FIFTEENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 13, 1999 (VIS) - The fifteenth congregation of the Second Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops was convened this evening at 5:05 p.m. for the presentation of the reports of the language groups. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Joachim Meisner. Pope John Paul was present, as were 153 synod fathers. The meeting concluded at 8:15 p.m.

At the opening of the congregation, Cardinal Paul Poupard, one of the three presidents delegate, read a message of best wishes to the Holy Father for the 21st anniversary of his election to the papacy, which occurs this Saturday, October 16.

The message from the presidents delegate, on behalf of all synod participants, expressed their "thanks to God the Omnipotent for the extraordinary fertility of your Petrine ministry that has lasted for two decades, especially in a Europe that, a few days ago, you placed under the protection of three new co-patronesses: Saints Bridget of Sweden, Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), and in whom the Church, under your powerful impulse, enlivened by your tireless Magisterium and by your apostolic pilgrimages, has begun to recuperate with full lungs a new spirit."

The nine working groups represent five languages. Following are excerpts from five of those reports:

ITALIAN A: ARCHBISHOP BENIGNO LUIGI PAPA OF TARANTO. "In the history of Europe, we must remember the three divisions that have occurred and of which we still bear the scars: that of 1054; ... the Reform Movement that lacerated the Western Church and the Enlightenment which separated reason from revelation and opposed science to faith. ... Europe, that was born and grew in the possession of a common faith, today suffers because of the division of Christians. We are called upon to overcome these divisions, without neglecting the search for friendly relations with Judaism and Islam. ... We are convinced that only an evangelized person can evangelize, that only a sanctified person can be the docile instrument of sanctification, that only a person formed by the charity of God can be the earthly reflection of His merciful love for men. ... Married Christians' first service of charity is the gift of life. The married couple that remains open to life and that practices responsible parenthood most certainly manifests hope. Through the association of families, we must insist that States support those family policies that allow parents to continue to collaborate with God; in creating life and in being Christian teachers of life. Another pastoral service of charity is the pastoral ministry of salvation that must be promoted in all local Churches. ... A healthy laity ... means recognizing that society needs the contribution of religious confessions in order to ensure its own ethical-cultural foundations. It also means guaranteeing both free expression for all confessions and forms of correct collaboration."

FRENCH A: BISHOP BELLINO GHIRARD OF RODEZ. "Eight groups of questions were accepted and discussed by this group. ... 1. The Risen Christ, the only Savior. The revival of ecclesial communities is necessary in order that the Church be a source of Hope for Europe. ... Their members should proclaim with full conviction, ... that 'Jesus Christ is the Lord of history, the content and vital center of the message of salvation, the Way, the Truth and the Life.' ... 2. The exchange of gifts between the Eastern and Western Churches must be more developed. The Group ... also heeded the call of the Eastern Catholic Churches who entreat (greater) concern for their diaspora in the West and request a more active role in the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. 3. Ecumenism. ... 4. The Church in Europe and Judaism. Following 'Nostra Aetate', we condemn the serious injustices against the Jews in the history of the Christian East and West. The shoah has induced the Church to make an examination of conscience, of which the fundamental stage was Vatican II. This examination has been extended by the decisive action of Pope John Paul II, of which the most recent sign has been the proclamation St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, as Co-Patroness of Europe. ... 5. Islam in Europe. ... Considering the reality of Islam in Europe, the Church does not always have possibilities other that that of proposing sincere dialogue. She must make every effort to start and continue dialogue, without naivete but also without prejudice. She must demand respect for the freedom of the Christian communities living in countries with a Muslim majority. 6. Women in society and the Church, in the European context. In various ecclesial communities, great steps have been taken to entrust women with new and greater responsibilities. ... This effort deserves constant attention, at the same time being careful not to regard men and women as being interchangeable in everything. ... It is indispensable that the Church take account of the rapid social change that girls and women have caused or been subjected to over the past thirty years. 7. The Church's social doctrine. This should take new forms of poverty into consideration. The Church must awaken public opinion to the importance of these fields of action and thereby contribute to the spreading and evaluation of her social doctrine. 8. Priestly vocations in Europe. Despite the resistance encountered in various European countries, a matter that has been analyzed many times, we persevere in upholding our intention of calling attention to the ministry of the diocesan priest. We might ask ourselves whether we have courage enough to make the appeal for ... vocations, the essence of any pastoral mission."

