The contribution of the Churches to the future of Europein the 21. century
La aportatación de las Iglesias al futuro de Europa en el Siglo XXIWolfgang Wild, Oberkirchenrat EKD |
First of all, I want to thank you for inviting me to this colloquy and want to introduce myself once more: my name is Wolfgang Wild. I am working in the office of the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland in Hanover. I am Secretary for Europe (South an Southeast) an for ministry for tourists abroad.
1. Introduction
We had different attitudes to join the subject in this symposium. Attitudes with different good possibilities and advantages an at the same time different dangers.
It was very impressive to hear Bishop Siluan and to experience his deep spiritual praxis. His life as a monk in a little conventual's community in France is very impressive and a good example for us others. On the other hand - I fell, that he lives a bit out of the world, out of the reality. There was mentioning of responsibility for mortal and ethics. But there was no mentioning of responsibility to bring Christian positions and values into a democratic process of building a just society.
Then there was Bishop Esteban. He represented the Catholic Church in Spain. Impressive was the engagement and the effort in strengthening the role of the family in society and in religious education of the next generation. But I felt a sort of depression. The influence of the Church is going down. The Spanish Catholic Church - the bishops - have to find a new role in a more and more secular society.
We protestants in Germany are more or less in a situation like the Anglicans n Great Britain. We are already nearly marginalized in our society. From this position we have to find new ways of participation in the democratic process in our country, in Europe.
In my opinion influence not so much our theology these different attitudes which I mentioned. It is at the same time or even more a question of sociology. In which society, in which status of history we do exist as church bodies?
Let us look forward. I can't make up a summary. But I think my paper, which I am going to present may help to build a bridge between the paper of Bishop David Hamid at the beginning up to mutual conclusions we can express in the coming final debate.
“When one says “Europe”, one should mean “opening” – this could be the motto of the present colloquy. How can churches take on the responsibility in and for Europe if they are not open, if they have not an open heart in many different ways? To be open towards other denominations with their respective theological-historical heritage, to have an open heart for society in its multi-faceted cultural and intellectual-history context in Europe from the Atlantic ocean to the Baltic states, from the North-African border up to Finland, to be receptive to the questions of people frightened of world-wide terrorism and anxious about peace and reconciliation in Europe and in the world, to find answers to these questions – that is our responsibility as Christians, as representatives of our churches.
However, there is nothing new in this responsibility. Jesus Christ himself laid on us this responsibility for the world, as we are told in the Gospel of Matthew: “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always unto the end of the world.” By reason of this mandate, we, the Christians, feel obliged by the one who has called us – and we oblige each other to bear witness to God’s love manifested in Jesus Christ.
What I now said is basis of our policy as Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. We send our pastors and woman pastors abroad to serve our own people. We know that faith is strongly connected with language - mother tongue - and cultural character of a person. So we establish German speaking parishes and parish-groups wherever there is demand and last but not least the financial means.
At the same time our pastors get the mandate to be our ecumenical ambassadors in the country in which we send them. There is no constitution of a German speaking community without mentioning the ecumenical mandate.
Newly basis of all European ecumenism is the Charta Oecumenica. This Charta has the title: Guidelines for the Growing Cooperation among the Churches in Europe. I understand our meeting in these days as part of this effort. The process of signing this document is in good progress. It unites Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant Churches.
One single quoting should be read I think: ( DISCURSO DEL PAPA JUAN PABLO II A LOS PARTICIPANTES EN EL X SIMPOSIO ORGANIZADO POR EL CONSEJO DE LAS CONFERENCIAS EPISCOPALES DE EUROPA Jueves 25 de abril de 2002)
"Saludo asimismo a los delegados de las otras Iglesias y comunidades eclesiales presentes. Se percibe cada vez más claramente que la reconciliación entre los cristianos es decisiva para la credibilidad del anuncio del Evangelio y para la construcción de Europa. Desde este punto de vista, la Charta oecumenica para Europa, firmada en Estrasburgo en abril de 2001, constituye un paso notable para el incremento de la colaboración entre Iglesias y comunidades cristianas. Ruego a Dios que se avance por este camino cada vez con mayor confianza y determinación".
I appreciate this also under the aspect of the contribution of the Churches to the future of Europe we speak about in these days. Churches have to speak up in the process of developing Europe. But they can do this most efficient, when they speak with one voice. We have the experience in Germany that government and political parties and agencies hear the voice of the Churches when the two big Churches in Germany the Römisch Katholische Kirche and the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland make a common statement.
