Creating unity from diversity

Three days of debates, forums and workshops on the major challenges of modernization, on the dialogue between religions and cultures, climate change and the need to reconsider progress and development programs. The 90th edition of the Social Week of France took place on October 2-4 at the head offices of Unesco with the title “Religions and cultures, resources to imagine the world”. “If Pope’s Francis’ encyclical was so widely acclaimed – said economist Bernard Perret – it’s because the Pope doesn’t refrain from denouncing the gravity of the situation and the challenges it implies. It testifies to the need for strong words that today’s politicians seem unable to pronounce”. At the end of his mandate Jérôme Vignon, president of the Social Week of France (SSF), is about to leave the helm of the organization. Drawing a balance of the Social Week 2015 to Chiara Biagioni, who interviewed him for SIR Europe, Vignon said: “It’s time for Christians to show all the strength and the richness of Christian hope”. Why is this the right time? “We are now experiencing various phenomena, such as climate change, the poor performance of globalization along with the urgent need to overcome the current progress and development benchmarks. All of this signals a time for action. But society appears to be paralysed from its fear of the present and the looming obstacles lying ahead. Indeed, society appears to be unable to extend its glance to the future, while action requires a visionary approach. We are not the ones who are fundamental for future generations, but we are the ones who need a future. Discontent is evident all over: in accusations of inconsistency, appropriation abuses and excesses. What is missing is a word that announces, that pictures and envisions new possible options”. Have you identified the ways in which this could be done? “Indeed, we have indentified three major conditions for change. The first entails the acknowledgement that Christianity dwells within other religions and cultures, in a context of religious and cultural pluralism. This requires for Christianity to act as the promoter of dialogue between cultures and religions. This dialogue is not aimed at obtaining specific results, but rather its purpose is to strengthen individual identity and tradition, while respecting the most virtuous elements present in the tradition and the thought of our interlocutors. This ‘conversation’ could prompt courage, as it highlights the possibility of creating unity starting from diversity and thanks to diversity. We are in dire need of this intercultural dialogue process in order to rid ourselves of a competitive understanding of coexistence”. What else? “The second condition is to start by listening to and acknowledging the presence of the poor. This is not a mere moral obligation to repair injustice. We have realised that the poor represent a compass that mark our pace. They are a source of creativity leading to the understanding of global difficulties; they help us address climate and development problems. The third condition is individual conversion. However small, our gestures are fundamental as they transform us into persons that can be a vital gift for society and for humanity as a whole. But for this to happen there is need for spiritual commitment and formation to help us reject the de-humanisation and de-fluidification drives coming from society”. In about a month Italian dioceses will convene in Florence for the fifth National Ecclesial Assembly. This meeting is part and parcel of a process for the rethinking and renewal of the way in which the Church presents herself to the rest of the world. What kind of advice could emerge from the Social Week of France? “We have raised the same question in France during the Social Week. We have come to understand that we must no longer present ourselves as a moral force but rather as a way of being and seeing the world. For this, we have shaped the expression ‘glance of universal clarity.’ It’s universal because as Catholics we don’t have the monopoly of human hearts. We are all seeking the common good and we know that this good is expressed in the diversity of religions and cultures. It is clear because it is capable of criticism. The second aspect is to have a vision of love, and to do this we are all called to go out of ourselves and listen, and be close especially to those who suffer. Only in this way is action possible”.