TWELFTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 8, 1999 (VIS) - The twelfth congregation of the European synod began this afternoon shortly after 5 with the prayer "Pro Felici Synodi Exitu." The assembly was convened by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, president delegate on duty. Pope John Paul and 153 synod fathers were in attendance and heard speeches from a fraternal delegate, auditors and three synod fathers. The meeting concluded at 7 p.m.

Following are excerpts from some of the speeches given this evening:

MSGR. PAVOL BRZY, PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AT THE KOMENSKY UNIVERSITY IN BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA. "Today more than ever, every parish should have a reliable and systematic pastoral mission towards families and the young people of those families. If there are no authentic Christian families, the number of Christians will continue to fall, and young Christians will be increasingly reluctant to live a life of faith, sacrifice and responsibility. The number of families willing to comply with the values of faith will decline, and the Lord's call to young people to follow Him will not have an adequate response, despite the efforts of the Church and of this synod. ... The synod's closing document should especially underline the importance, urgency and priority of an enduring parish pastoral mission directed towards the family at all levels, as this is the primary and often most decisive opportunity that ensures that Christ is truly living in His Church and that He is the hope of Europe. In order to further this important pastoral mission it would undoubtedly be appropriate to propose the convocation of a Special Synod to examine concrete experience in the pastoral mission for families."

SANJA HORVAT, HEALTH-CARE WORKER AND STUDENT OF THEOLOGY AT THE THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. "We young people in Bosnia-Herzegovina face several big problems - too much free time, unemployment, high study fees. We need a new life of tolerance, of love. ... The biggest and most insoluble problem for young Catholics is that of returning. Very few have come back. How can we? We have no housing! We are unwanted! How can we return to a neighborhood lacking in good neighbors? There is no economic development, no jobs, no money. And in addition, we are Catholic! ... What happens to the Church if young people leave? No sacraments of baptism and marriage and no vocations. The Church is less powerful with powerful enemies knowing nothing of reconciliation and forgiveness. We, the youth who are staying, hoping and living, are still here to give witness to Christ and to the Catholic Church. We need courageous and committed priests to rebuild destroyed souls."

SR. IRINA M. BOTA O.S.B.M., PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR IN ROMANIA OF THE ORDER OF BASILIAN SISTERS AND PRESIDENT OF THE ROMANIAN CONFERENCES OF SUPERIORS MAJOR, ROMANIA. "I belong to the Church of silence, a Church that for over forty years was oppressed and for ten years has lived in a situation of tolerance. Our first concern is for the formation of sisters both young and old, but the pace is very slow, and time and patience are necessary to achieve and truly live the needs of consecrated life. We still feel the consequences of clandestiness where fear of others, even one's own family, was an obligation for survival. ... Prior to religious freedom in Romania there were 15 religious congregations. Now we are seeing a blossoming of religious life as, after the events of December 1989, more than 50 religious congregations have been come into being in Romania, apart from those not members of the FCRSM. ... Today, it is fundamental to underline the integral dimension of the individual and give priority to the spiritual dimension. Beyond the political and economic aspects, individuals have their own conscience, their own dignity, their own interior freedom; they need God, they need eternal life, they need infinite love and this cannot be given to them by salary, the civil law or the party."

PAOLA BIGNARDI, PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL CATHOLIC ACTION, ITALY. "In my address I would like to call attention to the theme of the crisis of faith that seems to affect much of Europe, both the part that claims to still believe, especially in the West, and the part which is recovering the liberty to express its faith, especially in the East. ... Awareness of this crisis of faith should not induce us into pessimistic withdrawal, rather we would like to see it as a 'favorable moment' for us, one that calls us to creativity, to renew and invent forms of Christian life. ... The lay faithful are the ones mainly called upon to contribute to this 'new' evangelization; their daily experience, their shared participation in human fortune, can make the whole Church more 'expert in humanity'. In fact, to the Church the 'christifideles laici' can offer comprehension of and participation in everyday life, as well as the need for companionship, for mercy, for love, the provocations and urgency for solidarity and universal brotherhood. They are, most of all through their humanity those who render the Church close to the men and women of today."

IRINA ILOVAISKY GIORGI-ALBERTI, EDITOR OF "LA PENSEE RUSEE," FRANCE. "I am the editor of a weekly journal published in Paris and, for some years, also in Moscow, and a Christian radio station that has been broadcasting directly from Moscow for four years. ... The evangelization of Russia is a task whose difficulty far surpasses what one could imagine. We only have to mention that the number of believers practicing their faith (for all the Christian confessions) is around 2 to 3 percent of the population. The Russian Orthodox Church did not expect the fall of communism and was not ready to respond to the questions and needs that were facing her. She is still not ready and, above all, is subject to the terrible temptation - especially in her higher ranks - of letting herself be used as an ideology to replace marxist-leninism. This leads to her isolation from the Western Christian world and even her being hostile to it, either openly or by finding some excuse. One of these excuses is the accusation of proselytism. I can testify that this does not exist. This rejection of unity, the refusal to open the doors to the brothers of the Christian West and, in the first place, to the Holy Father, is a matter of politics, not religion. Many people in Russia have asked me to request forgiveness for this. ... Above all they ask you to forgive them, not to abandon them, not to forget them; not to fall into the traps often set for you which turn you away from them."

JAN ZICHA, MEMBER OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE LAITY, CZECH REPUBLIC. "The persecution we had to face during the communist times was unquestionably very hard, but it also had a positive side effect: a purification and deepening of our faith. It sometimes seems to me that the indifference of consumerism may be in some aspects even worse than the persecution during the years of the communist dictatorship. ... Sharing our Christian lives within a network of communities helped us to survive the persecution. Later (after 1989) this sharing became a basis for youth ministry in the Czech Republic and I am convinced that it will play a fundamental role in the future as well. I cannot imagine that the situation of the Church can improve without good formation within these small basic communities."

SE;TWELFTH CONGREGATION;...;...;VIS;19991011;Word: 1230;