I think we should take the time to get to know the most important parts of the Charta Oecumenica. Let us look at the headlines and the commitments:
1. Juntamente llamados a la unidad en la fe
Nos comprometemos,
- a proseguir la exhortación apostólica de la carta a los Efesios y a esforzarnos con ahínco para una comprensión común del mensaje de salvación de Cristo en el Evangelio;
- a trabajar, bajo la fuerza del Espíritu Santo, para lograr la unidad visible de la Iglesia de Jesucristo en la única fe, que encuentra su expresión en un bautismo recíprocamente reconocido y en la comunión eucarística, así como en el testimonio común y en el servicio.
2. Anunciar juntos el Evangelio
Nos comprometemos,
- a hablar de nuestras iniciativas de evangelización con las otras Iglesias, a ponernos de acuerdo en ello y evitar así tanto una competencia dañina como el peligro de nuevas divisiones;
- a reconocer que cualquier persona puede elegir su propia pertenencia religiosa y eclesial, en la libre decisión de su conciencia. Nadie puede ser movido a conversión bajo presión moral o por incentivos materiales; del mismo modo a nadie se le puede impedir una conversión según su libre decisión.
3. Ir los unos al encuentro de los otros
Nos comprometemos,
- a superar nuestra autosuficiencia y erradicar los prejuicios, a buscar el encuentro de unos con otros y a estar ahí los unos en favor de los otros;
- a favorecer la apertura ecuménica y la colaboración en la educación cristiana, en la formación teológica inicial y especializada, así como en la investigación.
4. Actuar unánimes
Nos comprometemos,
- a actuar conjuntamente en todos los niveles de la vida eclesial, allí donde están dados los presupuestos para ello y no existen razones de fe o de mayor conveniencia que lo impidan;
- a defender los derechos de las minorías y ayudar a desmontar, en nuestros países, aquellas incomprensiones y prejuicios entre las Iglesias mayoritarias y minoritarias.
5. Rezar con los otros
Nos comprometemos,
- a rezar los unos por los otros y por la unidad cristiana; a aprender a valorar y conocer las diversas formas de vida espiritual de las otras Iglesias;
- a tender hacia la meta de la comunión eucarística.
6. Proseguir el diálogo
Nos comprometemos,
- a proseguir consciente e intensamente el diálogo entre nuestras Iglesias a diferentes niveles, así como a examinar aquello que, en los resultados de los diálogos, puede y debe ser declarado oficialmente obligatorio;
- a buscar el intercambio y discutir esas cuestiones conjuntamente a la luz del Evangelio en casos de controversia, en particular cuando existe una amenaza de división en cuestiones de fe y de ética.
7. Tomar parte en la construcción de Europa
Nos comprometemos,
- a entendernos mutuamente acerca de los contenidos y metas de nuestra responsabilidad social y a sostener de forma conjunta, en la medida de lo posible, los objetivos y las perspectivas de las Iglesias frente a las instituciones seculares europeas;
- a defender los valores fundamentales contra todos los ataques;
- a oponernos a todo intento de instrumentalizar la religión y la Iglesia con fines étnicos o nacionalistas.
8. Reconciliar los pueblos y las culturas
Nos comprometemos,
- a oponernos a toda forma de nacionalismo que conduzca a la opresión de otros pueblos y de las minorías nacionales y a abogar por soluciones no violentas;
- a mejorar y a reforzar la condición de la mujer y su igualdad de derechos en todos los ámbitos de la vida, así como a promover una justa comunidad de mujeres y varones en la Iglesia y en la sociedad.
9. Conservar la creación
Nos comprometemos,
- a seguir desarrollando un estilo de vida que dé valor a una calidad de vida responsable y duradera frente a la tiranía de las presiones económicas y consumistas;
- a apoyar a las organizaciones eclesiales dedicadas al medio ambiente y a las redes ecuménicas en su responsabilidad para la conservación de la naturaleza.
10. Profundizar la comunión con el judaísmo
Nos comprometemos,
- a combatir toda forma de antisemitismo y antijudaísmo en la Iglesia y en la sociedad;
- a buscar e intensificar, a todos los niveles, el diálogo con nuestros hermanos judíos.
