Europe”. DIALOGUE AND ENCOUNTER. Expressing the hope that “this important meeting” would contribute to progress along the path of ecumenism, and to the recovery of full and visible unity between all Christians”, the Pope declared: “This is a pastoral priority to which I have given much attention since the start of my Pontificate”. Reviewing the steps taken so far and recalling the previous European Ecumenical Assemblies in Basel (1989) and Graz (1997), and the signing of the Charta Oecumenica (Strasbourg 2001), Benedict XVI explained that “there is no true dialogue until there is listening as well as speaking, and when in listening people meet each other, when such encounters mean good relationships and when relationships involve understanding”. According to the Pope, two elements are essential in ecumenical dialogue: “the dialogue of truth, and meeting in the sign of brotherhood”. The basis of both “needs to be spiritual ecumenism”. THE “ROYAL DOOR”. “Prayer for unity – continued the Pontiff – is the royal door of ecumenism. It leads Europe’s Christians to a fresh vision of Christ and the unity of his Church. It also enables us to confront with courage the painful memories that are not lacking in European history, as well as the social burdens of our age and the relativism that predominates today”. “We Christians – exhorted the Pope – must be aware of our task of helping Europe and the world to hear the voice of the one who said: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life’ (Jn 8:12). Benedict XVI continued by urging that the light of Christ shine before the men and women of our time: “Let us ask God for unity and peace for people in Europe and declare our readiness to work together for proper social development of society in Europe, both in the East and in the West”. He also expressed the hope that from the meeting in Sibiu people would “be able to gain valuable insights into the continuation and deepening of Europe’s special vocation”, and that it would help to “create spaces for encounter for unity in legitimate diversity”. A NEW EUROPE . “Sincere and objective” dialogue between Christians is a prerequisite “to decisively contribute to the strengthening of reconciliation and communion, even between the European peoples, promoting the creation of a New Europe” said BARTHOLOMEW , the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, at the prayer which opened the Assembly. The foundations of this future reality, added the patriarch, “cannot be only limited to economic and political, or cultural and national, dimensions. That’s why – to the best of our abilities and as fully convinced Christians – we support and offer our contribution to the creation of a human and social Europe” in which “human rights and the fundamental values of pace, justice, freedom, tolerance, participation and mutual support” may prevail. The Patriarch Bartholomew also looks to the cooperation of the different monotheistic religions: “Their principles and basic values not only promise but also impose the mutual respect of human dignity and the peaceful cohabitation of all peoples and all faiths”. No religion can justify intolerance and fanaticism. GOSPEL, MIGRATIONS AND ENVIRONMENT . More than an event, it is an “assembly process” developed through different stages that have helped “find new light for the ecumenical path”: this is the definition given by the secretary of the Ccee, mgr. ALDO GIORDANO , of the Assembly currently held in Sibiu. “The meeting between the East and the West”, the “confrontation with secularisation”, “the identity of the different Churches as an exchange of gifts” are the focus of attention, according to mgr. Giordano, to “explore our being Christians” against any superficiality, “the first obstacle to the ecumenical path”. “The coverage Sibiu will receive is essential for ecumenical life and for the Christian testimony in Europe”, highlights the president of the Conference of Kek, JEAN-ARNOLD DE CLERMONT , with reference to the need to “share, with Europe and all the world, the important challenge of migration and the environment”. “Rediscovering the liveliness of the Gospel and the need of the ecumenical path for the continent today” is, according to COLIN WILLIAMS , secretary general of the Kek, “the main goal of the EEA3”, so that we can “find again new confidence in ourselves and in our apostolate, at the dawn of this century. Europe risks becoming poorer, without our contribution”. NO TO ECUMENISM MADE OF CONVENIENCE . “The suffering and the pain of my friends is also my pain. We did not mean to hurt or debase anyone”. Card. WALTER KASPER , president of the Papal Council for the Unity of Christians, went straight to the point. As he took leave to speak at the Third European Ecumenical Assembly of Sibiu (Romania), before an audience of about 2,500 delegates from all the European Churches, he immediately made reference to the document published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Church, which had recently emphasised “all the differences that unfortunately exist”. “I