Never shirk your mission” “” “

John Paul II and the involvement of Christians in politics; Cardinal Etchegaray and the primacy of conscience; Junker and the pride of being Europeans; Delors and the courage to face the future; Chirac and the sentinels of thought. “The centenary of the Semaines sociales is an occasion to rediscover the long tradition of the social teaching of the Church”, which together with the Gospel proposes “a new approach to Europe” today, indicating “the indispensable foundations for the construction of society, so that persons and peoples be always respected, and the freedom and dignity of each be promoted”. So writes John Paul II in his message to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, his special envoy at the centenary celebrations of the Semaines sociales de France, held in Lille from 23 to 26 September. In the document, read out by the Cardinal to the over 4000 participants in the Week gathered in the “Grand Palais de Lille” on Saturday 25 September, the Pope recalled “the scandal represented by fratricidal wars”, and called for “a Europe of solidarity, aimed at the well-being of all its citizens”, a Europe whose “example may open the way to forms of integration with countries in other continents”. The Pope appeals to “Europeans to step up cooperation between the North and South to curb the scourges of poverty, pandemics and conflicts” and “contribute to a genuinely sustainable development” that “may permit all peoples fairly to enjoy the planet’s resources”. “In this spirit – continues John Paul II – the presence of Christians in social life represents a valid witness. Through their way of analysing social phenomena and proposing solutions to them, they place before everything the sense of man and the hope they derive from Christ, and recall the role of the Christian, moral and spiritual values that lie at the origin of their existence and action”. According to the Pope, “particular attention needs to be devoted to the young” to whom “not only knowledge, but also values and hope need to be transmitted to enable them to cope with some forms of behaviour” that are disturbingly on the increase in our time, “such as suicide and the use of drugs”. John Paul II also underlined the importance “of the involvement of Christians in politics”, urging them “never to shirk their own mission in this field and always seek coherence between the Gospel, the divine and apostolic tradition, the teaching of the Church and the decisions they are called to make”. “Serving one’s own fellowmen in a disinterested way for a civilization ever more worthy of man”: that, for the Pope, is the essence of the “vocation of the Christian laity”. Travelling universities – “The great merit of these travelling universities (as the Semaines sociales have been called) is to permit rigorous confrontation with social realities in the light of the social doctrine of the Church”. So said Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who recalled in this connection the primacy of education. He stressed that “the Church is infinitely respectful of consciences and is concerned to offer clear guidelines also to stimulate the taste and appetite for the future”. At this time of strong international tensions, he added, “Europe can bear witness to the truth that at the heart of wars and horrors there is always an impulse of generosity, there are always extraordinary acts”. Proud to be Europeans – “Europeans must be proud of Europe, especially bearing in mind their fathers’ desire to devote themselves to actions of peace and justice at the end of the Second World War. They must be proud, because a common path has been traced with great effort, with different speeds but without interruptions”. Today, said Jean-Claude Junker, prime minister of Luxembourg, to foster “pride without arrogance, genuine European parties are needed, social dialogue needs to be created in the Union, and politics renewed to combat growing disenchantment with democracy. We must, above all, think of the twenty million unemployed that represent the 26th member state”. These thoughts were shared and developed by the reflection of Jacques Delors, former European Commissioner, which began with the question: “If faced by so many difficulties the “no” votes had been more numerous than the “yes”, what kind of Europe would we have today? What message of hope, peace and justice would Europeans have been able to give to themselves and to the world? With fear the future cannot be constructed, with fear the diversities remain impediments and not resources, walls and not the places of dialogue and cooperation are raised. Europe must, on the contrary, be ever more felt by its citizens as a positive daily experience: in this Christians must be in the front line”. Of the same mind is the President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac. In his message to the participants in the Semaine sociale he urged them to be “sentinels and communicators of ideas”.