11. Cultivar las relaciones con el Islam
Nos comprometemos,
- a ir al encuentro de los musulmanes con una actitud de estima;
- a trabajar con los musulmanes en objetivos comunes.
12. Encuentro con otras religiones y cosmovisiones
Nos comprometemos,
- a reconocer la libertad religiosa y de conciencia de las personas y de las comunidades y a garantizar que, individual y colectivamente, en privado y en público, puedan practicar su religión y visión del mundo en el marco de la legislación vigente;
- a estar abiertos a un diálogo con todos los hombres de buena voluntad, a perseguir con ellos objetivos comunes y a darles testimonio de la fe cristiana.
The relationship between Church and State in the European Countries is quite different. Nevertheless we all have a political mandate. There is no Christian politics or ideology. But there are Christians in politics and there have to be Christian guidelines to help to make human and just decisions. Those guidelines we do have to articulate.
So was our Church part in the debate over the European Constitution. When it one day will be adopted it will change a lot. We will have more democracy in Europe and even a better defined role of the Churches in the Process of building Europe.
The points which I am now going to present are based on the draft of the European Constitution, as available to us.
2. Keeping alive the differences in the grown historical heritage of the denominations as a European cultural treasure (Preamble of the European Constitution)
In the Preamble to the European Constitution, we read: “... Drawing inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanistic inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, democracy, equality, freedom and the rule of law.
The great differences in the development of the churches in Europe make it possible for us to guess just how many struggles and hard-won compromises are covered by the words “inheritance”, “values” and how much capability for compromise will be required of us now and in the future.
This is where I see the first great responsibility of the churches in Europe. Ours is the task to discover and keep alive the different, grown historical inheritance of the denominations as a European cultural treasure. In the sentence from the Preamble that I have quoted above, I see a challenge to European ecumenism. The churches must carry out a critical survey of their own respective heritages, they must recognise and value the heritage of other denominations. In the political, social and, above all, ethical decision-making processes of our time, the churches are called upon to remind people of Christian values and to take care that these remain alive in the future.
Since the majority of the population within the territory of the EU has a religious or church affiliation, and the Christian tradition has been a decisive influence on life in Europe for the last 2000 years and still continues to exert a strong influence, the churches and religious communities have a special part to play in the organisation of Europe. The churches and religious communities give important impulses in the necessary spiritual and ethical support for processes of social development within Europe.
Since every liberal legal system depends on the power of social groups to create values, the supranational union of the European Community will also be dependent on such value-creating forces. Churches, as well as religious and ideological communities, will play a central part in this process and have important contributions to make: this includes the approach to democracy, the tolerance implicit in the Christian doctrine and the obligation to defend the freedom and equality of all people, as much as the development and strengthening of the ability to live in a community: without such values, a free society will not be able to find the strength necessary to fulfil its functions and solve its conflicts.
For me, it is a secondary question whether this is expressed in the text of the Constitution with an additional mention of God, as in the Polish version, “God as source of all values”, or according to the German version, “in our responsibility before God” or, as demanded by some others, by means of an even more general formula, “Christian inheritance”, “Jewish-Christian inheritance” or “Christian, Jewish and Muslim inheritance”. It is true that also the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland desires a reference to God in the Constitution, or a reference to our Christian inheritance. It is important that we keep open our hearts wide enough to discover and keep the inheritance of each individual European religious denomination, the Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Orthodox, Anglican and all others, and that we support and advance each of them in ecumenical diversity and brotherly tolerance.
3. Clarify the legal status of the churches and religious communities (the “Church” Article of the European Constitution)
The draft of the European constitution contains the so-called “Church Article”, Article 51.
The first two paragraphs of this Article are the following:
(1) The Union respects and does not prejudice the status under national law of churches and religious associations or communities in the Member.
(2) The Union equally respects the status of philosophical and non-confessional organisations.
These paragraphs represent the incorporation of Declaration 11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam and guarantee that European law will not interfere in the national situations concerning the relationship between the state and the church, as long as individual and collective religious freedom for all people is respected in a member state. The legal systems of all member states of the European Union guarantee religious freedom. The autonomy of churches and religious communities is an essential part of personal freedom. In the various national legal systems (it is guaranteed in different ways) it has its roots in history and is an element of national identity as a part of the organised relationship between the state and the churches. With the incorporation of the contents of Declaration 11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam in the European Law of Contracts, autonomy is guaranteed under national law. However, the right to autonomy must also be guaranteed on a European level, since otherwise, the Union’s action could interfere with the churches and religious communities.
