DAWN Fridayfax 2004 #22

Europe

Giving Europe a Christian soul

"No sign of Europe-fatigue: young and old, East and West, Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Independent - 10,000 members of 175 Christian fellowships and lay movements met on 8th May in Stuttgart to define their role in the new 25-nation Europe," wrote Martin Gehlen in the 'Berliner Tagesspiegel' newspaper. Only a few days after ten nations joined the European Union, the participants included Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, the earlier Belgian Queen Fabiola, numerous politicians and more than fifty bishops from various churches. The international conference, simultaneously translated into 14 languages, closed with the declaration "We must not reduce Europe to a common market and security zone." Europe needs a strong soul, and Christians must commit themselves to a Europe of brotherhood, which assumes responsibility for peace and justice in the world and for the "globalisation of solidarity and justice." Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, underlined the influence which Christianity had on the values, ideals and hopes of European citizens.

"A Europe of hearts filled with God"

"Today, Christians must focus their creativity and energy on ensuring that Europe is not turned into a fortress," said Prodi in his address, broadcast via satellite to similar events in 160 cities. "Europe is a huge political project, but it can only survive if it has a soul." "We need a Europe of the heart, and hearts cannot be filled with money, but with values and God," said Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Papal Council for Christian Unity. Chiara Lubisch, the charismatic founder of the Fokolar movement, believes that Christian movements can be a good example in Europe. "The movements see themselves as a network, and experience the truth that differences do not separate, but enrich," she said. The Focolare movement, which she founded in 1943 in Trient, has 140,000 members around the globe. "We are convinced," she said, "that a strengthening of spiritual life also strengthens the bonds between nations." In the words of a Slovenian student: "Europe is all of us, not just the politicians."

Deliverance, and breaking down dividing walls

"8th May 1945 was the day of deliverance from an inhuman, criminal Nazi dictatorship," stated Evangelical pastor Friedrich Aschoff. "Fortunately, Christian politicians and statesmen were in the right place at the right time to start the process of reconciliation. Thanks to generous assistance from the USA, the Marshall Plan, Europe was also able to begin economic recovery. Not only that, but God had also begun to call new things to life in the worst days of the war. Unexpectedly, in 1943 and 1944, spiritual fellowships such as the Focolare movement in the Catholic Church in Italy, the Marienschwestern in Darmstadt, the Christusbruderschaft in the Evangelical Church in Selbitz, the Brothers of Taizé in France, and many others. In the 20th Century, God broke down many dividing walls which had long separated Christians. The Holy Spirit started breaking down the barriers between denominations, which has resulted in better relationships between Churches."
Source: www.miteinander-wie-sonst.de

India

"Election a wonderful answer to prayer"

Prime Minister Vajpayee's coalition lost the Indian Parliamentary elections. They received significantly fewer votes than the alliance led by the Congress Party. In a dramatic and surprising turn, the Indian people voted Prime Minister Vajpayee's ruling coalition out of power, giving them only 189 seats, far fewer than the 272 required for a majority. The Congress Party and its regional partners won 219 seats, to the surprise of many observers and even their supporters. "For India's Christians, this is a wonderful answer to prayer," says Sadhu Chellappa, a well-known evangelist from Chennai, southern India. "72 hours before the election, we held a city-wide time of prayer and fasting, in which various Christian groups participated. Christians throughout the nation prayed, and the Congress Party's unexpected landslide victory against the Hindu nationalists is a great wonder!"

No to fundamentalism

"The Indian electorate has resisted fundamentalism by electing the Congress Party instead of the Bharatiya Janata Party," comments the Catholic Bishops' Conference. Few political observers expected the BJP's support to collapse as it did. In the past, the BJP's strongly nationalistic policies supported Hindu fundamentalist movements following the so-called Hindutva Ideology: "One people, one language, one culture." Christian observers expect the result of the elections to have a direct effect on India's minority groups: instead of stricter anti-conversion laws, repression and violence against Christians, the laws will probably be relaxed and liberalised, returning to the values anchored in the constitution of a secular State.

Gandhi turns down highest office

India's new Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh, as was announced on 19 May 2004. President Abdul Kalam charged Singh, an economist, with forming a government. 71-year-old Singh assumed the position after Sonia Gandhi turned it down, citing the campaign against her Italian background as the reason, together with her children's worries that she would be assassinated, as was her husband Rajiv. It was Sonia Gandhi, though, who travelled throughout the nation, standing up to a phalanx of BJP leaders. Her aim, she says, was not to become Prime Minister, but to enable the nation to have a stable Government.
Source: various

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