SPANISH-PORTUGUESE: BISHOP JUAN MARIA URIARTE GOIRICELAYA OF ZAMORA. "The evangelization of the Church occurs in a new and powerful cultural situation that carries with it a great challenge for the faith and for Christian behavior. ... Some elements that characterize this field of European culture are: a concept of freedom tending towards the absolute, one that lacks the essential relationship with truth; a distortion of the concept of tolerance leading to moral relativity and religious agnosticism; an evaluation of the useful over the good, and an exacerbation of pleasure to the point that it overcomes that which produces true and authentic joy; a democracy that is fed by these values, daily reveals its own sickness. This context also includes some positive aspects through which Europeans can open themselves to the faith. ... In order to collaborate with the Holy Spirit in proclaiming the faith, there must exist persons and communities who truly believe. ... The Church has no other treasure than to proclaim Jesus Christ, who died and rose again. This is the 'kerygma' that is proclaimed today in the heart of Europe, by a Church convinced that the salvation of Jesus is still necessary in these times and in this culture. ... Starting with an attitude open to dialogue, evangelizers must insist more upon asking questions and less upon denouncing. ... The time has come for dioceses to recognize, take on and enrich various ecclesial initiatives and institutions, ... formulating processes and training evangelizers. ... The laity are called upon, by their condition, to be active and responsible members in the life of the Christian community. The reason for their active participation is not by any means the lack of priests. Formation is required to provide basic and specific training to the laity in order for them to undertake their ecclesial responsibilities. For their part, priests, must avoid a double risk: They must not retain responsibilities that can be undertaken by the laity, yet they must not abdicate their own responsibilities, using the justification of a democratic outlook and thus blurring the different functions that clergy and laity have in the Church. All the laity, by their vocation, are called upon to actively participate in public life. In order to respond correctly to this vocation, Christian formation is necessary. In this, the Church's social doctrine must have a special place. ... We bishops are called upon to adopt a positive attitude towards women and their world, their legitimate rights to employment, their social responsibilities and their efforts to gain these things. ... The services provided by women in the Church and their willingness to undertake them are undeniable and immense. The active and contemplative consecrated life, involving so many women in Europe, is in itself an inestimable ecclesial service. The responsibilities assumed by women are increasing, and include catechesis, collaboration with bodies of mutual responsibility in the Church, organization that serve the poor and the ecclesial sciences. ... The Christian family, due to its central position in society, its current delicate situation and its theological importance, must be given great attention by the Church. This attention must correspond to a theoretical and practical re-evaluation of family pastoral ministry as one of our main, central goals."

GERMAN: FR. HEINZ WILHELM STECKLING, O.M.I, SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE OBLATE MISSIONARIES OF MARY IMMACULATE. "The German Working Group is made up of members from the East and from the West, present in almost equal parts. This enriched our debate, whose main theme was hope. ... Our debate can be summarized in four main points. 1. The question of God. ... We share, with all religions, the conviction that the problem of meaning can only be answered in a horizon that transcends the boundaries of this world. ... The Church has yet to find her full visible unity. The ecumenical movement is a sign of hope. We are glad for the recent signing, in Augsburg, of the joint declaration on the doctrine of justification. We hope that all Christians will themselves reflect on the ecumenical questions. 2. New evangelization. ... This has nothing to do with proselytism, rather, it is pastoral announcement. Often, the Churches are called upon to mutually enrich each other with their rich traditions. The many followers and martyrs (of these Churches) represent a help for living the faith. ... An important part of evangelization is the work of reconciliation. Reconciliation is needed to heal memories and at the same time indicates the way for the future. This presupposes that wrongs be recognized and admitted. One should not look away, as occurred in the tragic events in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo. ... Today's conditions of life demand that, in announcing the faith, a language ever more adaptable to the means of social communication be used. 3. Pastoral vocation. ... In many European countries there is a serious crisis in vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. This is linked to a more general crisis in Christianity that has been observed in the same countries. A vocational pastoral ministry must be developed that begins at the right moment. Early in life, young people must learn about religious communities where there reigns an atmosphere that helps Christian faith to be lived. 4. European unity. ... Even today, the effects of the domination of totalitarian ideologies, the consequences of war and of civil strife - including the inadequacy of European institutions in the face of the horror of so-called ethnic cleansing - darken the hope of people in Europe. These events represent a pressing appeal for the Church to promote a new culture of encounter."

ENGLISH A: MSGR. NOEL TREANOR, SECRETARY GENERAL FOR THE COMMISSION OF THE EPISCOPATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. "The 'Relatio Post Disceptationem' was positively received. At the outset of the discussion it was agreed that proclaiming the message of the Gospel and communicating the life and work of the Church by using all the means provided by the media is an organizational principle for the Church's mission in the world and in Europe. ... On the one hand it was considered that European society has undergone a profound secularization, where absolutist ideologies, and religion, are suspect and perceived as being divisive. An alternative view warned against taking this as a totally accurate reading of the present human condition and of European society: it is a complex reality requiring close discernment. ... A key element in responding to this situation is how - in the Church - freedom can be reconciled with direction in love. Two recommendations were made with a view to presenting the faith in our times: Firstly, the development of the catechumenate and the promotion of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Secondly, the formation and training of convinced young Catholics to assume a creative and proactive presentation of the faith and the Church to their contemporaries, and in society. ... The crisis and fragility of family life throughout Europe was recognized. Breakdown of family life in the societies of both eastern and western Europe has led to great suffering. Various responses to this situation were indicated. In particular, emphasis was placed on the importance of marriage preparation courses and on programs of family catechesis. ... Particular attention was paid to the problem of migration and illegal immigrants. Oftentimes the Church and its organizations are the only source of assistance and support. The distinction often made between economic migrants and refugees fleeing for their lives, was questioned. It was suggested that the bishops, conferences, COMECE, and other Church organizations working on migration issues should institute a critique of European policies in this sphere."

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