A companion piece to Luigi Accattoli's appreciation of the Pope's address to the ambassadors to the Vatican last post in the preceding page) is this one by Andrea Tornielli:
To the governments of the world:
The Pope's appeal for religious freedom
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from
January 11, 2011
"One can certainly not reproach the Pope for not speaking clearly. Everyone can understand what he said without any difficulty", Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said of the Holy Father's address to the diplomatic corps Monday.
It was a strong address that marked a significant change from those of previous years. In fact, usually, the Pope's traditional message to the ambassadors to the Vatican at their annual exchange of New Year's greetings has been dedicated to an overview of 'the state of the world': humanitarian emergencies, open wars, crisis points, the arms race, poverty.
But this time the Pope offered the 178 ambassadors to the Vatican a view of the world through the lens of religious freedom, a reading of the international scene through how the governments of the world have respected, or failed to respect, the freedom that has been called the first of all human rights, an 'undeniable and incoercible' dimension of human life.
Man is 'a religious being' and if this aspect of his person is ignored or denied, the Pontiff said, 'disequilibrium and conflicts are created".
The Pope's address was both courageous and secular. Courageous because Benedict XVI, while recognizing some progress made and some increased sensitivity to 'the grave injury' represented by violations off religious freedom, called on political and religious leaders alike to guarantee the security of minorities who are discriminated against, persecuted and/or are victims of terrorism as they are today, particularly the Christian minorities.
Secular, because once more, Papa Ratzinger eschews the idea of a 'clash of civilizations' that is seen by some as inevitable, but calls on all concerned to learn 'the great lesson of history' in which "the contributions of the great religions of the world to civilization cannot be denied".
Benedict XVI's decision to hold a meeting of the world's religious leaders in Assisi next October - on the 25th anniversary of the first World Day of Prayer for Peace convoked in that city by John Paul II - must be seen in this light.
But the Pope's address was also secular because he laid responsibility on governments and institutions to guarantee that
tranqulllitas ordinis for their peoples which civilian authorities must establish and protect.
The Second Vatican Council in its document on religious freedom,
Dignitatis humanae, named the right to religious freedom as one of those that should be promtected and promoted by 'every civilian power'.
The Pope also called on civilian authorities not to create various degrees of gravity for intolerance, depending on the religion driscriminated against, because this has ended up in the fact that most governmetns appear to consider offenses against Chrtistians 'less serious' than Islamophobia or anti-Semitism.
Finally, the Pope's message represented another clarion call to the West: the West which speaks of tolerance and pluralism while it marginalizes religion, relegates it to the private sphere and denies it participation in public life. The West which requires its citizens to set aside their religious and moral convictions to conform to a secular society, and where, in the name of respect for other faiths, bans reiligious feasts and symbols from the public space.
The Pope, addressing this self-weakened West, especially those nations where secularity has become secularism, reminds them yet again that they cannot construct the future by cutting off their own cultural and religious roots.
For convenience, I am re-posting the Accattoli piece here - what I called an unorthodox view of the Pope's address yesterday, as it provides the 'solidity of specification' to the overwhelming impression I had that this was Benedict XVI's most hard-hitting address yet in advocating the primacy of religious freedom as a fundamental human right.
Papa Ratzinger shows his 'rage':
Metamorphosis of a Pope
by Luigi Accattoli
Translated from
July 11, 2011
He said everything that had to be said, he kept silent about nothing, and he did not seek any accommodation. It was a truly global Pope in high relief whom we heard yesterday speak about religious freedom.
He named the nations that violate it, starting with the scenes of recent Christian massacres - Iraq on All Saints' Day and Egypt on New Year's Day.
He called on the world to act now in defense of persecuted Christians.
He was concrete - one might even say, cutting - in his references. He urged Pakistan to repeal its law against blasphemy and recalled 'the tragic assassination of the governor of Punjab' - a Muslim who advocated such a repeal - which shows 'the urgent need to make progress in this direction'.
To the states of the Arabian Peninsula, he asked for room to allow the 'pastoral' activity of the Church. Not only was he unaccommodating about the demands he presented but he even raised the bar, introducing relatively new and strongly conflictual problems.
I will cite two, in reference to Western countries: His denunciation of the tendency to "consider discriminatory actions against Christians as less grave and less worthy of attention", which seems to introduce "a sort of scale of degrees of religious intolerance".
And citing - among the threats' to religious freedom ' in some European countries' - of obligatory 'courses' in 'sexual and civic education' imposed from a perspective that is 'opposed to faith'.
The introduction of such conflictual issues is the most vivid - and revealing - element of this papal address, which constitutes
a papal manifesto in defense of the Christians of the world.
Note that the Pope speaks in defense of all Christians, not just Catholics - another proof of the theologian Pope's 'non-diplomatic' and uncompromising attitude that is not new to those who know him.
