Church, vital force in Europe ” “

For the past five years he has been at the service of collegiality and of communion among all the Churches of the European continent. Monsignor Duarte da Cunha was elected general secretary of the ecclesial body (until 2018) with the unanimous vote of the bishops of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences. Born in 1968, Da Cunha serves as priest in Lisbon’s Patriarchate. He was ordained in 1993; he did his theological studies in his Country and in Rome. Maria Chiara Biagioni has met him in Bratislava, Slovakia, immediately after his re-confirmation to the post by the presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences in Europe. Did you receive the news of your confirmation to the post with joy or as a burden? “Joy, unquestionably. Joy because it’s a positive recognition of the work carried out by the presidency with the support of all the members of the secretariat in the past five years, coupled by an increased sense of responsibility. Communion between bishops lies at the heart of the new evangelization and therefore being in a certain way the tool of God for this purpose is a major responsibility”. Five years in the heart of Europe. What is your idea of the Continent? “I’m under the impression that Europe is an ever-more complex reality. On the one side a big depression is growing day after day. The continent risks living for immediate reality failing to envisage a future. For that very reason it is a continent that is no longer able to have faith in God. There is a sort of sadness and distraction. Distraction because there are many stimuli, and sadness because these stimuli fail to make men and women in our Countries truly happy. There is also widespread distrust towards policymakers. I don’t know whether it’s a justified or unjustified form of mistrust. Indeed, this gradual loss of trust towards our political leadership is widespread. People seem to no longer believe that the political realm could do something for them. There isn’t a vision, a great ideal, a perspective. After all, if you loose faith you also loose great ideals, and if you loose ideals you are no longer capable of attracting people’s hearts”. This is the negative aspect. What’s the positive one? “There’s a continent rich in vitality. Also the Church in this continent is a living Church. In our travels from the Eastern to the Western areas of Europe we have always witnessed this vitality. For example, in Western Europe we have seen so many groups of young people and families that are revived, bishops and priests deeply committed for the young generations, pilgrimages, formation and prayer meetings. There is a high level of spiritual demand and even though its numbers are not evident, it’s authentic and profound. In Eastern Europe there is a living Church, perhaps it’s less organized, but it’s more spiritual”. What is the role of the Churches today? “The main mission of the Church is to be church, a people that worships God, that lives communion, that open to charity towards all. To be Church rooted in faith, in communion and in charity is our great gift we can bestow to the entire continent. The Church is not the one called to solve the technical and political problems of Europe but to be church is the greatest contribution. To be the yeast, salt and light of the earth”. What can Pope Francis give to European Churches? “The enthusiasm of the encounter with existential peripheries, which means that we have been given a treasure to be bestowed upon others. I see that the sign of the Pope is starting to be visible in people, among the clergy. It’s a sort of provocation to the style of being Church in Europe, a style that comes from South America that witnessed the personal charisma of Pope Francis. There is something in him that surprises and encourages us: his personal joviality, enthusiasm, inner peace, that brings him not to be afraid to say what he thinks and to say it with respect. For me, the Pope is already a sign of change in the style of being Church in Europe. But I also wish to underline its continuity: with different styles there is a deep continuity that has guided the Church in recent years, from John Paul II to Benedict XVI, to Francis”.