Dialog Teologic X/19 (2007)

Dialog Teologic X/19 (2007)
Identitatea creștină și valorile Europei de astăzi, 162 p, 17×24, 9 RON.

Jean-Claude PERISSET
Mesaj
Christianity is an essential element of the European identity, but unfortunately this aspect was not admitted in the project for the European Constitution. This refusal gave birth to many polemic discussions and to diverse interpretations. In his message, the Apostolic Nuncio Jean-Claude Périsset transmits a cordial and fraternal salute, proposing also to consider thoroughly the valences of this Christian identity, which has to brink “flowers and fruits” also in the contemporary Europe

COMUNICĂRI

Abelardo LOBATO
De Europa condenda. Amintire şi profeţie
There is a strong relation between memory and identity, because losing memory means the fission of the subject. Starting from this conviction, the author of the study points out the great importance of the vestiges from the past, this is seen as a solid basis for the future projects. Firstly, Abelardo Lobato shows the three interpretations that he could follow in his speech: the one of the poet Vergilius, of Ortega y Gasset, or the one of the Christian humanism, the fundamental element of the European identity. Then the author identifies the four constitutive elements of the European identity: the Greek logos, the Latin jus, God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ and the pathway of science and technology. These precious values were inherited by modernity, but it did not know to appreciate them as such, that is why where are present at the European identity crisis. Quid faciendum? Finally, the author declares that Europe should assume its millenary tradition, founded on the everlasting and life giving truth of the Gospel.

Ottorino PASQUATO
I laici nella Chiesa antica: identità e ruoli. Individuazione di aree di laicità
Even if the religious experience of the lay persons existed in every moment of history, the systematic reflection about laity has intensified especial in the last time. Assuming the teaching of the second Council of Vatican from the documents Lumen gentium and Gaudium et spes, Ottorino Pasquato illustrates the identity of the lay person and his part both in the ancient Church and in society, both in West and in East. The author describes the area of laity in the apologetics writings, and the relation between Christians and public institutions, between the biblical poverty and exigencies of social life, between monarchism and the matrimonial life. Then the study focused on the figure of John Crizostom, who spoke about the main part of family, “the little Church”, in children’s education and catechetical forming, in social charity, even in the pastoral mission. These prophetical intuitions can offer solutions the questions of nowadays Christian family and Europe.

Hermann SCHUSTER
Responsabilitatea creştinilor laici în societatea pluralistă a Europei
The medieval Europe was described as an univesitas Christiana. But today it is more adequate to speak about a pluralistic Europe whose Christian roots are disputed because of the post modern laicization. Starting with this general framework, this study aims to outline the part of the lay persons in the pluralistic society of Europe, which always changes. The European Constitution even if does not refer explicitly to God, permits and stimulates the social involvement of the lay Christian, trough its foundation on the basis of the Christian values: the human dignity, equality in front of God, the religious freedom, the social involvement. The article ends in an optimistic note, expressing the author’s conviction that Europe has still “a Christian soul and a spiritual dimension”, which last thanks to the common effort of all Christian European denominations.

Mariano FAZIO
Modernità e secolarizzazione da una prospettiva cristiana
n every historical period, good has existed always with evil. That is why we can not emit absolute affirmations: the medieval society was completely a Christian one, and the one of modernity was a secularized society. Starting from this general introduction, this presents modernity as an ambivalent reality: on the one hand, more “Christian” than Middle Age, because it is more aware of the relation between the natural order and the divine one, but, on the other hand, modernity is a reality reserved to transcendence, which leads gradually to nihilism. From the roots of modernity, Enlightened and Romanticism, which affirmed the humans’ autonomy, founded on reason and respectively on sentiment, raised the totalitarian ideologies and, eventually, nihilism with its two sides: God’s death and relativism. Contrasting with this sad evolution, the author presents shortly the recent positive initiatives (personalism, spiritualism, neo-thomism), which are reasons of hoping for nowadays people because they express implicitly the generous opening to transcendence.