know – said card. Kasper – that many people, especially many evangelical brothers and sisters, have been hurt by this. This does not leave me cold either, it burdens me too”. “We meant – explained the Vatican delegate – to give evidence of the Truth, something we expect of the other Churches as well, like the other Churches certainly do”. Because – went on the cardinal – “an ecumenism made of cuddles or convenience, in which one only wishes to be kind to each other, does not help make progress; only dialogue, in truth and clarity, can help us move on”. THE “THERAPY”. On the day the Sibiu Assembly is addressing the subject of the Unity of the Church, after submitting a survey of the ecumenical situation, the cardinal moved on to the “therapy”. “The method of Convergence that has been used so far – he said – turned out to be fruitful, and we have kept applying it to many controversial issues so far”. “But in the meantime – he added – this method has clearly worn itself out; right now, we cannot move much further along this way”. According to Kasper, this “is no reason to give in to resignation. We can mutually give evidence of our respective positions in an honest, involving manner. We can do it without being controversial or restrictive”. “This means: we can learn from each other. Instead of converging at the lowest common denominator, we can enrich each other with the heritage that we have been given”. A serious responsibility burdens the Christian in Europe. “Because of our divisions, we have dimmed the light of Jesus Christ for many people”. Before such situation, “we cannot consider ourselves satisfied at all with ourselves; we cannot keep going on as if nothing had happened. There is no responsible alternative to ecumenism. Any other position contradicts our responsibility before God and before the world”. CHRISTIANITY MUST BE INTENSIFIED. “I think the first big obstacle to ecumenism is the ignorance of Christianity, the superficiality of the Christian life. The first task we have to fulfil, even in Sibiu, is to intensify and live Christianity”. It was said by cardinal PETER ERDÖ , archbishop of Budapest and president of Ccee, during the first day of the III European Ecumenical Assembly. “Often we have to painfully see how little Christianity is known in Europe today in its true essence – commented card. Erdo -. Many masks of Christianity, often deliberately fake, are around. It is urgent that the ecumenical path may become a place of spiritual and theological exploration. By learning the Holy Writs and the truth of our faith, we can grow in our Christian identity”. Another ecumenical task “is to face modernity and secularisation together”: “The Christian communities of the East and West have different experiences. There is something to be learnt from each other. We have the duty to show, together, that the Gospel can converse with every culture and has the strength to enrich every culture”. “The ecumenical path – he highlighted – the hardness of the Cross. But the perseverance of Christ teaches us to be faithful and consistent in every good thing, even in our ecumenical efforts”. A SOUL TO EUROPE. “Today, the defence of a unique social morality and of the Christian values in today’s Europe is impossible, if the Christians from the main confessions, despite their doctrinal differences, do not join their efforts”: it is an invitation to solidarity and unity, the one the metropolitan bishop KIRILL of the Patriarchate of Moscow made to the 2,500 delegates at the III European Ecumenical Assembly (Sibiu, 4-9 September). “The old notion of ‘ecumenism’ – he commented – is no longer up to the task. The Christian solidarity, based on the unique and unchangeable ethics of the Gospel, and the common testimony of the Christian values are perhaps the last option for Christians to give back a soul to Europe by joining their efforts”. This is why “the Christian communities must support each other – – exhorted the Metropolitan Bishop -, maintain friendly relations, exchange their experiences, speak with one voice to the outer world, have common social projects”. “By defending our common ethical rules – he specified – the Christians must try to have contacts with the delegates of other religions who have similar moral positions to Christianity. Despite all their differences, the traditional religions have the shared view of the priorities of the eternal values against the earthly fleeting values”. BEYOND THE DIFFERENCES. “It is no longer an obvious thing that the ecumenical convoy moves on”. This is why “together we have to desire the movement even more intensely; and we have to agree on the direction it must go”. It was said by the Bishop WOLFANG HUBER , President of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany as he spoke at the first plenary meeting of the Third Ecumenical Assembly about the Unity of the Church. With reference to the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Evangelical Bishop said: “it seems to me, as usual, that ecumenism becomes heavier if the phrase “Churches in the proper