From the new world to the Old Continent

From Rio de Janeiro to Krakow; from the New World to the Old Continent… yet after the Days in Rio it would be more truthful to say: “from the new world to the ageing continent”. Moreover, Poland, a leading country in Eastern Europe, is at the centre of that very Continent whose gelid rationality and hardened heart is discordant with the warmth of millions of young people who welcomed Pope’s Francis’ proposal. It’s still early to draw a balance of the outcomes of the WYD, due to be formulated soon. Over the past hours we experienced a strong, inspiring sentiment, along with a sound ecclesial restlessness, which we will hereby express with a question: which Church will Pope Francis meet in Krakow in three years’ time? Will the next 36 months that separate us from the 29th WYD in the homeland of Blessed John Paul II, who despite Catholic conformists was determined to hold the event directed at young Catholic participants, be sufficient to assimilate Pope Badoglio’s lesson? It’s a legitimate question, as the words which the Pope has addressed to bishops, priests, religious, and to millions of young believers, show no sign of resignation. In fact, what emerges is the determination to change the course of the history of the Church, starting with a sad reflection on our present times: “It’s not a time of change, it’s a change in times”. We’re already experiencing a “new epoch” the Pope seems to infer. To drag on divisions and philosophized concepts is no longer acceptable. As Europeans, we have the duty to strongly reiterate the question which the Pope repeatedly addressed to his interlocutors, including political leaders, during the days in Rio: “What is it that God is asking of us?” In the next three years the Churches of Europe will need to provide an answer to that question. We cannot remain indifferent before the request to place Christ “at the centre” and become ourselves a periphery. However it goes, Jesus is “at the centre”. We place Him  – and not our church, our association, our movement, our community or our parish  – at the centre of our lives, i.e. not ourselves. Placing each and every one of us a little further is not a mere geo-ecclesial relocation, pertaining to a new ecclesial geography. It’s a true revolution of the Church, whereby we are called to wear the cloak of the disciples of Emmaus. By reflecting on our enervated Europe, on its intellectual and financial bulwarks, we will grasp the scope of the challenge raised by Pope Francis. All of Europe shows signs of delusion. But Francis’ answer doesn’t point at other people’s responsibilities. Rather, it prompts reflections on whether the Church is perceived as “too cold”, “too distant” or “too caught up with itself”. “Perhaps a prisoner of its own rigid formulas, perhaps the world seems to have made the Church a relic of the past, unfit for new questions; perhaps the Church could speak to people in their infancy but not to those come of age”, said Pope Francis. To this disappointed humanity the Pope calls for an answer that is to be found by building bridges over divides, by going towards the poor (in growing numbers worldwide) that risk loosing their patience and may cease to await Gospel proclamation. In Rio the Pope wrote a page in the theology of dialogue and encounter with gestures and words. He did so tirelessly, in physical and spiritual terms, from the first to the last moments of his visit to the land of Brazil, treating the Indians of Amazonia and the heads of State on equal grounds: with words and embrace. From the WYD in Brazil comes a strong appeal, an engagement, along with the hope in a pastoral renewal of our Church, across every corner of the world. A young Church, capable of reaching out to men and women of our times with a mission from Jesus: “dialogue, dialogue, dialogue”.(*) editor in chief – Sir Europe