A single soul

“The deficiency of the religion-and-democracy model proponed by privatism” “comes into light with the acknowledgement that terms such as ‘equality’, ‘rights’ and ‘democracy'” don’t refer to separate individuals since they more truthfully pertain “to people mutually linked to each other, like groups, movements and individuals who are not void of their religious identity. Rather, they are identified according to their religious faith expressed in their values and their lifestyles”. In the final statement of the XXXI European Week organized by the Paul VI Ambrosiana Foundation, in conjunction with the ‘Cattolica’ Sacred Heart University in Villa Cagnola di Gazzada (Varese), Msgr. Adriano Caprioli, bishop of Reggio Emilia – Guastalla recalled the words pronounced by Pope Montini when he served as archbishop of Milan, September 12 1958: “This European Union that is taking shape and that from one season to the next swings from an apparently joyful conclusion to a seemingly fatal delusion, is the fragile and precarious result of external drives, lacking a vibrant pulse of its own. Those responsible of this unity don’t want to renounce the scope of their sovereignty. Thus, the peace we are moving towards could be fragile and ambiguous. But the day when the free circulation of thought and friendship and of a common culture will bring together peoples, on that very day spiritual unity will become a reality (…). It is necessary that Europe be marked by a single soul, so that its unity be strong, coherent, responsible and rewarding”, Paul VI declared. An ecumenical journey. Certainly, continues Msgr. Caprioli referring to Europe, “coordinating the flow of the new migrants and guarding their legal status is not part of Church responsibility” since “to us they are people who must be given hospitality and whose problems and tragedies pertaining to employment, social integration and the family ought to be addressed”. We “can offer them our own solidarity and hospitality”, but “the challenge extends beyond fraternal support and peaceful coexistence”, since it “involves citizens’ spiritual sharing”. The Catholic world doesn’t question the eternal validity and the topical relevance of the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth” and “with due respect to consciences, as the Church did at all times, we shall continue offering the Gospel proclamation to everyone: to Christian faithful, to the indifferent ones and to the new migrants with different religious faiths”. Notably, the bishop pointed out, “The encounter with different Christian confessions ought to be viewed against the framework of “an exchange of gifts” that is part of the ecumenical journey leading to the recovered unity of the great Christian family”. “The encounter with non-Christian religions is an opportunity to re-appraise the spiritual foundations of our own identity and prompts our Catholic communities to bear joint witness to the founding pillars of our traditional culture”. Today, adds Msgr. Caprioli, “the Christian roots of culture are being ignored and even opposed by the current founding fathers of the future Europe”. “The issue of the European Constitutional charter (that was never endorsed) is a clear example. Its founding traits encompassed the Greek and Roman civilizations, the philosophical currents of the Enlightenment, while occasional reference was made to an undefined “spiritual thrust” that, accordingly, was neither Christian nor religious.” “However strange as it may seem, not one of the over 400 pages of the European Constitution reported the term ‘Christian’, starting from the controversial Preamble”. A prophetic sign. Italian theologian and writer Romano Guardini “in his critical appraisal of the modern era, described it as being affected by ‘the sin of disloyalty”, which recalls that of the farmer who expects to preserve the fruits on the tree after having cut off its roots, that occupy unnecessary space.” “Eastern culture displays a certain degree of ‘hatred and self-contempt’, which is hard to comprehend”, the bishop claimed. “The Western world strives to open up to external values but it ceased loving itself. It only perceives the despiteful episodes of its history, failing to appreciate the noble aspects”. “Those who put stock in the historical memory are aware that many of the values that we currently define as civil, modern, and jointly shared are the result of Christian tradition and culture. It is therefore necessary to highlight the social relevance of Christian communities. Within civil society marked by fragmentation and particularisms, Christian – or rather ‘Catholic’, namely, universal in the highest sense of the term – communities- are called to act as the prophetic sign of human and fraternal coexistence representing the ideal fulfillment of human society”.