Cardinal Ruini on Evangelizing Europe

January 23, 2009 in catholic, Christianity, church, europe, Evangelization, faith
Tags: budapest, cardinal, congress, europe, Evangelization, international, review, ruini

A Review of an International Congress in Budapest
BUDAPEST, Hungary, SEPT. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Camillo Ruini attended the International Congress on the New Evangelization as Benedict XVI’s special envoy.

It was the fifth evangelization congress to be hosted in a European capital since 2003. It concluded with a program of evangelization.

In this interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Ruini says that prayer is needed in order to relaunch the evangelization of Europe.

Q: What was your assessment of the conference? 

Cardinal Ruini: [I give it] a very positive assessment and an encouraging one I would say: It showed that the Church in Budapest is a living Church and the missionary spirit is profoundly present in the clergy and also in God’s people.

Q: What impressed you the most?

Cardinal Ruini: The fact that this mission took place in the capital of a state that belongs to former communist Europe, an area in which the Church was for a long time in conditions of great suffering. This public event — crowned by the presence of 15,000 people Thursday night at the outdoor Mass — is certainly a sign of great hope.

Q: How can we relaunch the evangelization of Europe?

Cardinal Ruini: Work needs to be done, above all, in the area of prayer, of personal witness, but also on the cultural level, so that European culture can rediscover its Christian roots.

Q: Are Christians at risk of becoming more and more marginalized on the old Continent?

Cardinal Ruini: There are, without a doubt, forces at work that tend to marginalize them, certain forces that are going in this direction. But, thanks to the Lord, there are also contrasting forces that reaffirm the importance of the Christian presence. I believe that European peoples are more aware of how important Christianity is, not only for the past, but for the present and for the future.

Q: How can we re-establish a fruitful dialogue between new currents of thought and the Christian faith?

Cardinal Ruini: This dialogue can be re-established — and it is already being re-established — around the fundamental problems that Europe is facing: problems of its identity, but also the problem of man, of what man is, of who man is, if man is only a piece of nature or is created in the image of God, if he has an inviolable dignity or not. I think that dialogue on these big questions is already under way.

Q: What are your hopes?

Cardinal Ruini: My hopes are that this missionary momentum, which began in Rome — we remember the citywide mission in Rome in 1996 and 1999, in preparation for the Great Jubilee, and then spread to many other Italian dioceses and now to five European capitals — will be a momentum that will spread through the entire Church in Europe, so that the new evangelization will not only be a principle that we affirm, but a reality that we live.

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The Future of Religion in Europe

September 1, 2008 in catholic, Christianity, europe, Evangelization, faith, God, muslim
Tags: Christianity, crisis, europe, faces, Future, Measured, new, Optimism, Religion, Study

Measured Optimism in New Study

By Father John Flynn, L.C.

ROME, JULY 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Many predict a bleak future for Christianity in Europe, but in his latest book Philip Jenkins argues that the situation is not all bad. “God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe’s Religious Crisis,” published by Oxford University Press, is the concluding volume in a trilogy on the future of Christianity.

The first two volumes — “The Next Christendom” and “The New Faces of Christianity” — concentrated mainly on the rise of religion in the global South of the world. The third volume takes a look at Europe, affected by a marked decline in practicing Christians, combined with a growing presence of Muslim immigrants.

Could Europe go the same way as North Africa, with Christianity supplanted by Islam? This is what some prognosticate, notes Jenkins. In reply he admits that the current situation is far from ideal in terms of Christian religious practice, but the situation is not as grim as some would have us believe.

In spite of a declining fertility rate and immigration from Islamic countries, Jenkins points out that in most West European nations, Muslims constitute only around 4-5% of the population. By comparison, in the United States, there is a minority presence of Latinos, Asians and other groups of around 30%.

There are varying projections for the future. Jenkins cites data from the U.S, National Intelligence Council that calculates the current Muslim population of around 15 million in Europe could rise to 28 million by 2025. The numbers, however, will not be evenly distributed. France, Germany and the Netherlands could have a Muslim minority of 10-15% by 2025.

Jenkins points out that if we take a wider definition of Europe, as being everything west of the former Soviet Union, then the Continent will have around 40 million Muslims by 2025. This is, however, only about 8% of the population.

Moreover, he argues that both Christianity and Islam face difficulties in surviving the secular cultural ambience in Europe and that is a mistake to suppose Islam will be immune to this pressure, which could well moderate the more strident elements.

Jenkins also advises against an overly alarmist view of the Muslim presence. It would be a mistake to lump the entire Muslim population in Europe in the category of radicals or religious extremists. Certainly, he admits, there are a number of extremist Muslim leaders and communities that are alienated from mainstream society. Yet alongside the radicals there are also moderate Muslims whose presence should not be forgotten.

