ROME. Christ the hope of Europe. It might seem like a simple utopia if we look only at the process of secularization that has long affected the old continent. But through a more in-depth analysis, such as that carried out by the Vatican expert Andrea Gagliarducci, the initial affirmation finds valid confirmation. The book «Christ the hope of Europe. 50 years of the European Church between past and future ”shows that Europe is Christian. «Not always Catholic, but Christian. A Europe dotted with cathedrals and Marian shrines, where Christianity – begins Gagliarducci – was a builder of civilization and from where Christianity went everywhere, reaching all the peoples of the earth ». One cannot fail to start with the fifty years of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences.
It all began with an intuition of Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, then secretary of the French Episcopal Conference. The themes on the table were many. “There was always one awareness: Europe was more than the European Union. It was true at the time of the Iron Curtain, when one of Europa’s two lungs was dramatically rendered unable to breathe. It is even more valid today, when the European Union has expanded its borders, yet it has not yet covered the whole of European geography ”.
The Plenary Assembly of the 39 European Bishops met at the end of September. «The program of the European Churches is – he continues – well enclosed in a fundamental document, which is John Paul II’s post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia In Europa. It was the Polish Pope who spoke of a continent of hope and the only hope that can come from Christ ”. There are many challenges to face. «The CCEE – writes Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi in the post-faction – sees in evangelization the way to transform culture and people, not so much through an approach of doctrinal declarations, but rather through testimony of life and through the credibility it generates. The great contemporary phenomena of massive migrations, of demographic changes, of a disordered subjectivism, of globalization, analyzed by the bishops of the CCEE continue to question everyone. Courage for the future lies in the Person who, yesterday, today and forever, is the Lord Jesus ”.
Currently the CCEE is made up of 39 members, of which 33 are Episcopal Conferences to which are added the archbishops of Luxembourg, the Principality of Monaco, the Maronite archbishop of Cyprus and the bishops of Chisinau (Moldavia), of the eparchy of Mukachevo (Ukraine ) and the Apostolic Administration of Estonia. Together, they represent the Catholic Church in 45 countries on the European continent.
Various contributions from the Episcopal Conferences have been collected in the text. As Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco points out, “the diversity of history, culture and ecclesial and social sensitivity, offers a cross-section of great interest and interpretative keys useful to all, Pastors and those who have at heart the destiny of Europe and its vocation in the world. It is not a question – he continues – of an outdated “ethnocentrism”, but of that mission which is inscribed in the DNA of a land that was the first to receive the Gospel from the Apostles Peter and Paul ».
With this work published by Città Nuova, the author offers a glimpse into the future through interviews with the Bishops who tell about the next challenges to be met. “Today we need to start over, to rebuild. The Bishops were very clear: Europe must be re-evangelized ». We feel the «need – explains Gagliarducci – to look at the roots of CCEE, to retrace its history in order to truly understand what the future holds. If you don’t know the past, everything looks new. If you know the past, everything acquires meaning ». The goal is to rediscover the Christian roots as Benedict XVI would say. Or simply bring God back to the center.
«Christ the hope of Europe. 50 years of the European Church between past and future “, by Andrea Gagliarducci, Città Nuova, pp. 186, euro 16.90