Fr Julián Carrón, President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, was the central speaker at a seminar entitled Beyond Optimism, Hope held at the National College of Ireland, Dublin, on Friday. The seminar was a reflection on ‘the virtue of hope,’ based on the second volume of a trilogy by Communion and Liberation's founder Luigi Giussani, called Is it possible to live this way?
Hope holds a central position in our culture’s history, Carrón said. All our scientific inquiry, all our political ideology is motivated by hope in an imagined better tomorrow.
And yet, as world events unfold, it seems that so much of what passes for ‘hope’ in our culture is instead ‘optimism’ i.e. a psychological inclination to put the most favourable construction upon actions and events.
For the individual, however, ‘hope’ seems more and more like a chimera, a delusion. Our culture, while pretending not to, systematically denies us an ultimate meaning or ultimate destination. As we go grow older, inevitably, it seems, disillusion sets in and, with it, cynicism and gradual withdrawal from life.
For Giussani, the question of hope is critical. He asked what can give certainty for the future? How is real hope born and sustained and what difference does it make to daily life?
Other speakers included Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, and writer and columnist John Waters.
The title of the meeting reflected how we find ourselves at a crucial point in the history of our civilization, that the cultural underpinnings that have sustained us for most of the last century are collapsing in front of our eyes.
The discussion at the Beyond Optimism, Hope seminar was a unique opportunity for all to actively consider what we really hope in, really believe in as the tumultuous events of 2009 unfold.
For more information on: Communion and Liberation Ireland, see www.clireland.com+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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(Source: CIN)