When it comes to problems stemming from the Muslim presence in Europe Jenkins asserts that we need to distinguish their origins. In addition to tensions deriving from Islam itself we need to allow for economic, racial and social factors, as well as cultural traditions in the countries of origin of immigrants that are not an integral part of Islam.

Two paths

Jenkins contends that Europe could well take the path of the United States, which has managed to integrate large numbers of immigrants with varying religious and ethnic backgrounds. He does admit, however, that another path exists, that typified by Lebanon where religious identity becomes linked with economic and social grievances, leading to a far grimmer future.

In this challenge of deciding which path the Continent will take Jenkins notes that one factor handicapping European governments is a pervasive secularism that impedes authorities from treating seriously religious concerns and motivations.

In fact, Jenkins chronicles the impact of secularism on the Christian churches in one of the book’s chapters. The decline in Christianity has been particularly marked in Protestant areas and in the countries that were under the dominion of the now defunct Soviet Union.

The Catholic Church has maintained a higher level of participation, but Jenkins adds, faces considerable challenges. The social and cultural forces have influenced the population to the point where family size in Catholic countries has dropped to the lowest levels in Europe. In addition, Church attendance in countries such as Italy and Spain has declined sharply in the last decade or so. Vocations to the priesthood and religious life have fallen notably, with little sign of any turnaround.

Nevertheless, Jenkins continues, along with this negative trend we need to consider other, more positive, elements. Despite the decline Europe is still home to a considerable Christian population. In Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, religious participation is still very high. In Britain Polish and Croatian immigrants have brought about a religious resurgence in some areas.

Pilgrims on the rise

Other encouraging trends include the high level of popular appeal enjoyed by Benedict XVI, who is attracting large numbers to his public appearances. The continuing popularity of religious pilgrimages is another sign of life in European Christianity, Jenkins points out. In the 1950s Lourdes drew around 1 million visitors a year. The number now is close to 6 million. The Polish shrine of Czestochowa draws several million a year, many of them young people.

Fatima reports around 4 million visitors annually. In Spain numbers of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela have risen to around half a million a year, with up to a million in holy years. Italy too sees large numbers of visitors to shrines such as Loreto.

Jenkins also argues that the large numbers of new saints created by John Paul II has helped to strengthen popular piety. In fact, he compares the efforts of John Paul II and Benedict XVI to the era of the Catholic Reformation, when the Church brought about a revival in its fortunes after a period of grave difficulties.

The founding of dynamic new religious orders and movements in the Catholic Church is, for Jenkins, another indication that Christianity is far from dead in Europe. Evidence of this were the gatherings of members of the new movements held in Rome at Pentecost in 1998 and 2006. Charismatic groups within the Catholic Church have also flourished in many European countries.

Thus, while clergy numbers may be declining increased participation by lay people is providing a source of renewal for Church life. The large numbers of young people who attended the World Youth Day activities in Cologne, Germany in 2005 is another positive sign for the future of Christianity in Europe. Evangelical and charismatic groups within the Protestant churches are also growing, Jenkins points out.

Another source of strength for Christianity in Europe is immigration. In addition to the Muslim immigrants a portion of new arrivals are Christians. Birthrates have plummeted in Italy, but Rome, for example, can count on the presence of tens of thousands of immigrants from the predominantly Catholic Philippines.

There is also a growing presence of clergy from other continents that is helping to make up the shortfall in local vocations. Great Britain, says Jenkins, is host to around 1,500 missionaries from some 50 nations, many of them African. Another example he cites is that of a French Catholic diocese that hosts around 30 priests from former colonies in Africa.

Why then is the public impression regarding the future of Christianity in Europe so negative? Jenkins accuses the European media, which he judges to be more secular and hostile to religion than in the United States, of ignoring these positive trends for faith. In addition, Europe’s governing elites tend to be very secular and unresponsive to public pressure, a situation that leads them to an anti-Christian stance not in line with the sentiments of many citizens.

Thus, Jenkins argues that while we cannot deny that European Christianity is going through a period of crisis it would be a mistake to oversimplify matters by ignoring the diversity of the situation.

Faith, Reason and Bioethics

June 24, 2008 in bioethics, catholic, Christianity, Ethical/Moral, europe, faith, Family, God, holy, interview, Jesus Christ
Tags: bioethical, care, catholic, cell, center, cloning, embryonic, ethics, europe, healthcare, human, incapacity, ireland, kingdom, linacre, modern, moral, problem, research, stem, united

Interview With Director of Linacre Center

LONDON, JUNE 18, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Rational arguments need to take priority in the debate on bioethical issues, says the director of the Linacre Center for Healthcare Ethics.

Helen Watt, of the only Catholic bioethics center in the United Kingdom and Ireland, recently spoke to ZENIT about the opportunity Catholics now have to engage modern Europe in an authentically grounded ethical debate.

