FOURTEENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 11, 1999 (VIS) - This morning, during the fourteenth general congregation, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, relator general of the Synod for Europe, presented the "Relatio post-disceptationem." This sums up the speeches given in the general congregations up to this point, and offers a number of guidelines for the work of the language groups.

Following is the cardnal's synthesis of the "Relatio," excluding the introductory paragraph:

"The speeches we have heard give us the satisfaction of being able to say from the start that there are certain fundamental points of convergence and agreement between us. These should be kept in mind during our forthcoming work, I am going to mention the most significant ones:

"1. First of all, we can all perceive the urgency for our Churches to clearly proclaim and witness Jesus Christ, His personal and active presence, the source of hope which Europe needs.
"2. Secondly, we agree on the need to propose the new evangelization of Europe as a lived and visible experience of Jesus Christ, who is alive in His Church and thus the source of hope for our contemporaries.
"3. Thirdly, we feel it necessary to carry out an ecclesial examination of conscience, with reference to both the situation of European society and that of the Church itself. We wish to do this in a spirit of conversion to the kingdom of God, and as an expression of our pastoral closeness to the people of our time, whose joys and anguish are also our own.
"4. Fourthly, we therefore think that converted in Jesus Christ and justified by faith in Him, we will be in a position to formulate propositions for the new evangelization of our continent. We find the stimulus and strength for this in the grace given us by the Jubilee of the forthcoming Holy Year, the 2,000th anniversary of the incarnation of the Lord, and in the Holy Father's urgent call for us to work towards complete social and spiritual renewal in Europe.

"In collecting together - insomuch as this is possible - what has been said during the general congregations, I am seeking to present some elements that may be taken into account in (considering) both the examination of conscience and the proposed evangelization we will have to undertake to bring about the desired renewal of Europe.

"In its second chapter the 'Relatio' considers the examination of conscience, describing the most salient features of the human condition in Europe today and of the Church's present situation in the continent. It lists different situations of ecclesial life with their various shortcomings, as well as what are considered the calls the Holy Spirit makes to the Church today.

"The third chapter, which is the longest, makes proposals for the new evangelization in Europe. It makes reference to the ministry of the Word (preaching), the ministry of sanctification (liturgy) and the ministry of charity (deaconry). For each of these fields basic guidelines are given for renewal as well as more concrete instruments to put this into practice.

"Before proposing certain questions for the work of the language groups, the 'Relatio' concludes with these words: 'At this critical moment in European history, the Church travels once more along the road from Emmaus to Jerusalem. The renewal of Christian life in its own sources (faith in the Word of God, celebration of the sacraments and the service of charity) will bring the divine and human hope that Europe needs. Renewal comes by the meeting with the risen Jesus Christ, who teaches us, by His Spirit, to understand the mysteries of the cross, of life, of forgiveness and of glory. The meeting with the Risen One will convert us; it will make of us, as with those of Emmaus, people full of hope who, before our contemporaries, bear witness of hope through holy life and the service of love'."

At the conclusion of this morning's fourteenth general congregation, the second session of the language groups began. They elected relators, after which they continued discussion of the synod's theme.

The language group relator gathers together the opinions on a particular subject for each session or at the end of the discussion. He then prepares a report on that discussion which will be presented to the group members. He also draws up a first draft of individual and collective amendments and collaborates with the relator general in preparing the final list of proposals.

Today at 4 p.m., the language group moderators will meet in order to plan the work of these groups. They will go on to discuss the theme of the synod and prepare the language groups' reports, as laid down in the synod calendar.

The fifteenth general congregation will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday October 13, when the language groups' reports will be read out in the synod hall.

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