Now that we’re free

On September 28 ended the 13th apostolic visit of Benedict XVI in the Czech Republic, a three-day trip to the heart of Europe. The Pope recalled the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Wall and celebrated the annual feast of the identity of the nation bound to Saint Wenceslas. SIR Europe interviewed Msgr. Jan Graubner, President of the Czech Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Olomouc, to trace a balance of the apostolic visit and identify the challenges of the East European Church. What are the future perspectives for the Czech Republic, the Czech Church and more in general for Eastern Europe after the Pope’s visit? “During the visit to the Czech Republic Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly referred to the period that began in 1989. During these past 20 years the Church was once again free to perform her public activity and contribute to the development of society. The Pope reminded us that faith must be lived primarily as a personal relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Now that we’re free from pressures, we could accomplish all that we want, but we’re still unable to. The Pope referred to the danger of being trapped in the nostalgia of a past that abounded in religious faith. But faith must be lived today, preserving the spiritual heritage of our ancestors and ensuring that it responds to contemporary needs. This is a major challenge for the Christian communities and an important task which is being carried out by the new Church movements”. During the visit the Pope described Europe as a home, a spiritual homeland. What does this mean to the Czech Republic in terms of integration in the European Union? What contribution can be given by the Czech Church? “Europe experienced wars and conflict. However, Christian faith has always provided the believers with the ability to reach reconciliation, forgiveness and to overcome differences. Also the new image of united Europe risen from the ashes of ideologies has Christian roots, and was created by distinguished Christian politicians (such as Adenauer, De Gasperi and Schuman). Europe cannot be understood without Christianity. In order to address the new difficulties rhetoric and political and economic agreements are not enough. Indeed, it is necessary to acknowledge Europe’s spiritual foundations. The distance from politics, European leaders’ contempt for ethical values, testified with their own lifestyles, are challenges for the Christian faithful and constitute an opportunity to reflect on their own responsibilities as citizens. Indifference and the quest for personal profit trigger dangers across society. Contemporary Christians must not remain silent. With their own lives they have the major responsibility of bearing witness to the fact that it’s more important ‘to be’ than ‘to have’, and that egoistic sentiments need to be courageously abated. Today a life lived responsibly cannot afford ignoring the political realm”.The recovery of freedom after Church repression paradoxically risks shattering the cohesion and the profundity of East-European Church faith, that kept alive under the threats of Communist rule. In Europe, ethical relativism appear to prevail over the Christian roots. What are the possible solutions? “Contemporary ethical relativism doesn’t threaten only Europe. It extends across the entire Western world. Certainly this is also the reason why Benedict XVI underlines the importance of uniting reason to faith, reason and the recovery of the truth. Faith and reason mutually support one another. Catholic intellectuals play a major role in this. The voice of the Christians must be heard, for the good of society. The Czech Republic, like many other post-Communist countries, is now part of the EU. This membership brings us material benefits, along with the disruption of moral values. Christians in all Countries must engage in bringing Gospel teaching into the public arena, while traditionally larger Catholic Countries must help small countries that are yet to recover from Communist devastations. This is our common task. A small country can’t make it on its own. But EU Christians are the majority and can therefore share hopes and responsibilities”.