With the increasing intensification of the European Union, which may be deepened still further by the possible wording of the Constitution, the areas of common interest and cooperation between the European Union and the churches will also increase. The churches are an important factor of life in the European Union. The churches have to become active within the European institutions, for instance, with regard to European universities or a possible future European army or police force. The social and charitable activities of the churches have to be guaranteed as part of the services to the public. Also religious holidays within the European Union have to be guaranteed.
4. The dialogue between church and civil population Participation of the churches in sociological decision-making processes
Article 51 has a third paragraph:
(3) Recognizing their identity and the specific contribution the Union shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with these churches and organizations.
This is really a step forward.
Article 51, paragraph 3 of the draft of the Constitution Agreement creates something completely new, namely an open, transparent and regular dialogue in recognition of the identity and the special contribution of churches and communities.
Paragraph 3 takes into account the fact that the European Union is aiming at a participation of the citizens on the broadest possible basis. For this purpose, it maintains and wants to develop a dialogue with the civil population. Churches and religious communities contribute their special experiences, resulting from their work on the local, regional, national and international levels, to this dialogue They cover such divergent areas as social policy, migration, development policy, education and pastoral care. Paragraph 3 recognises the special identity of churches and religious communities and their special contributions, their public work.
Compared to other social groups, however, the churches and religious communities have a special status. Their legitimating does not derive from the processes of production and reproduction that characterises society, but from their recognition of the transcendental dimension of human life. They are unlike other social groups. The churches and religious communities do not defend particular interests. For this reason, the churches must not be regarded as other social forces, but as possessing a character “sui generis”.
The churches should not become allies in everyday politics. For this reason, an institutionalised position with regard to political decisions on a European level should not be sought.
Nevertheless they have to articulate their positions to most important themes. For example: The relationship between North and South, human rights and religious freedom, bio-ethics, solution of ethnical conflicts, treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, violence against women, traffic in human beings.
The Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland sees the position of the churches and religious communities within the framework of a “participation model” involving social forces in the political decision-making process by way of advisory mechanisms. The new possibilities suggested in the draft of the constitution helps to establish and intensify a structured dialogue which already was currently practised by the Commission and the churches and religious communities.
For us, it is on one hand sort of victory to be able to refer to a constitutional provision to make our voice heard. On the other hand we are obliged to make competent contributions. This is anyway the best way to extend participation.
5. Processes of social transformation and their consequences for the churches in view of a Europe of the “25”.
With the extension of the European Union, ten Eastern and Middle European States have become members of the Union: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus.
The religious traditions of these new members are very different and, in part, also differ from those of the Western European member states. In the Baltic states, but also in the Czech Republic, the majority of the population is without religious affiliation or defines itself as atheist. The economic and social modernization processes in these populations offer the people a great number of ideological options. We must be aware that faith and membership in a church or an ideological orientation are no longer a question of family and tradition, but largely of a free choice on the ideological market. The churches will have to take this development into account. In cooperation with the churches in Middle and Eastern Europe, we must decide: how we can spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in an attractive and convincing manner, as we have obliged ourselves to do in the Charta Oecumenica, in view of the increasing secularisation of society nowadays?
Many churches in Middle and Eastern Europe seem to have a very ambivalent attitude with regard to the new social developments. On the one hand, the development, which started at the end of the 1980ies/beginning of the 1990ies, has brought freedom from suppression, of pressure and of the attempt to eliminate religion from society. On the other hand, they feel that they are now faced with another form of atheism: a Western-style society characterised by commercialisation; a society in which religious values have no place in everyday life; a society playing off rich and poor against each other. For decades, they had to fight against the efforts of the Communist dictatorship to destroy the church. Now, they believe that they have to fight against a destruction of society from within as a result of Western atheism. For this reason, the identity of the churches is often defined by a separation from the processes of social change, by a rejection of what is developing as modern capitalism, so to speak.
The Protestant churches in almost all the new member states (with the exception of the special situations in Estonia and Latvia) are minority churches, like they are here in Spain. Most of them are small churches, existing beside a dominant Roman-Catholic Church or Orthodox Church. The size and tradition of which guarantee public recognition. But the Protestants are facing the same challenges as all other churches:. They have to show the public what they stand for; to state in public what their message is. They face a challenge to acquire a special image in order to be noticed. This situation offers the churches both chances and dangers, challenges, but also possibilities.
