European voices

Numerous European bishops have spoken during the Synod on the Word of God (5-26 October). We present a first brief résumé of some of their interventions.A unique place. Jews and Christians “are both children of Abraham”: that’s why dialogue with Jews has a need for particular attention”, and especially for “the overcoming of every form of anti-Semitism”… “Relations between Catholics and Jews are not a subset of relations between religions in general, neither in theory nor in practice. Judaism occupies a unique place among the religions of the world”. That’s why “there cannot be merely co-existence between Jews and Christians”, two peoples “intimately linked together”. (Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznàn, Poland)The greatest obstacle. “In the Kingdom of God there does not exist any proportion between investment and result, unlike what happens in the banking world of man”. “Difficulties of communication, secularized culture and environment, the resistance and ignorance of those who are listening, are the obstacles we encounter in the preaching of the Word”. But perhaps the greatest obstacle of all exists in the heart of the evangelizer himself: his lack of trust and his lack of knowledge of the laws of the preaching of the Gospel, which are different from those of the world”. (Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel and President of the Bishops’ Conference of Belgium)Hunger for God. “In Bulgaria after the fall of the atheist regime in 1989 people feel a real hunger for God”, but as a result of the spread of consumerism “Sacred Scriptures are often used is an improper way, for example for political purposes in sessions of Parliament: this creates disorientation and a sense of loss, easily exploited by the sects”. In schools, too, “religious education based on authentic values is lacking. Sources that are not authentic are used, such as the apocrypha in which Jesus is presented in an offensive and caricature-like way”. (Monsignor Christo Proykov, Apostolic Exarch of Sofia, Bulgaria).Improving the preaching of the Word. “It is essential that the evangelizer should keep united Scripture, Tradition and Magisterium, so that the believer may better understand the major questions of life and death, the family and freedom, love and the natural law, euthanasia, fertilization… and know how to present them to non-believers, for whom the Bible only has value for the strength of its arguments. When the Church speaks of these issues, she does not interfere, she does not go beyond her evangelizing mission, but on the contrary is speaking from within her mission. At the same time she needs to address cultures and societies, so that they may become more human. Faced by the threat of secularism we must interrogate ourselves about how to improve our preaching, and get to know cultures and contexts better, but without ever forgetting the crucial drama of personal freedom, and recognizing that the ways of God are infinite. It remains essential for everyone to freely place himself on the line with the Word he reads”. (Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference)Desire is not enough. “For the Catholic Church ecumenism is the primary commitment in the third millennium. It cannot be limited to the exchange of invitations, visits and gifts, or even of all those gestures that express our desire to create unity. The desire [for unity] is not enough. We must be willing to sacrifice laws and structures, and to prepare for the blessed day in which all Christians shall be united. The ecumenical process will only be genuine if it will be for the Churches a path of the purification of structures. I am conscious of the needs of the institutions and of the good that is done also through diplomacy, nonetheless, it remains true that that these results must always be re-examined and verified in the light of the Word of God, because the end does not justify the means. The Word of God remains “the only common ground on which we can meet each other”. (The Most Rev. Fragkiskos Papamanolis, Bishop of Syros, Administrator of Milos, Greece).In prison for the Bible. “Father Viktors was arrested because the Soviet political police had found out that he possessed a Bible. At the time of his arrest, the policemen threw the Bible onto the floor, stamping on it and cursing. So the priest fell on his knees and kissed the sacred book. For this he was immediately tried and sentenced to ten years in a forced-labour camp. On his return to his community, ten years later, still under the Soviet regime, Fr. Viktors had not weakened in his fidelity to Christ. During the celebration of mass, conducted secretly before a small group of faithful, he dared once again to raise the Bible on high, proclaiming its indestructible power and once again risking imprisonment, if the police had known”. (The Most Rev. Antons Justs, Bishop of Jelgava, in Latvia).