The Linacre Center’s International Conference is being held July 5-7 on the topic of “Incapacity and Care: Moral Problems in Healthcare and Research.”

Q: How is the ethical debate on health care issues in Europe today different from 30 years ago?

Watt: Thirty years ago, in vitro fertilization was a new and shocking development — as were the embryo experiments which paved the way for it. Now IVF is standard procedure for anyone who wants to have a child, and does not object to the manufacturing process and attitudes involved. The embryonic child resulting is treated more like a possession than like a new member of the family.

Often the debate is now between extreme libertarians, who defend a frankly consumerist attitude to medicine and parenthood, and those who want to set some limits, but lack the moral framework they need to do so in a credible way. This means that the principled approach offered by the Church often gets pushed to the sidelines — though fortunately not always.

Q: Where are the main battle lines now drawn with regard to bioethical issues in Europe?

Watt: One battle line is euthanasia, by act and by omission. Another is respect for unborn life, in relation to abortion, IVF and embryo experimentation.

Another battle line is, of course, marriage and parenthood. This last area is closely linked to IVF — as in, for example, the bid to expunge the requirement in British law that fertility doctors must take account of the child’s need for a father.

While some in Britain hope to tighten abortion laws, other countries in the European Union are under pressure to “liberalize” restrictive laws on abortion. There is also a strong push for European Union funding of embryonic stem cell research.

The hope is that countries which have recently joined the European Union, such as Poland, will bring fresh insights to the rest of Europe, rather than be themselves caught up in the secular/consumerist drift.

Q: What are the signs of hope that the trend toward the legalization of euthanasia and stem cell research will be halted?

Watt: The Dutch experience has shown how close the link is between voluntary and nonvoluntary euthanasia, once some lives are deemed not worth living.

While Belgium followed its neighbor and legalized euthanasia, similar legislation was recently defeated in Britain by a coalition of pro-life and palliative care groups — although there is certainly a need for vigilance with regard to euthanasia by omission.

On the stem cell front, there are wonderful advances being made with adult and umbilical cord stem cells — ethical alternatives to the use of cells from destroyed human embryos. It’s an exciting time for adult stem cell researchers, who can point to many actual treatments of human patients.

Italy is one country that has made huge strides in enacting laws protecting human embryos, showing that progress in this area can be made even after many years of permissive practice.

Q: The issues of IVF, human cloning and embryo screening all revolve around the status of early human life. Why is it so difficult to convince people of the humanity of the embryo, or even to keep it in the common consciousness as an issue?

Watt: It’s a combination of pragmatism and a failure of imagination. On the one hand, people want to be able to keep doing embryo experiments and using abortifacient contraception. On the other hand, the embryo is challenging in its appearance, despite the powerful case for its continuity with the older human being.

We live in an image-led age. The embryo is small, and looks different from the adult — which does not, of course, prevent it having human rights and interests, just like any other child.

The kind of emotional engagement that ultrasound makes possible for older unborn children is often not possible with the embryo. There is a need to appeal to reason rather than just to the emotions.

Q: How can the Church better educate Catholics about contentious ethical issues?

Watt: The Linacre Center specializes in providing arguments for the Catholic view of bioethics which do not require a prior acceptance of the Catholic faith.

We aim to show that the merits of this view can be recognized by anyone of good will using their reason. This approach encourages a robust realism that reaches out to people of other faiths and of no faith.

Recently, Benedict XVI spoke of the need to rediscover the natural law tradition, especially in an age of skepticism and relativism. He was, I think, encouraging the Church to speak out on issues affecting public policy in a way that uses reason to reveal the objective basis for her teaching.

It would be good to see bioethical issues given a little more priority in teaching from the pulpit. Many people are simply unaware that the Church opposes IVF, for example. Even those who know this may be quite unaware of the riches of Catholic theology on sex and marriage.

It is important to reach young people at school and university before they have committed themselves, in their work or personal lives, to secular ideologies. The Linacre Center hopes to do more in this area, funding permitting — as well as providing information and support to health professionals under pressure to conform to an anti-life culture.

Q: Why do you think the Church’s contribution to ethical debates is ignored so readily in modern Europe?

Watt: Ethical debates in Europe vary from country to country. In Britain the dominant philosophy is one of pragmatism coupled with scientism, and a suspicion that any reference to moral absolutes must be religiously grounded.

A result is that there is very little rational debate in bioethical areas. Debate is seen as merely a way of placating the public, or at best reaching a compromise between differing interests without articulating a coherent moral framework.

This is not the case in some other countries, where there are much stronger religious and cultural supports for moral reasoning of a kind that can enlighten our understanding of human life and its purpose.

All too often, the Church is ignored because she is seen as anti-science — instead of anti-killing — and as anti-freedom — instead of anti-oppression of others and enslavement of oneself.

