The apy o Renewal- The Thi d Eu opean Ecumenical Assembly
The Thi d Eu opean Ecumenical Assembly held in Sibiu, Romania om
Sep embe 4 h – 9 h on he heme The Ligh o Ch is shines on all: Hope o
enewal and uni y in Eu ope, p o ided no only analysis o he ecumenical
di icul ies acing he chu ches, bu also encou aged a " he apy", as Ca dinal
Kaspe pu i , ha begins wi h a “ eadiness o enewal and e o m…whe eby
e e y chu ch mus begin wi h i sel .” In his sho a icle, I would like o e lec
om wi hin a Ca holic pe spec i e on some o he poin e s o enewal ha
eme ged in he ligh o he Assembly’s Final Message and commen s made
du ing he Assembly i sel .1
Admi Failu e and Begin Again
The opic o a new beginning and wi h i pu i ica ion and healing o
memo y was men ioned se e al imes du ing he Assembly no leas du ing a
o um on peace ha saw inpu s om Bishop An hony Fa quha o Down and
Conno , S . Ge aldine Smy h o he I ish School o Ecumenics and Re . Ken
C owe o he P esby e ian Chu ch in I eland. The esponsibili y o acing up o
he pas and dealing wi h he legacy o su e ing is one ha lies on all o socie y,
he s a e and he Chu ch. I 's some hing ha we associa e di ec ly wi h he pos -
con lic si ua ion o No he n I eland bu , o cou se, i 's a heme ha impac s also
on he whole Chu ch ega ding many aspec s o li e, bo h pe sonal and ecclesial.
The Final Message i sel began wi h an acknowledgemen o how he
chu ches ha e ailed o ul ill e en some o he commi men s aken on in he
p e ious assemblies held in Basel in 1989 and G az in 1997. Acknowledgemen
o ailu e is a heal hy hing when we se ou on a new beginning. I is wha we
saw Pope John Paul II do du ing he Jubilee Yea in he Day o Pa don when, in
unp eceden ed ashion, he asked o gi eness om he Lo d o he sins, pas and
p esen , o he sons and daugh e s o he Chu ch.
The pu i ica ion o memo y isn’ jus abou ailu es. To limi i o ha , a he
han being an exe cise o humili y, could well end up being a sin agains he
Ch is ian i ue o hope! The healing o memo ies demands a con ic ion, as he
Final Message pu s i ha “ he ans o ming ene gy o he ligh o Ch is is
s onge han he da kness o esigna ion, a alism, ea and indi e ence.” To
begin again no ma e wha is he g ea wo k o he Holy Spi i whose
cha ac e is ic ac ion is o b ing abou a dying and a ising, a knocking down and a
building up, ins illing in us he cou age o se ou again bea ing all hings,
belie ing all hings, hoping all hings and endu ing all hings (1 Co 13:7).
Acknowledge he T easu e o Spi i uali y
A numbe o people commen ed ha he Final Message o Sibiu migh be
conside ed mo e spi i ual in one han hose o he Basel and G az assemblies.
1 Fo a la ou o he e en i sel as expe ienced by he I ish delega es p esen , see Susan Ga ely,
"Exchanging Gi s" The I ish Ca holic (13 Sep embe 2007), 4.
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Pe haps he e's a g ea e ecogni ion oday ha “ou Ch is ian spi i uali y is a
p ecious easu e”. I is by a ending o spi i uali y ha he ue expe ience o
“koinonia” can g ow and his in u n leads o a ans o ma ion ha is necessa y in
he ace o con empo a y social and cul u al ends. The Lu he an Bishop
Wol gang Hube a i med "I am con inced ha …a well- ounded spi i uali y is a
s ong o ce o esis ance agains all secula ism, all mili an nihilism and eligious
e o ism and undamen alism".
I is no wi hou signi icance ha in a key documen some yea s ago
ega ding he u u e o he Ca holic Chu ch, spi i ual enewal was unde lined: 'le
us ha e no illusions: unless we ollow his spi i ual pa h, ex e nal s uc u es o
communion will se e e y li le pu pose. They would become mechanisms
wi hou a soul, "masks" o communion a he han i s means o exp ession and
g ow h'.2 Pa ishes and dioceses, g oups and agencies a e called o enewal by
p omo ing a spi i uali y o koinonia, o communion, a all le els.
