We cannot live in a climate of suspicion

Following their 2-days discussion the Assembly of the European Bishops have issued a Final Message, whereby their words have been addressed to the Catholic Church living on the Continent, to the Christians of the various confessions, to the believers of every Religion, and to all the European citizens.
Participant Bishops reflected not only on the pandemic and its expansive impact, but also on the future. The Bishops have sent the following message to all the citizens of Europe: “We speak to you with humility, knowing that we have no wisdom of our own to bring, but the Word only that God spoke to the world in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again so that humanity might have eternal life. We do this out of a sense of responsibility as Shepherds of the communities, knowing that our priests and our faithful are united with us and are aware that the Church must be, by the Lord’s indications, salt and leaven in history.
During this time, we the participants of the Assembly prayed and discussed not only on what was happening in regard to the pandemic and its repercussions on our life, on work, on society, families, on relations between States and Continents, on ecclesial life, but also on the future.

In this connection we have no practical solutions, as these are the remit of policy makers, but it is a part of our pastoral duty to awaken the personal and collective conscience for certain attitudes of a spiritual and ethical nature. In fact, the building of modern civilisation must stand on spiritual principles that are capable not only of supporting it, but also of enlightening it, while bringing it to life.”

Return to the entire unity

First and foremost stands the rediscovered trust. Without this way of being it is impossible to look forward to the future. For our trust as believers the reason is Christ, who assumed to become a human, and who through his death, redeemed life. Christ is present every day, in our midst in the Eucharist, in the source of trust and apostolic missionary zeal that invites us to go out, to go out to everyone. Recently we have lived our life without the Eucharist, now this aching loss is calling us to return to a full communion in the liturgical assembly. The reason of trust lies in all of our hearts: the basic desire lives deep inside, the one that knows that we cannot live in suspicion and distrust, but rather in trusting others and in life itself.

The virus and the illusion of “invincibility”
Secondly stands the renewed solidarity between the individuals, peoples and nations, even in situations of serious employment crisis.
The Lord Jesus is God’s solidarity. The universal experience shows that every human being is in the need of others, no one is self-sufficient enough: just an invisible virus is enough to destroy the illusion of being “invincible”.
We are grateful and send our warm thanks to the doctors, health workers, law enforcement bodies, and to the volunteers who, following Christ’s path, have given a helping hand to the people in need, particularly to the weakest ones. If a relationship is part of our nature, then any closure from the others, just in order to defend ourselves, or any kind of individual interest up to the point of profiting from others’ misfortune is fully against the personal dignity, against the community, and finally it is definitely against human rights.
No one must be excluded, even in the distribution of a vaccine. Nowadays, when we are facing the human tragedy of the vast number of refugees and migrants, it is essential to work together and to go ahead in dialogues with the leaders in order to protect the life and dignity of each person. We are making this appeal on the eve of the World Day of Migrantsand Refugees.

The Church is present
“The search for ways to face the difficulties in solidarity, as well as to maintain and regain the normal life, expresses the awareness of being side by side in the same destiny. It requires precise forms of expression, also towards the created world, for which we should turn with renewed care, since it has been given us by God as our common home.