The media is often irresponsible in its portrayal of Church teaching and generally too shallow in its approach to allow people to see the rationality and beauty of the Church’s message.

Moreover, it must be said that many of us, both clergy and laypeople, are far too timid when it comes to expressing Church teaching in these areas, and why it is true and good and leads to happiness.

It would be a good start if we began holding our governments to account — and judging ourselves by the same yardstick by which we assess them. We have a wonderful message to convey, and should do so with confidence and enthusiasm.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor’s Address to Muslim Council

June 24, 2008 in catholic, Christ, Christianity, culture, Ethical/Moral, faith, Great Britain, Jesus Christ, muslim, Spirituality
Tags: 19th, cardiff, catholic, century, Christian, civilized, council, dialogue, europe, faith, history, inter-cultural, islam, kingdom, language, muslim, peace, respect, Social, solidarity, spiritual, unesco, united, wales, world

“What the World Needs Now … Is Faith”

CARDIFF, Wales, JUNE 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor’s talk to the Muslim Council of Wales on June 9 at the University of Cardiff.

* * *

“Christian and Muslim Perspectives on Interreligious Dialogue”

Vice-Chancellor,
Secretary General,
Archbishop Smith,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is very good to be here with you today. It is a pleasure to come to Wales, a land whose history, language and landscape have inspired powerful music and striking poetry, from the tales of Taliesin and Owain Glyndwr long ago to the eloquent frustration of the Anglican priest-poet R.S. Thomas, who is typical of generations born here who felt alienated from their language and culture. The situation is quite different today; the Welsh language has a much higher profile and the Welsh Assembly looks after much of the country’s political business. I feel privileged to have been asked to come and address you on a theme that is close to my heart, that of dialogue between Christians and Muslims. I hope it will become clear that I am thoroughly committed to enhancing and maintaining this dialogue not only in Wales and the rest of Britain, but also throughout Europe and in the wider world.

Tiger Bay

The Muslim community in Cardiff is important for several reasons. When men from Yemen and Somalia came to work on the coal ships, many of them settled in the Tiger Bay area and married local women, so from the start it was an integrated group. The mosque they built in the 19th century was probably the first in the United Kingdom, and the replacement that was opened in 1947 was made to look like a Yemeni “mud mosque”. The fact that the mayor of Cardiff was at the opening ceremony shows that Muslims were already a well-established and respected religious community here, and what is more significant is that in those days religious groups seem to have lived happily alongside each other. The city of Cardiff looks quite different now, and the 1947 mosque was replaced in the Butetown redevelopment, but I hope the religions in Cardiff will always be aware of the humble but proud beginnings of the Muslim community here, and that everyone will work hard to maintain the tradition of peace and respect for each other that is a precious element in Cardiff’s civic heritage. That is also, of course, a model for any civilized community. Cardiff could easily be the beacon for the rest of Britain in terms of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue.

“What the world needs now …”

Religion is very much back on the agenda in international organizations like UNESCO and the United Nations, and in national governments throughout the world, while it was previously regarded, to be quite frank, either as a nuisance factor or as an enemy of enlightenment. What is on their agenda is not so much the content of religion, what we believe, but the effects religion is perceived to have on society. In the run up to the year 2000, police departments around the world were asking religious groups to help them identify sects that might be planning dangerous events to mark the beginning of the new millennium. This concerned Christian and Jewish groups first and foremost, and the atmosphere in and around Jerusalem was particularly tense for the security forces and police at that time. Since 2001 the spotlight has been locked on to Islam. This has obviously created an atmosphere where ordinary Muslims feel very uncomfortable and unfairly singled out by people who often seem not to understand them at all.

The positive side of current preoccupations with the social role of religion is that our various religions are all much more visible. We are often challenged to contribute in various ways to social cohesion, and thinkers and policy-makers have had to question earlier notions that religion might naturally fade away in our enlightened society. For reasons we may not like, they have to take us much more seriously than was the case ten years ago.

One person who realized a long time ago what was going on is Pope Benedict. Let me tell you why I say that. Early in the year 2004, the man still known to the world as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is a distinguished theologian in his own right, agreed to meet the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas for a public discussion in Munich. They met as representatives of two sides of a discussion that has been going on in Europe for some 200 years. Religion, represented here by a theologian, and reason, represented by a philosopher, are often seen as competing elements in western culture. Advocates of western secular rationality are very keen to point out the pathological elements of religion; while the cardinal recognized that religion does have this negative side, he also asked the philosopher to admit that reason has a similar weakness, particularly if it gives religion no room and tries to make it a totally private affair. According to the cardinal, if either side in the debate in Europe ignores the need to be open to learn from the other, the results can be catastrophic.

