Measuring up

“I convey my closeness to the participants in the Conference ongoing in Gniezno, historical capital city of Poland. May the conference be for Europe a reminder of its Christian roots and of the need to build a civil society grounded in evangelical values. I entrust the fruits of the conference to Saint Joseph, patron Saint of the universal Church, and to Saint Adalbert, Patron of Poland”, said Benedict XVI at the Angelus prayer of Sunday March 18, referring to Gniezno meting on the Role of Christians in Europe. The message to participants, read in the opening session of the meeting, states: “Christianity, although it guides man to eternity, doesn’t exempt him from his solicitude for the temporary world. In fact, it encourages him to actively take part in social life in the spirit of the love of God and for his fellow neighbour”.A want of moral values. The final document of the Congress underlines that “faith is not a withdrawal from the world but a motivation for service and commitment”. The document states that the economic crisis is rooted in the spiritual realm, “in the crisis in values and in the want of moral values characterising economic life. 
In a video message transmitted to participants the Archbishop of Milan, cardinal Angelo Scola tackled the manifold aspects of the crisis in the light of Church Magisterium: “For a large number of citizens entering the meanders of the economic and financial crisis citizens is an arduous endeavour”. For the prelate “any analysis that is slightly more than generic is often incomprehensible to non-experts. Thus economic discourse, financial discourse in particular, is hard to grasp by its recipients and by its stakeholders, i.e. everyone”. Card. Scola highlighted that “everyone must be allowed to defend personal rights, and assume personal responsibilities in the construction of the common good, also through sacrifice and renewed commitments”. For the Archbishop of Milan “a reflection and a practice of economy that ignores a cultural belief encompassing anthropology and ethics cannot be accepted”. The role of the Church. “We have strong European institutions, but civil society is absent”, said the former president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, in the first day of the meeting, pointing at the ongoing crisis in faith in Europe. Mr. Buzek highlighted the dimming image of the idea underlying the creation of the European Community. He pointed out that comfort without values “is like an empty-sounding bronze or a tinkling harpsichord”, Buzek highlighted “the major role of Churches in Europe” that “reminds us of the duty of dialogue, on which was erected European democracy”. Sharing the faith. In the final statement congress participants said they are “worried for the future of Europe” and “troubled over the mounting trend to transform moral disorder in a norm of modern society”. They write: “in Europe Christians’ voice is increasingly weak”, and this is happening “not because the evangelical message has lost its topical relevance but because of a want of Christian witnesses”. They point out that “conversely from ongoing trends, faith cannot be confined to the private sphere”. In fact, “although it is a strictly personal question”, faith must be “shared, expressed and lived in the public realm”. The document conveys “a deep conviction that the believer – a holy citizen – is a good citizen” and calls upon policymakers to listen to citizens’ needs and voices, especially in these times of crisis”. Congress attendants expect that “national leaders measure up to their responsibilities and live out the values they want to be spread”. “At a time of crisis Europe needs skilled statesmen who are capable of extending their action beyond the horizon of forthcoming electoral campaigns”, participants ask the political realm “to renounce experimenting with values and step up their commitment for the poor”. The last chapter of the Gniezno final declaration is devoted to ecumenism, a theme that was also addressed by the Polish head of State Bronislaw Komorowski. During a meeting with the members of Christian Churches the president of Poland said he “belongs to a generation that grew up with the dream of an authentic ecumenism”, and he conveyed his support to all initiatives aimed at the full unity of all Christians.