Will hope be recovered?

In the post-Synod apostolic exhortation "Ecclesia in Europa", published June 29, 2003, the question of hope is given primary importance. At the beginning of his letter Pope John Paul II conveys his thoughts on situations that are clouding the cultural horizons of modern Europe. For pope Wojtyla, Europe "seems to have lost sight of hope". Many people, also Christians, seem to have lost their sense of direction. People seem to live with a kind of fear of the future. The reason for this confusion "is the loss of Christian memory and heritage", wrote the Holy Father. Many Europeans give the impression of living without spiritual roots, "somewhat like heirs who have squandered a patrimony entrusted to them by history". The origin of this state of affairs is to be found in secularization processes and widespread existential fragmentation. Inner emptiness is accompanied by the loss of meaning in life. John Paul II speaks to us of the "attempt to promote a vision of man apart from God and apart from Christ". A season of loss of hope therein begins."The signs and fruits of this existential anguish include, in particular, the diminishing number of births, the decline in the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and the difficulty, if not the outright refusal, to make lifelong commitments, including marriage", the Pope states in the exhortation.Given its concrete manifestations, it should be evident also to policymakers that the demographic crisis inevitably triggers the economic crisis and causes the ensuing marginalization of Europe from the global system. Unfortunately, instead of supporting marriage and the family, on which depend the wellbeing of society, in many European countries measures are adopted aimed to their enervation. This situation could be best compared to that phenomenon which occurs after a disease when the immune system causes its self-exhaustion, losing the ability to differentiate between self and non-self. Thus an act of "self-hate" is performed (J. Ratzinger) which is an act of self-destruction. These words may seem too harsh, but how else could be described the legislative processes for promoting access to abortion, the attempts at redefining the legal status of marriage, the handling of children as objects of adoption, corrupting the morals of so-called sexual education (Cf. WHO – European sexual education), performing euthanasia on children and on patients affected by dementia? A lot is said about the crisis today, referring to the economic and financial crisis, but Europe is experiencing a far more serious crisis: an anthropological crisis that seriously impacts other spheres in the life of its populations. In this framework the apostolic exhortation "Ecclesia in Europa" is a document on hope, a message of hope. The diagnosis of the Pope, in its full topical relevance, is direly needed to identify the most appropriate remedy. It is necessary to identify with courage the disease that is consuming our society, and to enable hope to thrive in spite of everything else. In "Ecclesia in Europa" Pope John Paul II shows us that the temptation to suppress hope is present also within the Church, disguised as a secular form of faith within historical determinism, which causes Christians’ inactivity when faced with major challenges. The notion that nothing can be done to change the destructive trends of civilization gains grounds, motivated by the belief that "I am alone, while they are many". In creating man, God called upon mankind to live in freedom, and instilled the yearning for hope in men’s hearts. Future is not pre-determined. The awareness of the victory over the ideology of evil, reaffirming the right to be the ultimate narration on the meaning of history, has not yet subdued. It all began with the pilgrimage of John Paul II to his homeland in 1979. It was the first time that I suddenly realized that "there are many of us". It is anawareness and a responsibility that must be transformed into intellectual and laborious witness, so that hope may return to thrive across Europe.