The wall and the truth

"With the fall of Communism the Church is facing new challenges, new problems, but the commandment remains the same: ‘go to the ends of the world and preach the words of the Gospel to every creature’", wrote Benedict XVI in a Letter to Cardinal Josip Bozanic, Metropolitan Archbishop of Zagreb and vice-president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), on the occasion of the third meeting of Cardinals and Presidents of Bishops Conferences of the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe on "the Mission of the Church in Central and Eastern Europe Twenty Years after the Fall of the Communist System (1989-2009)", held February 9-10 in Croatia’s capital city, which follows the meetings in Budapest in the year 2004 and Prague in 2007. Participants recalled two anniversaries: the twentieth anniversary since the fall of the wall of Berlin (November 9 1989) that marked the end of Communism, and the tenth anniversary of the beatification of Cardinal archbishop of Zagreb Alojzije Stepinac (1898-1960), martyr of the Communist regime, on the day of his liturgical memory (February 10). Mission in Europe. "The Church draws its mission, which is always the same, from its own nature", His Holiness wrote. "Until twenty years ago it was dangerous and difficult to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in Central and Eastern European countries, especially for the pastors of the Church", stated Benedict XVI. The Pope recalled the figure of Cardinal Stepinac (beatified on October 3 1998, ed.’s note) whose martyrdom and witness "are a stimulus and an encouragement to us," for the Church’s "ceaseless pilgrimage amidst world persecutions and the consolation of God proclaiming the passion and the death of the Lord until His arrival". ""The mutual cooperation between pastors and the Bishops’ Conferences is vital for the pursuit of this mission" and "this meeting is an expression of the Church’s vitality and gives new hope for the effectiveness of its mission in Europe and across the world," said Benedict XVI. "New challenges". The works were introduced by the addresses of the Cardinals Peter Erdö, Archbishop of Budapest and CCEE President, and Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice, who illustrated "the situation of Church mission in the continent from the viewpoint of Centre, Eastern and Western Europe". "Despite the radically different historical contexts – remarked Cardinal Josip  Bozanic – contemporary thought risks conveying a reductive vision of man. There is a resurgence of anthropological mistakes while the exercise of human liberty and the respect of the fundamental rights of man have gained centre-stage attention". These are "the new challenges" that the Church is called to face. While commemorating the twentieth anniversary since the fall of communism, Cardinal Bozanic recalled how John Paul II had interpreted this event "in his address to the consultative meeting in preparation of the First Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops: ‘For Central and East European Countries this event represents the emergence from the catacombs, and in fact, it is the emergence from a situation marked by the more or less radical violation of individual rights, in particular the right to religious freedom and the freedom of conscience’". No to compromise. "Reflecting upon the logic of Marxist Totalitarianism in the different Countries – said the Archbishop of Zagreb quoting pope Wojtyla – «There was a common point of departure: religion, as an element of alienation, had to disappear to enable man’s liberation. The experience of the period that had just concluded proved that the opposite was true: religion and the Church were the most effective factors enabling man’s liberation from a system of complete subjugation»". Hence the invitation, valid still today, for "the Church in Europe to undertake a new and courageous evangelization" in order to "rediscover its Christian roots and establish authentically Christian and human civilization»". In the homily delivered on the evening of February 10 in the Cathedral of Zagreb for the liturgical service in memory of Blessed Stepinac, Cardinal Bozanic declared that despite "the fall of the Wall of Berlin", truth strives to take root since while the "curtain fell and the system collapsed", the splinters "are resistant and become evident in different forms aimed at the promotion of the same falsehoods" of the past "not only in the realm of politics and in the relationship with the past, but also in the realms of education and science". "Current contradictory requests regard man’s anthropological truth, which are also reflected in legislation", but "we will never accept them" nor "will we ever accept political compromises", the prelate concluded.