Inner reconstruction

The Twentieth century has been rightly described as an era of Saint Popes. All were outstanding figures, full of wisdom. Through them the Church, in her relationship with the world, has been able to reach so many hearts. Everyone respected the Church as an institution of great moral authority. Today, owing to a set of painful circumstances, we find ourselves in a different situation.Pope Benedict XVI has had to face many moral failures on the part of priests and bishops. Especially in Western countries we have witnessed scandals of paedophilia, with the grave suspicion that the solution to these severe crimes has not been sought with appropriate consideration. And paradoxically, the wave of scandals culminated during the Year for Priests. For Benedict XVI and for the whole Church, the public display of these weaknesses has inflicted a terrible wound. But not only the sexual abuse of minors have caused the Church’s abandonment on the part of so many people, exposing her to the risk of losing of moral authority.Today, the use of material goods is considered an indication of the moral stature of an individual. The Catholic Church is the owner of many assets in European countries.The purpose of the administration of these assets is to create resources for the mission of the Church and solidarity with the needy. Thanks to the generosity of many donors in the countries of Western Europe, after the fall of the Iron Curtain the Church in Central and Eastern Europe could rebuild its structures. The Catholic Church in Central and Eastern Europe is now learning to manage its material goods under new circumstances. Occasionally the Church fails to do so successfully and the mistakes, sometimes serious, made by those managers in charge of church property triggered in the public forum multifarious question marks and have cast a shadow on the credibility of the Church. The Catholic Church in the Old Continent is thus called to solve a set of internal problems, which require a great deal of energy. At the same time the Church is called to address the culture of death, which is edging its way into legislative systems and public consciousness. Thus with courage and consistency the Church is called to take a stand on crucial themes regarding the human person whilst not underestimating the serious implications of its internal problems. The solution to these questions entails the recognition of mistakes and communication. Otherwise the Church is exposed to the risk that the media, incessantly reverberating Church scandals without an adequate answer by the authorities in charge, may trigger disappointment and detachment also on the part of devout faithful. Trust is like a reed in the wind. It cannot be bent infinitely, or it will break.It should be mentioned, however, that today the Catholic Church in Europe is a healthy and thriving organism, as reflected in a wide range of initiatives and in the desire of many to belong to the Christian community and live the sacraments, along with the rediscovery of traditional Christian spirituality. But failures are confusing and it is very humiliating to recognize that even among ourselves there are things which, using biblical language, rarely occur even among pagans.Notably, it should be pointed out that the media’s yearning to gain an increasing number of readers underlies growing interest for the Church on the part of public opinion which shows that despite our weaknesses the world is not indifferent to Christians. Naturally, it is understandable that the Church, which has always sought to provide moral authority, is now judged with greater severity. This is to be welcomed, as what has happened should be viewed as God’s invitation to carry out inner renewal, with the purpose of triggering consequential changes. This is the only path that opens our hearts to the Holy Spirit in order to better understand the significance of the new evangelization, with the courage of following the road whereby religion and culture engage in a fruitful dialogue.(*) executive secretary of the Slovakian Bishops’ Conference