A moral imperative

Ten years have passed since the then President of the Conference of European Churches, Metropolitan Jérémie and the President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, signed on April 22 2001 in Strasbourg the “Charta Oecumenica, Guidelines for the Growing Cooperation among the Churches in Europe”. To mark the recurrence the two European bodies – KEK and CCEE – convened on May 9 at Freiburg’s University, in Switzerland. The meeting occasioned the encounter of European Church leaders, so as to “treasure the memory” of the past, cherishing the contribution of all those who worked in the drawing up of the document, and most of all to address future developments of the European ecumenical movement. A serious commitment. “We hereby pursue the serious commitment for a common evangelization”. These were the opening words of the meeting in Freiburg. Msgr. Norbert Brunner, President of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, and Gottfried Locher, President of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland, delivered welcoming remarks. With the signing of the Charta Oecumenica – said the two Swiss Church dignitaries -, “European Churches have taken up the commitment of a joint Gospel proclamation in words and actions for the salvation of mankind, and for the visible unity of the Church”. Protestant Pastor Locher added: “The many commitments set down in the Charta Oecumenica must be more than mere words. Visible unity cannot be accomplished with external structures. It requires the internal force of our Churches’ faith”. Looking ahead. “This meeting – said CCEE Secretary General Fr Duarte da Cunha – has a twofold purpose”. It is “an opportunity to recall all those who contributed to drawing up the Charta Oecumenica in its final form”. At the same time, “this meeting prompts us to look ahead and makes us understand what God wants us to do in the future. The Charta Oecumenica is a major project, but it isn’t the target of ecumenism, nor is it the goal of the ecumenical process. Rather, it bears evidence to our progress whilst highlighting the need for ongoing commitment and development. For this reason it should be understood as an invitation to continue our commitment with renewed thrust”. In his address Fr da Cunha underlined “the world’s thirst of God, that is evident to all. Secularization, widespread ethical confusion, and at a deeper level, the loss of life’s meaning on the part of many of our contemporaries, conversely to what is largely believed, didn’t empty man’s heart of his yearning for truth, justice, beauty and for God, nor did not sanction the death of Christianity”. For this reason, said Fr da Cunha, Christian unity must serve as a concrete sign of God’s presence amongst us”. The path of unity. “We celebrate this anniversary – wrote CCEE President Card. Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, in a message to participants – as an important occasion that reminds us of our duty to continue on our common path of unity by means of serious and rigorous dialogue, probing into our common theological, liturgical and spiritual patrimony, and notably, with a conversion of our hearts and with prayer”. “Therefore the journey leading towards unity – continued the archbishop – should be understood as a ‘moral imperative’ in response to the specific call of the Lord. The question is how to best accomplish such unity. Christian unity isn’t simply a human reality or a sociological issue. Therefore it will not be accomplished by mere human efforts. We must turn to God, the fountainhead of true love and unity, asking that He bestow upon us the gift of reconciliation and unity”. His Eminence drew a balance of the progress made over the past forty years and mentioned future objectives. The ecumenical movement – he said – “has made significant progress over the past decades, marked by convergent stands on several questions along with the establishment of relations based on mutual esteem and respect, as well as concrete cooperation in order to jointly address the challenges of contemporary society. The Carta Oecumenica is a significant step along this journey. We are grateful to God for the fruits of the efforts for unity and beholden to all those who contributed to this common commitment. We are aware, however, that the unity for which Christ prayed, cannot be accomplished only at the level of structures or documents. Rather, it’s implementation takes place at a much deeper level”.