Words for Europe

Once more, Benedict XVI reminds us all that the freedom of religion is the foundation of peace. It has always been understood as the right to have a faith, thus to belong to a community and lead our lives accordingly. Without the respect for this fundamental right, as the Holy Father has said on several occasions, peaceful coexistence will never be possible. “Tragically”, His Holiness recalled in Santiago de Compostela, “above all in 19th century Europe, the conviction grew that God is somehow man’s antagonist and an enemy of his freedom”. To wage war on God – and disdain religious freedom as a whole – is to wage war against the very heart of peace. Thus man is not liberated but rather he is cajoled into further isolation. In the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace 2011 we find words for Europe: “I also express my hope that in the West, and especially in Europe, there will be an end to hostility and prejudice against Christians because they are resolved to orient their lives in a way consistent with the values and principles expressed in the Gospel. May Europe rather be reconciled to its own Christian roots, which are fundamental for understanding its past, present and future role in history; in this way it will come to experience justice, concord and peace by cultivating a sincere dialogue with all peoples”. With this message, and in many of his speeches, the Holy Father reminds Christian faithful that their purpose is not to impose their religious belief but rather to profess it and proclaim it freely. This implies, first of all, the commitment to witness that the free profession of religious belief nurtures dialogue and therefore promotes peace. In England, Benedict XVI affirmed: “There are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square.” (In fact, as highlighted in the report of the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, www.intoleranceagainstchristians.eu, there are many instances of suffering caused by religious discrimination). The Pope went on: “I would invite all of you, therefore, within your respective spheres of influence, to seek ways of promoting and encouraging dialogue between faith and reason at every level of national life”. It is a necessary dialogue which demands a serious commitment, along with the mutual recognition of Christians and non-Christians alike. Thus one could ask: what are Christians asking of contemporary Europe? And what does Europe demand of Christians? Christians demand to be acknowledged like all other citizens. They want to be free to pray according to their own faith, to think and to speak according to the truth that they recognize as having been revealed by Jesus Christ. They call for the freedom of education and the freedom to proclaim their religious belief. They call for freedom of speech in the public and political realms, in the media. They don’t want to be the object of scorn, conceit, or discrimination when bringing their contribution for the common good. Christians are asking Europe to revitalize her roots – her very Christian matrix that constitutes her identity -, not to forget the existence of good and of evil, and the fact that only good can contribute to the creation of a just society in solidarity with others, where everyone is acknowledged as a human person endowed with rights, so as to become the protagonist of his/her own life. Christian faithful also ask governmental and non – governmental institutions to follow real life situations, individual problems, to promote justice and seek solutions to new problems whilst respecting individual rights and national values. Christians ask Europe to act as the defender of fundamental human rights in the world.Finally, it can be said that in order to engage in true dialogue with Christianity, Europe is demanding Christians to be true European Christians, to live their lives with God in their hearts, to speak of Jesus and to proclaim His teachings, and to bring redemption to the world through European language and way of living. In addition to words, Europe is asking Christians to promote initiatives that bear witness to the love of God. But most of all, Europe needs that even if they have to swim against the tide, Christians be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and that they witness the faith that is the fountainhead of new life in the workplace, in the family and in social realms.