THIRTEENTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

VATICAN CITY, OCT 9, 1999 (VIS) - The thirteenth general congregation of the European synod started at 9 a.m. in the Synod Hall in the presence of the Pope and 139 synod fathers. The president on duty was Cardinal Joachim Meisner. The session finished at 12:00 noon. Prior to interventions from the synod fathers a message from Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, was read.

Following are excerpts from some of this morning's speeches:

REV. VEIKKO PURMONEN OF THE FINNISH ORTHODOX CHURCH. "It is a traditional notion that Finland, as well as the Finnish Orthodox Church which is a small minority in a Protestant country, are bridge builders between East and West. It is in this spirit that our Church has been involved in the ecumenical movement. In this spirit we have also had ecumenical fellowship with the Catholic Church. It is a traditional practice in Finland that in the areas where there are no Catholic churches, Catholic services are held in Orthodox churches. Last year, 1998, the Finnish Orthodox Church had the joy of offering the meeting place - in the new Valamo Monastery - for the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Europe. ... Indeed, it is our common Christian understanding that our faith is to be expressed in worship, in liturgical life, especially in the Holy Eucharist. ... Our faith is also to be expressed in every day life, in diaconal service, in our love of God and our neighbor, during the liturgy and after it. Right faith must lead to right practice, to a truly Christian life style."

BISHOP JOHN HIND OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNITY, BISHOP OF GIBRALTAR, DIOCESE OF EUROPE. "The vision of the Church as communion arises both from its historic identity as the Body of Christ and from its eschatological destiny as foretaste of the kingdom of God. Past and future meet in the present where we are called to reveal what God has done and what God has promised. ... The Church should not just speak about, but should live the message of holiness, peace, justice and communion. Even the characteristics of unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity are not characteristics of the Church alone. They are essentially features of the kingdom of God. We must avoid a purely utilitarian view of ecumenism. Jesus prayed 'ut unum sint' not only 'so that the world may believe' but also 'as you, Father, and I are one'."

METROPOLITAN JEREMIAS OF FRANCE, OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE. "His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I has, in answer to an official invitation that follows the tradition of collaboration and contact between our Churches, delegated me to represent the Church of Constantinople during your work. ... I am also authorized to transmit to you the particular interest the Ecumenical Patriarch has in your Church's preparations for the celebration of the Jubilee of the Year 2000, and his intent to share with you the worry and doubt (as we) search for answers to the numerous questions that the world asks the Church today. We are all called upon to defend the only proposition of all Christians with force and conviction, accompanying this with true faith in Jesus Christ, incarnated for the salvation of man. ... It is significant that the speeches by the synod fathers constantly emphasize ecumenical Christian dialogue. This is clear proof of awareness of the need for dialogue at the highest ecclesial level, despite the numerous difficulties that Churches face in answering the needs and the call of Christ for unity."

MSGR. NOEL TREANOR, SECRETARY GENERAL FOR THE COMMISSION OF THE EPISCOPATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. "The EEC, now the European Union (EU), has proved to be the motor of European integration. The founding fathers conceive of the European project as giving shape to a community of nations that incarnate such values as peace, security, sharing resources for the improvement of living standards throughout the Community, creation of democratic institutions, rule of law and respect for minorities in their internal and external relations. ... The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) is presently working on making a contribution to the articulation of a vision statement. ... The core of its mission, carried out in cooperation with the nunciature to the EU and the numerous Catholic organizations that interface with the EU, is to read the agenda of the European Union with the eyes of faith and to offer pertinent Christian anthropological insights to those shaping the policies arising from that agenda. In accomplishing this mission on behalf of the local Churches in Europe, COMECE stresses the need for closer cooperation between its secretariat and the bishops' conferences. It recommends that episcopal conferences have among their services, a committee or Working Group for European affairs."

BISHOP AGOSTINO SUPERBO, EMERITUS OF ALTAMURA-GRAVINA-ACQUAVIVA DELLE FONTI, ASSISTANT GENERAL ECCLESIASTIC OF ITALIAN CATHOLIC ACTION. "The ministry of Peter, the pastoral patience of bishops and priests, the apostolic tenacity of the associations, the enthusiasm of the new movements and, above all, the pastoral work inaugurated by John Paul II with the World Youth Days, have brought to our communities renewed zeal in the pastoral care of youth. Of course, some difficulties and problems still remain, none of them small, but that wall of indifference has collapsed so that we can look to the future with faith. ... It is necessary that in dioceses and the parishes, alongside the movements, lay people be active, efficient, and adult in faith, and draw from the Church her very reason for existence and her charismatic power, that they operate in close union with pastors in order to serve communion and the mission of the local Church. In World Youth Days, the Holy Father also offered us an indication of the essential dimensions of Christian formation, without which such formation would betray both young people and the goal it aims to achieve: the formation of Christian adults in the faith. Making no claims to be exhaustive or scientific, I will try to briefly describe this formation: Looking at young people positively but with healthy realism; centering on Christ; focussing one's conscience; courageous love of the truth in order to overcome the fear of commitment and the dream of subjectivism; evangelical radicalism; ecclesial education; invitation to modernity; witness and mission; and service to the poor, in order to meet the face of Christ and make His love present in the homes of men."

BISHOP SAMIR MAZLOUM, APOSTOLIC VISITATOR FOR THE FAITHFUL OF THE MARONITE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE, FROM LEBANON. "For over a century, persecutions, massacres, wars and different types of economic and social pressures have pushed millions of Christians of the Middle East to escape from their countries and take refuge elsewhere. The Christian presence has thus passed from 35 percent to 2 percent of the population in Iraq; from 30 to 10 percent in Egypt; from 40 to 12 percent in Syria; from 56 to 45 percent in Lebanon; from 30 to 0.2 percent in Turkey. And the land where Christ became man has a total of no more than a few thousand Christians. This situation must worry Europe, just as it worries the Church and especially His Holiness Pope John Paul II who is doing his utmost to stop this hemorrhage. I would like to thank the European countries that have welcomed a great number of these Christians over the past ten years, and who have guaranteed them much aid. However, these Christians are still awaiting recognition, not as individuals or as small isolated communities, but as members of the prestigious, historic Churches that have their traditions, their spiritual, theological and cultural heritage, their many saints and their thousands of martyrs. ... The Maronites in Europe turn to His Holiness Pope John Paul II; he renews their faith, and they pray to him to provide them with the means to offer their witness just as he requested during his historic visit to Lebanon."

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