P o . And ea Ricca di o he San ’Egidio Communi y quo ed Ma in Bube
in ad oca ing his p imacy o spi i ual enewal: “To begin wi h onesel : ha is he
only hing ha ma e s… The le e o A chimedes wi h which we can li up he
wo ld is ou inne and pe sonal ans o ma ion”. Li ing up he wo ld begins om
hea s ha a e con e ed because, in he wo ds o he O hodox Sain Se aphim
o Sa o : “Acqui e peace in you sel and housands a ound you will ind
sal a ion”. The e we e many es imonies o spi i uali y on he pa o men and
women, communi ies and mo emen s. Indeed, a he han acknowledging
spi i uali y i could be said ha Sibiu helped us app ecia e he ange o
spi i uali ies ha he Holy Spi i is opening up oday o help enew he Chu ch.
One o he e ec s o he Assembly aking place in he p ima ily O hodox
con ex o Romania ( he i s assembly was held in he p ima ily P o es an own
o Basel, Swi ze land, he second in he mos ly Ca holic ci y o G az, Aus ia) was
a g ea e app ecia ion o jus how much we can ecei e in e ms o li u gy and
spi i uali y om he Eas . The g owing p esence o O hodox chu ches in I eland
is an oppo uni y o enla ge ou unde s anding and li ing ou o Ch is ian
spi i uali y, b ea hing wi h he “ wo lungs” o Eu opean Ch is ian expe ience.3
Redisco e Mission: Be and Speak!
The need o e-p oclaim Ch is was oiced o en h oughou he Assembly.
One o he explici ecommenda ions in he Final Message was ha we enew
“ou mission as indi idual belie e s and as Chu ches o p oclaim Ch is as he
Ligh and he Sa iou o he wo ld”. Fi s and o emos ha equi es we ou sel es
be he ligh we a e p oclaiming. The i s ask in Sibiu became, he e o e, ha "o
deepening and li ing ou Ch is iani y" because, as Ca dinal Pé e E dő, P esiden
o CCEE, commen ed "we o en need o acknowledge…how li le Ch is iani y is
known in i s ue essence…The e a e many masks o Ch is iani y…I we wish o
be au hen ic missiona ies o Ch is , we need o be his ue disciples".
2 See Pope John Paul II, Apos olic Le e , No o Millennio Ineun e (6 Janua y, 2001), 43.
3 Fo a good in oduc ion o O hodox spi i uali y and p ac ice see Timo hy Wa e, The O hodox Chu ch
(London: Penguin Books, 1993).
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Bu we also need o lea n o speak in he con empo a y cul u al se ing.
The Anglican Bishop o London, R . Re Richa d Cha es desc ibed ou cul u e.
On he one hand, we can see some inc edible people spending hemsel es o
o he s, unning ma a hons o cance su e e s, making collec ions o cha i able
ac i i ies and being good neighbou s. And ye we also see a cul u e whe e he e
is a wea y cynicism and a cul o celeb i y whe e people a e well known no o
hei i ues bu o hei known-ness: “I is a cul u e in which people a e inding i
ha d o sus ain hei ela ionships which is no eally su p ising seeing ha he
dominan e hos insis s ha we a e sel made indi iduals o we a e no hing…a
ca ica u e o li e is exhibi ed o us o obse e in he agic human zoo o Big
B o he ”. Many a e "ba led by he apid disappea ance o an old social wo ld in
which hey el e y much a home" while many o he alues mos che ished
oday a e di o ced om hei Ch is ian ma ix.
To espond o his cul u al shi , i is no enough, as on Bal hasa once
pu i o " oss a saccha in able in o his aging ocean" by se ling o a
ashionable consensus o e ea ing in o a ghe o. The e's a need o engage wi h
he cul u e a ound us bea ing wi ness o he Gospel. Recen co e age o
A chbishop Seán B ady’s ema ks a he Annual Na ional No ena a Knock
ega ding new ends in I eland, including he new I ish supe s i ion, indica es he
need also in I eland o edisco e mission bo h in e ms o who we a e and ou
need o speak o he Gospel. A e iew o wha happened a he Sibiu Assembly
sugges ed many pla o ms o mission ha call o c ea i i y and ini ia i e: c ea e
spaces o encoun e , a ail o he possibili ies o e ed by na ional and local media
ou le s, pu on cul u al e en s, engage in dialogue wi h poli icians, o ganize
o ums, semina s and exhibi ions.
