So that Europe grows

The meeting that opens tomorrow, 15 January, in the city of Martin Luther, at Wittenberg, in Germany (until Sunday 18) represents the Third Stage leading to the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) due to be held in Sibiu (Romania) in September this year, in a process planned by the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC). The theme of the Third stage in Wittenberg is: “The light of Christ shines on all. Rediscovering the gift of light that the Gospel represents for Europe today”. THE PROGRAMME. The meeting will open with an ecumenical prayer in the cathedral of Wittenberg and a first session (at the Leucorea University) in which speakers will tackle the question of “secularisation as a challenge for Europe”, with interventions by the Anglican Grace Davie, professor of sociology and director of the Centre of European Studies, University of Exeter (UK); the Orthodox Archbishop Jeremiasz of Wroclaw and Szczecin (Poland); and Monsignor Aldo Giordano, general secretary of the CCEE. Theme for the discussions on Friday will be: “Experiences and concerns of today. Contributions from the Second Stage from various regions of Europe”; over forty regional experiences realized between January 2006 and the present day, as stages in the pilgrimage leading to Sibiu, will be described. The delegates will then split into work groups to formulate “our response for Europe”. This will be followed by a tour of the land of the Reformation: local churches will invite the participants to join guided visits to trace the central stages in the life of Martin Luther. In the evening there will be time to listen to two impulses on the contribution of German theology to the ecumenical movement. Saturday will be devoted to a debate on “What vision do we have of Europe?”, to reflect on the challenges of EU expansion and on the non-member countries of the EU. The participants will also work on defining the programme for the Sibiu Assembly. The evening will be dedicated to testimonies of reconciliation in Europe and a prayer on the theme of “martyrs”. A joint farewell ecumenical celebration will be held on Sunday morning. THE THIRD STAGE. “While in Rome (First Stage towards Sibiu) the aim was to throw light on the Catholic Church’s contribution to the ecumenical movement, by visiting some symbolic places of Catholicity and by meeting the Pope, in this new stage the aim will be to highlight the contribution of the Reformation. The time for Orthodoxy will come in Sibiu, in Romania, in September 2007”, explains SARAH NUMICO , staff member of CCEE and delegate for ecumenism. She adds: “During this meeting the participants will take forwards their reflection on how to ‘rediscover the gift of light that the Gospel of Christ represents for Europe today'”. The same 150 delegates who had met in Rome for the First State have in fact been invited to Wittenberg. They are the connecting thread of the whole process, those who must bring the message of Sibiu to their countries and their Churches to arouse in them local initiatives to accompany the European process. “There are nine spheres in particular – points out Numico – that appeal to Christians in Europe today and are being examined by the work groups (unity, spirituality, witness, Europe, religions, migrations, peace, justice, and safeguard of the creation), resuming most of the themes formulated in the Charta Oecumenica . These meetings wish to be above all a strong spiritual experience, an occasion to celebrate together, an expression of sharing and brotherhood, and a way of joining together to ask for the gift of unity”. IN THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY . The final stages of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly coincide with the year in which the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaties of Rome is being celebrated. “Two distinct processes – that of the Churches and that of the States -, yet in both progress towards two different experiences of ‘unity’ is arduous”, reflects Numico. In her view, “it is certainly more urgent for Christians to work for the unity of the Churches (since the division between them is more scandalous) than for that of the States. Nonetheless, no effort has been spared to seek political unity, both at the level of national Churches, and at the European level through organizations like COMECE, in spite of the repeated criticisms of the loss of references to values registered in the years that have gone by since the original project of De Gasperi, Schumann, Adenauer”. The aim of the Churches “is undoubtedly bolder and more challenging, but its success is assured, because the Churches are called to render visible a unity that in fact already exists and is full”. The States have as their goal “a ‘union’ that at times seems to totter under the weight of strong national interests or the loss of the goal”. “If Christians in their process of reconciliation are able to make significant progress, at Wittenberg, at Sibiu and on every occasion for ecumenical meeting they will have during this year – concludes Numico -, their witness cannot but bring benefits to, and also help to accelerate, the process of political Europe”.