I think it is significant that Cardinal Ratzinger went on to say that we should not allow ourselves to focus exclusively on Europe. Seeing other cultures as inferior or insignificant would be an example of “western hybris, for which we would — and to some extent already do — have to pay dearly.” He also made the point on that occasion that every major culture has the same tensions as Europe; he referred explicitly to Islam, with its “broad rainbow” of adherents. He addressed the same theme in his talk in Regensburg on Sept. 12, 2006. His main point, of course, as we know, is that there can be no real identification between authentic religion and violence.

I agree with Pope Benedict XVI and want to take the point a little further. Many of you will remember a song that was popular when I was a lot younger. Burt Bacharach wrote the music and Hal David wrote these lyrics: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s much too little of.” Those words are true, but only up to a point. For me, love is not “the only thing that there’s much too little of”; I think the world needs belief or faith, too. If I did not believe my faith made a difference in this world, I could not stand here and speak to you. If the members of the Muslim Council of Wales were not convinced their religion can do enormous good in the world, they would not have organized this evening. We all believe not only that there is a God, but also that our religion commits us to working for good in the world, in a thousand different ways. There are still tendencies in some quarters to make sure religion has no public voice, but this takes no account of the fact that many of our contemporaries are searching for meaning and purpose; our culture is in search of its spiritual identity, some would even say its soul.

The space for dialogue between our religions and our culture has to be a public one. In other words, religious communities need to be able to operate with a certain degree of autonomy. If politicians at national or local level — or even academics, for that matter — think they know what is best for religions, they will not act in our best interests, and could well be tempted to try to manipulate the ways we contribute to society. Generally, I think they treat us with great respect, but this is a difficult time for many people involved in governing and policing our society, and nobody should be blind to the risk of basing decisions about religious groups on sociological or security-driven criteria. Times of perceived crisis are not the best times for making or changing laws.

Of course we should not presume that people anywhere will respect us. We have to earn their respect, and when we have it we need to work to keep it. The Christian Gospels tell us that, while the people welcomed Jesus with songs of celebration when he entered Jerusalem for the last time, he made that journey on a donkey, which I take as an eloquent sign of the humility with which we can best play our part in the life of our country.

Being similar and being different — telling the truth about each other

I first heard about Islam when I was studying to become a priest in Rome. It may surprise you that every Catholic priest is expected to study not only theology but also philosophy, in order to grasp the concepts with which the Church expresses herself in different situations. The leading light in Catholic thought has traditionally been St. Thomas Aquinas, and we learned very early on in our studies that he was deeply indebted to the works of several scholars from the Arabic-speaking world, many of whom were Muslims like Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd, although we referred to them by the Latin versions of their names — Avicenna and Averroes. I mention that because it is proof that, in some periods of history, Christian and Muslim scholars did not hesitate to acknowledge their debt to each other, which is consoling in an age when people presume we eye each other with suspicion. This is simply not so.

As I have said, I am convinced religious communities have a role to play in British society, but that role can be played well only if the various religions are able to be open and honest about each other. One particular principle comes into play here, which is that I should never allow myself to be put into a position where I am telling other people what Muslims believe. I should automatically contact a Muslim friend and ask him or her to do that. Likewise, it is not good for Muslims to tell other people — or each other, for that matter — what Christians believe. It is always better to ask one of us. This is important if we are to avoid offering the world caricatures of each other, and it is necessary to avoid being tricked by prejudice into thinking we understand more than we do. Perhaps this is something that should happen as a matter of course in our schools, but here comes one of the major differences between us. In the case of the Church, it is obvious whom you should approach. Islam is organized in a quite different way, and it is never easy for even the most friendly outsider to know who is the best person to ask when an explanation of Muslim beliefs and traditions is needed. This obviously means we need to know each other personally, in order to build up the trust that is necessary for such delicate tasks to be done well.

The basic thing that unites us is not always obvious to people, but it is something Pope John Paul II stressed when he addressed a very large gathering of young Moroccans in a stadium in Casablanca in 1985: “Christians and Muslims, we have many things in common, as believers and as human beings. We live in the same world, marked by many signs of hope, but also by multiple signs of anguish. … We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection.” He spoke movingly to these young Muslims about his faith: “It is of God himself that, above all, I wish to speak with you; of him, because it is in him that we believe, you Muslims and we Catholics …” and he reassured them of the reason for his visit: “It is as a believer that I come to you today. It is quite simply that I would like to give here today the witness of that which I believe, of that which I wish for the well-being of the people, my brothers, and of that which, from experience, I consider to be useful for all.”

I really like the fact that the address to young Muslims in Casablanca stressed what unites Christians and Muslims above all else, and that is that they believe in the one God and see God as their creator. But one has also to be open to differences, for example in the ways Christians and Muslims understand what is meant by believing in one God. For centuries Muslims have been puzzled by Christians who claim to believe in one God like them, but then start speaking about God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Anyone involved in theological dialogue between Muslims and Christians has to accept that the Trinity can be a stumbling block.

