The right to serve

“In this age of ours, in some respects distinguished by great progress but also dominated by a culture that tries to neutralise the Christian presence in society by relegating faith to the private sphere, the ‘common European home’ must be supported on principles able to strengthen it, illuminate it and give it a soul”. It is an observation and, above all, an invitation to remain steadfast in the pursuit of commitment and responsibility.Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, bringing a message of Benedict XVI with him, gave the tone to the work of the plenary of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), held in Fatima from 4 to 7 October in the year of the centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to the children Giacinta, Francesco and Lucia.The strong bond, the visible and invisible communication, that unites innumerable faces in history was manifested once again when tens of thousands of pilgrims congregated once again to say, in prayer with the bishops, that the Christian roots of Europe are more alive and fruitful than ever. As if to say that God perhaps cannot be written on paper but is inscribed in the life, heart and thought of European man.This consciousness, serene and restorative, accompanied the CCEE plenary in its further step for the love of Europe, to proclaim the Gospel of hope to the poor, the homeless, the unemployed, the foreigners in need, the suffering, and the defeated who also exist in this continent. It’s a consciousness that made Cardinal Peter Erdö, President of the CCEE, exclaim: “without the Church, Europe would lack a heart”.The affirmation is not presumptuous, but invites us to acknowledge that “as Christians we have much to contribute to the construction of the common European home”.The starting point must be reflection on and witness to the family founded on marriage. For without it, it was said, Europe will have no future.It’s not a partisan defence, not even a confessional interest, but a service to truth, a strong affirmation of a value that has not been weakened, or depreciated, in time and that belongs to each human person, in every part of the world.In Portugal, a country of adventure, the bishops reaffirmed the universal dimension of a Church that reaches out from Europe to embrace the whole world and in particular Africa. She raises her voice in defence of human rights and of the dignity of the human person.It’s not a political project, but a presence in the city of man to share his hopes and his fears. It’s not an improper claim but the legitimate request to exercise “the right to serve in the name of God who became man so that all men and women may be happy”.In this adventure without frontiers, ever greater importance is assumed by the witness of unity of the Christian Churches, which with the European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu felt that something new is being born.The time for ecumenical euphoria has passed. A new age has begun: that of a mature and renewed ecumenism committed to the task of patiently listening to each other.No step backward, but the consciousness that in response to major themes like those of life and the family ecumenical dialogue too has a need for new perspectives if it is to remain faithful to God and faithful to man.A pause might be needed, not to interrupt the journey but to recoup our strength and better define the direction in which we are heading.The CCEE plenary showed great serenity in considering this prospect. It remains firm in its deep conviction that, in response to secularisation, the Christian Churches of Europe must speak “with a single voice” in indicating paths of truth and of freedom.