Different but not far apart

On the 12 May over 180 movements and communities of various Churches, and over 10,000 participants, will meet in Stuttgart, Germany, for the second time (the first was on 8 May 2004), fifty years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome and as part of the process of preparation for the Third European Ecumenical Assembly at Sibiu, in Romania, from 4 to 9 September. The Convention “Together for Europe”, promoted by the St. Egidio and Focolari movements, was presented to the press in Rome in recent days. The following were present at the press conference: Gabriella Fallacara, of the Focolari; the German Gerhard Pross, representing the Evangelical community; the Belgian Christophe D’Aloisio, President of the World Confederation of Orthodox Youth, an umbrella organization representing 120 associations in 40 countries; the French Gerard Testard, President of the Fondacio community; and the English Emma Barnes, of the Anglican Church’s Alpha course. The programme of the Convention envisages exchanges of experiences and debates on European social issues: youth, family, politics, economy, ecology, art and evangelization. Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Cardinal Péter Erdo, President of the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), Cardinal Karl Lehmann, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, the Rev. Keith Clements, general secretary of the Conference of Christian Churches. IN THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL. “We Christians wish to be united in a united Europe – said MARCO IMPAGLIAZZO -, to build together a new social fabric, in our continent in crisis, based on a radical return to the Gospel and shared commitment on common issues, such as strong opposition to the death sentence”. “At this moment in European history, so complex and difficult, in which the Christian values are being violently attacked, we wish to say, all together, with St. Lawrence: our night has no darkness. For the light that shines from the Gospel is inexhaustible”, declared GABRIELLA FALLACARA, who added: “We believe in the Europe of the spirit, which asks of everyone, believers and non-believers, a commitment to living together in communion”. “Let us realise the miracle of unity”, said GERHARD PROSS . “There are groups that two years ago would never have dreamt of finding themselves together again. And none of us is afraid of losing his or her own identity. Instead let us enrich the Church and our experience of communion without seeking a common denominator, in a pact of love and reciprocal listening” that may bring a message of hope. “It is possible to journey together and be one at heart”. “This year, our joy is even greater than it was in 2004. We Orthodox are happy to be here in large numbers, after the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU”, commented CHRISTOPHE D’ALOISIO . It’s a “witness of communion among Christians”, already in this phase of preparation for the Convention in Stuttgart – said the Belgian theologian – . “We are able to meet together to serve the project of European construction”, since “our common European roots are Christian”. And he concluded by citing St. Augustine: “Become what you are. By journeying together, in our differences, each of us fully realises himself”. UNITED FOR UNITY. According to GERARD TESTARD, France especially “has a need” for Stuttgart II, for the following reasons: the referendum on the European Constitution, with its negative result, left its mark on the country, causing a perception of isolation within the Union; the crisis of the outskirts of our big cities is a deep crisis of how to integrate native-born French people and immigrants, especially Muslims”. In this context, “Stuttgart assumes a symbolic and programmatic value”, said Testard. “Peaceful co-existence is the result of commitment and good will”. It is a message “of the credibility of the Gospel today”, addressed “especially at the young”: “Christ is alive in history”, he concluded. “Europe needs to recover a deep relationship with Christ, to achieve a positive interior transformation, at the service of society”, said EMMA BARNES, who described the experience of the Alpha course of theology in England. She concluded: “We are happy to dialogue on the things that unite us as Christians, working on unity as common vision”. All the representatives of the various Christian churches said they were favourable to the entry of Ankara into the EU. Turkey, as Benedict XVI showed during his recent journey, is “one of the key countries to understand the roots of interfaith dialogue, because it represents Islam at the doors of our continent”.