The “bridge-country”

Each papal journey is an occasion to recall the salient points of the social doctrine of the Church. This time the journey took place at the heart of Europe, in ancient Austria, centre of the former Habsburg Empire, a multinational empire that for centuries re-united different nations, from Italy to Poland, from Germany to Hungary. The folly of man turned it into the scapegoat of the First World War, and wished its destruction. So a whole complex world of balances, of co-existence between different peoples, a world of contacts between East and West, a “bridge-country”, as Benedict XVI said, collapsed in Europe. The road that led to nationalism, a world that Pope Pius XI denounced as “exaggerated”, to totalitarian and to disasters on a scale never seen before in the history of mankind, was thus opened. The recent apostolic journey of Benedict XVI in Austria was the occasion to recall her vocation in Europe: “We find ourselves here in a historic place – he said in the Hofburg – whence for centuries an empire that united large parts of Central and Eastern Europe was governed”. Of course, conditions have changed since then, “after the horrors of the war and the traumatic experiences of totalitarianism and dictatorship”, yet Austria remains at the heart of Europe. It’s a vantage point from which to observe the whole European continent. For this reason the Holy Father wished to transmit a new message that offers a kind of portrait of Europe with all its contradictions. Europe is a reality that is rooted in Christianity, which, over the centuries, has modelled, organized and structured the continent. It has filled churches, monasteries and sanctuaries, like that of Mariazell. But this Christian world has been divided and ecumenical dialogue remains a hope difficult to realize. This Christian world has aged. It doubts in itself. It doesn’t even dare to speak of its Christian roots. It fears the world around it, in particular that of globalization. It allows a culture of death to grow at its heart, as John Paul II said: the culture of abortion and euthanasia. It’s true that in its history Europe, as the Pope said, “has also experienced and suffered terrible errors”, such as the “ideological restrictions of philosophy, science and also of faith, the abuse of religion for imperialistic ends, the degradation of man through theoretical and practical materialism, and lastly the degeneration of tolerance into an indifference devoid of any reference to lasting values”. But at the same time Europe remains a model of life based on social order, the result of “economic efficiency combined with social justice, political pluralism with tolerance, liberality and openness, and the preservation of values that give it its particular position”. Europe is the world where faith and reason can dialogue. It’s the world of wars, but also of reconciliation and of a model of economic and political unity that still presents many weaknesses, but that remains a unique achievement in the history of man.This Europe “has a capacity of self-criticism which distinguishes it and qualifies it amid the vast panorama of the world’s cultures”. As such it has a unique responsibility towards the world. It has the responsibility to offer a model of social life, of peaceful co-existence between citizens of different cultures, of democratic debates, and also the responsibility to promote peace and development, counter every form of violence and enter into dialogue with everyone.