sense of the word” becomes the apple of discord between the Churches”. “For the Evangelical Churches – said Huber – the respect of the ecclesiological foundations of those who fight for the unity and the truth of Christ is a fundamental rule of ecumenism”. Hence a proposal: “Today, we have to live ecumenism in the awareness that the Churches concerned do not only have a different ecclesiology, as well as different understanding of the ministry and ordination, of the relation between the Scripture and the Tradition, of the role of women within the order, but they also have a different understanding of what visible unity means”. THE ONLY CHURCH. “It is the only Church of the Lord which convenes in Sibiu, in this ecumenical assembly of ours. Even if the historical journey of the ecumenical movement looks tiring and controversial, here we can live a similar experience to the one of Mount Tabor”: it was said by card. DIONIGI TETTAMANZI , archbishop of Milan, in the morning biblical meditation of the third European Ecumenical Assembly. “The journey of those who look for unity – he added – is a flight from oneself” and “requires the courage of giving oneself up, of being able to get lost to find oneself again in the only true identity of every Christian, which is Christ himself who lives in us. The deep identity of the Christian is not ethnical, or cultural, or confessional. It is eschatological, because in Christ we are already and not yet the children of God”. Then, card. Tettamanzi recalled that “without the Spirit and without the wait, the Church is only a religious organisation of this world, ecumenism is a diplomatic activity in search of successful bilateral relations, unity is the accomplishment at different times of a sociologically-winning ‘model of Church'”. THE RELIGIOUS HERITAGE. “Protect the religious heritage in Europe”. It was asked by RENE’ VAN DER LINDEN , president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In speaking to the delegates of the Assembly, in Sibiu, he expressed his wish for “an international treaty to protect, both at war and in peace, churches, mosques, synagogues and any other sites that have a spiritual significance”. For van der Linden, “religion and religious organisations play a vital role in society. Through their deep respect of the dignity of every man, they are essential to promote peace and justice in the world. I think – said the president – that politicians must acknowledge all this and strengthen the role of the Churches and the religious organisations in society”. A NUN. A Dominican nun in a Zen Buddhist monastery in Japan. The experience was told by the protagonist, sister Katrin Amell, during the time allocated to the testimonies. Sister Katrin described the week she spent among the Japanese Buddhist nuns: hard and long days starting at 4 in the morning, then the sutra, meditation, manual work, the lessons, zazen and ceremonies, until 9 pm, in complete obedience to the superiors. “The nuns had opened me their space – she told – and I was one of them within the community, but always myself in my Christian identity. They liked it that I wore my Dominican habit, and no one tried to convert me to Buddhism”. “I have learnt a lot from them – she added -, for instance being present in the here and now. This makes life much richer”. A RENEWED VIGOUR . Christians have the duty of and the responsibility for “making the most of the European heritage and guiding the continent to a renewed spiritual vigour”. It was said by the archbishop ANASTASIOS of Tirana and all Albania. “We Christians – said the Orthodox archbishop Anastasios -, as the children of light, are called to spread all the colours of the spectrum of white light: the light of peace, with ourselves, with those who are close to us, and with the world; the light of justice, by fighting for a fairer society at a local, European and global level; the light of truth, by exploring history and analysing reality; the light of hope, for the unity of all the peoples of the continent, with their differences reconciled”. TOWARSD UNITY . “I have been impressed by the words spoken yesterday by card. Kasper. They prove that even in the Catholic Church there is a hot debate. It is true, there are differences and problems, but unity is entering the European unconscious”. These are the words of the Anglican reverend RICHARD CHARTRES , Bishop of London, as he replied at the press conference, during the Third European Ecumenical Assembly, to a journalist who asked him his opinion about the latest document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “Ecumenism – said the Bishop – is not done by looking at each other, but looking together in the same direction”. As to the testimony of the Churches in Europe about the major ethical issues, such as euthanasia, life, family, on which the Churches often have different views, the Bishop said: “In this century, we are facing some serious challenges that demand a strong testimony”, which can only be given “if we share our understanding of the lesson of Christ”. A TRIPLE