The best ways

The 15th International Ecumenical Conference “The transfigured Christ in the Orthodox spiritual tradition” was held at the monastery of Bose (Italy) in recent days. During the meeting SirEurope’s correspondent Chiara Santomiero interviewed the Apostolic Nuncio to the Russian Federation, Monsignor ANTONIO MENNINI , on the dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox. Patriarch Alexei Il has thanked you for your work in fostering good relations between States and Churches with “affection, openness and trust”: are these the keys to dialogue between Orthodox Church and Catholic Church in the Russian Federation? “The best ways are undoubtedly those of mutual love, understanding and patience. In visiting Orthodox churches and Orthodox exponents I try to make them understand that the Church of Rome and the Holy Father loves, respects and understands them and truly considers them sister churches. In this I try to follow in the footsteps of John XXIII, in his experience as nuncio in Bulgaria, according to whom ‘only the road of charity is the road of truth'”. How is this approach translated in practice? “In a basic attitude of affection which means acceptance, solidarity and the celebration of many aspects of Orthodox spiritual life, as John Paul II exhorted in his documents Orientali lumen and Ut Unum sint in which he invited Latin Catholics to seek nourishment from the spiritual riches of the Eastern Churches. At a more down-to-earth level it’s translated into exchanges of visits, meetings, and in the itineraries established by the local mixed Commission which has already addressed various problems, solving some and continuing to dialogue on others with shared commitment. Various Russian seminarians, moreover, are sent – with the consent of the Patriarchate of Moscow – to study in Rome, to enable them also to understand and learn our values. One of the fundamental problems in relations between Catholics and Orthodox, at least in Russia, is the lack of knowledge of each other; it’s no accident that Metropolitan Kirill proposed some time ago that Catholic nuns, priests and theologians should write in the journals of the Orthodox Church to explain to the faithful what are the Catholic Church, its spirituality, its saints, and that Orthodox exponents should do likewise in Catholic journals. When I am asked in our parishes how we should conduct ourselves with the Orthodox, I remind them that they are in the first place those who go to school with our children, those we meet at work, and on the street: this closeness to each other in day-to-day life ought in itself to lead us to develop forms of mutual understanding and solidarity”. In another interview you spoke of the close ties between Catholics and Orthodox in their approach to most of the challenges of the modern world: what did you mean? “In Europe we find ourselves having to come to terms with de-christianization, whether manifest or latent, not only as regards family life, but also the identity of the person, the loss of a consciousness of the Christian’s social duties, his commitment in history, and his involvement in what Paul VI called ‘the highest form of charity’, namely, service in politics. There are so many questions we could tackle together with the Orthodox at the European level, especially now that Europe has been enlarged and includes nations with an Orthodox majority such as Romania and Bulgaria, and that could include, in future, a case like Serbia. There are fundamental ethical values that basically derive from Christianity and that could be not only defended, but also integrated and re-explored together”. What is the presence of Catholics in Russia? “A minority presence, as it has always been. For instance, many Catholics of German origin have left the region of the Volga, and Novosibirsk, because up to two or three years ago the German government continued to recognize their German citizenship and guarantee a pension to those who returned to Germany. To this should be added the phenomena linked to the dwindling birth rate from which Catholics too are suffering. So it remains a minority presence, but one with its own identity, its own consciousness and fidelity to the values of the Gospel, experienced also with common suffering side by side with our Orthodox brothers during the persecutions of atheism”. The close relations between the ecclesial hierarchies and institutions in Russia are reported by the media, but what is the degree of religious freedom in the country? “Russia has its peculiarities; we cannot imagine that a particular view of democracy can automatically be applied also to Russia, though it is undoubtedly making huge strides in this field. Faced by a moral vacuum just about everywhere, the Russian government and especially President Putin are trying to instil the young with a civic conscience, which also involves the recognition of religious values, obviously characterized by the Orthodox majority of the country. Nonetheless President Putin has repeatedly declared that the State is ready to help the Orthodox Church and all other religious confessions that work for the good of the country”.