There were at least three passages in which Benedict XVI appealed directly yesterday to the international community - particularly the Western countries, and especially the European - to defend Christians and be more attentive to their interests.
It would have been convenient for him to just use this card - difficult enough to play - without bringing up questions that have placed the Church in conflict with most European governments for some time. But he eschewed this convenient way, just as he made all his other statements devoid of prior calculation.
The first instance was to thank some European nations - thereby soliciting others to follow suit - for their "concern for the rights of the most vulnerable and the political farsightedness which they have demonstrated in recent days by their call for a concerted response on the part of the European Union for the defence of Christians in the Middle East".
The reference is to France, Italy, Poland and Hungary which, on January 7, at the initiative of Italy, signed a memorandum sent to the 'foreign minister' of the European Union, Catherine Ashton, asking for 'concrete measures' by the EU in defense of Christians and to place the question on the agenda for the meeting of EU foreign ministers on January 31.
The second instance concerned the banning 'from public life' of 'religious feasts and symbols', particularly Christian. Even in this case, he formulated the request as an expression of gratitude to some in order to 'enlist' everyone else:
"Last year, a number of European countries supported the appeal lodged by the Italian government in the well-known case involving the display of the crucifix in public places. I am grateful to the authorities of those nations..." These are Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Moldavia, Monaco, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, and the Ukraine
[Note that other than Catholic Malta, Monaco and San Marino - the smallest European states after the Vatican - all the others are nations with an Orthodox majority.]
The third was his appeal, mentioned earlier, for the Western nations to consider Christianophobia just as seriously as they do Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
It would seem obvious - by the criterion of diplomacy, since the Pope was addressing the diplomatic corps - that in order to obtain, shall we say, the support of France or Spain for the idea that "everything possible must be done' for the protection of Christians in the Middle East, the Pope ought not to have raised questions that are 'sensitive' for them, such as religious symbols in public life (France) or compulsory sexual and civic education with radically secular content (Spain).
But the Pope ignored such calculations. And in proposing the demands of religious freedom in the most organic and broad manner, Benedict XVI made clear that the Church of Rome does not belong to any continental or ideological bloc, and that her decision to assert and claim that freedom is not for her exclusive benefit, but in the name of every other faith.
To round off, a word from the editor of OR:
The policy of the Church
Editorial
by Giovanni Maria Vian
Translated from the 1/10-1/11/11 issue of
To the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See - a corps which is among the most representative in the world - the Pope Monday explained the role of the Church in the international context.
She is an active presence that respects the competency of civilian authorities and is animated by the conviction that only God responds to the human heart and that the religious dimension is therefore 'undeniable and incoercible'.
This is the profound root of what could be defined simplistically as Vatican policy, which does not seek privileges but only freedom to do the mission of the Church, which is the original and constitutive characteristic of the Christian community.
Thus, its concern for religious freedom, which, for Benedict XVI, is indispensable for building the peace. Yet it is a fundamental right which is often violated or downright denied.
Today, there is growing awareness of the gravity of these violations that offend God and man and which make coexistence of religious and cultural communities impossible.
There are very positive signs, such as voices raised in some Muslim nations and in Europe in the face of a growth in Christianophobia and violent kilings that have been carried out even in places of Christian worship.
The Pope's analysis examined the roots of the pretexts employed in campaigns sowing hatred for Christians, particularly in the vast region of the Middle East.
Recalling the words of the recent bishops' synodal assembly for the Middle East, the Pope said the Christians of the region are among its 'original and authentic citizens', as in Iraq and Egupt, where the Christian tradition is ancient and vital.
Thus, Middle East Christians are not strangers but citizens desirous of contributing to the common good, faithful to God and loyal to their country of birth. As Christians are everywhere, in the Middle East, in Egypt, in China, wherever.
That is why Benedict XVI asked the civilian authorities of the world for concrete gestures in support of genuine religious freedom, such as repealing the anti-blasphemy law in Pakistan.
There have also been positive signs, too, in the secularized and once- Christian lands of Europe. If, in fact, persistent attempts to marginalize religion continue to multiply, as in denying the right to conscientious objection to healthcare and judicial workers, suppressing religious symbols, imposing new scholastic requirements, inventing 'new rights' in order to legalize 'selfish desires', the Council of Eruope recently adopted a resolution that protects freedom of conscience for doctors; and a number of countries have expressed support for the continued use of the Crucifix in public places, such as the Italian government supported by several other European nations and the Patriarchate of Moscow.
Thus, the picture is not entirely dark in which Benedict XVI sees tragedies and difficulties but also positive signs. Emblematic is the observance of the birth centenary of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who embodies the policy of the Church.
The Church does not ask for favors, but only the freedom to announce God's love for every human being, and to work to show that love.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/01/2011 12:32]