Bishops of the old continent may do things differently to their American counterparts but their pastoral care programme is not limited to focusing on preservation while their faithful remain bogged down in a crisis that is not just economic. There is an obvious difference: while in the United States clashes started with Obama’s Democratic administration (there had been none over the war choices of his Republican predecessor, Bush, his arms race, the ever growing divide between rich and poor and the increase in capital executions), in Europe, bishops are dealing with governments that are different in terms of colour and politics but with one single aim: to rebuild the social fabric which is becoming increasingly fragmented - particularly in terms of values - without imposing ideas or making harsh criticisms, but through organic and, crucially, shared proposals.
There is much anticipation therefore for the forthcoming plenary Assembly of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE), due to take place between 21 and 23 March in Brussels.
The main topic of the meeting will be “The European Year 2012 devoted to active ageing and intergenerational solidarity”.
A report will be presented by Michel Camdessus, former director of the International Monetary Fund and current President of the Catholic Social Weeks of France.
The European Year dedicated to ageing and intergenerational solidarity is a well-known problem - although figures differ in each of the continent’s regions – that is rapidly changing consolidated social balances and welfare systems.
Although on the one hand the increase in the average life expectancy is a positive aspect and the result of an improved quality of life and advances in medicine, on the other, bishops have repeatedly expressed their concerns regarding the demographic change in Europe, which poses a challenge to everyone.
One of the speakers at the meeting will be Gian Carlo Blangiardo, from the University of Milano-Bicocca (the demographic crisis and the role of the family).
But there is another reason why there is so much anticipation for the Plenary Assembly that is, the elections for the new Permanent Committee, four vice-presidents and the President of COMECE to carry out the next mandate, are due to take place on Friday 23 March.
With the publication of the document entitled: European Community of Solidarity and Responsibility. A Statement of the COMECE bishops on the EU Treaty objective of a Competitive Social Market Economy” just over two months away, the outgoing president Adrianus van Luyin, Bishop of Rotterdam will present a report on the activities of the Commission as well as the 2011 Report, published at the beginning of March.
In this twenty page document, Van Luyin discusses the difference between “management” and “leadership”, “terms which are sometimes used interchangeably but are actually synonyms.”
Management involves setting down rules to govern, using available resources and people are one of its necessary resources. However, resources can be sacrificed to production and processes. The emphasis is on “how”.
Leadership is based on an economic or political project which is carried out with the participation of others who share the same goals. People are important because their capabilities and weak points are put to the test.
“The Fathers of Europe - the Bishop of Rotterdam wrote - had a vision of Europe, their action was not limited to managing integration processes.”
Recalling Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno encyclical which responded to the economic crisis of that time, the bishop mentioned the necessity to realign with that kind of work; the urgent need, that is, to redefine a set of principles and values that can act as inspiration for identifying solid ways - linked to independent political choices - of coming out of the current crisis.
This is the basis of the Church’s social doctrine, Van Luyin recalled, as it is also true that the crisis is rooted in a distortion of values which has led to a significant change of priorities: self interest and personal ambition, quick profit, material gain, hedonism and greed, all at the cost of solidarity and sustainability but above all and too often, to the detriment of human dignity.
Not everything is lost - and this is where COMECE bishop’s positive outlook becomes evident as they do not condemn the world, but humbly offer suggestions – because it is up to us to transform this serious economic and moral crisis into an opportunity for conversion and discernment (see Luke’s Gospel 12:56-57). T
hat is, to be able to discern what is a real value and what is not, distinguish between what is true and what is false, between good and evil. These are essentially, the fundamental choices Europeans will have to make in order to promote and guarantee human dignity everywhere and constantly seek the common good in the spirit of solidarity and subsidiarity.
“Based on the Church’s social doctrine, Van Luyin concluded, we have the task of “monitoring” the situation in Europe and keeping a watchful and critical eye on decisions and processes that are under way.”
The term derives from the Latin verb “to remember”, understood as the act of warning when something is not right, when there is unbalanced growth of a hierarchy whose values are contingent, forgetting what the essential values are.
“Any authentic renewal requires serious self-criticism from each and every one of us.”
European bishops are not in search of triumphalism and do not lay claim to the truth, but follow a path of realism and concreteness.
The anticipation for the forthcoming Assembly seems to show that European governments consider bishops’ words to be authoritative.
And that is significant.