What is vitally important in any dialogue between us is our respect for the truth, especially in the sense of being faithful to our identity. Dialogue becomes fruitful only when everyone involved feels able to say what he or she believes, or what identifies him or her as a Muslim or as a Christian. This obviously requires a capacity to listen without correcting the other person’s standpoint, a willingness to accept diversity together with a desire to learn from the other without ever feeling one’s own beliefs are being belittled or criticized. If I look back to my schooldays, I remember there was a strong tradition of debating, where a cardinal rule was to have total respect for the other speaker, while feeling free to put his ideas to the test. Perhaps that was good training for true dialogue, where respect is of paramount importance, and there can be open and honest discussion of what everyone says. A very important text for Christians on this point comes from the First Letter of St. Peter, which gives this advice: “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”

Tomorrow’s World?

What we do today will shape the world in which the children of tomorrow will live. What can we do together to ensure that tomorrow’s world will allow them to grow and develop fully as human beings and as believers? I have three simple suggestions to make.

1. My first suggestion is not really mine, but it is one I have taken to heart, and I think I know how we can develop it together. You may know that, from time to time, there are meetings for representatives of bishops from all over the world. These meetings are called synods. Pope John Paul II convoked special synods for each continent, as well. There were two European synods, and after the second one he issued a document called The Church in Europe, or Ecclesia in Europa. It contains an assessment of the current situation and some goals and objectives for the Church. “There is one need to which Europe must respond positively if it is to have a truly new face: ‘Europe cannot close in on itself. … On the contrary, it must remain fully aware of the fact that other countries, other continents, await its bold initiatives, in order to offer to poorer peoples the means for their growth and social organization, and to build a more just and fraternal world.’ To carry out this mission adequately will demand ‘rethinking international cooperation in terms of a new culture of solidarity. … Europe must moreover become an active partner in promoting and implementing a globalization ‘in’ solidarity. This must be accompanied … by a kind of globalization ‘of’ solidarity and of the related values of equity, justice and freedom.”

I think the idea of a globalization of solidarity is wonderful, and I am glad to say that CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, has set in train a project called Live Simply, designed to help people live in solidarity with the poor. It has often struck me that Islam asks of its followers a similar commitment to solidarity with the poor. This seems clear in the idea of having a banking system that works in accordance with the basic principles of Islam. My thought is not that I should open an Islamic bank account, but rather that it may be time for Christian and Muslim economists to put their heads together to see what we can learn from each other in the sphere of genuine commitment to solidarity with the poor. Looking at the newspapers or the television news sometimes makes me shudder at the fate of so many people in the world who live in such a shocking state. But I feel uncomfortable and guilty if I cannot react. I do what I can; I imagine we all do, but I have a feeling that, together, we could do so much more.

2. A second thing we could undertake together to improve the state of tomorrow’s world for our children is to work for genuine freedom of religion. I have already mentioned that many British Muslims feel misrepresented or at least misunderstood in our media and in public opinion. You are not the only ones, but unfortunately in the present moment much more is being said about Islam than about Christianity or other religions. More than this, there are times when we may all feel that we are not exactly muzzled or silenced, but we are most certainly not free to express our deeply held convictions, sometimes simply for reasons linked to so-called political correctness. I think there are ways we can work with those who form public opinion to solve many of these problems, and I am certain that we should do this together. At the Catholic Church’s most recent major council, the second Vatican Council, which took place in the 1960s, many observers were very surprised that the Council’s declaration on religious freedom was not a plea for religious freedom for Catholics, but for everybody. Religious freedom is seen as a natural right of every human being, to be respected by every government.

People often seem surprised to hear that this is Catholic teaching, and they delve into history to prove that the Catholic Church has not always given the best example of respect for people’s rights in the religious sphere. It would be foolish and churlish to claim there have not been shocking failures in this regard in the past, but here we are looking to the future and the world in which tomorrow’s children will grow up. It would be equally inaccurate to ignore the fact that there are places where Christians are not allowed to practice their religion openly, or at all. On June 21, 1995, John Paul II sent a greeting to those present at the opening of the beautiful mosque that now overlooks the city of Rome. This is what he said:

“A grand mosque is being inaugurated today. This event is an eloquent sign of the religious freedom recognized here for every believer. And it is significant that in Rome, the center of Christianity and the See of Peter’s successor, Muslims should have their own place to worship with full respect for their freedom of conscience. On a significant occasion like this, it is unfortunately necessary to point out that in some Islamic countries similar signs of the recognition of religious freedom are lacking. And yet the world, on the threshold of the third millennium, is waiting for these signs! Religious freedom has now become part of many international documents and is one of the pillars of contemporary society. While I am pleased that Muslims can gather in prayer in the new Roman mosque, I earnestly hope that the rights of Christians and of all believers freely to express their own faith will be recognized in every corner of the earth.”

