Youth for unity” “

“Vatican Council II is the compass for our journey in the 21st century”, says Cardinal WALTER KASPER , president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. The cardinal took part in a meeting held in Bolzano in recent days to mark the 40th anniversary of Vatican Council II, on the invitation of the local bishop, Wilhelm Egger. We interviewed him, and asked him to sum up the “ecumenical” results of WYD in Cologne and prospects for the future. Pope Benedict XVI has said that he wants Christian unity to be one of the priorities of his pontificate. The recent World Youth Day in Cologne offered a chance to explore the question of dialogue. What impression did you have? “The days in Cologne clearly showed that a new generation of youth now exists who are more open to the Church and to spirituality, and who love the Pope, and this is a new and very positive signal. This generation, moreover, no longer understands the divisions that exist between the various Churches. It wishes and asks that progress be made in advancing along the ecumenical path of bringing the Churches closer and promoting unity. This generation of youth, however, must realise that Christian unity is not something that can be planned sitting round a table: it is a gift of the Holy Spirit and for this we need to pray. I think that the youth at Cologne understood all this and we have great hopes and great trust in this new generation”. World Youth Day was saddened by the news of the killing of Frère Roger Schutz. Can you tell us something of your memories of the founder of the Taizé Community? “I often met Roger Schutz. He was a simple and humble man, not a man of action, but a man of contemplation, of great spirituality and great faith and love. And it was just this deep spirituality of his that drew so many young people to him over the years. Over 10,000 attended his funeral and this means they understood his spiritual message. By his life he showed us that spiritual ecumenism is the soul of ecumenism. Roger Schutz was also a man of great silence: this too was a message that made a deep impression on many young people, even on those who are alienated from the Church but who found a new home for themselves in Taizé. That’s why I hope that this Community may continue its service and the mission begun by Frère Roger”. In terms of ecumenism, Pope Benedict XVI is expected shortly to be the protagonist of a meeting with the Orthodox Church in Istanbul. “That’s right. The Patriarch of Istanbul, immediately after the election of Benedict XVI, invited the pope to Istanbul, and as president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity I forwarded this proposal to the Pope, who immediately welcomed it with great pleasure. I believe Benedict XVI will pay a visit to the Orthodox Patriarch on the occasion of the forthcoming feast of St. Andrew (30 November), patron of Istanbul”. Forty years after it ended, what is the message of Vatican Council II? Is it an obsolete Council, as some say, and do we need a new one? “Undoubtedly it was a fundamental stage in the life of the Church. It also had repercussions on the life of the other churches and was very important for ecumenism. Vatican Council II gave the Church the opportunity to reflect on herself, and to define what the Church is: people of God, body of Christ and temple of the Holy Spirit. The message of Vatican II has not been exhausted. This Council still has things to say to us today. In particular I refer to the title of the Constitution “Christum Lumen Gentium”, “Jesus Christ, light of the world”. I think that in our contemporary world so often in difficulty, this message is still of the greatest importance: Christ is the light of humanity, the guide to show us the way in our reality today”.