The name of real freedom

“We are at a time in history when our consultation, reflection and ecumenical prayer are urgently needed”. These words opened the annual Meeting of the Joint Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE). The meeting, that closed on February 20, was attended by the delegations of the two European bodies, respectively chaired by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, CEC President (ecumenical patriarchate) and by cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and CCEE president. “In this city of Belgrade – said the Catholic Archbishop – is especially evident the importance of signs that can and must be delivered by Christians to show that it is possible to continue along the path of reconciliation”.Christians’ contribution to peace. The meeting in Belgrade focused on the theme of peace and on the contribution that Christians are called to give for its full realization. Peace – said cardinal Erdo – “is not an over-statement. It is not the mere absence of war, nor superficial passive tolerance”. Peace, which Christians in Europe are called to erect, stems from the commitment “to enhance the beauty and richness of the various forms of identity and communion”. Namely, acknowledging and respecting “the value of nations viewed as a Community of language, history, culture, historical experiences, and religious traditions”. The commitment is ever more urgent and crucial “in a world that tends to overlook its roots and ends up aligning with an indistinct mass of uniformed consumers, or drawn by fear seeks shelter in nationalistic and extremist stances”. “I believe – continued the Archbishop – that our presence in Belgrade is an important sign, testifying to our yearning for peace. However, it seems that for many of our contemporaries peace is a concept that is hard to conceive. It must be remembered that the unity of Christian Churches cannot be established only with a confessional ‘peace agreement’ based on the minimum common denominator!” First of all, Christians should be “grateful” about the “ecumenical progress of the past years” and also be aware “of what is still lacking, which we, in our capacities as heads and members of bodies committed in the visible unity of Christian Churches, cannot afford overlooking”. The Christian roots of Europe. In his opening address, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, CEC president, said that the acceptance of the Christian roots of Europe, far from engendering forms of “resistance” enables Europe to become a place where “all religions find their place within a diversified landscape” which is profoundly interlaced by a “common history”. “In other words – he added -, I wish to underline that the affirmation of Europe’s Christian identity is not exclusive but inclusive, meaning that it contains the preconditions for the development of the foundations of our democracy, i.e. the freedom of worship”. To this regard the Metropolitan bishop quoted from the Charta Oecumenica, which this year celebrates the 10th anniversary of its ratification in Strasbourg: “On the basis of our Christian faith our commitment is for a human and social Europe, for the reaffirmation of human rights and of the fundamental values of peace, justice, liberty, tolerance, participation and solidarity”.A true notion of religious freedom. For Massimo Introvigne, in charge of the anti-discrimination desk at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Christian’s contribution to the full accomplishment of peace consists in the joint creation of “a true notion of religious freedom”, avoiding “the two opposite mistakes of laicism and fundamentalism”. “Both stands – he said – deny the just relationship between faith and reason. In fundamentalism, faith denies reason. In laicism rationalism denies faith. Both are enemies of religious freedom: fundamentalism imposes religion with force, whereas laicism imposes the lack of religion. Only the just balance between faith and reason – without confusion nor separation – guarantees religious freedom, which, the Pope assures, is the fountainhead of moral freedom, which encompasses all authentic freedoms”. Ultra-fundamentalist Islam seeks “to put an end to the bi-millenary existence of Christian communities in the Near East, by resorting also to terrorism. Efficient measures are thus needed for the protection of religious minorities”. At the other extreme, there exists the phenomenon of Christianophobia in the West. “We have reached the point – Introvigne said – where Christians are expected to profess their faith without referring to their religious and moral tenets, and even to contradict them”.