From wait to recovery

Major agreement on the role of Christians in Europe after Sibiu was conveyed November 25 during the meeting on the third European Ecumenical Assembly held in the same Romanian city in 2007 in the framework of the conference of Italy’s diocesan delegates for interreligious dialogue and ecumenism (Rome, November 24-27). Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue, Domenico Maselli, President of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FGEI) and Jonathan Boardman, dean of the Church of England in Italy, jointly highlighted the challenges of contemporary Christians in the Old Continent that are: “Environmental protection”, “the reception of immigrants”, “the relevance of Christian confessions within the realm of European institutions in the promotion of fairer societies”, “the fight against poverty”, “the struggle against fundamentalism”, “the commitment for peace”. On Mount Sinai. “The ecumenical undertaking is like being on the Mount Sinai after the Israelites’ flee from Egypt. Had they gone to the Land of Canaan immediately after, they would have had to face the Egyptian army. Thus, the Lord made them dwell for a few years on the Sinai. The same can be applied to the ecumenical journey: it’s important not to retrogress. In fact, this moment of ‘wait’ ought to trigger renewed thrust and force” Domenico Maselli declared. “Today, rather than addressing the generic unity movement, our efforts must focus on a number of nodal points”, the first being ecology. “The commitment of all Christians for the Creation – he added – could lead to significant results. Let it suffice to consider the commitment of our communities in energy-saving in this difficult moment of crisis”. Another area of intervention regards the reception of immigrants. In this case, “Christian Churches’ pressure on European institutions could be highly significant”. Sibiu’s meeting equally enhanced “the pledge for peace”, while “the murder of Christians” in different world areas, is reason “for major concern”.Concrete commitments. After giving an overview of the Anglican Churches’ relations with the other Christian Churches, Jonathan Boardman pointed out that a renewed “practical commitment on various issues can enjoy the joint participation at the European Parliament of Christian Churches after Sibiu”. Christians ought to voice their claims “in environment and climate-related” issues. Special relevance ought to be given to “the poverty challenge”. “Much progress has been done in this area, with initiatives for debt forgiveness, especially for the Jubilee of the year 2000, but there still is too much poverty”. Another relevant issue is “religious fundamentalism”: “a respectful approach ought to mark relations with other faiths. The journey towards unity – Boardman remarked – it’s not just a matter of the mind, but of the heart”. The Bible in Europe. Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia highlighted a concrete sign of unity: “This evening, the Bishops Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue of the Bishops’ Conference and the board of directors of FGEI will hold a meeting. This is a small step pointing to the fact that we’re following the right path”. Msgr. Paglia encouraged support to the establishment of “a fourth ecumenical assembly, after those of Basel, Graz and Sibiu”. “This event bears a great significance to Catholics – the prelate explained – and to all of Europe that risks loosing its direction, since its constitutive dimension and its very roots, are being depleted of meaning”. The prelate recalled the fruits of Sibiu, which include the joint celebration of the Day for the Protection of the Creation, the commitment in favour of immigrants and for peace. For the bishop, “priority ought to be given to the centrality of the word of God in Christian life”, as was justly underlined during the recent Bishops’ Synod on the Word. Msgr. Paglia conveyed “surprising and dramatic” data resulting from the survey carried out by the Biblical Federation throughout 16 Countries. On the one side, “there is great thirst for the Word of God, in fact the Bible is viewed as the indispensable book of life and all Countries – except for France – are considering its inclusion in school subjects”. On the other, when asked if “in the past twelve months you have had the possibility of reading a passage from the Bible”, the answers were rather disappointing. “In Italy 17 out of 100 gave a positive answer, in England 36, in Russia 35, in Spain 20”. Practising Catholics were asked where they listen to the Word of God: 80% replied at the Sunday Mass only, while only 3% said they experience it at personal level. And how does prayer take place? Over 90% use their own words “or devotion prayers. Only 7-8% said they refer to the Bible”. It is therefore necessary to give new impetus to the reading of the Bible “the place where unity can be recovered”.