Progress after Sibiu

The Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu (Aee3) indicated the strong and weak spots, along with the guidelines regarding the future of ecumenical development in Europe. These remarks were part of the letter sent by msgr. Aldo Giordano, General Secretary of CCEE (The Council of Europe’s Bishops Conferences) at three months from the meeting and addressed on behalf of CCEE to all Catholic participants (cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people). The letter included impressions and reflections on the assembly also on the basis of the contribution of participants, which were already presented at the Ccee plenary meeting held in Fatima at the beginning of October 2007. The message encloses expressions of gratitude to all those who worked for the assembly’s preparation and realization.(www.eea3.org)The richness of the Assembly– The pilgrimage-journey model. The 3EEA comprised four assembly stages: Rome, Wittenberg, national meetings, and Sibiu. This allowed for the creation of a link between the delegates and the involvement of the national bodies (more than 200 national, regional and local meetings in the course of one year).- The theme. The light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for renewal and unity in Europe revealed the urgent need to set out again from the heart of the Christian faith and consider the various ecumenical and historical problems through this light. Even the division of the various aspects of the theme – the light of Christ in the Church; the light of Christ and Europe; the light of Christ and the world – was effective.- Representation and the ‘quality’ of the delegates at Sibiu. There has never been an ecumenical assembly attended by so many delegates. Behind the delegates one caught a glimpse of the richness of the experiences of Christian and ecumenical life existing in Europe: dioceses, parishes, religious families, movements, associations, communities…The Assembly was a European space for all these experiences and deepened the network between them. Furthermore, many delegates were highly competent and expert in the various fields explored in the Assembly fora.- The meeting with the orthodox world. The richness of the orthodox tradition and its expectations of the ecumenical movement was given significant space. The very choice of the venue, therefore, whilst not easy from an organisational point of view, was useful and important for the ecumenical journey in Europe.- Attention given to the Assembly by the European institutions. The participation by the President of the European Commission, representatives from the EU Parliament, the Council of Europe of Strasbourg, the political Authorities of Romania… indicated the importance of the contribution that the Christian communities give to the public space, especially if they present themselves as united.- The atmosphere at the Assembly. From the gratitude expressed and comments that we receive one has the impression that for the majority of the participants the experience was particularly positive. Negative comments and incidents were minimal.- Moments that succeeded in the Assembly: moments of prayer; plenary sessions with high profile interventions; the fora; the informal meetings on the streets of Sibiu; the artistic and cultural events.- For the Catholics in Romania the celebration of Mass according to the Greek-Catholic rite on Saturday morning (I think there has never been a Greek-Catholic celebration with such a widespread European geographic representative presence) and the celebration of Mass on Sunday in the Latin Rite with participants who had set out at 1.00 a.m. from various parts of Romania to arrive in time for this Mass were highly significant.- Final Message. A good final message was written, useful for communicating something of the Sibiu experience. The challenge was that of creating during the assembly a message that would be an expression of the assembly. The idea of composing other texts during the Assembly was rejected, to emphasise that the Charta Oecumenica remained the fundamental text which had accompanied and inspired the work. The Assembly was also meant to be an opportunity to re-launch the Charta.- The message of Pope Benedict XVI to Sibiu; his numerous interventions supporting the Assembly over the last two years; the lighting of the Sibiu candle at Mariazell, the mention of Sibiu in his speeches in Austria; the decision that the Sibiu 3 Assembly would be in the Pope’s prayer intentions for the month of September, clearly emphasised the importance the Holy Father gave to this meeting on the ecumenical journey. It was very sad that the pontifical message has not been read at an adequate moment.The reality that we are most aware of: to have taken part in God’s work. The Assembly was accompanied by prayer and the offering of so many people, especially in contemplative communities, in various European nations.The weaknesses of the Assembly– Organisational difficulties. There were organisational problems: logistical problems in the towns of Sibiu; travel problems; delays on our part and in registration; lastminute changes to the programme by participants; difficulties and delays in planning.Once again we apologise to those who experienced bigger difficulties.- Difficulties linked to the differences in the organisations responsible for the Assembly: CEC and CCEE.- Some of the participants were stating that in the course of the Assembly there was not enough time for debate and the active participation of delegates, with a prevalence of ‘cathedra-like’ interventions to listen to. Sometimes also because we did not keep in time with the programme. There were too many greetings. On this concern one has to keep in mind that the dialogue on dogmatic questions on faith are done today mainly at a bilateral level between the communities and is not the primary task of this kind of assemblies.- The final message. After the presentation in the Assembly and the clear consensus expressed, a critical discussion arose among some delegates about the phrase respect for life “from conception to natural death” only presented orally in the Assembly. After long and difficult debates between CCEE and CEC the presidents decided to insert a note in the text of the message, concerning this phrase, where what happened is described and it is affirmed that the phrase is not part of the official text. This quaestio disputata throws up again the question about these types of message that are produced under pressure and late at night and express also the lack of consensus between the Christian communities on the delicate problem of ethics about life.- At Sibiu the questions and current difficulties in today’s ecumenical scene emerged: 1. the debate about the identity of the Churches; 2. the relationship with modernity and the question of values; 3. the relationship with the Pentecostal and evangelical communities…Assembly indications for the future of the ecumenical journeyThe fact that the Assembly was “mature and thoughtful” suggests that it is time to examine things more deeply: to examine Christianity, faith, spirituality and deepen the identities with the courage of the parresia.The Assembly showed that Christianity has a great role in Europe today because despite secularisation there are questions and a gap.The experience of being together (to pray, discuss, collaborate) showed that unity is possible and that unity is a precious good which should be guarded with every strength possible.The will for concrete collaboration between Christians in Europe over today’s pressing concerns was strengthened: migration, religions, creation, peace, justice (cf. the ten recommendations from the Final Message). During the recent Consistory of the Cardinals with the Pope it was reiterated that today social doctrine is a promising field for ecumenism.In a very clear and new way there emerged Europe’s responsibility towards the worldand the bond between Europe and other areas of the earth.From the information reaching us it can be said that those delegates who took part in Sibiu are the real opportunity of the Assembly. They are effectively becoming proclaimers, witnesses of the lived experience: if each delegate – as is beginning to happen – organises some meetings (large or small) at local level, or writes articles or opens a website or a blog about the Sibiu experience, we will soon have thousands of meetings, articles and blogs.The CCEE and CEC Secretariats are working on a joint report on the Assembly, on both CD and DVD with the greatest content possible from the Assembly and for the official records.But some time for this is still needed!We would still be grateful to receive your impressions and news about initiatives that might be taking place.Ecumenism is a journey in which we are called to follow Christ Crucified (where there is struggle and suffering) and the Risen Christ: we have experienced the joy and light of His work.We wish each of you a Christmas full of light and a 2008 in which we experience thespreading of this light in this Europe of ours.