A challenge for christian unity

Metropolitans of the Orthodox Church and Catholic Bishops in Europe meet in Lisbon to speak on "Economic Crisis and Poverty. Challenges for today’s Europe". On June 5 in Portugal’s capitol the "Third European Catholic-Orthodox Forum" was inaugurated with the participation of two delegations. The Orthodox is composed of the Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate), Metropolitan Policarpo of Spain and Portugal (Ecumenical Patriarchate), and the representatives of the Patriarchates of Moscow, Serbia, Rumania, Georgia, the Church of Cyprus, Poland and Albania. The Catholic delegation was led by Cardinal Péter Erdõ, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, who i salso President of the Council of the European Episcopal Conferences, with participation, among others, of Msgr. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Archbishop of Minsk (Belorussia), Msgr. Paolo Pezzi, of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, and Msgr. Mansueto Bianchi, Bishop of Pistoia. "We do not plan to present a purely economic-financial analysis of the present economic crisis, although experts in this area will accompany our reflection", says Card. Péter Erdõ. "We are aware that the present economic slump which threatens the very structures of our society, constitutes the the mere tip of an iceberg and has much deeper origins". According to the President of the European Bishops, "to rise above this crisis there is no other solution but to learn to love again. Yes, only an economy of love, of love for human beings, their work, for our societies, can permit us to tackle this difficult situation". The days will be marked by moments of work and of prayer. There will be an ecumenical prayer on Wednesday June 6 at the Colégio Bom Sucesso, and a solemn mass on the occasion of the holiday of the Body of Christ, Thursday, June 7, in the Cathedral of Lisbon. The First European Catholic-Orthodox Forum was held in 2008 in Trento, Italy, on the topic of "The Family: a gift for humanity". The Second European Catholic-Orthodox Forum was held on the Island of Rodi in Greece in 2010 on the topic of Church-State Relations. Maria Chiara Biagioni of SIR Europe, interviewed Msgr. Duarte da Cunha, Secretary General of the CCEE on the Lisbon Forum. Why have Catholics and Orthodox representatives chosen this Third European Forum to speak about the economic crisis? "First of all, because the matter is urgent. It is important today for Christians to reflect together about the present economic-financial crisis and search for the roots of this crisis in order to understand how we, as united Christians, can cooperate so that the people and our societies will be able to overcome this situation. We must try to be like Christ, within history. Secondly, we must recall that the goal of these European Catholic-Orthodox Forums is to bring together Catholic and Orthodox Christians for reflections on social and pastoral topics that have bearing on life in the communities. Even if we start from a theological perspective, the Forum does not foresee a dialogue related to issues of doctrine, but rather a dialogue on social and pastoral matters where Catholic and Orthodox Christians present their analyses and arrive at a common proposal". In Europe, poverty is often coupled with immigration. Will you speak about this at the Forum? "The dialogue and analysis of concrete situations and aspects of life touched by the economic crisis will doubtlessly also concern the living conditions of immigrants. We will therefore discuss the need for support of Catholics in Orthodox countries and of the Orthodox in countries where the majority is Catholic because often, living as minorities they are the segment of the population that receives the least help".During the Family 2012 the Pope spoke of the logic of the search for "personal benefits" and "maximum profits:" How can this mentality be changed?" "We Catholics say that we are living in times of a new evangelization and it seems to us that this new evangelization, which implies rebirth and strengthening of faith involving the person in his totality, is also the basis for changing the mentality of those who see profit and earning as an end and not as a means and is therefore prepared to treat persons as a means. I think that in order to change a mentality is it not sufficient to know that one is behaving badly, but there is need for the force of the Holy Spirit to illuminate heart and mind". What kind of ecumenical dialogue does the Forum plan? "It is a very concrete dialogue which seeks to find ways in which Christians can give concrete help to the population. But it is also a dialogue that will search for a common position on social challenges so that we can present ourselves to European society and also to European authorities with that strength of unity that represents a multitude of persons. We are convinced that Catholics and Orthodox together in Europe, insofar as we are the majority of the population, have a duty in relation to the authorities and society in general, to say what we think and to make concrete proposals".