The e was a s ong sense o he impo ance o he inclusi i y o all in
mission. The Assembly no ed in pa icula he place o young people no jus as
he Chu ch o he u u e bu o oday. To ha end, a message ha had been
issued by young delega es a a p epa a o y mee ing held in S . Mau ice,
Swi ze land, was appended o he Final Assembly Message. I was a sign o he
need o us young people, wo k wi h hem, and gi e hem esponsibili y. The
Final Message also eminded us o he ac i e agency o he elde ly, e hnic
mino i ies, and disabled people in ou Chu ch li e.
Lea n Mo e abou All Religions
No su p isingly, gi en he p esence o many membe s o wo ld eligions
in Eu ope, he opic o ou ela ionships wi h o he eligions eme ged in he
Assembly. The Final Message pu i s aigh o wa dly: we all need o lea n mo e
abou all eligions. To his end, he Ecumenical Cha e ( he "Cha a
Oecumenica" as i is called), signed in Ap il 2001, was b ough o ou a en ion.
This decep i ely simple documen con ains many poin e s o e lec ion and
ac ion, os ensibly on an ecumenical, in e -chu ch le el, bu ac ually i 's a
documen ha can be ead a many le els, including by each chu ch in i s own
delibe a ions.
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Wha is he p ope a i ude o belie e s o o he eligions? The G eek
O hodox A chbishop D . Anas asios o Ti ana and All Albania p oposed he
" es imony o li e". Bo h he Ecumenical Pa ia ch Ba holomew and Me opoli an
Ki ill o he Moscow Pa ia cha e poin ed ou ha i is p ecisely ou unde s anding
o he Ligh o Ch is whose adiance canno be con ined ha makes us
espec ul o o he eligious expe iences and adi ions. They exp essed hei
con ic ion ha solida i y wi h people o o he ai hs and o he wo ld iews in he
ace o common challenges, pa icula ly in he mo al sphe e, will gi e a new
dynamic o in e -Ch is ian ela ions. The Final Message included an a i ma ion o
he igh o li e om he beginning o li e o i s na u al end.
In I eland, we a e a he beginnings o encoun e wi h o he ai h
communi ies. The Th ee Fai hs Fo um o I eland is a dialogue poin in he
Republic o Jews, Ch is ians and Muslims while he No he n I eland In e ai h
Fo um ca e s o a b oade ange o eligions in dialogue. The e a e many issues
a ising o pa ishes and schools in he welcoming and in eg a ion o he "new
I ish" o Islamic, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhis eligious pe suasion. Ca dinal Kaspe
eminded he Assembly: "We ough o espec he o he ness o o he eligions,
bu ha e he cou age o ou own o he ness oo". The English expe ience o in e -
eligious dialogue s ood ou in Sibiu o i s achie emen s o da e. The Ca holic
Chu ch he e has also p oduced documen s ha could be o use o us in I eland.4
As A chbishop Ma in commen ed in his add ess a he G eenhills
Ecumenical Con e ence in Janua y his yea , in e - eligious dialogue is bo h an
oppo uni y and a necessi y o I eland. I has a alue in i sel ha would be
dange ous o pu o one side. I would, he commen ed, "also be, cu iously, a
enuncia ion on he pa o he Ch is ian communi y o an in eg al pa o i s
mission, namely ha o os e ing in ou wo ld an unde s anding o he uni y o
humankind, in ha we a e all child en o he same God."
See Mig an s as a Blessing
In wha was called “a social p ojec unpa alleled in human his o y”, he
phenomenon o he la ge-scale mig a ion in Eu ope was add essed du ing he
Assembly. The ques ion was asked: will we be able o u n he ac o such wide-
scale mig a ion in o a blessing o will ou di e si y p o e o be unsus ainable?
Sis e Joan Roddy, Di ec o o he Re ugee P ojec o he I ish Bishops’
Con e ence sha ed in plena y session he ib an i s hand expe ience o issues
ela ing o mig a ion in I eland.
