In people’s heart

“Church-State relations. Theological and historical perspectives”. That was the theme of the Second Catholic-Orthodox Forum held in Rhodes from 18 to 22 October, on the invitation of His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The meeting was hosted by Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes and was a follow-up to the “positive experience” of the First Forum, which was held in Trent in 2008 on the theme of the family. The Forum in Rhodes was attended by 17 delegates of the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE) representing the Roman Catholic Church and 17 representatives of the Orthodox Churches in Europe. The participants also worked on drafting a final message. “Not a document of normative value, nor a text that is obligatory for anyone, but the fruit of our work and the expression of the common conviction” that emerged from the interventions during these days of debate. We spoke of the Forum in this interview with Cardinal Péter Erd?, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and President of the CCEE. What value do these Forums have? “I would like first of all to recall that there are various levels of contacts between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. There’s the theological dialogue pursued by the mixed international Commission that deals with dogmatic questions and that is pursued, on the Catholic side, by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. Then there are other forms of meeting and dialogue like this European continental forum which is dedicated to moral questions or questions of social doctrine but also practice. That means we don’t want to discuss principles of theology, but on the basis of our theological convictions which are shared on very many points, we try to evaluate situations that arise in our continent, to formulate concrete proposals and, where possible, to find ways of acting together, with common proposals and actions to present to society”. So, does that mean that in the social doctrine of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches there are many points in common on which it’s possible for you to work together? “Yes, there are, and it’s very encouraging. Also at this recent Forum we were able to experience this in terms of the question of religious freedom and the various levels of relations between State and Church, and hence the Churches’ commitment to public activities for the good of society such as education, care for the sick, and social assistance. So, yes: there do exist common points between us”. In terms of Church/State relations, what situation is emerging in Europe? “It’s many-sided, given that the Europe to which we refer comprises both the European Union and the countries represented in the Council of Europe. So a total of 47 countries. That means that the situations are very different. However there are features that recur in many parts of the continent: such as for example State recognition, sometimes including State economic aid, for the cultural, educational and charitable activities performed by the Churches”. What, on the other hand, are the concerns that the Churches are expressing at the present time from this point of view? “We have an overall situation that is rather encouraging. That means that, after the political transformation of 1989, new laws and regulations were introduced in all the [former Soviet bloc] countries of Eastern and Central Europe in terms of the recognition of Churches and religious communities and their activities. Religious freedom is recognized not just as an individual right, but also as a collective right that refers to religious communities. Of course it’s important that Churches and communities also have the possibility to be recognized according to their own structures, for example, according to the internal structure that a Church may have on the basis of its own faith”. In your introductory address you spoke of an ever more secularized Europe, in which the temptation exists to relegate Churches to the private sphere. Does this only happen in the Western part of the continent? “No, this temptation exists just about everywhere. It’s also true that European society is discovering the need for objective values, also to avoid prevent anarchy, the crisis itself of society: an experience unfortunately common in the countries of Eastern Europe. Society is seeking shared values that correspond to the human values that, in the light of our faith, the Churches recognize and above all experience. All this because man’s reason is able to known the objective truth about himself and the world. This is our common conviction. On the other hand, we also see that societies are beginning to acknowledge the need for these objective values and truths and are tying to enter into contact with the communities that transmit a faith-based vision of the world to society, because there’s wide recognition that the State in itself, hermetically separated from any system of faith or religious convictions, is unable independently or arbitrarily to create values. That’s why it must seek these values in society, and in the heart of the men and women who live in society. In this sense the Churches have a very special role to play, not least in the way that States function”.