Ignazio SANNA
Identitatà aperta e la persona nell’era della globalizzazione
In the last century appeared a lot of studies about identity which illustrate a bigger and bigger detachment between the Christian view about humans and the one of liberal scientism. These studies also identified two phenomena which conditioned in our era the identity process: globalization and the biotechnological revolution. This article starts by presenting synthetically these two recent phenomena and their consequences concerning humans’ life and thinking. In front of these recent challenges the Christian has to present his faith in humans, as God’s image, as master of an indelible dignity. The Christian’s speech has winning chances even today because also the post-modern people are thirsting for transcendence, a need which biologically can not be stopped or explained, and because of the transcendence’s reflex in the human persons, which has an universal valence, even if it is not codified as such by the recent national constitution and international conventions. Convinced of the existence of these anthropological foundations, the author can end his article with positive words, because every time and everywhere “the universality of humans’ rights is superior to non human”.

Aurel PERCĂ
Identitatea creştină într-un context social relativist
In the teachings of the last Popes, especially in the ones of Pope Benedict the XVIth, we meet often warnings concerning relativism, described as an ideological dictatorship which does not admit anything as definitive and considers the subject the supreme moral judge. This article treats on the same theme, underlining especially the effects of relativism on the human moral identity. The gnoseological, ethic and juridical relativism are caused by the absolutization of human, which took the place of the divine Absolute. In this complex but confused context, Church has to point out strongly, despite the severe critics, that God can not be excluded from the people’s life, because “the creature without Creator disappears”. Church, especially nowadays Church, has to become the voice of the Christ, who exposed his universal mission an identity in this way: “I am the Light of the world.”

Alois GHERGUŢ
Libertatea de a avea versus înţelepciunea de a crede în noua Europă postmodernistă
Religion is a human phenomenon met in every culture, where spiritual beings are thought to be the causes of life, of the appearance of universe and of many natural changes. But why do people believe all these things? This article presents shortly the answers given to this fundamental question: religion is a social product; faith exists thanks to our psychic stock liable to believe or could be a consequence of the cultural indoctrination. The author refers to Mircea Eliade which succeeded in reconciling sacred with profane, underlining the ontological complementarity that unifies them. But the author does not stop at the theoretic aspects; he also suggests the necessity of a personal and faithful answer in front of the challenge of confessing clearly and of defending the contents of our faith.

Mihai MAGA
Marsilio din Padova şi provocările modernităţii
Nowadays political systems rely on the separation of the powers in State and on a civil society owner of the right of political decision. But these fundamental elements for the contemporary politics were theoretically anticipated and prepared by the classic political philosophy. This study illustrates briefly the general ideas of the classic political philosophy: the Aristotelian view about humans, the awareness of the human limits of thinking and acting. The author of this study does not stop to the general aspects, but gives a great importance to the political philosopher Marsilio of Padova (1275/1280–1342/1343) and to his work Defensor Pacis. In this treatise, Marsilio introduces the reason’s regime in politics and enlightens the great part of peace in humans’ happiness. These intuitions of the philosopher became concrete reality in the contemporary political systems, even in the structure of UE.

Radu CARP
Pierre Manent şi tradiţia gândirii europene despre religie şi politică
In the French political thinking in the second part of the XXth century, especially under the influence of structuralism and Marxism, often religion was repudiated. After 1980, there are some authors who opposed this general tendency; one of them is Pierre Manent, who succeeded in avoiding the ideology of the left-wing and who kept an important place for religion in his thinking. This study presents the principal books of the French political thinker and, finally, exposes the main ideas of these books: secularization is not an irreversible process in Europe; politics and religion are not completely separated; after the fission of the strong notions of State, revolution, Marxism, the state organizations need true reference points, and one of them could be religion. This last solution has an intense and strong resonance in the contemporary Romanian context.

Wilhelm DANCĂ
Dumnezeu, Europa şi religiile. Identitatea creştină şi pluralismul religios 
On the background of the religious and cultural pluralism, nowadays Europe is registering the marginalization of Church, of the religious element and of the Christian values. This sad reality makes us speak about a new Europe, a new European with a new identity. Starting from this general view, the article brings out into bold relief the importance of Christianity and of its structures in building the first Europe, on the one hand, and on the other one, the actual European refusal of admitting Christian roots, that is the apostasy of Europe, caused by the secularized, materialist, relativist and pragmatist tendencies. But the main point of view of the author is that we assist also to the renewal of the spiritual life, to the appearance of the new and firm Christian consciences and to the reappraisal of the ethic Christian values in the public space. After this passing from past to present, the article proposes a Christian project for the future: Church needs a qualified Christian community, active and adaptable to the social cultural changes, able to inspire the behaviour of the non declared Christian people. This project seems to have winning chances because it had been already realized by Saint Benedict, for instance. But to do that the people of Europe must have more faith in God and more trust in the human being.