The Final Message encou aged e e y e o o ensu e egula immig a ion,
he in eg a ion o mig an s, e ugees and asylum-seeke s, he upholding o he
alue o he amily uni y and he comba ing o exploi a ion o a icked pe sons.
The chu ches we e called o inc ease hei pas o al ca e o ulne able
immig an s.
Bu he Assembly eminded he chu ches o ecognize Ch is ian
immig an s no simply as ecipien s o eligious ca e bu a he as capable o
4 See he Ca holic Bishops’ Con e ence o England and Wales Commi ee o O he Fai hs, In e ai h
Dialogue: The Teaching o he Ca holic Chu ch (2002) and Ca holic Schools & O he Fai hs (1997)
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playing a ull and ac i e ole in he li e o he Chu ch and o socie y. To es eem
and alue mig an s o wha hey can gi e and no jus o how hey need o be
helped equi es a change o men ali y.
Peace, Jus ice, Ca e o C ea ion and Remembe A ica!
To a oid "squande ing he p ecious he i age o hose who o he las six y
yea s ha e wo ked o peace" Eu opeans ough no o ake o g an ed he
ela i ely paci ic s a e o Eu ope's socio-poli ical landscape. The Assembly hea d
eminde s o a isk ha Eu opeans migh simply li e o he a o he land,
o ge ing esponsibili y owa ds o he s. The e's a need o ac i ely ejec wa as a
ool o esol ing con lic , o wo k agains di isions c ea ed in a global ma ke
be ween winne s and lose s, o back ini ia i es o alle ia ion o po e y, deb
cancella ion and p omo ion o ai ade and o p omo e a Eu ope o alues. In
I eland we migh conside how we can bes honou he p ecious he i age
commi ed o us by p e ious gene a ions.
The heme o he ca e o c ea ion was highligh ed. Fo some yea s now,
he Ecumenical Pa ia cha e o Cons an inople has made i s own his conce n.
Apa om add essing ecological issues in ou p eaching and ca echesis, we
we e in i ed o e isi ou whole a i ude o c ea ion. Indeed, while some may
hink o eco-cong ega ions, ca e o c ea ion can also be exp essed in how we
a end o he aspec o beau y in ou chu ch buildings, p emises, g ounds and
p ojec s. God is no only good and so jus , ue and so logical, God is also beau y
and we bea wi ness o he ligh o Ch is in he Chu ch also by he way o
beau y.
The Final Message acknowledged ha A ica is a con inen in e wined
wi h Eu opean his o y and i s u u e. I 's pa o he "lo e s o y wi h he Sou h o
he wo ld ha needs o be ekindled" as P o . And ea Ricca di pu i . The wounds
o A ica ouched he hea o he Assembly. Th ough i s missiona ies I eland oo
senses a s ong link wi h A ica and eels he le els o po e y expe ienced he e
as some hing abou which we canno emain indi e en and inac i e. Pe haps
he e a e ini ia i es a pa ish le el ha migh in ol e linking up wi h A ica ( o
ins ance h ough missiona y socie ies and p ojec s) ha migh cap u e people's
imagina ion and engagemen .
Don’ eel alone!
The e's no ue enewal wi hou he C oss. The enowned Romanian
O hodox heologian and o me ec o o he Theological Facul y o Sibiu, Dimi u
S aniloae was quo ed a he Assembly: "e e y gi equi es a ce ain c oss".
Emb acing he C oss and emaining uni ed o one ano he a e wo indispensable
planks o enewal. In 1999 Pope John Paul II and Pa ia ch Teoc is me in an
his o ic encoun e in Bucha es . On ha occasion, he Romanian people p esen ,
O hodox, Ca holic and Re o med, in seeing he leade s oge he , spon aneously
began o chan : “uni a e, uni a e”.
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The Sibiu Assembly i sel was a wake-up call ha he way o he Chu ch is
he way o Uni y - wi h God, wi h one ano he , wi h ou Ch is ian he i age and he
"cloud o wi nesses" (Rom 12:1) bo h pas and p esen . C ea ing oppo uni ies o
people o come oge he in assembly has he alue o encou aging one ano he
because, in u h, we need no eel alone. We don’ go o God on ou own, bu
h ough and wi h one ano he .
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