We prove that we believe in religious freedom when we are prepared to speak up for other people’s right to exercise it, and not just our own. If we can learn to act together in favor of religious freedom for all, we shall certainly influence tomorrow’s world for the better.

3. If you have ever visited a Benedictine monastery you will have been greeted silently. In prominent places in every Benedictine house you see a short Latin word, Pax, or peace. The atmosphere of silence that marks the monks’ day is meant to create a peace you can almost touch, but that is only a sign of a much deeper, inner peace. Among Muslims, the first thing a visitor would say is as-salaamu aleykum, Arabic for peace be upon you. Both Muslims and Christians traditionally, instinctively want to be at peace and to bring peace wherever they go. I thank the God who made us all that, in recent years, the leaders of all Britain’s major religious communities have stood together in front of politicians, in front of the media, in front of our fellow-citizens, pleading for those who have influence to do all in their power to achieve peace, rather than the catastrophic and obscene waste of life that so many news bulletins bring into our living-rooms. That is not what God wants and it is not what we want. There is always a better way and, as various Popes have said, war is never a good solution and always an admission of defeat. We all know the children of tomorrow’s world deserve better, and we know the human race can do better. As long as we continue to say this together, we shall be building healthy foundations on which future generations can build.

I want to conclude my talk this evening with something John Paul II said in January 2001, when the new ambassador of the Republic of Iran to the Holy See presented his letters of credence to the Holy Father. I think it sums up much of what I have been saying:

“In the dialogue between cultures, men and women of good will realize that there are values that are common to all cultures because they are rooted in the very nature of the human person — values which express humanity’s most authentic and distinctive features: the value of solidarity and peace; the value of education; the value of forgiveness and reconciliation; the value of life itself.”

I believe those are values that bring us very close indeed. Thank you!

Roses and Rosaries; the Benedictine Legacy

May 31, 2007 in catholic, faith, Family, God
Tags: ascetic, benedictine, catholic, culture, europe, expression, faith, Life, modern, political, procession, religious, Rome, rosary, rule, tangible, vocation

Traditional Piety Flourishes in Rome

By Irene Lagan

ROME, (Zenit.org ).- As I crossed the normally tranquil Piazza Piscinula in Trastevere last Tuesday, a flurry of activity drew my attention to the St. Benedict Chapel, which sits on the edge of the piazza and can easily be missed by the unobservant passer-by.

Tuesday was the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, and visitors to the chapel were spilling over into the square. Most were women, and most were leaving the church with blessed roses that have come to be associated with St. Rita.

A day of Masses, rosaries and intercessory prayers closed with Benediction and blessings.

The daylong event was one of many church celebrations during the week leading up to Pentecost that reflect Benedict XVI’s recent remarks to the Italian bishops when he said that the “faith in Italy is alive and deeply rooted.”

The Pope also said that, despite the insidious advance of moral relativism that threatens culture and family life, the “Italian Church is a people’s Church that is a great resource for the future of Italian society.”

The celebration at the chapel named for St. Benedict and dedicated to St. Rita illustrated some of that faith that has been passed on through local tradition that is integral to Italian culture.

Entrusted by Pope John Paul II to the care of the Heralds of the Gospel, the St. Benedict Chapel was part of a sixth-century palace that belonged to St. Benedict’s family and was the saint’s home during his student days in Rome.

According to Deacon François Bandet of the Heralds of the Gospel, local devotion to St. Rita is a long-standing tradition that has been part of the chapel’s history and, he maintains, is credited with the miracle it took to reopen the chapel in 1943 after being closed for a century.

St. Rita, he explained, is appealing to women who face many of the same challenges she encountered during her lifetime.

“She passed through all the stages of life and had a tremendous spirit of forgiveness and love,” the deacon said. “St. Rita is a saint that women especially can turn to as a model.”

While St. Rita is best known as the saint of the impossible, Deacon Bandet said she is particularly popular among women today as the patron of marriages, child bearing and sickness.

Having lived through the violent death of her husband after a difficult marriage, St. Rita survived the death of her two sons within one year and was rejected three times before finally being allowed to enter the convent. Once in the convent, she suffered physically and was ostracized by the other women religious.

Deacon Bandet explained: “People need these devotions. We are bodily creatures who have longings for the infinite. Devotions offer a way for us to express our longings to our friends in heaven as well as our love and desire for God.

“Tangible expressions of faith, like the blessed roses, are necessary and form a part of what John Paul II talked about as the new evangelization.”

More importantly, he said, local devotion to St. Rita is just one example of the popular piety that signals that the Church in Italy is alive and well.

According to Deacon Bandet, the traditions that some people take for granted and others dismiss as idolatry provide a link to the faith of our forebears and are key to the rebirth of a Catholic culture.