LEGACY. The contribution of Christianity and the other religions is essential to a Europe that stands as a Community of values. It was stated by the president of the European Commission, MANUEL BARROSO , as he spoke at the Third European Ecumenical Assembly. “The mission of Europe in the 21st century – he said – is to promote economic and social development, and face the challenges of globalisation, while retaining the legacy of the European peoples and respecting their differences”. But, he added, “Europe also has a purpose: it must defend and radiate the values to which the Europeans are attached, such as human dignity, freedom, solidarity, tolerance, social justice and the constitutional state”. “These values are the cement of European unity” and come “from deep roots, inherited from the peoples and cultures that have come before it. It is a triple legacy, which is expressed by the triad of Athens, Rome and Jerusalem, i.e. philosophy, law and religion; the triad of reason, law and morality, at the source of what we call European civilisation”. In this process, “Christianity and its different confessions have been a unifying force”. GOOD RELATIONS . “The relations with the bishops of the Greek Catholic Church are good”, and problems about property can be solved in the future. This was stated by archbishop NIFON of Tirgoviste (Romania), president of Aidrom, an ecumenical association of the Churches of Romania (Orthodox, Lutheran, Armenian but not Catholic). In explaining to the press, this morning, why this distance, the archbishop recalled that for years in the eastern countries the Churches have been trying to solve the problem of property. “There are deep conflicts” about this issue, also caused by the differing interpretations of the canon law. Therefore – highlighted the archbishop -, “our misunderstandings do not concern the doctrine, but property”. “There have been many attempts to solve them. The Romanian government has been involved too. However, we are reassured by the fact the relations with the bishops of the Greek Catholic Church are good, and I am sure these problems can be solved as well”. AN ECUMENICAL PILGRIMAGE . It would be nice to end the assembly with a gesture, a common initiative, such as an ecumenical pilgrimage to the Holy Land, planting trees in a wood, a day of silence”: this is the idea and the wish made by mgr. ALDO GIORDANO , interviewed during the Assembly. “The Assembly is a space to meet and reflect – says to Sir mgr. Giordano -. It is a European ecumenical place. The delegates should become the multipliers of the message of the Assembly, through initiatives in their regions. I can’t imagine another assembly like this will be held any time soon, but hundreds of meetings around these people who, compared with the Assemblies of Basel and Graz, have now become ‘thoughtful’, more and more aware of the serious challenge we are facing”. According to mgr. Giordano, the Assembly of Sibiu shows “a mature ecumenism”, standing out for “a climate of great seriousness”. Being in Romania, in his opinion, “makes us feel even better the problem of the relations between the East and the West in Europe, the fear of modernity and of the West”. Regrettably, he admits, “sometimes in ecumenical dialogue we found difficulties, because it is not always the pure love of the Gospel that guides us. Sometimes we are paralysed by our traditions, by the negative legacies, by the fear of losing power”. THE FORUMS. Inter-religious dialogue, the challenge of migration, Europe. These are the subjects of the three forums that in some points across the city have engaged in the afternoon the 2,500 delegates of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly. The Forum on religions spoke of “the way religions can contribute to the future and to a new view of Europe as a continent based on mutual respect, reconciliation, and fair and peaceful cooperation”. The Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral of Sibiu hosted the forum on migration, which compared several experiences of how migratory flows change the face of the Churches in Europe. “Here in Sibiu – said ANNEMARIE DUPRE ‘, in charge of the “Being Church together” project – we have to make a strong appeal to all the Churches for all migrants, regardless of their beliefs”. “We are called to give a testimony of the fact that living, working, and praying together, while belonging to different nationalities, races and cultures, is possible and is an enriching experience. The presence of a delegation of Christian migrants from different European countries is a sign of this hope”. Finally the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, RENE’ VEN DER LINDEN , confided to the press that there are great expectations within the Council of Europe for the visit of the Patriarch of Moscow Alexius II next October, because “this is – he said – an important sign which highlights the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that exists between the Churches in Europe”. by M.Chiara Biagioni and Patrizia Caiffa SIR correspondents in Sibiu