The Protestant message of the freedom of all Christians and of the engagement for our neighbour is important for people. It gives freedom and gives orientation, helping to lead a straight and responsible life before God and their fellow men in an open, individualised society. The Protestant churches have a capital to develop.
However, in some of the churches in the Eastern European diaspora, there are growing tendencies towards dogmatism and confessionalism, tendencies towards an isolation against these waves of individualisation and secularisation, and of seeing them as hostile forces. With regard to the relations between the churches, this is a important subject showing very clearly that there is still a wide gap between Western and Eastern Europe.
6. Perspectives and Challenges
There are quite practical challenges, which overcame us in the near past. For example:
The European Union prepares an act against discrimination in working conditions.
That raised for our church in Germany the question, whether in future it would be illegal to say: We only accept protestant persons working in our church and in our diaconical institutions. Have we to accept a Muslim woman as teacher in our Kinder garden? The problem seems solved. Churches have the possibility to define the conditions for their working contracts. It was very helpful that we have an office in Brussels. This Church office keeps contact to the European institutions and observes the legislation process.
Another practical challenge is the debate about the beginning of negotiations concerning the inclusion of Turkey in the European Union.
Our Church has two reasons to call for caution in this question:
Human rights are not completely guaranteed in Turkey. Even if they are written in the law, the country is big and controlling is not easy.
As part of the human rights especially religious freedom is not realised in Turkey. Our Bishop of our ministry abroad, Dr Rolf Koppe, just visited Turkey. The Orthodox Church in Turkey is "drying out". There is no legal status to the Orthodox Church. Clergy - even the Ecumenical Patriarch - has to be Turkish. No foreigner is allowed to be priest. At the same time, the orthodox Seminar on the Island of Chalki was closed by the government so that no Turkish clergy can be trained and ordained. Communities are dying in consequence. Property of the church is not given back. The list is long.
Even the German speaking Christian Communities in Istanbul - catholic and protestant - don't have a legal status. Our pastor works with a status of a teacher of the German School in Istanbul. Second: We discuss the change of identity, which will come over Europe when such a big Muslim population will be incorporated in a Europe with a Christian tradition and a in Christianity rooted culture. This discussion is not finished.
These are examples for practical challenges on the way to a united Europe.
But first we have to ask ourselves: Is “The responsibility for Europe”, as stated in the Charta Oecumenica, something that is discussed and implemented in our parishes?
Do all European churches desire to overcome nationalism, to help minorities, to promote non-violent solutions, to live in solidarity, and do they succeed in doing so? How big is the gap between word and deed?
A “joint responsibility for Europe” also includes a confrontation with our past. The wounds of the past have not yet been healed, no matter whether it is a case between different ethnic groups, between different peoples or between majority and minority churches.
If we want “healing memories” to play a decisive part in our joint future, they must be established firmly in education and training, particularly in religious instruction, theological training and youth welfare programs and also in the development of exchange programs and the coordination of confessional training programs.
The Charta Oecumenica is, as it says, a “basic text” recommended to “all churches and bishops’ conferences in Europe” for acceptation and adjustment to their respective contexts.
The main point is “growing” cooperation. It is not a question of new challenges or of asking too much of anyone, but rather of continuing along a path along which we started a long time ago in the ecumenic movement.
And finally: the Charta is a call to prayer. It begins with a reminder of the prayer of Jesus Christ: “That they may all be one” (John 17, 21). It ends with a prayer for the support of the Holy Spirit.
Our not only protestant model of ecumenism is the short formula of: "Unity in Reconciled Diversity". We don’t want to eliminate the differences and at the same time we look for ways to a better community. In this context I only mention the Meissen Agreement between the Anglican Church and Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland. Within Protestantism we have already gone a long way with quite a lot of experience. I mention the Leuenberg Agreement. It is only since 30 years that Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, Methodist and United Churches celebrate the Eucharist together.
We go forward on this way.
At the same time we hope that our experiences on our way to "Unity in Reconciled Diversity" may be a model and a help on the way of uniting Europe. We are prepared and willing to share our experiences.
Postfach 210220
30402 Hannover
Germany