“There is a strong link between the rebirth of Catholicism in the hearts of people through devotions, and especially through devotion to Mary,” he said.

In my own neighborhood a weeklong festival at Santa Maria of Liberatrice culminated with a rosary procession through the streets.

Hundreds of local Romans participated in the annual procession that dates back to the dedication of the “new” church a century ago.

At the end of the procession, families crowded into the neighborhood park in front of the church for a grand finale of fireworks and songs to honor Mary as the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

As the pastor invoked Mary’s protection for the families of Testaccio, fireworks to honor the Mother of God drew cheers, and men hoisting a float bearing a life-sized statue of the Virgin high in the air and shouted, “Viva Maria!”

* * *

Stabilizing Chaos

Stability is probably not one of the first impressions that one comes away with in hectic modern Rome.

So there is a certain ironic twist that as St. Benedict fled the chaos of Rome in 500 seeking tranquility and prayer, the rule he established would become the stable context for the flourishing of art and culture, as well as the cornerstone of modern political Europe.

This irony is not lost on Benedictine Father Edmund Powers, the abbot of the small Benedictine community that staffs the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The beauty and richness of culture one experiences in Rome today hearkens back to the monastic rule established by St. Benedict, he explained.

The decadence of life in Rome appalled St. Benedict, whose ascetic practices and life of prayer eventually attracted followers and led him to establish his first monasteries on the outskirts of the city. He established a rule of life so his followers could live in harmony.

The vow of stability became a hallmark of the Benedictine Rule.

During the chaos that ensued after the decline of the Roman Empire, the Benedictine monastery was a stable social unit and, ideally, a selfless one, Father Powers said.

The ordered contemplative life of the monastery became the nest in which classical culture was preserved at a time when Europe was fragmented.

“The monastic life attracted people who were dedicated to the spiritual search, dedicated to order in the sense of organization, clear cosmos rather than chaos,” Father Powers said. “Thus, the creation of art and culture was a reflection of the whole creative work of God in bringing order out of chaos.”

According to Father Powers, art and culture spring from the context of stability. The function of stability as a prerequisite for the development of individual gifts and talents within the community cannot be underestimated.

“The production of any art, music, or literature requires a stable context in which people can develop their concrete gifts of making the art,” he said. “And the monastic life provided the context in which people could reflect on what they wanted to convey.”

Father Powers pointed out that a Carolingian Bible entrusted centuries ago to the community at St. Paul Outside the Walls is but one of the treasures that flow from this culture.

“The Gospel scenes and illuminated script make one realize that this was a labor of love and the fruit of much study, prayer, and selfless dedication,” he said. “The manuscript reveals a sense of profound stability and patience, as well as a sense of time that is not rushed.”

The Benedictine Rule also had powerful political exponents, such as the Emperor Charlemagne in the ninth century, who recognized the value of stability encoded in the Benedictine way of life as a powerful organizing principle for society.

The Benedictine charism and the establishment of monasteries throughout his realm resulted in a harmonic social structure.

“It was like a European constitution,” Father Powers said.

Although the Benedictine community today is smaller than in years past, Father Powers said its stable presence continues to exert an influence in modern culture.

He said: “We have a list of all the abbots of this monastery from the 900s onward. It gives you a sense of continuity, fidelity to a tradition, a sense of belonging to the Benedictine family that gives you a strength of context from which you can move forward into the future.

“Life is a gift and you just move slowly through it. The art we have here is an impressive witness of what the Benedictine spirit can produce.”

* * *

A Meeting of Minds

Taking their cue from Pope John Paul II’s call for the genius of women to find its place in the life of the Church, many lay women are pursuing licentiates and doctorates at Rome’s richly varied pontifical universities.

Some women are sponsored by their local bishops and will serve in dioceses; others will be professors, teachers and catechists, or sit on tribunals or bioethics boards.

A meeting of minds over the course of the academic semester at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum, has helped to defuse some of the residual reticence over the presence of lay women in places that were formerly exclusively the domain of men or consecrated religious.

The international group included lay women, seminarians and priests studying at various universities, and two Anglican women who are both interested in the Church’s teaching on women.

Hope Gillis, a specialist in marriage and family studies and an organizer of the meeting, said that the inspiration for the group was in response to a class on the anthropology of St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and John Paul II’s encyclicals on the role of the laity in the life of the Church.

She said that the discussions helped to sift through some common misconceptions that are still present in the Church today.

Gillis said that the group acknowledged that at times there is a subtle implication among the clergy and religious members of the Church that the lay vocation is somehow less than valid than a consecrated vocation. She added that the study group reaffirmed the authenticity of the lay vocation.

Josh Eli, a second-year seminarian from North Dakota, said the discussions were like “arranging pieces of a puzzle.”

He added: “It was eye opening to take a step back and see the in the bigger picture how the vocations complement each other.”