The living message

The definitive version of the final message of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly has appeared on its official website www.eea3.org. The drafting of the document had, ever since its reading to the Assembly at Sibiu (4-9 September), encountered some problems raised by the various Churches regarding the passage on respect for life. Various versions and translations of the text were then circulated, each citing different terms relating to the initiation and conception of human life. At the end it was decided to add a footnote relating to the paragraph on respect for human life, candidly explaining the difficulties encountered in drafting the message. We thus read in the paragraph in question: “We consider that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1: 27) and deserves the same degree of respect and love, despite difference of belief, culture, age, gender, or ethnic origin”. At the end of this sentence is introduced the footnote which adds: “At this point during the reading of the Message to the Assembly, a phrase “From conception to natural death” was offered verbally which was subsequently translated as – from birth to natural death – from the beginning of life until natural death. None of these phrases form a part of the official text of the message”. We interviewed Monsignor Aldo Giordano, general secretary of the CCEE, on the final document and its significance.What significance does this message of the Churches have for Europe?“We are happy to have a message of the assembly and very grateful to the members of the committee charged with its drafting. We now have in our hands a text particularly useful for diffusing the “spirit” of Sibiu in the various countries of Europe, for developing forms of real cooperation and for helping us to continue the pilgrimage we have begun. Once again I wish to recall that the real “living message” of Sibiu are those who participated in it. We have been encouraged by receiving in recent days information on the numerous events that the delegates are organizing in each country to transmit the experience we shared at Sibiu. We have also received various articles and reports written by the participants in the local media. I think the chance of Sibiu consists precisely in this personal transmission, at the popular and grassroots level”.Why was it decided in the last moment to add a footnote to the final text?“The footnote contained in the message expresses first of all a difficult situation created in the drafting of the document. The challenge of this document was just that of producing it during the assembly and as an expression of the assembly, and, as is easy enough to imagine, we were under great pressure to produce it in time. This text is the result of many hours of work at night. It’s enough to think that the final draft of the message was presented to the assembly at the end of Saturday morning and the workgroup had only a very few hours to try to insert into it at least a hundred amendments orally proposed in the assembly or in writing. The final written document had to be presented at 5.00 pm the same day! I think that in future we ought once again to reflect seriously on whether it is a good idea to draft messages in this way”. The fact is, however, that the question of respect for human life, on which the Christian Churches have different positions, remains open. How can we make progress here?“The footnote clearly expresses the fact that on the question of life we don’t have any full consensus between the Christian communities. That is sad, but it must urge us to examine together this question that is so delicate and crucial, with the aim of reaching a clear common position for the good of the human person. We have a grave responsibility in this field”. NoteThe paragraph and the footnote on respect for human life appear in the part of the Message of Sibiu dedicated to the witness and mission of the Christian Churches in Europe (The light of Christ for Europe). In the document, the Churches declare that “our common roots lie much deeper than our divisions” and reaffirm their commitment to pursue “renewal and unity and the role of the Churches in today’s European society”. The message then touches on the meeting with those of other religions, in particular the Jewish people “as people of the Covenant”. “In our day – write the Churches – there is no alternative to dialogue: not compromise, but a dialogue of life where we can speak the truth in love. We all need to learn more about all religions”. Again in the paragraph devoted to Europe, the Churches ask for a strong commitment to overcome every form of “exclusion”, starting out from the protection of the dignity and rights of migrants.